Chapter 89
As Hotch sat with his back against the bars listening to Cole and Leo argue over which one was stronger, dwarves or gnomes, his stomach growled. It was so loud that Cole stopped talking and looked at him. When he noticed Hotch's cheeks heating, he chuckled. "Don't worry about it, man; unfortunately, you'll get used to that feeling and used to the sound of it echoing through this damn room."
Hotch frowned, though. "But I shouldn't even be hungry; I fed last night."
Leo looked at him, too. "You mean you went without eating everyday even before you were captured?"
Hotch nodded. "I normally only had to feed every three days, so I don't know why. . ." he stopped as he sighed. "Yes, I do. It was the type of blood they gave me. It doesn't keep me satisfied as long as the blood I had at home did."
Cole smirked. "And as much as I hate to tell you, they probably won't feed you tonight."
Hotch huffed. "It won't be the first time I've went hungry." As soon as he said it, though, he mentally cringed. He wasn't sure what real hunger would do to him. Sebastian had told him that hunger would cause him pain, like it had that first day, but he had never felt it to that severity since that first day. Sure, he had felt a little pain throughout his new life, but nothing he couldn't deal with. His fingers roamed over the cold surface of the collar around his neck. Tyrese said it wouldn't curb my hunger completely, but what does that mean exactly?
XXXXX
The bearded man who worked for Tommy sat a glass in front of everyone at the table, but no one moved to grab it as most of their eyes were on the only human at the table. Kahlan mentally sighed. Oh, for fuck's sake. She grabbed the glass and brought it towards her lips, but Sebastian's hand stopped her. "You don't have to do this, Kahlan," he assured her.
"If she wants to stay, she does have to do it," Tommy stated as he grabbed his glass. "Or she can go sit with the rest of the chattle."
Kahlan had to bite her tongue against lashing out at the asshole. It was obvious what he thought of humans, and as much as she hated the man sitting across from her, she had to try and get whatever she could from him. She licked her lips and raised the glass again. "To Aaron," she said and then downed the glass as all of the vampires watched her.
Once she put the empty glass down on the table, she licked her lips and shrugged. "It's not the worst thing I've ever tasted," she muttered and then wiped her mouth off on the sleeve of her black shirt.
The Asian woman laughed. "I like her," she tiled her glass towards Kahlan and then drank hers.
Christian shook his head, shared a look with Sebastian, and then they both drank theirs.
Once they were done, Tommy and the rest of his people drank theirs, and then man in charged smiled. "So, what can we do for you?"
"We want to know about any hunters in the area," Sebastian started.
Tommy leaned back in his chair. "There have been no hunters in DC."
Sebastian leaned forward. "But there has been. They took one of my family, and we were told that if anyone would know anything it would be you."
"Are you saying that there are things happening in your city that you don't know about?" Christian asked.
Tommy fixed him with a hard look. "Nothing happens here without me knowing."
"And without your approval, I bet," Kahlan put in as she studied the man. "And let me guess, you get a cut of the profits?"
When his features hardened, she smiled because she could tell that hit a nerve. She gestured to the people around the table. "And I bet your compadres, here, don't even know you sell out your own kind to line your pockets."
The black woman looked at head man. "What is she talking about, Tom?"
He huffed. "She knows nothing. She's just a human."
Christian looked at Kahlan with a shocked look and then looked at Sebastian for a second before shifting his gaze to the man in charge. "You let them hunt here so you can make money from them?!" he asked as he stood up in anger.
"You bastard!" Sebastian yelled. "How could you?" he demanded to know as he also stood up.
Tommy held up his hands. "They hunt the lower species scum that live in the gutters and cause problems for all of us, and they know not to touch vampires."
"But they have!" Sebastian insisted and then had the man by the throat before anyone could blink. "They attacked my offspring!"
When Christian was about to move closer to his best friend so he could help protect him, he noticed Kahlan rubbing her head. He leaned down next to her. "Are you alright?"
She shook her head and stood up, but she had to lean on the table for support as her eyes fixed with the head vampire. "What the hell did you do to me?"
Sebastian could clearly hear her heart slowing down, so he gripped the man's throat even harder. "You dare to attack in a parley?!"
Tommy looked him in the eyes. "The rules of parley only pertain to the supernatural, not your pet." His eyes drifted to Kahlan and smiled when he saw her slump down into her chair. "I'd say it's time for you to leave."
"What did you do to her?!" Christian demanded to know as Sebastian glanced at the other vampires in the room and wondered what they would do if he actually killed their boss.
The door behind them busted open as Michael, Jenny, and Willie came through in full vampire mode with a frantic Chuck and Rossi following close behind. The vampires had sensed their maker's distress, and as soon as Chuck's eyes landed on his best friend, he went to her. "What the hell, Kay? What's wrong?" he asked her as he grabbed her.
She shook her head and looked at him. "Don't know," is all she got out as her head lulled to the side.
Rossi looked at the vampires around him. "What did you to do her!"
Sebastian spun Tommy and then pulled him to his chest as he turned so he could keep the rest of the vampires within view.
"We didn't do anything to her!" the bearded man insisted.
"She drank like the rest of us," the Asian woman added.
Chuck pulled her out of the chair and laid her on the floor with gentle hands. "Kay, Kay, come on," he urged as he slapped her face and then looked at Christian. "What did she drink?"
"Blood, just like the rest of us," Tommy insisted.
"Blood!" Chuck stood up. "You made her drink blood?! You son of a bitch!" he yelled and took a step towards him, but Michael grabbed his arm.
Chuck tried to shake him lose, but Rossi put a hand on his chest as he looked at Tommy. "But drinking blood wouldn't hurt her. You had to have given her something else!"
"What type of blood was it?" Jenny asked as she knelt next to Kahlan. She could hear her struggling to breathe as her heart slowed down even more.
Tommy smiled. "My favorite nonhuman variety, Dragon."
"Drag. . . what?" Rossi asked with wide eyes.
"But Komodo dragons are venomous!" Chuck spit out.
"Not to us, they aren't," Tommy said simply. "Maybe that will make you all think twice about involving humans in the affairs of vampires."
Willie's face scrunched up in anger, and before anyone could do anything, he had moved, grabbed one of the samurai swords sitting in a black lacquered stand on a back table, and then spun; and his aim was perfect, as Tommy's head went rolling across the table and landed, upright, and the look of shock was still etched in his features.
Sebastian took a deep breath, realized he was still holding the man's lifeless body, and dropped it as he looked at the other vampires in the room.
The black woman quickly held up her hands. "I didn't know that's what type of blood he drank. I wouldn't have allowed her to drink it, I swear!"
"I didn't either!" the Asian woman cried. "I liked her," she offered as she gestured to Kahlan.
All eyes turned to the bearded man, and he backed up against the wall. "I knew, but I had to! Tommy would have given me to the hunters if I ever crossed him!"
"Ahhhh, guys. I think we need to get her to the hospital, and fast. Her heart is really starting to slow," Jenny announced.
Chuck rushed back to her and felt her pulse. "You really think a DC hospital is going to have antivenom for a komodo dragon?" His eyes filled as he ran a hand over Kahlan cheek. "I'm so sorry, Kay," he uttered and then jumped up as he pulled his pistol and pointed it at Michael. "You said they'd protect her!"
Sebastian was immediately in front of his offspring. "Put the gun away, Charles," he told him in a calm voice as he locked eyes with him.
But Chuck was fighting the compelled command as his arm shook. "But that's my damn sister!" he got out through clenched teeth as his arm shook even more. "And you let him kill her!" he yelled as his arm straightened back up a little. "I'm supposed to protect her, but you made me leave!" he screamed as his finger wrapped around the trigger.
Rossi could tell by the looks on all the vampire's faces that they were just as perplexed as he was, and as much as he really wanted to see someone pay for hurting his pseudo daughter; he knew the vampires hadn't gotten her hurt on purpose, so he went to Chuck's side. "I know you're mad, Chuck, but this isn't helping Kahlan," he started as he put his hand on the top of the pistol and pushed it down. "Kahlan wouldn't want you taking it out on them, and you know it."
Chuck turned filled eyes towards the older man. "But I'm supposed to protect her. I promised Hotch."
Rossi caressed his cheek with a paternal hand. "I know, and you may be the only one who can help her." He took a deep breath and pushed him towards the collapsed woman. "What can we do?"
Chuck shook his head, shoved the pistol back into its holster, and wiped his face as he ran to his best friend and started assessing her.
"I could have handled that, Bas," Michael insisted to his maker in a hushed tone.
"Really? Because I was having trouble handling it," Sebastian admitted and then looked at his progeny. "Unless you were talking about extreme measures?" By Michael's look, he knew that's exactly what he was talking about, so he leaned in right next to the younger man's ear. "They are Aaron's family, and therefore ours, have you forgotten that?"
Michael sighed and looked at the floor. "You're right, I'm sorry." He looked back into his eyes. "And he also saved me, so I owe them my life, too. I will make-up for acting a fool, I promise."
Sebastian clasped his shoulder and then went to the humans. "You're sure there isn't anything that will save her from this venom? That the hospital couldn't do anything?"
"Komodo venom makes their victim's blood pressure drop and it keeps dropping. That way they can attack it again while it's in a weakened state." He ran a hand through his hair. "She'll go into shock, and she'll die."
"There must be something. . . Maybe adrenaline, maybe an epi pen. . ." Willie suggested as he paced with tears in his eyes.
Rossi's eyes suddenly went wide. "We need to get her home!"
Chuck looked at him with concern. "Home? What the hell goo. . ."
"Now!" Rossi yelled and then looked at Sebastian. "Hurry!"
While Sebastian had no idea what Rossi had in mind, he nodded and then looked at Christian and the rest of his family. "You all take care of them. See if you can get anything about the hunters." Then he looked at the other vampires. "And if I were you, I would make sure you gave them everything they asked for."
The black woman nodded and when Willie held up the sword toward the bearded man, he nodded, too. "Of course."
Sebastian reached down to grab Kahlan, but Chuck grabbed his arm. "I got her."
"But I can't carry you both."
"And I need to go," Rossi put in and then looked at Chuck. "Will she survive the drive?"
Chuck chewed on his lip a moment and then snorted. "I don't know. How much did she drink?"
"A few ounces," Sebastian admitted.
Chuck exhaled roughly. "Maybe, if we hurry."
Rossi nodded and then motioned to the door. "Then let's go!"
Once they got Kahlan loaded into Chuck's jeep, Rossi looked at the younger man. "This thing does have lights and sirens, doesn't it?"
Chuck smiled. "Oh yeah, it does," he told him as he flipped a few switches and then hit the gas.
"Exactly why are we taking her home instead of the hospital?" Sebastian asked Rossi as they both held onto the unconscious woman in the back seat.
"Aaron has something that should help her," is all Rossi would offer. "At least, I think it will."
Sebastian laid a gentle hand on Kahlan's chest and he mentally cringed at how weak her heart sounded. "I could just change her."
"What?!" Chuck yelled from the front seat. "Don't you touch her!"
"But Aaron said she had already agreed to be brought across, and that would save her!"
Chuck's eyes locked with Rossi's in the rearview mirror and his were begging the older man to agree with him. Rossi took a deep breath. "Yes, but I don't think Aaron would want anyone else to do it. He wouldn't want anyone else to have that kind of a connection to her."
Sebastian considered his words and then nodded. "You are right."
"Besides, if we can't find Hotch, Kay wouldn't want to live for eternity, not without him," Chuck insisted.
Rossi looked down at the woman in his lap and tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear. We'll take care of you, Kiddo.
XXXXX
"Is he awake yet?" Leo asked as he tried to see around the werewolf.
Cole shook his head. "Nope, he's still out cold. I don't understand it. One second he's talking, and the next he's fainted." He sighed. "Could his hunger be affecting him that quickly?"
Leo took a deep breath and sat down. "I don't really know, Cole. The only other vampire I have seen here was down in the pits. I don't think he fainted, though." When Cole looked at him with confused eyes, he huffed. "I've never seen anyone stay out that long from fainting."
Cole studied the unconscious vampire. "If he's so delicate that he can't handle a little hunger, he won't last a day in the pits."
Leo shook his head. "I think this is something else. Maybe the warlock is doing something to him."
Cole looked around as his face showed exactly how much he didn't like that thought. "I wouldn't doubt it."
