Gypsy Designs Ch. 15

"Would you care for a demonstration? One small nick and drop of your blood on the blade and you'll spend what few minutes you have left facing all the evil you've reaped upon this world," he said with a smile, faking a jab toward Lucien. "For every death you've caused, you'll scream for mercy, every drop of blood you've consumed will feel as if it were battery acid eating you alive from the inside out, until you become nothing but a tainted puddle where you stand."

Lucinda laughed, "Thank you for that bit of information. I now know exactly who the sorcerer is that will feel my bite when this is finished," she said with a smile.

"You she devil, you'll never be able to harm him, because you'll be dead before this is over also," Damone snarled, his eyes moving over her as if in disgust. "Only the devil would have the sense of humor to create savages that look as you do, to tempt the souls of a mortal man to thrust themselves into you as you rode their cocks while sucking the very life from them," he spat the words at her, his voice rising rapidly as he was becoming more furious.

"It seems to me you're rather obsessed with, what who thrusts, where, when and how, they ride those said cocks," Lucinda all but purred, stepping up beside Gypsy, her shoulder over lapping hers slightly.

"Would this mean you've been fantasying what it'd be like to have one of 'us devils' on our knees, worshipping that shriveled tool you'd consider a cock?" she laughed loudly. "I bet your mind's filled with images of one of us on our knees, legs spread wide in front of you, as if in worship so you could step up and try and drive that useless tag of flesh into them." Lucinda's voice carried, the ridicule she felt blaringly obvious as she stared at the small man.

Damone turned red in the face, "Shut up you sinful bitch," he screamed. "You I'll save for last so you can witness your friends and family dying around you."

Gypsy felt as if she were watching a movie that she'd yet to understand the plot. Barton stood there a broken shell of a man, his mind locked away in his memories; Caydn had stepped away from her side, ever silent, watching what was unfolding in front of them. Lucinda and Lucien seemed to be hell bent on antagonizing Damone who was becoming more unstable by the second. Her head and chest vibrated with the erratic growls of frustration from the Were's, as they could only hear and smell what was taking place due to Damone's aura visually locking them out.

Stepping forward she tried to ignore the snarls that erupted from the vamps surrounding her.

"I'm who you want," she almost screamed above the deafening noise. "Leave everyone else alone and I'll go with you."

"Over his dead body you'll go anywhere," Lucien snapped. "This pitiful excuse of trash seems to think he has the power to overwhelm us," he laughed sarcastically, "He doesn't even have what it would take to make that attempt on one of us."

Damone shrugged his shoulders, showing how unaffected he was by Lucien's comments. Glancing toward a small group of Were's pacing to his right he threw his hand up.

Gypsy fought the urge to cover her ears when the screams of anger filled the night. The three men stood as if bound tightly, unable to move, as though an invisible rope had been wrapped around their bodies, pinning their arms to their sides.

Lucien laughed loudly, "I see you had to make some sort of demonstration, but you also chose the weaker species. No offense Dominic," he chuckled.

Dominic stepped forward, his participation in the blood sharing earlier allowing him to see the two mad men standing in front of them. Something few were aware of.

"None taken, but I think we'll pick that discussion up at another time," he smiled wolfishly at Lucien before turning his gaze to directly meet Damone's eyes.

"You seem to take little into consideration, you feeble minded mutation of humanity," he growled. "I also noticed as Lucien said you chose the weakest to demonstrate this 'great power' over," he laughed. "I can assure you, as an alpha I have much superior power to that of simple pack members."

Barton staggered forward, stopping beside Damone. "Can't we just grab her and go?" he said his voice as weak as he physically looked.

Damone ignored Barton and his comment, his focus turning directly to Gypsy. "You were hard headed even as a child," he snapped. "All you wanted to do was be 'normal' instead of embracing the tools and talents you'd been given."

Gypsy froze suddenly her eyes locking with the small man's. "You're the man who made them throw things at me," she said her voice barely a whisper. "When I was in that institution, you were the man the doctor said was visiting. You told them I could move things with my mind so you had them throw things at me. But when I couldn't you screamed at me and threw a chair at me and broke my arm when I tried to block it," she said as the memory came flooding back to her. "You said then it was because I 'only wanted to be normal'".

Caydn stiffened slightly, having relived that nightmare with her on more than one occasion. His anger was beginning to take over; pushing against the steel control he was holding over himself. The fact that this man was not only threatening her now but had hurt her when she was just a child was inexcusable.

Seeing the tall long haired man stiffen, knowing he was the one who'd laid claim to her. Damone flipped his hand in her direction, binding her with the same spell he'd used on the Were's.

"Let go of her!" Caydn roared, his fangs fully distended, the surrounding light glinting off the savage looking teeth. Clenching his hands into fists he felt the lengthened claws slicing into the palms of his own hands, the smell of enraged blood filling his senses. "I'll let go of her when you're withering at my feet, your mind a spiraling vortex of pain and misery before you die," the small man laughed, lifting the sword toward Caydn.

Lucien moved quickly, his body slamming into Barton's as the man absently stepped forward, away from Damone.

"Move," Cameron roared seeing Damone shift the sword toward Lucien. Pushing Claire behind him, he grabbed Gypsy's arms yanking her back as Caydn moved also.

Gypsy felt the world spin around her. Her mind registering the blood curdling screams that echoed off the aura surrounding them as if in a cavern. Looking up she saw Lucien lowering Barton's body to the ground, blood dripping from a nasty slash that ran from his shoulder to wrist where he'd been cut by the sword Damone was holding.

From the corner of her eyes she'd seen Caydn move. Covering her mouth she fought to contain the scream when she saw Damone's limp body falling toward the ground, his neck spurting blood from where his head had previously been attached, the blood turning the gathering pools of icy water dark and sludge like, as if the consistency of an oil spill. Closing her eyes she refused to look further knowing she'd see Caydn holding the man's head.

"Christian," Caydn bellowed. "His bloods like acid," he said dropping the grizzly head to the asphalt. Wiping the blood that had splattered across his mouth quickly with his arm, he held his hands out, seeing the blisters rising immediately where the blood had splashed over him.

Megan grabbed Gypsy's arm when she started to move toward him, her grip tight with worry also as she watched Christian move quickly to Caydn's side.

Barton's screams began to fade to whimpers, his face becoming a frozen mask of terror as he became silent at Lucien's feet.

"What's happening to him?" Gypsy asked as Lucien stood, shaking his head.

Glancing to Christian and Cameron were helping Caydn, Lucien walked over, stopping in front of her, his body effectively blocking her from the carnage.

"The curse Damone placed on the sword was so that whoever's blood combined with it, would relive everything evil or bad that they'd done through out their lives," he explained. "He's not dead, now anyway. The wound will heal, but his mind is locked in a living hell. When he stopped screaming he slipped into a catatonic state."

"Caydn will heal quickly?" she said, looking up meeting the silver eyes that stared at her. She could feel his mind touching hers, searching to see how deep her concern for Caydn really was. "Lucien tell me," she demanded, grabbing his shirt roughly. "He's always said he healed almost instantly, he will this time won't he?"

Lucien nodded, "It might take a few days since the evil in Damone's blood was tainted with far more than simply being a vamp," he said with a frown. "Apparently Damone's been dabbling with black magic for quite some time to have been that poisoned." His hand covered hers as it relaxed its hold of his shirt, squeezing gently he reassured her.

"I've called a friend who works with the local police," Dominic said stepping over to her and Lucien. "He's one of my pack. This way there won't be any need for an elaborate cover up," he explained.

Claire walked over, taking Gypsy arm, and squeezing Megan's hand. "I think we should head back and let them take care of this," she said nodding toward the car that had been waiting for them. "Cameron will take care of making sure no one saw or heard anything. But we need to get you home. Christian and Caydn will follow with Cameron."

***************

She sat on the top stair right outside her bedroom, hands wrapped around the thick mug of brandy laced coffee Sophie had pushed on her before she'd gone upstairs to change into dry clothes.

Taking her clothes off she'd been amazed to find she was totally soaked. Her skin burned and tingled as it warmed. The rain drops had turned to ice pellets, stinging as if small needles were being poked into her. The over sized sweatshirt and pants she now wore, surrounded her in warmth.

Lucinda walked to the bottom of the stairs, looking up at her silently. With a sigh she climbed the stairs, stopping to sit down beside Gypsy.

"They're at Christian's since his medical equipment's there," she told her, her voice sounding as if her emotions were strung tight. "Caydn told me to tell you he'd be fine and they'd be here as soon as Christian finished."

Gypsy took a drink of the now cool coffee, making a face when she shuddered. "Why has he blocked himself from me?" she asked quietly. "I haven't been able to feel or hear anything from him."

"He doesn't want you to feel anything he's been experiencing," Lucien said, appearing through the door to Caydn's study. "It's no different than you blocking him when you're angry," he rolled his eyes thinking how childish he thought both of them acted at times.

"In case you're interested, Barton was sewn up at the hospital. A quick evaluation let them know his condition wasn't something they could correct so he's been transported to a psychiatric facility Dominic recommended," he said watching her reaction closely.

Lucinda reached out, draping her arm around Gypsy's shoulder when she saw the young woman begin to tremble.

"Feeling relief after everything that man's put you through is normal, it doesn't make you a monster," Claire said walking from the kitchen. "Gypsy if you were to feel anything less I'd say you and I needed to spend quite a bit of one on one time in therapy," she smiled reassuringly at her.

"I wish there was some way people could exchange their blood so they could consider themselves divorced or removed from any association with some one," she muttered, setting her coffee down beside her. "Maybe his mental instability was the reason my mother acted like she did toward me," she said softly.

"Stop over analyzing everything," Lucien snapped. "There isn't always a hidden reason for things other than some people are evil and some aren't," he said firmly. "If you lady's have this under control I have something I need to take care of," he said spinning away quickly, his expression blank before vanishing.

Lucinda stared at the spot where her twin had stood only seconds before. "If he weren't so damn touchy right now I'd follow him and see what deep dark secrets he's been keeping," she laughed.

"I'd suggest otherwise with you being as high strung as you are dear," Claire said quickly having noticed the ravaging hunger hidden beneath the surface of her adopted daughter.

"I haven't taken the time to feed correctly in the past few days," she admitted seeing Claire's nod of understanding and laughing at Gypsy's inquisitive stare.

"I have my emergency supply, sure," she said grabbing Gypsy's hand pulling her up before all but dragging her down the stairs behind her. "The easiest way of explaining it is, imagine eating cardboard TV dinners and there's a juicy steak right in front of you making your mouth water," she explained, flashing her fangs for emphasis.

"I've offered on more than one occasion to allow you whatever it is you desire," Dominic said seductively as he walked from the kitchen. His jacket had been removed and he'd unbuttoned his shirt slightly, giving the appearance of being totally relaxed and at home.

Lucinda growled softly, turning back to Gypsy. "As I was saying, sometimes you have dog food to deal with all the while you're craving that steak," she smiled when everyone laughed loudly.

One by one everyone gathered in the downstairs library. Gypsy listened absently to the conversations flowing around her, but her mind was swirling with her own thoughts and questions.

Her body visibly tensed when Megan and Christian walked into the room. She'd been so lost in her own thoughts she hadn't sensed their arrival. Glancing at Christian she took a deep breath at his nod.

Caydn felt her reaching for him as he pulled a clean shirt from his closet. He smiled feeling her mind moving over his body gently as if taking an inventory making sure he was okay. He frowned when he tried to maneuver the buttons on his shirt with his bandaged left hand. Brushing his hair back he moved from the bedroom toward the library where everyone waited.

Her stomach clenched when she finally saw him, his body filling the doorway reminding her how he really was larger than life. His height above average as was the sculpted body that was partially revealed beneath his open shirt. She felt her cheeks flush when his mind gently caressed hers, letting her know he was well aware of her thoughts and her appreciation of what she saw.

"I can assure you we'll delve into those thoughts very soon," he said flashing a smile dripping with sexual innuendo.

Moving across the room he held his hand out, pulling her from the chair with his un-bandaged hand. Lifting his hand he slid it beneath her hair, pulling her gently toward him. His mouth lowered over hers quickly, swallowing the gasp that escaped her at his bold actions.

Secretly he smiled to himself when he felt her body relax against his, her mind having leaped over the shock of having an audience that contained her aunt and uncle. Tugging at her bottom lip gently he smiled down at her, chuckling when her cheeks flushed as she again remembered the group he knew were watching them intently. Turning he sat in the chair she'd vacated, pulling her down into his lap he looked around the room meeting the approving eyes of those he felt were family.

Cameron leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, the extremely large man dwarfing the love seat he and Claire were sitting on. "With that over, back to business," He laughed loudly. "I've made some calls with the information Lucinda gave me and we have some people going to check and see how deep Carvers involvement with Damone and Barton ran," he said the disgust obvious in his loud voice.

"I have a question," Gypsy said softly. She'd wanted to ask but the thought of even bringing it up made her stomach turn.

"The last time we'd seen either of them all Damone could do was talk about how I needed to be 'cleansed'. This time he was so fixated on sex, it was like night and day. What caused him to change like that?" she asked, shuddering involuntarily remembering his words and the way his eyes moved over her.

"I think I can answer this one, but if I get any of it wrong someone please jump in," Claire said quietly.

"Damone, Cameron suspects has had a small amount of vamp blood his entire life. But Lucien confirmed that he'd had been turned completely, rather recently," she paused waiting to see if she was on the right track. At Cameron's nod she continued.

"All of us here know about the heightened libido that runs through the species," she laughed when Cameron puffed out his chest like a preening rooster. "But with that and from what Lucien and Caydn said when they'd discovered his change, he'd been feeding off of prostitutes and basically associating with those of lesser morals," she said with a chuckle at her own prim clinical phrasing.

"The level of his sexual depravity was increased by the change and fed by his social selections. I honestly think the man was mentally on the same level as some of the more notorious rapist through out history," she said firmly.

"His mind took what we find as normal, a hugely healthy sex life," Lucinda laughed wickedly. "And he twisted it making it something dirty and painful to those he'd practiced on."

Caydn absently rubbed his hand along Gypsy's hip as he listened, nodding in agreement. "I think his hidden lust was one of the things that allowed him to connect with Barton since we're now aware his level of immorality," he said softly.

"I wouldn't doubt that some where along the line Barton didn't offer Gypsy as a reward or at least an incentive for Damone's cooperation and help. Gypsy herself remembers Damone as being someone who was present during some of the testing and basically torture sessions she'd been put through when she was a child," he said, wrapping his arm around her tightly when she leaned into him for comfort.

"What happens now?" she asked, closing her eyes, waiting for the answer.

Christian sat forward, meeting her eyes when she opened them again. "I've offered to go with you and Caydn to Texas so the legal issues about Barton's company can be expedited. I'm having the initial evaluation papers faxed to me sometime in the morning, so with that and Caydn's lawyer I'm sure we can get everything taken care of rapidly," he explained.

"What do you mean about the company?" she asked, sitting up quickly. "I don't want that damn company if that's what you're saying. I've spent my entire life running away from it and everything it represented."

"Gypsy you're the only heir to everything Barton had," Vince said firmly leaving no room for objection. "The company wasn't what did things wrong, it was the man behind it. I suggest you take this as an opportunity to correct some of those things for both yourself and anyone it ever touched."

Looking over her shoulder she met Caydn's eyes. "You now own another company," she couldn't help but laugh when he rolled his eyes at her.

"'We' own a company," he said swatting her lightly on the ass. "I can put some staff in place to run the operation but you're going to have the majority of say so in what transpires," he informed her. "I think the sooner we take care of this the sooner we can start getting back to normal."

"If you don't mind I'd like to go along and see if I can get a feel for any of the things Lucinda mentioned seeing and feeling from employees of the company," Claire said, glancing at Cameron for his agreement.

"Okay but I want this done as soon as possible so maybe, just maybe we can have a great Christmas without all of this interfering," Gypsy said with a exasperated sigh. "I've spent the past month and a half sewing for everyone and almost missed Thanksgiving dinner because of it. I'll be damned if I'm missing Christmas," she laughed realizing she sounded like a child.

Caydn had been wondering how he could approach the subject of the two of them getting away for a short time and this gave him the perfect opportunity.