For His Heart (formerly Taken)

Chapter 51- Villainous Vlad

I would like to say that I got a fair amount of rest following Mariska's attempted mass genocide of Judas' family but I didn't. While Judas and the elder's were impervious to damn near everything a hell flower wasn't one of them. Since the palace was still on lock down from it's bodach nights status Eli and I were forced to gather the extremely dead weight bodies of the family. On foot without the use of elevators I might add because neither of us had clearance.

Okay, so Eli did the heaviest lifting while I used Judas office chair as a makeshift wheelchair of sorts.

As a side note I'd also like to point out that Eli was probably relieved to be relatively close to his natural size since the ceilings were so high throughout the house. It was the first time I'd ever seen him at anything other than human height although it was still tall by human standards. He towered over me at a staggering 12 ft which is why he took it upon himself to do the heavy lifting. Eli never left my side as we gathered the bodies and it was probably best since he had a built-in evil radar should Mariska return.

We converted the dining hall into a triage slash recovery unit because doors were locked and entire floors were sealed off thanks to the lock down. It's my assumption that house's residents vampire and human had gathered in specific areas per some kind of protocol Judas had activated. Eli had to locate the vampires of the security teams since they were known for hiding in plain sight, the shadows, and the rafters. We had to break down a quite a few doors and Eli had to fly to get to them.

Long story short getting around that place was worse than trying to find an out in Alcatraz to gather the bodies. Eli had efficiently stacked the tables and chairs near the far wall while I had gathered all cushions from nearby rooms. Slowly we laid the palace's unconscious occupants in neat rows along the dining hall's length until they could regain consciousness. Most of the morning was spent pulling stakes from the comatose vampires with Eli preferring to remove any stakes that had hit close to the heart or spinal cord. I pulled stakes and Eli pulled stakes until there was a pile of them large enough to take down a small army. Mariska's henchmen and women had not discriminated striking whatever part of the body that had tickled their fancy with entry points ranging from the eyes to the ass. Yeah, funny not funny.

It was well into the evening before I collapsed in a chair at the back of the hall thoroughly exhausted to look out over the rows of still bodies. The elders and Judas lay at my feet and I found some level of comfort in having them near. Eli stands next to me gazing out in thought over the hall. "I never thought I would find myself in the lair of a vampire."

"Tell me about it." I respond softly propping my head up on a hand. He didn't respond and that was fine because the silence was comforting in the evening's stillness.

"You're tired." He says after some time as he looks down at me. "Try to sleep, I will stand watch."

"That's sweet Eli but I won't be able to sleep until I know they are okay." I respond nodding toward the still bodies.

"Thanks to you they will be."

"Thanks to us." I smile up at him.

The evening slowly bled into night while Eli and I waited patiently for any one of the few hundred laid out on the floor to stir. We remained in the room passing the time and with each of us lost in our own thoughts there was little conversation between us as the night wore on. A clock strikes the midnight hour somewhere in the house as Eli's hand silently slides to the hilt of sword.

"A vampire approaches from the south grounds." Eli says softly.

I nod once settling back into my chair comfortably to await his arrival since I had after all predicted it. Whistling floats down the hall as the vampire I knew only by the name Vlad saunters through the house no doubt curious as to why no one greeted him.