Kerrelyn Sparks - All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire

And she knew, then and there, that nothing would stop her from spending her life with Ian. No friendships or villains could stop her from loving him.

Even death couldn't come between them.

That evening, just after sundown, Toni was sitting in the parlor with Ian, Carlos, Howard, and all the Vamp guys, watching the Digital Vampire Network. Stone Cauffyn of the Nightly News droned on and on. Phineas and Jack made everyone laugh with their impersonations of the boring newscaster.

Stone turned his head. "What is the meaning of this?"

The camera swerved, and Toni gasped. Jedrek Janow was approaching the newscaster's desk with a pistol in his hand. "Take him," he ordered, and a Russian Malcontent rushed past him to loop silver rope around Stone Cauffyn.

"What are you doing?" Stone asked. "This is highly irregular."

"On me!" Jedrek demanded, and the camera shifted to him. "You, cameraman, will do as I say if you want to live."

The camera didn't budge.

Jedrek nodded. "Good, now show our audience what we have behind door number one." He motioned to his right.

The camera panned to the door. Yuri and Stanislav entered the recording studio, each dragging a hostage.

Toni gasped. "They have Corky Courrant."

"And another woman," Ian muttered.

"I say we let him kill Corky," Phineas said.

"Shh." Ian turned up the volume as Jedrek spoke.

"As you can see, we have taken over DVN. Your regularly scheduled programming has been canceled for a far more interesting show. Ian MacPhie, you have twenty minutes to bring me the Stay-Awake drug, or I start executing people on live television."

Toni remained stunned and speechless, while the men all started to talk at the same time. How many men did Jedrek have? Who knew the layout at DVN?

The Vamp men suddenly leaped to their feet.

"Sorry!" a voice called from the foyer. Gregori entered the parlor. "Didn't mean to trigger the alarm."

Dougal rushed into the foyer to turn off the alarm.

Gregori glanced at the TV. "I saw what was happening. I thought I should warn you in case you didn't know."

"Do ye know the layout at DVN?" Ian asked.

"Sure. I've done a bunch of commercials there. Got some paper?" Gregori asked.

Toni ran to the desk. She collected some paper and pens, then dropped them on the large, square coffee table.

Gregori sat on one of the couches and began drawing.

"Phineas, Dougal, go below," Ian ordered. "Bring up some weapons. Howard, do ye know where DVN is?"

"It's in Brooklyn." Howard stood. "You want me to drive there?"

Ian ran a hand through his hair while he considered. "We doona want to teleport into a trap, so I think we should attack from the outside."

"Agreed," Zoltan said.

Their attention was snagged by a scream emanating from the television.

"You're burning my skin, you bastard!" Corky Courrant screeched as Yuri looped silver rope around her wrists.

The other woman whimpered as she was tied up.

Stone Cauffyn looked curiously at his ropes. "I say, what do you expect to gain from this?"

Jedrek sneered. "The world. With the Stay-Awake drug, I can rule the vampire world."

Stone gave him a bland look. "No such drug exists."

"Of course it does. Ian MacPhie took it. That's how he aged." Jedrek moved behind Corky and slid his hand around her neck. "I have you to thank, Ms. Courrant. You're the one who brought him to my attention."

Corky's eyes widened as his hand tightened. "If I helped you, then why don't you let me go?"

Jedrek tilted her head back to force her to look at him. "I enjoy watching blondes die. Isn't that so, Nadia?"

The camera swerved to a small brunette standing next to Stone. "It pleases the master when I kill a blonde," she whispered.

"You can't kill me!" Corky screamed. "I have fans." She glanced at the captured woman beside her. "Kill Tiffany. She's blonde. And she slept with my boyfriend."

"No!" Tiffany squealed. "I'm too young to die. And too pretty."

"Pretty?" Corky snorted. "Men just tell you that so you'll sleep with them."

"That's not true. I've been told I'm pretty by hundreds of men."

"And how many of those men did you sleep with?" Corky snarled.

Tiffany's eyes widened.

"Enough!" Jedrek rolled his eyes. "Gag them, Yuri, before I kill them now."

Yuri plastered a strip of duct tape over Tiffany's mouth.

Corky struggled with her ropes. "You can't kill me! I'm entertaining. Kill Stone! He's as boring as hell."

"Why, I say—" Stone stammered. "That seems uncalled for. I happen to find myself somewhat interesting."

Jedrek held Corky's head still while Yuri stuck duct tape across her mouth. Then he turned to inspect Stone, who stared blankly back at him. "What do you do?"

Stone blinked. "I read the news."

Jedrek strolled toward him. "And?"

"I have…nice hair."

Jedrek rolled his eyes. "This man is boring. I can't even sense any fear from him. Let him go."

Stone looked mildly surprised. "I must say, that is rather good news."

Nadia untied the silver ropes binding him and led him to the door. Corky tried to trip him as he passed by.

Jedrek paced in front of the two blonde hostages. "Now the question is which one of you shall I kill first? Or perhaps Ian MacPhie will come to save you."

Corky and Tiffany strained against their ropes.

Jedrek smiled. "That's it. Show me your fear. Let it ooze from your pores so I can revel in the smell." His gaze lowered to Corky's overly abundant breasts. "We'll need an extra long stake for this one."

Yuri chuckled. "Yes, Master."

Corky's scream was muffled and desperate.

Jedrek inhaled deeply. "Ah, the smell of fear." He turned to the camera. "Are you afraid, MacPhie? Are you going to let these women die so the entire Vamp world will remember you as a coward?"

"Go to hell," Ian muttered.

"I'm done," Gregori announced. He'd drawn a detailed schematic of DVN at vampire speed.

Phineas and Dougal whooshed into the room, their arms piled high with weapons. They set them down on the floor.

"Howard and Carlos, arm yourselves and get going," Ian ordered.

As the two mortal men grabbed swords, stakes, and daggers, Toni looked at Ian. Did he have other plans for her, or was he trying to completely leave her out? "Ian?"

His eyes met hers. "Can ye stay here?"

She shook her head. "For better or for worse. I'm with you."

A pained look crossed his face. "All right. Go with Howard."

She quickly gathered some weapons.

"Find a dark, secluded place nearby," Ian said. "Then call us, and we'll teleport. We'll have a plan by then."

"Okay." Howard motioned to Carlos and Toni. "Let's go."

On the way to DVN, Howard drove like a madman. "Don't get into a battle with a vampire, Toni. They're too fast and strong. They'll use mind control to freeze you."

"I understand." She couldn't compete with them. The vampires would always be superior. Even Howard and Carlos had abilities that she would never possess.

Howard drove onto the Brooklyn Bridge. "Carlos, if they try to take over your mind, shift. They can't control us when we're in animal form."

"I'll be ready for them," Carlos said.

Toni turned to look at Carlos in the backseat. "Be careful," she whispered.

"You, too, menina ." Carlos winked.

Toni nervously fingered the wooden stakes in her lap. "I wonder how many men Jedrek has."

"Well, he had two men and a woman in the studio with him," Howard said. "And at last count, the Russian coven was down to about a dozen."

"So there could be ten more scattered about the building," Carlos concluded.

Toni mentally counted their number. Three mortals and six Vamps. Ian, Phineas, Dougal, Zoltan, Jack, and Gregori.