Blood Land by J.R. Lawson (top ten ebook reader TXT) 📖

still staring right at him. “What do you want me to say?”

“Tell me why he wants her,” Rogan urged, “I know he doesn’t just want her dead.  If that were the case, she’d be dead already.  What does he want?”

“Even if I knew I couldn’t tell you,” Jay then blurted out, “Besides, is that why you healed her?!”

Rogan’s eyes widened slightly at Jay’s question.  He then looked away and sighed before speaking, “I’m not admitting to that.  You know I wouldn’t anyway.” He then turned back to rest his gaze on Jay again.   His eyes burned with the utmost seriousness. “But I know he wants her for something.  Even if you won’t tell me.  It’s not just a coincidence that all the vampires that have been after her have been working for Dagon, you and I both know that.  And I’m not letting him have her.  He’s taken away so many things in my life just because I won’t conform to him and he can’t have this!  It’s my turn to take something from him!”

Jay just stared back at Rogan, noticing his eyes were filled with a tinge of rage. “So…so this is some kind of revenge you’re taking on?” he hesitated to ask.

Rogan relaxed his posture a bit and rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess you could call it that…if you wanted.”

“Well…” Jay started as he then sighed before going on, “Just be careful.  You and I both know how Dagon can be.  I wouldn’t advise to being on his bad side.”

“Thanks, Jay but I can take care of myself, o.k.?”

Jay just nodded. “O.k.” He then turned to walk away, but aimed his head slightly to look back at Rogan and said, “Be careful,” before then quickly departing down the street.

Rogan watched him go and then let out a huge sigh while rubbing his eyes in frustration.  After noticing that Jay was far out of sight, Rogan turned to open the door and enter back into the house.  It was there that he was greeted by the sorrowful and angry expression on Nora’s face as she stood right in front of him. “You asshole,” was all she said.

CHAPTER 16

ALL ROGAN COULD do was stare right back at her. “You weren’t supposed to be listening,” was what he then decided to say.

“That’s what you’re going to say to me?!” Nora angrily responded.

“I don’t know what else you want me to say.”

“Well, I guess there really isn’t anything to say,” Nora said again, “Because I guess I know exactly what your motives were now.”

“Like I said, you weren’t supposed to be listening,” Rogan angrily stated.

“Well I was!  And I heard everything!” Nora’s eyes began to fill with tears as she shouted, “You were just using me!  Using me for your stupid revenge against Dagon! How dare you!  How dare you make me stuck to you like this for a reason like that!”

“Look I’m sorry you don’t like my reasons, but they are what they are!” Rogan shouted back, “You don’t know the kind of things he’s done! The kind of things that cause me to want to even get revenge on him!”

“Well you didn’t have to use me!”

“Well if you had really been listening, you’d know that I did you a favor!  He was after you!  Or did you not hear that part?!”

It now got suddenly quiet between the two of them as they each just stared at one another in the dark room of Rogan’s house.  Nora sighed and wiped her eyes, trying to calm herself a bit as she looked down at her feet and then found herself suddenly asking, “Why does he want me?”

Rogan sighed too, seeming to calm himself as well. “I don’t know.  But it’s never good.”

“Do you think…”Nora started as she now looked up at Rogan, wringing her hands nervously as she spoke, “He wants to turn me into a vampire?”

“I don’t know maybe,” Rogan answered seriously, “Regardless, he’s not getting you.  I’ll make sure of that.”

“O.k.” Nora softly responded.  She paused for a minute before then saying, “I’d thank you but I’m still not happy for your reasons behind what you’re doing.”

“Honestly that doesn’t really bother me,” Rogan unemotionally responded.

Nora just sighed, rolling her eyes and running her hand along the top of her pulled back hair.  She couldn’t say she was exceptionally surprised by Rogan’s response.

After a couple beats of silence, Rogan spoke up again, “Well, we better get out of here now.  I suggest we fly.”

“Woah, fly?!” Nora’s eyes widened as she surprisingly responded, “I’m not doing that again!”

“Look, I don’t feel comfortable taking the truck now that Jay and Aaron are looking for us.  If I fly you to the safe house then it’ll be harder for them to find your scent and I can come back for the truck later tonight.”

Nora sighed and leaned her head back in frustration.

“I’m not going to drop you,” Rogan then sneered as he flashed his all too familiar smirk at her.

“Fine,” Nora then caved as she then followed him out the door and onto the lawn.  Once there, Rogan removed his shirt and tucked it messily into his pants.  Nora was only distracted by his physical condition for a moment until his enormous wings protruded from his back and spread out on either side of his shoulders. “Jump on my back,” he instructed her.  Nora only hesitated for a second before she finally did as she was told and jumped on him in a piggyback position.  She didn’t have much time to prepare because shortly after they were already off the ground and in the sky.  Nora hugged Rogan’s neck tightly as they flew.  She tried not to look at the ground as they went and instead looked ahead of them at the sky and clouds that they went through.  Finally, however, Rogan broke the silence and eased her tension slightly by speaking, “Hey, look I am sorry you had to find out my…reasons…for what I did in that way back there.  I did mean to tell you eventually but I didn’t mean for you to find out that way.”

Nora could sense that Rogan really meant what he was saying. “It’s…o.k.” she then responded.

“To tell the truth…that isn’t the only reason I did what I did.  It is a big part of it but not…the only reason.” Rogan then said.

Nora didn’t really know what to say back so she said nothing.  She guessed Rogan sensed that so he continued, “I mean…you were dying.  I wasn’t going to just leave you there.  It was my fault that happened to you.  Dagon has been constantly trying to destroy my life and the lives of those I come in contact with ever since I left his brood.”

Nora continued being silent.  She had been looking at the back of Rogan’s head as he spoke, but she decided to momentarily look away.  It was a silent flight for a few seconds.

“You know I knew Jay before he turned?” Rogan then blurted, breaking the silence for an instant.

Nora quickly turned her head back into his direction. “You did?”

Rogan had glanced back at her for a second to notice her acknowledgement. “Yep, but Dagon had his goons find him and turn him and make him a part of the brood.  So I couldn’t see him unless I came back.  Of course, we get around that a little more than Dagon cares to know or like.  But still….that’s the kind of thing he does to those I talk to or…hang around.”

Nora turned away again.  She was starting to feel a slight bit of sympathy for Rogan and almost understand why he had done what he had done to her.

“I don’t know if Dagon wants to turn you or wants you for something else, but trust me, you don’t want it.  He will promise you things and lay on his charm and make you think he can give you the world if you join him, but all he is a sadistic bastard who will only manipulate and control you.” Rogan glanced back at Nora for a second before he then said, “You’ve got something inside you, Nora.  Something powerful.  I’m being completely honest when I say that I can see it and so can he and he wants to control it.  And what you’ve got inside you…shouldn’t be controlled.”

Nora couldn’t help it, but a small smile seemed to escape and find its way across her lips.  She looked down, trying to hide it from Rogan.

It wasn’t too much longer until the two of them had reached what seemed to be two large rows of trees.  Rogan dipped down a bit so that they were now flying in between the rows and all Nora could do was gaze at them in awe.  Even though it was autumn, and they were starting to lose their leaves and flowers, the ones that remained were beautiful.  The tree’s had a dark, almost black, bark and the flowers that covered them were white and extremely fragrant.  Nora breathed in their wonderful scent as she watched the petals of the flowers soar around the two of them as they flew amongst them.

“What are these trees?” Nora then asked.

“They’re called Black Locust,” Rogan answered.

“Why are they here?”

“I planted them.  They are known for their strong smelling flowers and I put them here so it would be hard to track anyone coming to this house.  Namely, me.”

“Wow…” Nora said, impressed, “You must have worked on this safe house for a while.”

“Well, you know we—I mean I wanted to make sure it was safe.”

Nora squint her eyes in curiousness as she had noticed Rogan’s slip of the tongue but she said nothing about it.  Not too much longer, the two of them were out of the cluster of trees and coming up upon a two story Craftsman Bungalow house.  It looked as if it had once belonged to a neighborhood, but the surrounding houses were all gone, some piles of rubbish indicating what were once there.

“Wow!  Is that it?!” Nora awed as they hovered above and began their decent.

“Yep.  This is it.” Rogan landed on his feet and Nora slid off of his back, touching the ground as well. She briefly looked over at Rogan, noticing him fold his wings inward until they were absorbed back into his shoulder blades.

“You want the quick tour?” Rogan then asked her as he pulled his crumpled shirt out of his pants and began to put it on.

“Uh sure,” Nora answered, still somewhat in a trance from watching him.

“Well, come on then.” Rogan then started walking toward the house and Nora instantly followed.

Once they were inside, Nora looked around her in awe.  The place was beautiful.  It was a very nice house, but in a way that wasn’t too much.  It had a certain charm and warmness about it.  It didn’t feel quite as much of a home as her other house did, but she actually could see it being a place where she might begin to feel safe again.

“Well, what do you think?” Rogan then interrupted her intense observation and she looked over at him with a slight smile.  “It’s great,” she answered back.

“Glad you like it,” Rogan said as he walked a little ways into the living