CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CARLY RUSHED INTO the warehouse calling Sonny’s name. She stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted him laying on the gurney. She rushed over to him and yanked the I.V. line out of his arm. The wound it made instantly healed, but a lot of blood had already been drained from his body. How much was anybody’s guess. “Baby, can you hear me.” She touched his face and caressed his hair but he didn’t respond to her. She took his lifeless body into her arms and hugged him to her breast. “It’s all right, baby, I’m here now. It’s going to be all right.”

“Let me help you.” Stefan suddenly appeared at her side.

“What are you doing here.” She snarled.

“I figured you would need my help.” He responded to her terror with a calmness that irritated her. Didn’t he know that Sonny was her life and without him she would have nothing left to live for. How could he be so damn calm about what was happening to him.

“Caroline.” Stefan continued in the same calm tone. “You can’t take him back to your penthouse. The demons will be waiting for you there to finish you both off.”

“Why do I have a feeling you know exactly why this has happened to him.” She accused.

“We’ll have time for that later.” Stefan shrugged off her suspicions. “Right now our prime concern must be in saving his life. We don’t know how much time he has left. He’ll need to have the blood that was drained from his body pumped back inside of him.” He added. “He’ll be safe at Wyndemere.”

“Fine.” She agreed reluctantly. “We’ll do it your way for now. What choice do I have.”

Stefan stepped up to the gurney and took Sonny in his arms. “Hang on to me.” He instructed Carly.

One moment they were in the warehouse and the next they were in an empty room at Wyndemere. Stefan walked up to the bed and placed Sonny gently down on it. “I’ll go and get some fresh blood for him.”

“No, leave us.” Carly snapped. “I wouldn’t trust any blood you had to offer him. I’ll give him what he needs. I’m all that he needs. Just leave.”

Stefan nodded. “As you wish, Caroline.”

She watched him leave the room, then she climbed on the bed next to Sonny. “I can’t lose you, baby.” She cried as she took him in her arms. “After how long it’s taken me to finally find you it would kill me if I lost you now.” She opened his mouth wide and held it against her neck. She could feel the pin pricks of his sharp incisors piercing her neck. “I know you didn’t want to do this earlier tonight, but now you’ve got no choice. This is the only way I can save your life. And by doing it you‘ll be saving my life, as well, because without you I have no life.” She held his head firmly in her hands and forced his fangs into her neck. Then she arched her neck as she was filled with the ecstasy only a mortal knew from the kiss of a vampire. “Come on, baby.” She urged him on. “Drink from me.”

For a few moments nothing happened, then she could feel his throat working as he began to drink from her. “That’s right, baby, drink” She sighed in pleasure. He was going to be all right. She knew it deep in her soul. It was at this very moment that she finally realized the truth. She was in love with him. She was madly, passionately in love with him and God help anyone who ever tried to take him from her.

After a few minutes of drinking from her Sonny regained consciousness and was instantly horrified when he realized what he was doing. He immediately pulled away from her and watched as the wounds he’d made in her neck instantly healed before his eyes. “My God, Carly!” He asked in horror. “What have you done?”

“I saved your life.” She told him with pride. “You would have died if I hadn’t did what I did.” She added. “If this is an example of what we’ll feel during the vampire marriage ritual, I can’t wait until you feel the pleasure you just gave me.”

“You know how I felt about this.” He told her. “We don’t know if it’s safe to drink from each other. You could have just killed us both”

“So be it.” She shrugged fatalistically. “If that’s what happens, then we’ll die together and be together in death as we are in life. But I think we’ll be both perfectly fine. Look at you. A few moments ago you looked like you were on death’s door, now you’re back to being your old surly self.”

He looked around the room when he suddenly realized their present setting was somewhere he’d never seen before. “Where are we?”

“We’re at Wyndemere.” She told him.

“Cassadine’s lair!” Sonny shouted. “Are you nuts? Why would you bring me to a warlock’s house in my weakened condition. He could have done anything to me and none of it good.”

“I had no choice.” She told him. “You were in trouble and he offered to help. It wouldn’t have been safe for us to return to the penthouse with those two demon’s on the lose and after us. But I only allowed him to bring us here. When he wanted to provide you with blood, I wouldn’t allow it.” She added. “That’s why I had to do what I did.” She meant forcing him to drink from her when he wasn’t even aware of what he was doing.

“You lie.” He accused. “You wanted me to drink from you and this was the only way you could get what you wanted. So you took advantage of the situation.”

“That too.” She admitted. “But you can’t deny I saved you.” She added. “I just hope you’ll return the favor and let me drink from you next.” She slipped her hands inside his shirt and fondled him as she was all aroused vampiress once more. “Only half my craving has been satisfied. You know my taste, now I want to know yours.” She moved towards his throat with bared fangs.

He held her at bay. “Why would you have us seek sanctuary in a Warlock’s Lair?” He asked. “They’re our enemy. And for that matter why would a warlock help out two vampires in trouble. It just makes no sense.”

“Because one of those vampires is his daughter.” She announced realizing he had no intention of satisfying her craving for him at the moment.

“What?” Sonny gasped.

“Cassadine told me he’s the witch that sired me.” Carly confided. “He hoped that little revelation would convince me to help him trap Sorel. I think that’s why he helped me bring you here, as well. Not that it‘s going to work. The day I help a witch will never come.” She changed the subject. “Now it’s your turn. Why are two demons from hell out to get us.”

He reached out and caressed her swollen belly. “Damian Smith has some sort of plan for our child once he’s born.” Sonny told her. “Apparently, the demons want to stop Damian from succeeding at it, so they’ve decided the best way is to kill the both of us.” He added. “From what Harry and Dorman said to me, I gather that whatever Damian has in mind he needs a child born of two vampires to succeed.”

“I think Cassadine has a hand in this, as well.” Carly told him. “It was just a feeling I picked off from him. And when I accused him of it, he didn‘t deny it.”

“Carly, what are we going to do?“ He laid back and closed his eyes. “Even if we dispose of Harry and Dorman, there’ll just be more demons to take their place.” He looked over at her. “Were going to have to leave Port Charles and try to go where they can’t find us. But I‘m not even sure if such a place even exists where they won‘t be able to find us.”

“What about my mother?” She asked. “That’s why Cassadine wants us to help him. He has some plan to stop Sorel from completely enslaving my mother, but he claims he needs our help to do it.”

“There’s also the problem of Michael.” Sonny sighed. “It’ll be too dangerous to take him with us. But it’ll be just as dangerous to leave him behind. The demons could grab him again to use him as leverage against us.”

“We could leave him with my mother, I suppose.” She suggested reluctantly. “But only if Sorel is stopped from enslaving her.” She added. “And you could make sure they were safe by having some of your men guard them. That way Michael could be relatively safe.”

“But we can only do that if we stop Sorel.” Sonny replied. “Which means we’re going to have to help Cassadine in his plan against Sorel whether we want to or not.”

Carly looked towards the window. “It’s going to be dawn soon.” She sighed. “There’s no way we can go back to the penthouse. But would we be any safer staying here? I don’t know about you, but the idea of being at the mercy of Stefan Cassadine when were at our most vulnerable doesn’t appeal to me.”

Me, either.” He agreed. “We can slip away from here and hide down in the catacombs until dusk, then we can return here and help Cassadine with Sorel and learn just what he knows about this situation we‘re trapped in.”

“We can take Leticia with us.” Carly suggested. “That way she can guard us while we sleep and we can be sure she and Michael are safe with us.”

“Then let’s go.” He started to get up but she stopped him.

“You’re not feeling any ill effects from drinking from me, are you?” She asked as she caressed his face.

“No,” He leaned over and kissed her. “In fact, I’ve never felt better in my life. Your taste will forever haunt me. Now that I’ve tasted you I’ll never truly be satisfied by the taste of a mortal again.”

“I know I’ll feel the same when I taste you.” She smiled as she caressed his face. “I want it to be soon, Sonny. Don’t hold me off for too much longer. Don’t be afraid of the intimacy of it. Let me show you what I felt when you fed off me and let me feel what it’s like to savor the taste of you.”

When she looked at him that way he could refuse her nothing. “All right, Carly.” He tipped back his head exposing his throat to her. “Do it.” She eagerly straddled his lap and he closed his eyes as he felt her sharp incisors sink into his neck.

AS SOON AS Sonny and Carly made their escape from Spoon Island with Michael and Leticia in tow, Mrs. Lansbury rushed to Stefan’s side. “They just left, sir.”

“Thank you for informing me, Mrs. Lansbury.” He looked down at Bobbie sleeping. “I wonder if they’ll come back at dusk and help me with my plan to put an end to Sorel.”

“Vampires are strange creatures, sir.” Mrs. Lansbury sighed. “One never knows what they’ll do.”

“I think they’ll be back.” Stefan decided. “Caroline knows I know why the demons are after her and her lover. And I’ll agree to tell them only if they agree to help me trap Sorel. It was very wise of me not to reveal to her all that I knew.” He changed the subject. “What of Heather Webber.”

“She’s long gone, sir.” Mrs. Lansbury. “But I’ve been able to learn that Ms. Webber recently had a meeting with the Dark Master.”

“Yes, that explains it.” Stefan replied. “There’s plenty of bad blood between Damian Smith and Barbara, so naturally he would wish to help Sorel succeed in his plan for her.” He added. “What of my mother?”

“She’s still trying to hunt down Faison and destroy him.” She informed him. “Your mother doesn’t accept betrayal from anyone.”

“And the two demons?” He asked.

“They’re waiting at Mr. Corinthos’ penthouse for Ms. Benson to return so they can take care of her.” She told him. “They believe by now Sonny Corinthos must be dead.”

“They’ll soon realize otherwise.” Stefan sighed. “While everything is quiet on this front, I think I’ll pay Damian Smith a visit and let him know what his demons have been up to. He‘ll make sure they are two less problems that I have to deal with.”

ACROSS TOWN WHILE Sonny and Carly were snuggling together in the catacombs getting some much needed rest, Ned and Alexis were waking up. Alexis opened her eyes to see Ned staring sightlessly up at the ceiling. “How long have you been awake?”

“I don’t know.” Ned replied. “I’ve been trying to come up with a plan on how we can protect our child from what Helena and my grandfather have in mind for him once he’s born.”

“Have you came up with anything?” Alexis wanted to know.

“I have.” Ned answered. “Although I’m not sure you’re going to like it. Neither of us has embraced our witchness. We don’t belong to our family’s respective covenants. But the only way we’re going to be able to control the destiny of our child is by taking over.”

“You mean you would become King of the Warlocks.” Alexis said in shock. “And I would become Queen of the Witches.” She added. “But those are the positions that Helena and Edward currently hold.”

“Exactly. Ned smiled. “We have to get them out of power.”

“But how?”

“Somehow we’ve got to convince the witches and warlocks that what Helena and Edward are planning to do will only bring about the destruction of them.” He replied. “And that we are their saviors from Helena and Edward.”

DORMAN AND HARRY returned to the warehouse they’d left Sonny dying in a few hours before. “I knew it.” Dorman snarled the minute he saw the empty gurney. “I knew somehow his female had rescued him when she didn’t show up at the penthouse by dawn.”

“What are we going to do now?” Harry asked.

“Harry,” Dorman smiled. “If you were a vampire and you couldn’t return to your resting place, where in Port Charles would you seek shelter in that you’d think would be safe?”

“The catacombs.” Harry smiled.

“Let’s go.” Dorman ordered. “We’ll finish them off while they sleep.”