The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

Synopsis -

Crystal Bouchard awakens imprisoned in an underground cell with no recollection of how she got there and with no memory of her prior existence. Held against her will, her captors threaten to kill her son unless she fights to the death in the underground fighting circuit. Nicknamed "The Dragon," she spends the next several years among werewolves and vampires.

During the course of searching for her son, she slowly begins to recollect her prior existence before her imprisonment, pushing her deeper within the fighting circuit.

**********************************************
Reviews -

"Lynn Mullican's debut novel Bad Elements delivers with its believable characters and serves up a solid one-two punch with its distinct and often bleak atmosphere in underground fighting." -- Dale L. Murphy, Graveside Tales


"Bad Elements: Crystal Dragon is an edgy, well-written novel. Character development is very good, with believable personalities that develop at a nice pace over the course of the story. It is dark and at times quite intense with elements of erotica that work well within the story, as opposed to being gratuitous.

Crystal is like a tank on steroids when she’s in the ring; she is strong, determined and a survivor. She is wary and watchful during her captivity but ever hopeful that she’ll escape. Crystal and other characters in Bad Elements deal with issues of loneliness and trust and each deals with those issues in their own way. The end was a bit predictable but also has some surprises. The only complaint I have with the novel is that at times it gets too close to Paranormal Romance for my taste, which is something I’m just not into.

Overall, Bad Elements: Crystal Dragon is an entertaining read. I give it three chainsaws out of five." - Colleen Wanglund, MoreHorror.com

**********************************************
THE DRAGON


From somewhere within the house, country music played. The song, Rough and Ready by Trace Adkins filtered into my room and penetrated my dreams. It was a familiar song. One that I relayed with an encounter prior to my kidnapping.
Visions of fights, blood and music flooded from my subconscious. It set off some sort of a mental button that restored part of my memory.

My husband and I walked into a bar with another couple on a cold rainy night. Rough and Ready played over the loud speakers. The song would become an omen to me. We were celebrating someone’s birthday on a weekend trip to Payson, Arizona. The four of us were going to stay in a cabin that we owned.

Somebody in our group had heard about a bar on the outskirts of town, so we decided to meet up there. It was known to bring in a lot of out-of-towners.
I glanced around.

Animal heads lined the walls: deer, elk, and bear. The walls and floor were wooden, and the floor was also covered in sawdust. It appeared to be an ordinary country bar to me.
I moved with the music as we walked past the bar and into another area where female strippers danced on a stage. They were decked out, complete with cowboy hats, thongs, and chaps. I couldn’t care less about them. We were out for the weekend, and we were going to have a good time. It didn’t help that I’d left the restaurant with a few beers in my system already.

We found a table and were promptly served by a nearby waitress. We laughed and joked amongst ourselves while she tended to our drinks. The stage was dimly lit. The dancers’ hats and flying hair hid their faces as they gyrated against the floor, the poles, or other bar patrons.
While we talked, Ashley’s husband, Abel leaned over, kissed her, and stuck a bill in her blouse. She laughed and kissed him back.

A stripper approached her, and gyrating her hips, danced for Ashley. The dancers’ breasts moved before her face. Ashley blushed and laughing, glanced at me. I turned my attention back to my husband, who held a bill in the air, waving another stripper over for Abel. The dancers moved with the music. My husband’s face lit up with amusement. I laughed at their goofiness. I reached over and squeezed his hand, glad just to get away from the everyday stress.
He squeezed back, then grabbed his beer and chugged it. I took a swallow of mine and leaned my face in towards him. Just when I went to kiss him, the stripper who was dancing for Abel came over and grabbed my husband’s face. She pulled him away from me and leaned into him.
I peered up at her blonde head, the cowboy hat tilted on it. Her body and hips gyrated to the beat of the music. Her hips moved within inches of his face. I straightened up.
With a huge smile, he winked at Abel. I wished we hadn’t come here.

To the left of me, two women stared in surprise at what had just happened. I was embarrassed and pissed at the same time. The stripper had some nerve. I hadn’t come here to watch my man get hit on. I had come here to have fun. The temperature rose in my cheeks. I faked a smile. I glanced back at my man. The blonde shook her butt.

Oh, boy, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it through this. I told myself it was all in good fun, no need to get jealous or upset.

I stood up and headed for the bathroom to calm my nerves. Inside the restroom, I weaved in between the women who scrambled for the mirror. While I contemplated dragging him out of here, I worked my way through to the stall. Maybe we could hit up another bar where there weren’t any strippers.
I left the stall and wound my way to the sink through patrons and strippers refreshing their makeup. As I washed and dried my hands, I eyed some of the strippers.

They were gorgeous, but their skin looked really pale. I left the room. Behind me, a scuffle broke out between some of the women who tried to get mirror time.

I strode down the hallway and back into the strippers’ lounge. New dancers gyrated on the stage. I moved past them. My female audience had disappeared. Ashley’s seat was empty, too.

Two dancers shook their asses on our husbands’ laps. In the blonde’s place was now a redhead. I rolled my eyes and headed for my seat. I stopped short. The blonde stripper was sitting there. She whispered something in my husband’s ear, and he grinned like the Cheshire cat.

This wasn’t playing well with me now. If she needed to take a break or something, then she needed to get away from him and find somebody else to bug, preferably a single man.
I wondered where Ashley was. I figured if I could grab her, then we could talk the guys into going to a different place. I scanned the bar looking for her. She wasn’t there, so I assumed she must have been in the bathroom.

The big cowboy bartender glanced at me and then back at my husband. He frowned. By the look on his face, he appeared to expect trouble, most likely from me or possibly, the dancer. I didn’t like that sign. I continued towards my husband when the blonde noticed I was coming. Leisurely she stood up, making a show of joining the redhead on his lap. Her leather chaps surrounded her long, lean legs. The blonde kept her eye on me, smiling. Straddling his free leg, she sat down. Both ladies rubbed against him, as though they were riding a mechanical bull.

The music switched over. A female voice belted out, “Let’s Go Girls.”

How about not? My blood boiled. Adrenaline pushed through my alcohol-infused blood.

When I approached, both women rubbed against his chest, his neck, and then his face. Then the women began groping each other. I stomped up behind him and jerked his head back by his hair.

“Ow,” he groaned, his eyes widening. He peered up at me, his head extended over the back of the chair.

“You surprised to see me?” I asked. I glared at the blonde. She smiled. I shifted my gaze to him. His Adams apple bobbed up and down.

Yeah, I’d caught him off guard.

“Hi honey.” He brought his hands up in a questioning gesture.

“I want to go,” I said, staring fiercely at him. I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

“Well, hold on, honey. Abel paid for the lap dance, so I’d hate to waste his money.”

I was shocked at his attitude about the whole incident.
“Yeah, I bet.” I looked up at the strippers.

The redhead stood and went back to Abel. He had no money in his hands, so I knew the lap dance wasn’t paid for. The blonde continued to sit on my husband’s lap.

“Hey, why don’t you give the rest of the dance to my wife?” he asked her.

A smirk crossed her face. She stood, and a huge smile spread out on his.

“Cute. I’m not interested,” I said.

She walked around him and came towards me.

I put my hand up as a warning to back off. “Look, bitch, I’m not interested. I just told you that, so go away.”

I started to walk around her. She stepped in my path. She took off her hat and put it on my head, her dark eyes gleaming with delight. I glanced around the bar. The others were watching us, as if we were the show. The bartender chuckled. I started to remove the hat when I observed that my husband continued to lie with his head back, smiling at us.

“Are you enjoying this, asshole?” I asked him.

I caught a glimpse of Abel, who sat drunk and motionless in his chair. He had that same damn look on his face. The redhead buried her head in his neck, her body moving against him in rhythm with the music. My eyes fixed on the empty seat where my girlfriend had sat, and I wondered again where she was. It didn’t take this long to go to the bathroom.

I decided it was time to grab the guys, find her, and get the hell out of here.

“Babe, let’s go,” I said, turning my attention back to my husband. The blonde was on his lap again, her face buried in his shoulder.

“Look, bitch, get off him.”

I walked around to the front of him, which was the back of her, and jerked her hair. She didn’t even flinch. Her head remained tight to his neck.

What the hell?

I grabbed her by her hair and pulled back. The sound of ripped flesh echoed in my ears. Blood flowed from his mouth. A gurgle escaped his lips. The woman turned and hissed. Blood covered her face, and leaked down her chest. Her eyes were dark. My gaze shifted to my husband. Blood gushed down his neck and chest.

“What the…” I let go of her and pushed her off him. She fell to the floor, blood oozing from her mouth and down her breasts.

“Honey…”

I leaned in closer and examined the bite mark. Muscles and skin were shredded and torn away. I recoiled from him, tears welling up in my eyes. A knot stuck in my throat.

“Oh my God,” I muttered.

Someone shifted to the right of me. I peered at her from the corner of my eye and caught sight of her on her knees, her head eerily and slowly looking up at me. Her lips curled back into a sneer, revealing fangs. Blood doused her face, neck, and bare chest. I stared into her eyes and recognized what she truly was -- a vampire.

“Jesus,” I whispered.

I reached behind me, searching for Abel. My fingers located his arm so I latched on. Wait…it was smooth and cold. I spun around and faced the redhead who was still on his lap, feeding from him. I wound in between the chairs, backing away from them. The redhead threw her head backwards. Blood streaked the air and splattered onto everything in its wake. Her face was covered with Abel’s blood. She hissed at me.

The blonde stood up, a menacing smile looming on her face. She came towards me, her eyes dark and fixated. The redhead brought her legs up onto Abel’s chest, ready to lunge for the next victim. I didn’t want to move. I was afraid they were going to attack me. A figure to the left of them tried to sneak by. The wooden floor beneath him creaked as he took his next step. Both women turned and lunged at him.

I surveyed the room. Several of the strippers fed on the patrons on both the floor and in their chairs. They thrashed around, eventually losing the battle. Those that were alive screamed. Some tried to fight back, and others ran for their lives. One stripper still danced onstage and gyrated against the bloody pole. Blood coated most everything in the bar. It looked like a slaughterhouse.

I stifled a scream. I bolted past the chairs and to the front door. The strippers continued to feed on the men who had been waiting for the next dance. I darted past the bar, keeping my eye on the bartender. His fangs protruded between his lips, and he sneered at me while he dried a glass in his hands.

Ah, shit. I ran as fast as I could. Some men were able to escape with their lives but once I neared the door, crowds of men blocked it as they fought to leave. I stopped and looked around for an alternate way out. The blonde approached. I glanced to the right. A large patio window overlooked the outside eating area.

I turned to grab a chair and throw it through the plate glass window. The blonde lurched at me, tackling me into the men who barricaded the door. I fell, knocking several men off their feet. Lucky for me, it blocked access to me, but not for them. I struggled to push them off of me. Their weight nearly crushed my chest, and made it difficult to breathe. Their bodies were flung from mine. They crashed into the bar, tables, and chairs behind the blonde. She grabbed me by my shirt and pulled me into her. A pool cue struck her on the right back side of her head. She let go of me and grabbed it from one of the patron’s hands. Before he had a chance to defend himself, she snapped it in half and buried it in his chest.

Shit, this wasn’t good. I turned and grabbed another stick from the stand behind her and struck her on the left side of her face. A pool ball whizzed past us and smashed into the wall. She snapped her head around. She started to go after him when I struck her in the ribs with the stick. It didn’t faze her. She stopped, and turned toward me. The moment her hand came up to snatch my cue, the man swung his. The hiss of air caught her attention. She spun, grabbed his, broke it and threw it to the floor. He ran off. Snarling, she pursued him.

I dropped the unbroken pool cue and grabbed the broken two. Since they were shorter, I figured it would be easier to fight the vampires off with them as compared to a longer stick. Somebody jumped on my back. Feminine hands wrapped around my neck. I threw myself backwards onto the ground, landing on my attacker, and then head butted her in the face. A crunch of bone sounded in my ear as I managed to swivel out of her grip. I turned and shoved one knee into her ribs. She lunged, her hands on my neck. With all my strength, I drove one of the sticks straight down into her heart. Blood spewed over us. I recoiled and stared at her in disbelief. Blood drenched us.

She gave in to eternal damnation, leaving ashes, dust, and skeletal remains. Eventually, her bones turned to dust.
Dying moans filled my ears, leaving vacant bodies to fill the room. I looked around and thought about the man who was chased down by the blonde. Where had he gone? And, where was Ashley? I walked around to the back side of the bar, and clasped my hand over my mouth. The man lay bleeding on the floor, his neck awkwardly wrong. I tiptoed around him and tried to avoid stepping in the pool of blood.
The screams and chaos of the mass attack had died down. Cautiously, I proceeded onward, surveying my surroundings. The vampires were gone.

I followed the hallway to my left that led to the bathrooms. It was dark. Water dripped from the faucet and the smell of blood permeated the air as I neared the women’s restroom. I pushed at the door, but it barely opened. Bodies lay crumpled on the floor behind it.

I peeked in and looked around. Ashley wasn’t in there. I let the door shut, and proceeded to the men’s restroom, listening for movement behind me. The door at the end of the hall was open. Keeping my eye on it, I pushed the men’s door open and peered in. I gasped. Ashley lay spread out on the floor, blood soaked into her clothes. Tears formed at the corners of my eyes, but this was not the time.

I stifled my emotions and looked behind me into the darkness of the bar. No sound. No movement. I proceeded toward Ashley. I wanted to touch her, to make her better, but I knew I couldn’t. She was gone.

Tears escaped my eyes, but I bit back the sounds of crying. I covered my mouth with my hand. Time did not allow me to weep for her and my husband. I wiped at my eyes.

“Get the hell out of here,” said the little voice inside. “Just get the hell out of here.”

I backed up into the hallway and gazed down at both the bar and the back door, which were opposite each other.
That little voice spoke up again, “Go outside. Leave, now!” I neared the back door, but sounds of a struggle issued just beyond it.

I turned and headed back down the hallway. Though I tried to avoid stepping on the blood caked floor, I found it near impossible.

I kept my eyes open for the blonde. I detected no sign of her even though I knew she was nearby and waiting for me. I glanced in the bar area. Nobody was there. The smell of alcohol from broken bottles mixed with blood wafted into the air. I traipsed around the back of the bar again. The bar was dark; several of the hanging lights had been broken. Something caught my eye in the reflection of the plate glass window. I couldn’t quite figure out what it was until I moved in closer.

Behind me, a Budweiser light hung from the ceiling above the pool table. The blonde had hidden atop the Budweiser light. I turned just in time to see her come out of her hiding place. She had been watching me from my reflection in the plate glass window the whole time.

She hit me hard and drove us both backwards through the window. Shards of glass rained down. We crashed onto one of the tables on the outside deck. When the table broke beneath us, glass penetrated our flesh. We fell to the ground and rolled into a large, clay pot, shattering it. I scrambled to my feet. Voices filled the air around us.
Both of the bartenders, some of the strippers, and some of the patrons stood nearby talking. I didn’t quite understand what was going on until the blonde bolted to her feet and came after me again. Bets were placed on who was going to win the fight. I turned. Her fist connected with my jaw and dropped me to the muddy ground. I struggled to my feet. She jerked me by my hair to pull me onto my knees, my head and neck extended backwards. Rain washed over my face and body.

With my hair and the rain in my eyes, I was barely able to see her. She let go and punched me in the face again. I dropped to my side and stared up at the full moon, aware that we had visitors. The presence of something evil and monstrous neared us, raising the hairs on the back of my neck.

I braced my hands on the ground, pushing myself up on all fours. Snarls and growls broke the air. She hunkered down behind me, ready to attack. I raised my head. Werewolves surrounded us. They hunkered down, their hair standing on end. Their claws dug into the earth. They were also ready for battle.

I froze, afraid to move. I wasn’t sure if they were all going to slaughter me. The vampires moved in closer behind me.
Great, I was done. Drop the casket and bury me now. If I was going to go die, I might as well go fighting. The blonde growled behind me, and the werewolves in front of me snarled. I was ready for action and ready to be killed. She stayed hunkered, staring the wolves down, her head about a foot above me. I kicked straight back into her face and rolled onto my back, driving my left foot into it when she came at me again. She recoiled for a split second and snapped her mouth at me, her fangs glistening in the moonlight. I brought my legs in and kicked out, striking her in the chest. She flew backwards into the roof of the bar, sliding down the awning. Her angered cries echoed in the night as she plummeted to the ground.

How the hell did I do that? I might have been practicing martial arts for twelve years but I didn’t have that much strength. I glanced at the other vampires, who backed away from me.

“How the…” I began.

My gaze shifted to the others. They were staring at my arm. I looked down. Two puncture holes formed the vampire bite in my skin.

I could only guess it happened when the redhead attacked me. The other vampires backed off. Didn’t vampires turn humans by biting them? She must have made me more powerful. I smiled.

I turned and looked back at the werewolves who remained several feet behind me, watching. They stood their ground, but didn’t attack. The bushes near the bar rustled.

Hissing, the blonde bolted to her feet, teeth bared, ready to kill.

Faster than any mortal, I ran straight at her and tackled her, taking her down backwards into the wall of the bar, collapsing the part below the awning. The pillar still stood, but barely held the awning in place. We tumbled inside the building with some of the debris. She wrapped her hands in my shirt, her mouth closing in on my neck. I tried to pull away.

Oh, hell, no.

She rolled atop me, her mouth almost on my throat. I forced my right forearm in between my neck and hers, trying to put distance between us. My other hand sought out her hair and wrenched her head backwards. I drove my right fist into her throat several times before she let go of me.

Her hands found my throat. I wrapped my legs around her body and used all my strength to force her onto her back.
We fought, each trying to get the upper hand. A siren wailed in the distance. During our struggle, she somehow managed to twist around on to her stomach. I figured by the time law enforcement arrived, the beasts would probably be gone, and the hell if I was going to jail. I was getting out of here, one way or another. I grabbed her by the neck, forcing her head backwards.

Staring down into her face, I locked one hand around the bottom of her mouth and the other around the top. Her fangs gouged my hands as I fought to wrench her mouth open and back, disengaging the lower jaw from the upper. I remained straddled over her back. The crack of bone vibrated through my palms. Her eyes widened in horror.
My adrenaline pumped harder. Unfortunately, this alone was not going to take her out. I jerked her head back more and used all my force and momentum to snap her neck. Her body went limp beneath mine. Breathing hard, I sat up and stared out the window at the vampires and werewolves who stared back at me. I started to stand up. She trembled beneath me.

“Fuck!”

I reached out and grabbed one of the cue stick halves I’d dropped earlier and drove it into her heart through her back. Smoke billowed out from her body which disintegrated into dust and ash. My own body writhed in disgust. I stood.
The others were still in close proximity. I grabbed what large wooden debris I could and exited through the window. I scanned my surroundings, watching the vampires and the werewolves. I looked for the easiest exit I could find. The vampires were at my right, the werewolves in front of me, and part of the bar blocked an escape to my left. I was apprehensive of my actual escape plan. Everyone was going to be on top of me. I walked towards the werewolves, past the patio. As they backed off, they kept their gaze on me. I averted locking eyes with the vampires. Their teeth gleamed in the moonlight. I glanced in the direction of the werewolves, walking backwards to my left beyond the bar. They had vanished, their existence unknown to man.

A pair of hands grabbed me and threw me into the wall of the building. A forearm pressed hard into my upper back, forcing a groan out of me. Something ripped from beneath my skin, sending a horrid pain through my shoulder. Warm blood dripped down, coating my skin. I succumbed to the agony, my body weakening while he held me against the wall. I hissed through my teeth, tears escaping my eyes.
Then his hands were all over my body, searching. Somebody had called the police, and here they were searching me for weapons. Oh, this was a joke.

I struggled to turn my head in the direction of the vampires, wondering when they were going to attack. He grabbed me and threw me against the side of the county police car. My face was pressed against the cold, wet metal.
I struggled to get a better view of the vampires but they had disappeared. I wanted to cry.

“Deputy –”

“Shut up.”

“But –”

“I said to shut up,” he demanded.

I swallowed hard, wishing this was all a dream. I closed my eyes. The metal shackles closed on my wrists. Maybe I would wake up in the morning on my cool sheets.

He grabbed me by my cuffed wrists and the back of my neck, pulling me up. I hung my head low, hair sticking to my left cheek. I was going to hell. The car door opened. He started to shuffle me in, but I tried to turn around to warn him about the vampires.

He slammed me back into the side of the car.

“That’s resisting arrest. Do you want to go for another count?” he whispered in my ear.

“No, but there’s –”

“There’s what?” he asked, sarcasm heavy in his voice.

“There are vampires…”

“Vampires? Oh, that’s good.”

“And werewolves…”

“Uh huh.”

“No, Deputy, there really are…” I started.

Rain came down harder, drenching me. He turned me around, but the rain obstructed my view of his face. The Deputy grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him.

“I don’t think you really believe in vampires and werewolves, now do you?”

Our eyes met. His were a captivating blue, exquisitely beautiful. As he stared into mine, he moved in closer.

“Do you?” he whispered.

I tried to look away, but his gaze was hypnotic and mesmerizing. His voice penetrated my brain. Again, he asked if I really believed in the Gothic creatures. I tried to close my eyes, to break the trance he seemed to have on me, but could not.

“No,” I answered.

“I didn’t think you did,” he whispered in my ear.

He shuffled me into the backseat of the patrol car and drove off. When we finally stopped, he helped me out the door. I glanced at the wooden building and the forest that surrounded it. A section of the building was dilapidated yet music filtered out from somewhere else within the structure.
The Deputy grabbed my arm and led me to the side of the building. The roof overhang was short. It was barely enough to keep us dry.

I peered up at him while he removed my handcuffs.

“Once you’re inside, you’ll go to sleep and you won’t remember anything before you wake up again,” he said. “Do you understand?”

“Yes.” He was in control of my mind.

“In time, you’ll remember everything on your own. Your conscious is going to be your only barrier, so learn to bear the weight of it. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good, dragon. You’ll do well.”

Days later, I would awaken in a prison, where I was to train and fight for the sheer entertainment of the immortal world. For the creatures I wasn’t supposed to believe in.

(...want to read more, you can purchase a copy here:
http://www.amazon.com/Crystal-Dragon-Bad-Elements-Book-ebook/dp/B0088FAQS0/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8)