by C. L. Quinn
“Su’ad,” Cairine called back gently. “Are you okay?”
At first no answer came. It was a struggle for Cairine to turn that far with her bindings, but she twisted herself around and saw the girl still staring out the window.
“I’m one of the people you engaged with who came to rescue you and the other Totem children.”
Finally, Su’ad turned to her. “You are not the one I communicated with. I cannot get through to you. Are my friends and family safe?”
“They are. You and I cannot connect telepathically because it isn’t my skill. Not yet, anyway. But I am one of the group that came to help Luka and Kalia find you.”
“Blessed you are, then. Much appreciation. Where is this man taking us?”
“Apparently he doesn’t know. But don’t worry. I may not be able to communicate with my mind, but I’m not without talent.”
“Then we may yet get home.”
“We’re in this together, and I promise you, I won’t leave without you.”
“Sister from another place, we will prevail, I feel this now.”
“I never doubted it. Don’t antagonize him and when the time is right, we will gain our freedom.”
“U’stia.”
“What does that mean?”
“In our language, it means ‘as one.’”
“It’s beautiful and applies perfectly. U’stia, Su’ad.”
EIGHT
Koen, Tamesine, Xavier, Park, and Bas blew off the jet and into Luka’s protected shelter using vampire speed, air displacement that seemed like magic itself.
“Where the fuck is my granddaughter?” Koen yelled as he hit the main conference room filled with people he knew, and many he didn’t.
Rodney stood, standing out in the crowd.
“We are tracking her down now, sir. We have several valid leads.”
“Excellent. Show me what you’ve got.”
Park followed her father to the high table where several people were gathered around a laptop computer.
Mac hugged his mother, shook hands with his father and grandfather, and placed a hand on the back of a slim young black man.
“This is Jackson. It’s his uncle who has taken Cairine and Kalia’s oldest daughter, Su’ad.”
Jackson glanced behind him at the new arrivals, all huge, spectacularly handsome men, the women stunning. He glanced to his companions, seated on one of the sofas before he turned his attention back to the computer screen.
“Um, I want to apologize for this whole event. My uncle is a smart man, an anthropologist, but he’s gone off the rails. So, I’ve laid out four locations where he might go with them. These three are less likely, because they’re obvious. This fourth location in the Rocky Mountains, I don’t think he knows I know about it. My mother mentioned it once, but he considered it his remote getaway and we never discussed it. I think this is the most likely place he’ll take them. My uncle is a big paranoid delusionist, so it probably has good security. I’ve loaded the coordinates into Rodney’s phone.”
Koen didn’t say anything at first, so Park did.
“I appreciate your help, young man. Xavier…”
“Aye, the plane is ready to go as soon as we are. We’re safe inside the rear compartments, fully UV shielded.”
Tamesine finished hugging Fia and Bryson, and touched the palms of all the children before she joined the rest of her friends. “We won’t have any problems. We’ve got him outgunned already. Let us waste not one moment.”
Koen looked at the faces suddenly. “Who are all the humans?”
“Not attached to anyone in this village. They’re friends of Jackson’s, come here on school break,” Eras commented.
“They need to be wiped.”
Jackson, Dean, and Sally shot out of their seats.
“Now wait a minute, we’re trying to help you,” Jackson said, his hands out in defense.
“Relax, lad, ye’re not gonna be harmed,” Xavier barked.
“That sounded like a threat to me.” Dean’s hand rested on his gun. With no warning, he felt it wiggle in the holster, lift, and float across the room to drop onto a table.
“It’s not, and ya don’t need that,” Xavier said. “Thanks kids. Ye’re gettin’ really good at this stuff.”
Tamesine looked at Caedmon, who stood comfortably in a corner of the room. Walking over to him, she couldn’t help but notice his smile.
“I’m healed, Tam,” he told her. “I think you already know this young lady.”
Giving her a warm hug, Tamesine pulled back to look into deep eyes. “Zia, my darling, you’ve grown so much since we saw you last, hasn’t she Park?”
Park joined them and hugged Zia as well. “So much, just as all the rest of our kids. And it appears your principle talent has manifested. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We love this young man and it broke us up to see him struggle.”
Bowing her head, Zia touched Caedmon on the palm.
“It has been one of the greatest moments of my life.”
“I think I’m going to keep this one around.” Caedmon closed his fingers over Zia’s as they rested on his palm.
“Wonderful.” Tamesine turned. “We need to go to Colorado. Ready?”
Koen held his hands up. “Just us. The rest of you are off-duty. Relax.”
“Grandfather, we need to go…”
Koen cut his grandson off. “Nope. Mac, you guys have just finished your first adventure, which was mostly successful, so take a beat to enjoy it. We’ve got this. We’ll bring Cari back shortly.”
Park watched an angry Eras storm out.
Rodney looked around for Shani and couldn’t find her. Was she angry with him? Or was this large collection of people too overwhelming for her? Likely. He needed to have a conversation with her when they returned.
Any protestations fell on deaf ears as all the new arrivals left with Rodney. His men stayed behind.
Xavier stopped before he hit the door. “Oh, and we have the keys for Koen’s jet, so ya won’t just be takin’ off on a whim again.”
He walked away with a grin as a wave of disappointed yells reverberated off the subterranean walls.
Luka and Kalia followed Koen and his group out into the hallway.
“We can’t tell you how much we appreciate your kids getting ours back safely.”
“The jobs not finished yet, but it will be,” Rodney promised.
“Luka, keep those humans here. Don’t let them go until we return. I’ll make sure they’re completely wiped before we let them free.”
“Sure, Koen.”
Kalia stepped out from behind Luka.
“Our daughters are with this monster. We have all been through this before. My friends, bring them home.”
“There is no doubt,” Park promised. She would not allow anyone to touch her precious daughter. As soon as she promised herself that, she closed her eyes. That wasn’t true. Soon, they would all begin their lives, and that was completely out of her control. God help them all.
“Let’s go,” Koen barked for the third time.
IN THE COLORADO ROCKIES NORTH OF DENVER
“Now that I have you secured, I want to take some blood and DNA samples.”
Before they’d landed, Isiah had injected both her and Su’ad with a sedative again.
Now, awake, she found herself once again bound, but to a soft bed, her fingers taped down as before.
“Where’s Su’ad?”
“Su’ad? Is that the girl’s name? She wouldn’t speak to me.”
“Why would she? You’ve freaking kidnapped her.”
“Still, it’s nice to know. All right, this’ll pinch some.”
“As if you care at all.”
“I do care. You matter very much to me. I already stated that.”
“Just do it.” Cairine tired of his manic games already. The first moment she got a hand free, it was over.
“Why don’t you bring her in here with me? So she’ll be less afraid?
”
“She isn’t here. To make sure you don’t try anything, I’ve had her taken somewhere else. This way, you know better than to try that magic stuff you can do. If you break loose, if you harm me, the child doesn’t survive. I’m sorry to have to do it this way, but it occurred to me that the only leverage I have with someone as powerful as you, is that you care about what happens to that child.”
“You fucking bastard.”
“I do what I must. Now, stay still.”
IN XAVIER’S JET EN ROUTE TO COLORADO
Rodney leaned over Koen. “Sir, may I speak to you?”
With only a brief hesitation, Koen walked to the back of the plane with Rodney.
“I must beg your forgiveness, sir…”
“Why?”
“For allowing your granddaughter to be taken.”
Koen sighed and dropped a heavy hand on Rodney’s shoulder, surprised as always by how big the blood-bonded human had become. “Rodney, you have been a miracle with my family. You take excellent care of all of us, and I couldn’t ask for more. Cairine is in the plane because she’s a stubborn little thing just like her grandfather. I’ve been meaning to have this conversation with you, and now’s as good a time as any. Our mission is over. We’ve raised the kids, they are adults now, and even though they are not yet vampire, they are going to go out and live their lives. Rodney, my friend, we have outlived our usefulness.”
Still as a statue, Rodney listened to every word Koen said clearly. He didn’t blame him for Cairine’s abduction, which relieved him enough that he nearly fell to his knees. The last thing he ever wanted to do was fail either the children or Koen’s trust in him.
The admission that their job was finished startled him. What did that mean for him? He didn’t even know if he had a life outside of this vampire community. Was Koen cutting him loose? Sending him home to New York?
“Uh, thank you, sir. I’ve felt tremendous guilt and anxiety since she was taken. I will not rest until we bring Cairine home safe and well.”
“I know you will, Rodney, but we have four first blood vampires here, it should be a piece of cake.” Koen tilted his head. “Of course, every time I’ve ever said that, the cake usually ends up with some blood on it. Relax, Rodney, we’ve got this.”
“Okay. Sir. Koen. I must ask of you, and I cannot seem to belay it. You say we are through playing watch dog for the children. What does that mean for me?”
Koen did not speak for several long moments.
“We’ll discuss it when we get home to France.”
Nodding, Rodney watched him walk away. If he had to go, he would lose the only family he had ever known. His heart fractured at the thought.
One thing he knew, though, was that it never did any good to dwell on something that hasn’t actually happened, so he went to the tiny bathroom, splashed his face with water, and sat down on the toilet lid. Solitude was the only thing that helped him calm down.
A light knock on the door let him know that someone else needed the facility, so he checked to ensure that there was no moisture beneath his eyes, and flicked the lock. The door opened and instead of someone stepping aside to let him pass, someone pushed in and closed the door again.
“Shani? What the hell are you doing here?”
“Joining the new team. The old one’s been benched.”
“So are you. You are going to go up front and belt yourself into a nice comfy seat and you won’t leave it except to piss.”
“You’re angry. Good. That’s how I felt when you force-fed me to some phantom man.”
“Shani…”
“Stop. We aren’t having this discussion here, but we are having it sometime!”
Shani shoved him back and he hit the wall with little room to move. Pushing closer, she pulled his head down and kissed him so thoroughly, he didn’t react at first.
But then he did, his libido and sexual nature took over. This woman had crashed into his heart, broken further by the fact that she was untouchable. Should be untouchable.
Nothing in the world could have stopped him at that moment. He pulled Shani close and let his mouth take hers, his tongue sliding between her lips and moving against hers. His cock filled instantly, a vampire perk, and begged for release.
With her body tight against his, her legs suddenly around his waist, somewhere the information came to him that all he had to do was move a few garments and he’d be inside her, pumping into her, claiming her. God, he wanted her! Needed this, her, and now!
Shani rode against Rodney’s waist, just north of where she wanted to be. She found herself grinding her privates on him, trying to get satisfaction that she knew instinctively she would not get unless she peeled those tight black leather pants down.
“Rodney…”
Her voice broke him. He couldn’t do this, not with her. She was never meant for him. He felt ashamed of himself for taking advantage. He’d watched her grow up!
Rodney stopped kissing her and lifted his head. Bringing her close to him, he slipped a hand around the back of her head and held her to him, unmoving. Moments later, he kissed her forehead and slid her hot body off him, every touch burning as she slipped over his skin.
Once she was standing, he took her face in his hands again and kissed her on the top of her head.
“What the hell is this? You’re turning me down again?”
“No. I’m not turning you down, I’m turning myself down. I’m refusing to allow myself something I want desperately. You can read my emotions, you know that.”
“Which is why I don’t understand. There is nothing standing in our way.”
“My honor…”
“Fuck your honor,” Shani said, the curse word spoken very softly. They generally didn’t use curse words in Zambia and it rolled off her tongue awkwardly. It told Rodney how deep her emotions were.
“We need to get out of here before someone comes looking for me and sees us in the bathroom together.”
“I don’t care.”
“You will. Please, Shani, will you wait until we can talk before you tell anyone about how we feel?”
“If you ask me to, then, yes, I will do that. I still don’t get it, but I won’t upset you.”
Shani pushed the door open and walked toward the central cabin.
“We have a surprise guest,” Rodney announced as Shani took a seat.
Koen looked up. “Aw, hell.”
IN THE COLORADO ROCKIES
“Your blood yielded fascinating results. There are components in it that are unrecognizable. The DNA looks normal, but I already know that it can’t be the whole story.”
Isiah pulled a metal folding chair up next to the bed and leaned toward Cairine’s face.
“Look, you may as well work with me. I’ll undo your ties if you tell me the truth about who and what you are. I promise you, I don’t want to hurt you or the girl. Now, her tests are really something. I found animal DNA, and her blood is just about as messed up as yours. If you let me know what you are and how you do the things you do, I’ll let both you and the girl go. Now that’s a hell of a deal, right?”
Cairine didn’t answer him. She knew he was lying. She might not be empathic or telepathic, but she could read him like an open book.
“Sure. Well, I’m the daughter of the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy. We have the craziest family reunions you’ve ever seen. Jack, you know, from the beanstalk, entertains everyone. Now, the three blind mice are just hell on wheels.”
Isiah stood up and shoved the chair across the room to slam into the wall.
“I guess I’ll have to play hard ball. I’ll bring in the girl and we’ll begin a little session to give you incentive to answer me.”
No, she couldn’t allow that. “Okay, okay. Just, please, this one band is too tight. Can you loosen it a little bit?”
Isiah watched her face as she asked, trying to assess her request. Was she trying to gain her freedom? Probably. “Sorry, no can do. I’ll bring the kid tomorrow a
nd then we’ll see if you want to talk.”
“How about you loosen the band if I tell you how I can do those tricks?”
“All right. Go ahead, I’m listening.”
“I can do those magical things because I am a human being who will eventually convert to vampire. Then, the things that I can do now will be child’s play. How’d I do?”
Sighing heavily, Isiah flipped the light off. “Excellent, I’m sure that the vampire story will get great headlines.”
Pissed, Isiah walked out of the room.
Park watched as the ground arrived beneath the plane, a kind of scientific magic all its own. Flight had always fascinated her, and since she’d taken several wingsuit flights with Zach this past year, it did so even more. Now, though, the ground meant they were that much closer to getting her daughter and going home.
Bas leaned over his mate and grinned. “Our daughter probably has that fruit loop tied around her little finger already.”
“As long as he’s tied, I don’t fucking care what he is. I do have some words for my daughter, however, about her choices.”
“You heard what Eras said. She did it to protect the girl. I’m proud of her. And so are you.”
“Yes, I am. But Bas, I don’t know if I can survive having her running around the world without us until she’s vampire.”
“You, my love, have no choice. She’s a woman now, so if you want to baby something,” Bas looked down and placed a hand on Park’s belly. “Then you just have to wait a few more months.”
She smiled and put her hand over Bas’s. “I still can’t believe it after all these years.”
“I told you I’d fill our villa with children. I just didn’t think it would take so long.”
“Let’s tell everyone when we get back to France.”
“I never wanted to wait.”
“I know, my love, but it is so deeply personal to know that I have a child growing inside me, and I wanted to share it only with you for a few weeks.”
“It’s been beautiful to share these moments with you and her.”