The vampires sitting in the back row of the Yukon cursed at us as they either got cold noses on the back of the necks or tails in their faces. We had just stopped wiggling when the SUV pulled to a stop outside the seethe.
By this time, the sky was growing a dark shade of grey—the sun was rising.
Chapter Fourteen
I felt the effects of the rising sun as Josh came around the SUV, and opened the back door for us. The wolves hopped out, and I noticed Shawn was still favoring one leg. It worried me.
I stumbled out of the vehicle, thankful to have Josh’s supporting hand. The rising sun didn’t seem to be bothering him as much, but, then again, he was at least fifty years older than myself. As we stumbled toward the door, I felt a furry body press against my other side, giving me extra support. The wolf came up to my hip meaning its support was very real. I looked down to see that it was Kathy, her creamy fur glowing in the early growing light.
We entered through the main entrance and found the early morning cleaning crew hard at work. Each person who worked at the restaurant belonged to one of the vampires. Not like a slave, but like how Jordan and Chloe belonged to Nik—they fed their vampires and their vampires cared for them. For some, this care was as simple as getting them a job at “The Viewer’s Lounge;” for others it involved a lot more.
The cleaners dropped their tools and went to whichever vampire they belonged to. Those that didn’t belong to one of the fighters continued to clean. The vampires with humans immediately clamped down on their necks or arms, their injuries making them desperate. I held my breath and headed in the direction of the backdoor that led down to the bunker. I had barely made it halfway across the large restaurant when I heard a human scream. I looked over and saw that a second vampire had latched on, and, between the two, of them the worker was quickly losing consciousness.
Mere seconds later, each human had two or three vamps sucking his or her blood, whether it was their human or not. The need that drove them, and the wounds that they had received were too much to watch as other vampires fed. Through the misery of echoing screams, I heard one of the werewolves whimper and felt them press up against my hips.
“No!” I shrieked, desperately trying to draw the vampire’s attention away from their meals. They were going to kill them! I gasped, drawing in more breath to yell again, and then I smelled it—the sweet scent of blood and fear filled my nostrils.
I swallowed convulsively, my fangs descending on their own. I pushed through the huddle of wolves that surrounded me and started toward the nearest human. Before I could reach him, I felt a large, warm body thump into my back, knocking me to the ground. The next thing I knew I was completely covered in fur, weight, and heat. The fall caused me to bang my head against the floor, and the pain helped me clear my thoughts. I looked over my shoulder as best I could and realized all three wolves were lying on top of me, keeping me from getting up. Evidently, they had taken Mikhail at his word and realized I was too young of a vampire to fight all three of them.
I relaxed, letting them save me from myself.
It was a long time before all the screaming stopped. By the end, tears of fear, rage, and disgust had created a puddle under my cheek, and filled the little divot on the side of my nose. The wolves were taut with alarm and anxiety, each one taking a turn at whimpering.
I wanted to make it better for them, but the fact was I was barely able to keep myself from fighting their weight. The desire to join in was barely kept at bay by my concern for them. The wolves’ gamey scent filled my nostrils as one of them scooted closer to my head. In fact, occasionally my nose was tickled by their fur.
Long after the sun had risen and began to shine through the specially tempered glass that protected us, the other vampires began to climb to their feet, and wipe their faces on their tattered clothing. I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing more tears out. A few people began to talk in low, subdued voices, discussing how to deal with the subsequent mess.
It made my stomach boil with rage. Before I could scream at them, a voice spoke to me.
“Ashley?”
I opened one eye to see Josh staring down at me, his jaw a little pink from the blood he had tried to wipe off. He glanced at the wolves who were still pinning me to the floor.
“Go away,” I croaked, unable to say any more. I saw Josh’s face crumple into a grimace before I closed my eyes again. Eventually, I heard his footsteps retreat and a long while after that I spoke to the wolves. “I’m okay now. Let’s get out of here.”
They rose slowly, as if concerned that I would freak out again, and followed me down into the bunker. At the bottom of the stairs I turned to them.
“Thank you,” I said before retreating to my own room.
Shortly after surviving the sacrifice, Mikhail had given me my own room in the seethe. It was in the very bowels of the bunker and little more than a closet. Thus far I had not had the time, money, or inclination to decorate it. In fact, it still held nothing but a bed, a nightstand, a dresser, and a digital clock, all of which had been provided by the seethe. I shut and locked the door before collapsing on the bed.
I cried myself to sleep.
When I woke, I glanced at the glowing red numbers. It was one in the afternoon, way too early for me to safely return to my apartment. I rolled over, trying to go back to sleep, but for the first time in months, I wasn’t tired. I sat up, wondering where I could go. Normally I would have gone to Josh’s room to see if he was awake, but the thought of him covered in the blood of an innocent person made me sick. I couldn’t stand the idea of being around him just now.
I climbed to my feet, too uncomfortable to be alone. The only people I could think of visiting were the werewolves. They, at least, hadn’t eaten anyone lately.
I didn’t know where Mikhail had put them, but I felt certain I could sniff them out. I walked down the hall of the lowest level and felt certain they weren’t down with me: One, the rooms were too small for the whole pack; Two, I didn’t smell a hint of them.
On the next level, I passed Josh’s room and nearly stopped, but then I spotted the ghost dog sticking its head through the door and yipping at me.
“What is it now, scoundrel?” I heard Josh ask from the other side of his door.
I bolted up the nearby stairs, barely making it out of his line of sight as I heard the door open. The dog yipped once and I heard the door shut again.
On the third floor up I caught a whiff of a familiar gamey smell and paused by door. I took a deep breath and felt convinced they were staying in this room, but I began to wonder if they were awake yet. I wasn’t sure how much last night’s adventure had thrown off their sleep schedule, but then I heard voices from within.
I immediately knocked on the door before I could second guess my choice. The voices stopped and a moment later the door was opened by a young lad of perhaps fifteen or sixteen. He stared at me for a moment before I realized I needed to speak.
“Is Travis here?”
“Let her in,” ordered Travis from within the room.
The young lad opened the door wider and ushered me in. Though the room had one king size bed, extra cots had been set up, filling up most of the space. Blankets were also on the long couch as though someone had been sleeping there too.
Travis sat on one of the cots, dark circles under his eyes. Shawn sat on a cot with his back against the wall and his injured leg propped up on a pillow. Kathy and a young girl I didn’t recognize were on the bed. An old man sat on the couch. Each face turned to stare at me.
I swallowed convulsively. “I came to thank you again. You didn’t have to… you didn’t have to keep me from…feeding. You could have left, but you didn’t, and I’m eternally grateful for what you did.”
Travis nodded, Shawn glared, and Kathy smiled a little. The others looked confused and I had a feeling they hadn’t been told what had happened up in the restaurant.
“I also came to apologize. It was unforgivable for me to take you into danger.
Especially for no better reason than my ego. I specifically want to apologize to Shawn, who was hurt because of me. Please forgive me.”
I was never very good at apologizing, but for the first time it came naturally. Maybe that was because for the first time I really had something to apologize for. I’m not saying I’m perfect. Not by a long shot. I’m saying that this required an apology like nothing else I had ever done.
I knew the risk I was taking with their lives, and I had chosen, willfully, not to care. Apologizing when you really, truly know you’re in the wrong is a lot easier than apologizing for saying a bad word to your mom or for breaking a lamp.
Surprisingly enough, Shawn’s glare softened until he nodded.
“Thank you.”
I hesitated a moment before turning back to the door. I didn’t think they really wanted me to hang around, even if I didn’t know where else I could go.
Just as I reached for the door knob, Kathy spoke. “Would you like to stay here for a little while?”
I looked back to find the whole pack staring at her. “I don’t want to intrude.”
“No, it’s fine,” said Travis as he turned away from Kathy.
It took me a long while to work up the courage to ask the question that consumed my thoughts. Out of nowhere it burst forth, of its own accord. “Can you guys sniff out someone… like… like tracking dogs,” I stammered, worried that the comparison might offend them. Like most things in this new life, I wasn’t sure of proper werewolf etiquette.
The wolves glanced around at each other, taken aback by my sudden, unusual question.
“I suppose, technically speaking, we could,” Travis responded. “Why do you ask?”
“Last I heard, my friend’s missing. Everyone else is focused on why I’m being attacked again.” I paused. “Maybe I’ve just become accustomed to being attacked every time I step out my door, but I care more about finding her than figuring this out. She’s human. If she’s in danger…” I trailed off.
“We can help…” Travis was interrupted by an abrupt knock on the door. “Come in.”
Josh poked his head into the room and glanced around at us, his eyes resting on me sitting at the foot of bed with the other ladies. “Just who I was looking for. Mikhail wants you, Ash. You too, Travis.”
Travis and I followed Josh to the main room. I think Josh was aware of the invisible wedge between us. All three of us bit our tongues and endured the uncomfortable silence until we reached the main hall. Thankfully, it wasn’t a long walk. The wolves were housed in one of the large guest rooms on the same level as the main room. For a single guest the room, it was opulent and oversized; for an entire pack of wolves, however, it was barely enough for their cots.
Josh opened the door to the main hall and allowed us to enter first. Mikhail, Nik, and Samuel sat within one of the small sitting areas, each with a drink in hand. I took a seat as far from them as the small space allowed; it would have seemed odd if I had chosen a seat in a different circle of furniture, even though that was what I wanted to do.
Mikhail seemed content to ignore my crankiness. No doubt he knew exactly why I was upset and didn’t care. The thought just made me angrier.
My anger was tempered by the surprise of finding Travis taking the seat next to me, equally far from the others. I wasn’t sure if it was due to a similar distaste for what we had witnessed, or if it stemmed from our budding friendship.
Josh hesitated a moment, torn between the clearly divided fractions. I was surprised again, and a little miffed, when he came to sit as close to Travis and myself as the furniture arrangement would allow. I wasn’t ready to accept him back into my small circle of friends, a circle that was growing increasingly smaller.
My absent mind wandered to Chloe. Where was she? She was probably scared, maybe even hurt. I refused to let myself admit that she just might be dead. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to think of anything else but the invasive nightmare.
I heard Mikhail give a little, polite cough, and I opened my eyes to find him staring at me. A humored smile tugged at the right corner of his smooth lips.
“So, little Ashley, what mischief have you gotten us into this time?”
I swallowed the desire to rake my nails across his youthful face, almost ready to sit on my hands to keep from fulfilling my fantasy. “I haven’t done anything.”
“That you know of.”
I nodded once to acknowledge the possibility that I had pissed someone off accidently, even though, I had spent the last two months in my apartment, so I wasn’t quite sure how I could have managed it.
“This makes rectifying the situation a little more difficult,” Mikhail continued.
“Sorry I can’t be more helpful,” I said, trying to sound contrite.
Mikhail narrowed his eyes, staring at me for an uncomfortable length of time, as though he thought I was hiding something. I stared back at him, drumming up all the memories of the recent massacre to keep myself from squirming under his gaze.
With a suddenness that took my breath away, he released me from the staring contest and gave a gusty sigh. “How then do we proceed?” Mikhail asked, looking around.
“I think we need to figure out if this attack is against Ashley or the seethe as a whole,” said Josh.
“What is the difference?” asked Samuel in a formal tone, as though this meeting was an effrontery to him.
“Well, if they’re just after me you can always dump me on the street and let the bad guys get me, leaving you in peace,” I said, my temper suddenly snapping. I bit down on my tongue until I tasted blood to keep myself from saying more.
The others turned to stare at me, their expressions ranging from disdain to humorous appreciation. Travis was doing his best to keep his expression neutral, though I thought I spotted a glint of appreciation in his hickory-brown eyes.
“Tempting,” said Mikhail with a smirk. “But, sadly, I’ve already allowed you into the seethe. There’s no getting rid of you now.”
I couldn’t tell, but I didn’t think Mikhail actually regretted my induction into the seethe.
“I think it’s important to note that Ashley was attacked twice without any other members of the seethe around and only attacked once with other seethe members. I think it is safe to assume this is, once again, about Ashley and not the seethe as a whole,” explained Nikolai.
I stared at him, my anger toward him coming from a variety of sources: his involvement in the death of so many humans, my sacrifice, and his past involvement in past attempts to raise Sedgrave, the warlock.
“You think it’s…” Before I could finish, the doors burst open and Jim rushed in.
“Mikhail, you need to see this!” Jim announced without breaking his stride as he crossed the room to one of the sitting areas that were oriented around a T.V. He flicked it on and switched the channel over to the local news.
And there he was—Sedgrave, the warlock my sacrifice had raised, standing beside the recently elected governor.
Chapter Fifteen
I’m not sure how long we stared at the T.V. as the governor droned on about the need for further funding for plastics research. We weren’t really paying attention to the speech, but rather watching Sedgrave smile at the live audience unseen by the cameras. Even I had to admit it was a winning smile. It said: “Trust me, love me, accept me,” and it was very convincing.
I glanced down at the banner that ran across the bottom of the screen, repeating the stats from the governor’s landslide victory, and frowned.
“Republican?” I asked, drawing the others’ attention from the T.V.
“Someone hasn’t been keeping up with local politics,” said Samuel with a smirk.
I glared at him and suddenly realized everyone had already turned their gaze back at the screen. I watched them as they slowly started nodding in time with the points of the governor’s speech. With sudden understanding, I jumped forward and jabbed at the power button.
“Hey!”
�
�What’re you…”
“Why?”
Shouts of protest erupted from the men as I stood in front of the T.V. The protests continued, but I refused to give up the T.V. Slowly they began to shake their heads, as though waking up from a disturbing dream.
“You guys were really that interested in his speech? On plastics?”
I spotted Josh frowning down at his shoes. Nik’s eyes were wide as he glanced around. Samuel was blushing slightly, his hands playing with the hem of his shirt. Mikhail looked inscrutable. After nearly 350 years of practice, he had a knack for hiding his thoughts and emotions; he would make a great poker player.
Travis looked thoroughly confused. I had to remind myself that he hadn’t been a part of the explanation from Periphetes about how Sedgrave could be supernaturally persuasive. He didn’t realize the inherent danger of watching him or being around him or thinking about him. I might be exaggerating on that last one. The messenger, who had brought our attention to the governor’s speech, lingered a few feet away from the group and looked just as confused as Travis.
Eventually, the men shifted to the nearby couches and love seats, our previously arranged groupings mixing. The mutual enemy found in Sedgrave broke down the walls that had been built since they had sucked all those people dry. Don’t get me wrong, I was still thoroughly pissed off about it, but at present we had bigger issues to deal with.
I took a seat next to Josh, suddenly looking for my friend’s companionship despite our current antagonism. Seeing Sedgrave again brought back a few memories I didn’t want to have back.
Unconsciously, I began to rub at my wrists, trying to ease the pain created by ropes and manacles from the sacrifice. The icy fingers of the fog began to probe through my identity, just as it had during the sacrifice. The fog kept me from actual panic, though I knew I should be afraid.
Before anything more could happen I felt a strong hand slip into mine. I looked down to see Josh’s fingers twined with mine. I let out a ragged sigh, relieved to have a friend beside me. Even with our current conflict, Josh knew when something was wrong, and somehow, he knew exactly how to make it better.
The Series that Just Plain Sucks: The Complete Trilogy Page 36