by Dale Mayer
Another weird sound. Dogs. Great. Even if he could escape his chains, he'd have to deal with the guard dogs. As he leaned his head back against the stone wall, hopelessness washed over him.
Another commotion sounded outside. He sat upright. Was that a voice? It almost sounded like Tessa. Impossible. His hearing was playing tricks on him.
Exhaustion sat at the edge of his mind. He wanted to sleep, to get away from this reality. Only he didn't dare. He might never wake up.
Most of his body had gone numb from sitting on the hard surface, and the rest of him ached. His jeans and T-shirt offered little protection against the cold night air. He glanced at the corpse chained to his other side and shuddered. If he lived through this, he'd have a hell of tale to tell his kids. He thought about that for a moment, then realized that if he lived through this, there was no way he'd ever tell his kids.
They'd never sleep again.
Tessa hunkered down on the ground, hidden behind the long line of poplars edging the property as Cody went in for a closer look. She'd protested being left behind until Cody pulled the Mom card on her – that he'd never be able to explain to her mom why he'd let her accompany him. She couldn't argue with that.
The longer she'd studied the house, the stronger her sense of knowing grew. Jared was somewhere on the property. She looked around and decided to check out the sheds and outbuilding while she waited for Cody to return.
She slipped inside the first outbuilding. Empty. She circled it anyway and looked for stairs, hidden doors or rooms. Then she moved on to the next building. This one appeared to be a storage unit. Boxes and containers filled every square inch, or so it appeared. She studied the level of dust and the jammed boxes. Everything appeared deserted. Forgotten. She couldn't sense anything bigger than a mouse.
Back out in the night, the dogs slept on and Cody had yet to return. What if he couldn't?
No, Cody had some serious skills – at least according to David. It would take a lot for someone to get the drop on him.
"Psst."
He just didn't have much class. Sighing humorously, Tessa watched Cody land in front of her. His gracefully controlled landing made her instantly jealous.
"There's no sign of anything unusual going on."
"No, of course not. Why would there be? It's not like they're going to advertise that they've kidnapped humans." She studied the huge stone mansion. "The captives are most likely downstairs," she said slowly, eyeing the foundation, the lowest level.
"Whoa. You're not going into the house. If you're determined to take this further, we go back to our parents and let them go to the Council. The elders will determine the best course of action."
Tessa stared at him in disbelief. Everything about the night had taken on a surreal appearance. She was at the right location where Jared was being held, with someone who could actually help her and he wanted to call their parents? No knight riding to the rescue here.
Then again, he'd been raised on the old belief that vampires don't go against vampires – without just cause. She didn't think she could come up with enough evidence to prove her case.
She snagged his arm, willing him to listen. "At the very least, we have to find out if Jared is here."
"No. No way." He pulled away and turned, prepared to leave.
"Please."
"No, Tessa." He shook his head, his vampire eyes glowing with terrible heat. "That's enough. This isn't a kid's game. This is vampire business."
"And who's going to believe me? No one. I'm not like you. My word doesn't mean anything to the others. If you don't see that Jared's been taken and kept as a captive, you won't be able to convince them either."
He shook his head.
Fine. She'd go in alone. Turning away, she headed to the back of the house. "Go home then. I don't need you."
"What the…?" He raced behind her. "Tessa, stop. You can't go inside. You're not allowed."
"And they're allowed to take humans?" She snorted. "I don't think so." The moon slid out from behind the clouds, highlighting the lower level of the house. Off to the left, a set of stairs cut down below ground level to a narrow wooden door. Probably the cellar entrance. Perfect. She picked up her pace, reaching for the knob within seconds. She bolted though the unlocked door before Cody could drag her back out. Down a narrow hallway, she fled through another door that led to a wide-open space. Empty space. Damn it. Could the prisoners have been moved already?
How? There hadn't been enough time for that.
"There, are you satisfied now?"
She spun around at the sound of Cody's voice. She loved that he hadn't left her alone. "No." She walked the perimeter of the room. This place was huge. At the far end, the room curved down and around. Her nostrils flared. Her weird knowing sense kicked in. Animal. Death. Fear. Pain.
This area had been used as housing for animals during the cold winter months. Horses, most likely. Ancient farm smells permeated the air. Hay. Manure. Blood.
"What's the matter?" Cody whispered.
She looked at him. "Can't you smell it?"
"Smell what?"
"Death. Pain. And overwhelming fear."
"I can't sense any of that. What are you talking about?"
Tessa looked at him strangely. "Not even with your vampire senses?"
He turned and lifted his nose and smelled the air. After a moment, he shook his head and laughed. "You don't have a clue, do you? There's nothing here." He dropped the smile. "The fun's over. Let's go home."
Tessa turned her back on him. Moving closer to one side, Tessa concentrated harder, not really knowing what she was doing, but knowing something was working. There. Jared. Relief washed over her. He was alive. "Jared's in there."
"What?"
But Cody was talking to empty space.
*.*.*
Tessa darted ahead of him.
He shook his head. What happened to David's kid sister? David had always been protective of her, and Cody had naturally picked that up. She was different from the rest of them. The oldest brother, Seth, didn't treat her with the same patience. And her dad, well, he didn't know what patience was. If it weren't for her mom, Tessa's life would have been much different – and not in a good way.
On the outside, she looked vampire. Hell, she looked hot. He hadn't believed his eyes when he'd seen her tonight. He knew most of the gorgeous females in their area and he'd never thought of her as one of them. He'd followed her to check her out, initially.
Then he'd caught her scent. A familiar scent. When she'd turned, he'd caught a glimpse of Tessa in that wicked outfit. But she had rebuffed him. Confused, he'd withdrawn but still kept a close watch. When she'd disappeared out back, he followed her. He hadn't believed his eyes when he'd seen her in the moonlight. He still hadn't been sure it was her until she'd jumped.
Jumped.
Vampires did a lot of things, like flying, floating, and even racing, but everything they did, they did with grace.
Not her. Her jumps were awkward, disjointed movements. It was all hard landings and gawky take-offs. Little Tessa had somehow morphed into Hot Tessa – until she traveled.
His curiosity and doubt turned to horror as another realization hit. She'd led a restricted life. She'd only been allowed at vampire meetings with a chaperone, and she sure as hell hadn't ever been out in a come-hither-and-get-laid outfit.
Christ, she'd looked good. And vampire-ish. Good enough to fool everyone there. But if her family found out, that would be the end of life as she knew it. They'd never let her take a step out of the house unchaperoned again.
*.*.*
Tessa followed her instincts to the blank wall at the deepest, mustiest section of the cellar. She'd recognized the presence of a human further ahead in front of her. Why couldn't Cody? Frowning, she turned her attention to a more immediate problem.
There was no door.
She ran her hands over the stone wall and couldn't find a crac
k, a break, or any type of lever or door handle. Jared was behind this wall. And she knew this as clearly as if she could see him in front of her. Somehow, when she'd needed them, her senses had intensified, sharpened. Clarified. Now if only they'd show her a way to bypass this door.
"Tessa?"
"They're on the other side of this wall." She continued to run her hands over the wall.
"Are you sure?"
She shot him a withering look. "Yes, I'm sure."
"Take it easy; I'm just asking."
Tessa backed up slightly. An old door sat off to the left, hidden slightly by a corner. "Here. Give me a hand."
Cody walked over and put his shoulder to the stiff, rusty door. "No one went in this way. This entrance hasn't been used in centuries." Panting, Cody stopped when the door shifted, now open slightly wider than required. "There." He stepped back and stared into the murky depths. Musty air wafted toward them. "That doesn't smell very fresh either."
"I know. Let's go."
He shook his head, refusing to let her pass. "No." He stepped forward instead and led the way.
Choking on the nasty air, Tessa followed silently. Cold brick or stone lined both sides. The passage was long and narrow. It seemed to follow the same curve they'd taken to the wall. It also appeared endless.
Following blindly, she smashed into Cody when he stopped unexpectedly.
"What the––?"
"Shhhh."
"What's the matter?" she hissed. He took up the entire space in front of her. She couldn't see over or around him.
"I hear something up ahead."
"Good. It'll be them. Let's hurry."
"It's a vampire."
Tessa strained her ears, unsure of just what the strange sounds meant. "Can you move closer?"
"No. There's a door. I don't want to alert them to our presence."
"Right. But neither do I want them to kill Jared because we're too late."
"No one takes humans anymore. Stop over-dramatizing."
"Over-dramatizing?" She felt like hitting him. Who was he kidding? Jared had already been taken. Put rogue vampires and captive humans together and her first instinctive thought was a blood fest. Why couldn't Cody see the danger here?
Through the thick plank door, voices drifted their way.
"Hey, this one's dead."
Tessa gasped. Cody grabbed her, slapped a hand over her mouth and murmured against her ear, "Shhh." The two stood locked together, frozen, as they listened.
"Again? What the shit?"
"Did you hit him?"
"Hell no. And neither did I bite him. I like young blood; you know that. This guy is definitely mature meat. Not my style at all."
Tessa bowed her head against Cody's chest, her shoulders slumping in relief. Mature meat – so not Jared. Cody squeezed her lightly.
"We gotta take him out and dump him. Before he starts to smell."
"Why'd he die, though? Christ, humans are so damn delicate. The potential losses are huge."
"Human blood beats that synthetic crap all to hell though."
"That's why the new method. As long as all those do-gooders don't know about it. If they find out, they'll holler about it being inhumane, a form of cruelty to animals or some such nonsense. Vampires are supposed to rule this species, not 'get along' with them."
"Right. So where do we dump him?"
"Out with the others."
Cody stiffened in front of her. And finally, Tessa felt some kind of reaction from him. There, let him stew on that bit of information. Make fun of her, would he? Not believe her, huh? Now, who wouldn't believe whom? She jabbed him lightly in the stomach to make her point. Cody grabbed her hand and glared narrow-eyed at her.
The voices continued. "What about these two?"
"I think they're fine. We're going to need to feed and water them though."
"Right. The young man looks a little screwy though. Do you think he's okay?"
"He's fine. Just asleep."
"They're so stupid, aren't they? To them we're some kind of predator, yet here he is, throat lying exposed like that. Do they all just lie down and wait to die? No wonder they multiply like animals and go about their days blindly. Fucking beef is all they are."
"Like I said. Time's wasting. Let's get them out of here. You take the older one." A heavy grunting sound could be heard. Tessa strained her ears to hear what was going to happen next. "We'll come back for the dead one later. He won't start smelling too bad at least for an hour or two. Let's go."
Silence.
Tessa sucked in her breath. She nudged Cody. "We have to stop them. We won't know where they’ll take Jared if they leave now."
He reached around and pinched her to shut up.
"What was that?"
Shit. She'd forgotten to keep her voice down. She stared horrified into Cody's grim gaze.
"I didn't hear anything."
"Really? Thought I heard voices."
"In this mausoleum? Don't think so. There's only us here. And the dead guy. Maybe his ghost is talking to you."
"Hey, that's not funny."
But apparently it was, as Tessa and Cody were treated to the sounds of raucous laughter that faded as the men walked away. They both relaxed slightly as they waited to hear if the men would return.
Tessa knew better than to push Cody, but waiting for him to give the all clear had her pressing her nails into her palms as she fisted her hands together.
"Now, quietly." Cody pushed open the door and stepped into the fetid-smelling room.
"Oh, that's gross," she hissed, following him out. She'd thought the air in the tunnel had been bad – this was ten times worse.
"Look." Cody pointed at the floor where a grey-haired male lay crumpled and still.
"Do you recognize him?" she asked, walking closer to the body. She'd never seen a dead person before. She didn't think she'd ever want to see one again, either.
"No."
Gritting her teeth, Tessa bent down over the dead man to look for identification. He had a wallet in his back pocket. Gross. But necessary.
"What are you doing?" Cody hissed.
"Finding out who he is. Remember, humans carry identification with them all the time."
"Yeah, I'’ve heard about that." He shook his head. "I just don't understand why."
"They have to have it for their monetary and legal system. That's part of their system we haven't taken over – unlike their credit cards that we probably couldn't live without."
The wallet was thick and the pocket narrow. She struggled to pull it out without touching the body. With a final tug, it yanked free. Standing up, she walked toward Cody, flicking through it. "His name is Carstairs Wallace."
"Now that you know, what difference does it make?"
"I can let the police know he's dead."
Cody shook his head. "Don't be naive. You can't go to the police. They're going to think you killed him."
True. She glanced down at the dead man. "Maybe, but we have to do something for him."
"It's too late for that."
Cody suddenly shushed her, his head cocked toward the exit.
"Let's go. I hear vehicles."
"Shit." Tessa raced out the same doorway that the men had disappeared through. Cody flew ahead of her, disappearing into an exterior doorway. Tessa burst out in the moonless night seconds later.
The front yard was empty.
The Escalade and the Nitro were gone.
So was Cody. She heard the distant beat of wings as Cody gave chase. She studied the night sky, watching as he swooped overhead, intent on the hunt.
Could she catch up?
She wouldn't know unless she tried. And she hated being left behind. Tucking Carstairs's wallet into her back pocket, she pulled as much energy from her vampire genetics as she could and took off.
Her loping gait and crab jump smoothed out slightly as she slipped back into the move
ment.
She wished she'd learned how this skill worked a long time ago. Like a lot of things in her vampire life. She took another jump and winced at her heavy landing. If anyone were awake under these rooftops, they were going to wonder what was going on.
She took off again, then again. It did get easier. Flying would be even easier.
Not to mention faster.
Already Cody had vanished from sight. She raced from rooftop to rooftop then hopped to the ground and cut across the back field. She'd seen the vehicle turn off up here. Speeding along on the ground was like running through molasses compared to her weird jumping strategy.
She glanced around. There wasn't much to jump up to or off from here. She ran and took a ballet leap and found that she could easily cover twenty feet. She did it again. Weird.
Maybe there was something out there for her after all. She'd always felt like the defective ugly duckling of the family, so it had never occurred to her that she could be a hybrid with two sets of skills, human and vampire.
She raced forward, more confident in her leaps and she came down more securely during her landings. This was actually cool. If only she could do this with a touch of class.
She took another leap and then another. Before long, she'd reached the point where the vehicle had turned. Staring up in the sky, she searched for Cody. There was no sign of him. He should have gotten to his destination within minutes. She needed to get higher so she could see where to go next. There was only one tree. She winced at the poor landing spot. Taking a deep breath, she jumped.
And hit Cody broadside.
He nearly fell and scrambled to grab onto the trunk to regain his balance. His wings automatically opened and got caught in the branches. Luckily he caught hold and stabilized himself.