by Dale Mayer
As she walked through, she heard him call behind her. "Remember, you never met me."
The door was snatched from her hand, slammed, and then locked behind her.
*.*.*
Rhia shifted in her bed. Soon she'd be back to full strength. She was itching to get out now. There'd been no updates on either David or Tessa.
Still her movement was limited. She sat on the side of her bed and stretched. Everything ached.
"Now, that's good to see." Sian walked into the room, her arms full of clothes and a laptop. "I brought you a change of clothes."
"Have you heard from anyone?"
Sian's face beamed. "I received a quick text from Serus. He spoke with Tessa. I didn't get all the details, but she's alone and working her way toward him and Goran."
Rhia breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank heavens for that." She hesitated, then asked in a quiet voice, "Anything on David?"
Sian's face sobered. "No. Nothing on the others either."
Rhia stared out the window at the black of night. She had to trust that Serus and Goran would find the kids. All of them. "Please let them be safe," she whispered.
At the silence, she glanced over to see Sian rubbing her small baby bump. Rhia contemplated her friend for a long moment. "Why do I think you aren't telling me everything?"
Sian's gaze zipped back to her. She swallowed hard. Her mouth opened, and then closed. Helplessly, she shrugged her shoulders. "There's been no communication from Taz or any of the others who'd stayed behind to work on the humans."
"Oh no," Rhia cried."
Sian held up a hand. "We don't know that anything is wrong. It's too early to tell. Serus and Goran are checking on them."
"And walking into a trap?" Rhia closed her eyes and reached out mentally to her beloved partner. There was no answering glimmer in her mind. It didn't have to mean the end of the world. If Serus was deep in that mine with all the electronics and heavy machinery, then they wouldn't be able to communicate mentally, as they'd learned already. Telepathic communication worked best when they were closer together physically. She glanced at her friend. "I'm going to go up there."
Sian's eyes widened. She went as if to protest, then stopped and admitted, "Part of me says no way. Another part is begging for you to find Taz and make sure he's okay."
"Understood." Rhia picked up the bag of clothing Sian had brought her. "I feel the same way. My whole family is up there."
"Not quite." Seth stood at the doorway, a blood slushie in his hand. "I'm right here. And you are going nowhere."
"You don't understand. They need my help." Rhia tried to think of all the logical arguments that would get her son on her side.
"Don't bother. You aren't going. That's final." He raised an eyebrow at her in the cool, arrogant gesture she'd seen in so many vamps. It never failed to put her back up, and it really pissed her off when her son did it. She readied to blast him, but he spoke first. "Mom, you're not up to full strength and, even worse, after they've drugged you to the extent that they have done so already, if they give you one more round of cocktails it could kill you or turn you to their side permanently."
Sian gasped. "Oh, he's right. You can't go."
Rhia glared at them. "I'm not so old as to be feeble. My family is missing and I need to help them."
"No." Seth shook his head. "Father would never forgive me."
"Yes, he would," she said. "He knows we need everyone on our side that we ca—"
"No." He stared at her. "Someone has to be the voice of reason here. You're not going."
She drew herself up to her full height and hissed.
He grinned. "Tough. You're still not going. If I have to lock you in here, I will." He turned and strode through the door, slamming it behind him.
Sian giggled. "He's right, you know."
"I don't care," Rhia said. "He's still my son and he should be doing what he's told. Not telling me what to do."
"Nope. I'm thinking he's a man now and he's probably right. Serus would have his head if you went up there. Think about it. There's no way to warn them you're coming. You're far too vulnerable now." She stared, her brows furrowed at the closed door. "He's also done his research on your drugs and he's brought up an all-too-scary truth. If you go up there, we could lose you forever."
She hated to be thwarted. "If I can't go, and you shouldn't go, then Seth is going to have to go. That's all there is to it."
Sian brightened. "Perfect."
"Except," Rhia sighed, "he hates fighting." He's book smart but not so great on the whole hero thing."
"I heard that." Seth opened the door and glared at her. "I'd go, but I can't trust you two to stay here." His gaze zipped from one to the other. "Therefore, I can't go."
Rhia and Sian stared at each other. Rhia grinned. "Sure you can. We'll look after each other and make sure we both stay here."
He snorted. "Like I'm going to fall for that one." He pursed his lips. "I could leave Gittora to guard you. She'd never let you two leave. Or how about Rosha?" At their horrified looks, he said, "So what's it to be, a sister or me standing guard over you?"
Rhia grimaced. "If you go help Serus, then we'll let Gittora stay."
Seth stared at her suspiciously, and then finally nodded. "Done."
*.*.*
Cody had taken two more steps when he heard a whispering sound. He froze, turned, and caught a right hook under the jaw.
The lights flickered in his head as he scrambled to catch up with reality. He couldn't tell how many vamps had attacked, but he had two on him. Something slashed and burned; an odd hissing sound filled the air.
"What the hell?" He glanced down at the angry streak on his hand. Any more of that and he'd be a goner. They had freakin' silver spikes, too.
He bolted for air, coming down behind the group. He jumped the last man, grabbing his arm to pull up and look at his hand. Damn. "David, look out. They've got silver spikes."
"Saw that. A little help would be good."
Cody pivoted and, with extra force, slammed the guy's arm, spike in hand, forward to bury it into the back of the vamp fighting David. David's opponent crumpled to the ground and turned to ash with bits of…something floating in the air.
It was gross. And the stench… Cody shuddered.
"I'll get you for that, you bastard." The vamp in his arms tried to turn the spike in Cody's direction.
Cody struggled to keep the vamp in his grip as fury made the other vamp super strong. Grunting, Cody shifted, hooked a leg around the back of the guy's knee, and tripped him. He was on him in an instant, his hand reaching for a hold on the guy's neck to knock him out. The guy dropped like a baby.
Cody spun around to find David standing and catching his breath, and Motre snapping the neck of a fourth man. The third was already out on the ground. He took a deep breath before exhaling heavily. Cody stood and walked to the remains of the vamp he'd staked, crouching to study the weapon, barely visible in the heap of ashes.
"Never seen one of these in real life," he said.
"Don't touch it without gloves on," David said. "They all have gloves."
Cody retracted his hand. "Shit." He turned back to the vamp lying out cold and tugged his gloves off. He pulled them on his own hands and returned to the weapon. He pulled the spike free, pivoted, and – without allowing David to question his actions – he plunged the spike into the guy he'd dropped.
He backed up several paces as the vamp burned up in front of him.
"Holy shit," he whispered. He glanced over at the other two to find that both had followed his lead, dispatching the other three attackers. Cody kicked the pile of ashes, finding another spike. "Check that there aren't more spikes. They could have an extra one in their pockets."
Motre pulled one free. "I've got three."
David held up his. "We're definitely armed now."
"And in a scary way. Did you see the damage those things did?"
&nb
sp; "Hell yeah." David turned the spike over in his hands. "Can't believe something this low-tech is so useful."
"If they've brought these back, have they also brought back silver bullets?" Motre growled. "That's what we had to watch out for last time. Especially with the fliers. The gunners could see them, but by the time the fliers knew what had happened, it was too late."
David stared wordlessly at Cody.
Nausea twisted Cody's stomach. What had happened that his world had come to this? And so fast. "We'd be dead now if these assholes had succeeded."
"And that just scares me about the possible fate of Ian and Jewel." David glared at the remains on the floor. "And that smell…"
"Let's get moving." Motre opened the door. "We have to be close. The more allies we can get the better at this point."
"We also need to find the supplier of this shit. They came hunting vamp. And that is just so wrong."
Cody picked up the pace. He had no plans of getting behind again.
Enough was enough. Get their friends and get the hell out of here.
Fast.
If they wanted a war between the vamps, well, they were going to get it. But, as the other team had brutal vamp-killing equipment, Cody didn't think much of being shorted in that department.
They needed vests and guns of their own.
This hadn't gotten real ugly. This had gotten real deadly.
And what the hell had happened to Xana?
*.*.*
The blow, when it came, was so fast, so powerful, it could have taken Serus's head off – if he'd still been in the same spot.
He soared high above, trying to get a location on the asshole below. Whoever it was had taken out Goran, and damn if his friend hadn't been through enough already. No matter what Goran said, he wasn't in his prime anymore.
But then, Serus wasn't either.
Serus couldn't see into the dark for a spot to land. Not wanting to take a chance, he landed and soared again. The room was absent of sound. There should be noises of some kind. Heavy breathing or footsteps, at least. How could the attacker be so quiet? It wasn't normal.
He landed, spun, and waited. His nostrils flared. There. He pivoted and lashed out. His boot connected and bounced off something hard. A soft grunt filled the air, and then something caught Serus under the jaw, snapping his head back and to the side. Even he heard the crack as his jaw snapped.
Damn, that hurt.
He rebounded and attacked fast and hard. This vamp was bigger, maybe younger – he might even be stronger. But there was no way he was as pissed off as Serus was. He'd lost so much already, and with Rhia in hospital and Goran hurt somewhere in the darkness, he'd be damned if he let this asshole get the upper hand.
His fist came out and connected. His second hand crunched upward in a wicked undercut. He kicked and bodyslammed his opponent to the ground. By the time he caught his breath, he realized the other man was no longer moving. He own breath was so raspy and loud it was impossible to hear if the other male was still breathing.
And damn, why were there no lights here?
He bent over the downed man. A hand struck out and clamped about his throat…and squeezed. Serus stumbled to the floor, his own fingers reaching for the one spot in the side of the asshole's neck. Try to catch him unawares, huh? Not likely.
The vamp went limp, but Serus didn't let up. This guy was not going to get up again. Ever.
After a moment he eased back, and then checked again. This time the other vamp was dead. Or he should be by now. As he'd learned this last week, "dead" no longer had the same meaning as before.
First he had to find his friend. He searched the gloom. "Goran, are you in here?"
No answer. He cast out a call telepathically. Still no answer.
Goddamn it. Now he was really getting pissed.
He straightened and slowly spun in a circle. There was no way they could have spirited his friend out of the room, and so that meant Goran had to be here somewhere.
Methodically, he marched off until he hit the wall in front of him, then turned and crossed the room in the opposite direction in a straight line a few feet down.
It took three laps before he tripped over something.
Something big and warm. He leaned over and searched the gloom.
Goran.
*.*.*
Jared knocked on the front door of the house the mailman had pointed out. The windows were dark, with heavy blinds blocking the bright sunlight.
He didn't know if vamps slept during the day, or even if they slept at all. He just wanted to find Tessa, but when was the best time to get hold of her?
No one answered his knock. He found an old-fashioned bell pull on the side. He grinned and gave it a good yank. What a great idea.
A heavy bell gave a lonely echo.
The door opened – silently.
Jared stepped back. Waking a sleeping vampire might not have been his best move. No one stepped out. No one called out. In fact, there didn't appear to be anyone on the other side. But he hadn't opened the door. Someone else had.
Taking a deep breath, he grabbed a hold of his courage and called out, "Hello. Is anyone home?
There was no answer.
He looked around, glanced up at the sun reflection, and realized the vamps couldn't come out. He stepped up into the open doorway. "Hello. I'm looking for Tessa. Is she home?
He peered into the darkness. There didn't appear to be anyone home. "Hello?"
"Tessa isn't home." The voice was male and deep and dark.
He shivered. Then he resolutely stiffened his spine. He'd be damned if he was going to let another asshole vamp scare him. "Do you know when she'll be here?"
There was a long pause. "No."
"Drat. I needed her help with something. Do you know how I can contact her?"
"No."
"Does she have a new cell phone yet? I could call her. Or text her."
"No."
Jared was starting to get angry. Surely he deserved more than one-word answers. He needed to get back to the blood farm. And find his father.
If he couldn't get Tessa's help, then who did he turn to next? Tessa's parents?
He asked hesitantly. "Who am I speaking with?"
"Tessa's brother."
Jared brightened. "David?"
That voice deepened. "No. Seth."
"Oh." Whoever the hell this brother was, he wasn't the friendliest. "Is your father here? Or your mother? I could talk to them."
"No."
Now he was getting irritated. "Look, I have to return to the blood farm. I don't know you. But I know the rest of your family." He paused. "At least, I know some of them."
"Who are you?"
He brightened. Now they were getting somewhere. "I'm Jared."
Silence fell between them again, only a more thoughtful type of emptiness. Jared tried again. "Tessa came and rescued me from the blood farm with your family's help."
"And you want to go back up there?" the disembodied voice mocked.
"Yes, I have to find my father." Even as he said it, Jared's stomach knotted at what he might find. But he had to know for sure. "Look, apparently my uncle sent my father to the blood farm a long time ago. I don't know if he can be saved, but I need to try."
"What do you want from us?"
"I don't know where the blood farm is exactly. I was unconscious when I was taken there and not in the best of shape when I left." He took a deep breath. "I was hoping to catch a ride up there so I could look for my father."
There was a further thoughtful silence.
"What about your human authorities? Did you ask them for help?"
"Not yet. I'm sure they won't help. It's not like they see me as anything but a kid." His voice rose, as did his anger at the way the police had treated him. "They just think I'm nothing but trouble."
"And who knows you came here?"
"No one. I picked up a new
cell phone, was going to call Tessa, and then I realized she'd lost hers, too. So I came by to talk to her in person."
Now that someone was actually talking to him, he relaxed. Considering that vampires might die if they were touched by sunlight, the dark, disembodied voice no longer unnerved him. He took a step inside the entranceway. "I was really hoping to see her."
"They're all up the mountain."
He got excited. "Where the blood farm is? Can I catch a ride with the next person going up?"
Again there was that same thoughtful silence.
What was there to think about so heavily?
"I'm going up there soon. But I don't want to take you up there and have you get into trouble again."
"No problem. I know to stay with the humans. Honest. It will take hours to walk all the rows of people and see if my father is there."
He shoved his fists in his pockets, both delighted and…anxious. This was not what he wanted to do. It was what he needed to do. Right now. "I'd really appreciate the lift."
There was only that same dark silence.
"Come back in a couple of hours. And make sure no one knows or sees you. I'm not going to take the rap for you going up and getting yourself killed."
Tessa glared as the door locked behind her. Bart was something else. She just didn't know what. 'Chicken shit' came to mind. With a shake of her head, she turned around and studied the tunnel in front of her. It was as dark as the rest of the farm had been light. She switched to vampire vision and started walking. With her hand in her pocket, she played with the cell phone, wondering if there was anyone she could call.
She needed help, but she'd damn near called everyone in her world already. Lot of good that had done her.
But now she had Bart's contacts. Who was on there? She pulled out the cell phone and checked the list of contacts. She barely knew any of the names listed. None were friends of her family.
Interesting. Not good or bad, just different. She wondered what to make of it. Were those people part of the mess here? She could call and find out. Maybe. But then they'd know she had Bart's phone and that wouldn't be good. These things had GPS trackers in them, didn't they? So, if Bart were on her side, she'd be fine. If not, he could tell the others and they could track her.