by Dale Mayer
Jewel's gaze locked on Cody's face. Then they narrowed. "You hit me?"
He widened his innocent look and sidestepped the question. "I used my dad's hold to knock you down."
She moved her jaw experimentally and winced. "Then why does my face hurt?"
Cody backed up. "Cause we had to bring you around so you could combat the drugs. They move faster through your system if they’re unchecked."
She pursed her lips. "So you not only put me out, but you smacked me awake?" Temper was starting to build in her tone.
Cody didn't mind taking a hit for hurting her, but he'd be damned if he'd do so in this case. "Fine. Next time, we'll leave you here and let you become a vampire slave," he snapped, glaring at her and David. His friend was keeping out of the fight. Smart man, but he wasn't helping Cody's situation. Pissed, he strode ahead and opened the next door. "This damn rat maze is nothing but a tunnel cordoned off into small sections by doors. And I, for one, want out."
He let it slam closed behind him. This hell had to have an end. There were miles of tunnels, but where was the equipment, the living quarters, the cafeteria? There had to be large machine shops, storage, and miles of venting. Where was the main farm? He knew how to get out from there.
The room he'd entered appeared to be a central spot with multiple doors heading off in a circle. Freakin' ridiculous! That's what all this was. He strode to the first one and tossed the door open. Empty. Just like everything else in the place. Without giving himself time to consider other options, he strode from one door to the other and checked them all. All empty. He glared at the sheer, vast whiteness that surrounded him, then lashed out and kicked the wall. One hard slam and his foot went through the wall.
He pulled back and kicked it again. The hole widened.
"What are you doing?" David's voice held curiosity but had little understanding.
Cody kicked again. "What do you see?"
"I see you venting your temper on a wall. Not exactly the best way to deal with the situation."
Cody spun around to face his friend. "Damn it. I'm not that out of control. There's nothing behind the wall. I don't get it."
David frowned, then walked over to the hole Cody had made. He squatted and peered onto the other side.
"Can you see anything?"
Jewel shuffled closer until she was right behind David. Cody watched the two in disgust. "How can you see anything from down there? Let me make it bigger." He judged the distance and lashed out to hit the wall above the hole he'd already made.
David pulled out several chunks of wood and pulled it free. In no time, he had a spot big enough to step through. He disappeared from sight.
"Hell." Cody followed him quickly, with Jewel and the ever-silent Ian following behind him.
*.*.*
Jared hated to wait. At least he was out of sight from anyone on the street. Tessa's family property had a huge hedge in the front. He stared at it, wondering if vampires did yard work at night like humans did in the daytime? Did they have mail delivery during the night, too for vampire letters?
The whole concept was quite mind-boggling.
Did the vamps consider humans as backward and as useless as humans tended to consider vampires, if they ever thought of them at all? Jared thought about the little bits of conversation he'd heard over the years. Mostly it had been in hushed tones and with awkward glances tossed over the shoulder to make sure they weren't being listened to. Vampires were still feared from long ago – with humans not realizing the feeling as being fear as such, but still caught under their spell, anyway. Like the ancestral memory of always being prey to a bigger faster, larger species.
He laughed at his musings. The vampires had always been peaceful in his lifetime. He didn't count the rogue ones they were battling right now. Every society had groups of renegades.
His was no different. Look at his uncle.
Dark, angry clouds gathered in the sky. There were hours of sunlight left in the day. His guts churned with impatience and fear. He so didn't want to go back up that mountain.
A voice – so quiet and calm he almost missed it – spoke behind him. "Are you ready?"
He spun around as the question was repeated. There was still no sign of Tessa's brother. He swallowed hard and said, "Yes, as soon as you are able to."
There was a slight pause, as if the other man was considering his words.
"I'm not used to understanding from humans," Seth said.
Jared's gaze widened. He'd never considered that Tessa's brother had experienced prejudice from humans. "I guess I'm viewing your species a little differently after having your family rescue me," he said.
Jared couldn't see Seth. Yet he knew he was there, staring at him and dissecting him. He squashed a shudder that was threatening to destroy his facade of calm. He hadn't felt this way with Tessa's family at the blood farm, but there was no doubt this vamp was a whole different animal.
Then, all of a sudden, the intense scrutiny stopped and Jared felt like he'd been released from some crazy, unseen hold.
He released a deep breath slowly. "How long before we can leave?"
Silence again.
Then, in a more businesslike voice, Seth answered, "My car has tinted windows, so we should be able to go soon."
Jared nodded while he puzzled over yet another unknown aspect of vampire life. They drove vehicles – modified, apparently. He stared at the open hallway, feeling even more like an outsider. It was dark inside the house. Did they have lights? Did they need them to see, or did they have a type of animal vision that could peer into the depths of night to make hunting easier? So many things he didn't know.
And now, because of Tessa, he was wondering just how their lifestyle fitted in with that of the humans. Or maybe it didn't. Then again, look at Tessa. She'd made it work, but at what cost? The more he saw of the differences between humans and vamps, the more he realized how much Tessa had given up in her journey into the human world. To be the only one to go out in sunshine had to be unbelievably difficult. Like, how did they find out she could go out on her own the first time? Of all the dangers that could befall an infant vampire, keeping them out of the sun had to be paramount. So did Tessa just unbolt a door and run out? And was it through her survival that they knew she was different? Did her brothers then go try the same trick themselves?
For all Jared knew, there were another half-dozen siblings until the parents managed to stop them from trying out sunshine.
He shook his head. He didn't even want to step inside Tessa's house. Yet Tessa had gone to school with him. She'd attended classes, eaten lunch, done all kinds of human things…like it was natural.
And maybe it was…now. But how did that start? Did she wake up one day and say "Screw it, I'm going to be human and go to a human school?"
No. No one did that. Even kids who hated their parents didn't do stuff like that. They ran away from home. Or defied their families and spent all the time a long ways away.
They didn't just change who they were – not at that level. Tessa had not only bridged the two species successfully – she'd done it with style. From what he'd seen, she was comfortable in both worlds.
And that was amazing.
"Are you ready?"
Jared turned to hear the sound of a car door opening. He stared at the open door, then toward the side of the house where the car engine purred, and made a fast decision. If he wanted to get back up the mountain, he'd have to catch his ride.
He jumped down the stairs and, just as he went to turn the corner, the front door slammed behind him.
He spun around. Long shadows had fallen across the lawn, giving it an eerie look.
Shit. He'd assumed that there'd been just Tessa's brother inside the house.
And, if that was the case, who the hell was driving the powerful black car that was coming straight at him?
*.*.*
"Goran. Wake up." Serus smacked his friend several t
imes, hoping the shock would bring him back to awareness. There was no sound or movement. Serus ran his hands over his friend's body, looking for breaks or other signs of injury. Instead, he found a needle jabbed into Goran's arm. Serus pulled it out and threw it across the room. "Damned drugs, why can't they play fair?"
He gave the rest of Goran's body a quick once-over to see if there were more needles. When he found nothing, he returned his gaze to his friend's face. He pulled back and smacked him hard. "Come on, damn it. We have to get the hell away from here."
He hit him a fourth time, and there was a slight movement in response. He reached down and shook Goran's shoulders. His head lolled from side to side. "Wake up. They got you again."
Goran's eyes flashed open.
Serus nodded. "Much better. I pulled the needle out, but don't know how much they got in or if they were trying to take blood out. There's a damn machine here, but I can't make heads or tails of it."
Goran's eyes narrowed, as if he were trying to comprehend Serus's words. Then understanding hit him and he struggled to get to his feet. Serus helped him up. Slipping an arm around his back, he hobbled Goran forward to the way they'd come in. "Damn it, Goran. This has to stop."
"Any time. I'm more than ready to retire," Goran mumbled. "I don't feel so good."
"Damn right you don't. Did you see the guy who attacked you?"
"Thought it was a woman, actually."
Serus groaned. "Shit. I took out one male but have yet to see a female here."
"I think I killed her, but I remember going numb and not being able to move."
"Let's hope you did. This fight is getting out of hand. I hate the drug stuff."
They made it to the doorway and stared out into the farm. "Nothing has changed. After all we did up to now, after all we've been through, after the kids have been through…and these people stillhaven't been helped. Instead, even more people have been taken."
"We just pissed off the assholes," Serus said. "We need to cut off the top bosses. Then work our way down. As the minions lose supervision, it's going to be a mess as they scramble to take over. A free-for-all."
"Sure. But we don't know who's at the top. And without that, how are we supposed to cut them off?"
"We need that damn computer checked out."
Goran stopped and looked at him. "Is Rhia in any shape to work on it? Does she know what she's doing? I think we need David and Ian. Cody is good with computers, but not like your boy."
True. "Then let's find our kids, retrieve the computer, and cut the head off this hydra."
"Not so fast."
The two men came to a sudden stop.
Facing them were four vamps. And off to one side stood a lone female, a needle in one hand, and a deadly smile on her lips.
"Oh, shit."
Tessa turned on both of her visions as she followed the vamp. If someone recognized her, it would be all over. That meant she had to recognize them first, if she could. She needed to see their energies.
The vamp spun around and held up one finger. "Shhhh. Someone is up ahead."
"I thought there was supposed to be. Weren't you taking me to meet your bosses?" she said dryly. "And is this what you wanted me to see?
"No." He shook his head. "But these people don't belong here."
She studied the thick wrinkles on his forehead as he concentrated. What was he doing? "How do you know?"
"'Cause they smell different." His forehead cleared and he grinned suddenly. "It's a vamp but not my bosses. At least, I don't think so."
She raised an eyebrow and stayed silent. The small corridor they'd been in widened to…well, she didn't know what. A cavern, maybe. It was a large, open dirt space but with some kind of construction going on in the middle. Like tunnels or the ground floor of an apartment building. As if they were approaching from the second story, she could look down on several long connecting rooms under construction. She stopped and narrowed her gaze. "What is this?" She only remembered to use the haughty tone in time.
"Part of the new construction but not done yet. In the middle is the new experiment center, and in a ring surrounding the center will be the medical rooms and secure holding cells or something. Don't know more than that."
Medical rooms. Secure holding cells. This looked like a major expansion. The thought chilled her, and she clenched her teeth hard to keep them from chattering. This was the first sign of…more. More plans. More victims. More experiments.
A heavy pounding brought her attention to the left. Whatever she was hearing, it was coming from this side. She turned, her mouth open to ask, when she caught the feral smile on the vamp beside her. He held up his finger to her then whispered, "Someone is trying to escape."
Her breath caught. God, she hoped they were. Who, though? She hoped it was her friends and family.
"And that means what to me?" she asked, trying for that same superior tone.
"It means you get to see some action." He went as if to go over the edge, fully prepared to beat the escapee back inside.
"What about your bosses?" she called after him.
"Not an issue. They'll be watching."
Ah, shit. That meant she couldn't go down and help the escapee without bringing herself and her actions to their attention. "Really? Where are they? Are they watching us now?" She kept an eye on him in case he indicated any direction.
He didn't answer – instead, he looked up and to the right then jumped into the center of the massive construction area.
So, now what? If the bosses would just show themselves she'd have a target. In a slow movement, she turned as if to survey the area, while searching for signs of energy. There was hers and the vamp she'd followed to this point but nothing else, as far as she could see. Yet he'd looked in that direction for a reason. She turned back to watch the commotion below. Whoever had escaped was going to get a surprise.
She gasped. Oh no.
David! Her brother's energy warmed her and terrified her.
Bosses be damned! She had to help him.
Just as she went to follow the vamp over the edge, she watched Jewel, Ian, and – yes – Cody arrive at David's side.
Cody!
She grinned as Cody spun around looking for her. She wanted to whoop for joy. Thank heavens for that.
Where are you? His warm voice filled her right to her toes, making them curl. She laughed.
Up above, looking down on you. Stay there. I'm coming to you.
Now she didn't give a damn about the bosses. She'd found her family and friends. To hell with the rest.
Oh, by the way. You have a big-ass vamp coming your way.
She took off to hunt down the asshole about to trash David.
*.*.*
Cody wanted to jump for joy. Tessa was here, and getting closer. Hot damn. That he could hear Tessa and that she was apparently able to see him was wonderful. Beyond wonderful. He walked closer to David. He wasn't sure how to say it, so he just let the words blurt out. "Tessa said she's on her way down and that there is some big-ass vamp coming after us."
David's jaw dropped. He lowered his head. "What?"
Cody winced. He'd known it wouldn't be easy but… "I can't explain it. But I can hear her thoughts. Or she's talking in my head. Whatever. I can't prove it to you, and the only way you'll know I'm right is when that vamp arrives or Tessa gets here first."
"Really? Well, let's have that big-ass vamp, then."
Cody turned to see where their nemesis could be coming from. Inside this huge mining cave, there were loads of places to hide. That the place was empty could mean a lot of things, from anticipating a large influx of people to fill it or having another farm starting up. He didn't know what they were planning, but there was room here for an army. He stilled.
Was that it? Were they preparing for an army?
Jewel stepped up to his side. "This is bizarre," she murmured. "It's very…" She stopped, apparently at a loss for the rig
ht descriptive word.
"This cavern…is almost as big as the blood farm we found." Cody walked forward, an arm width from the back of the wall. He couldn't see anyone besides the three of them, either vamp or human. "It's like this section isn't quite ready yet. We interrupted their schedule."
"Good. I'm all for stopping their effing schedule," Ian muttered. "I want to put the biggest damn bomb down here and watch the whole thing blow up."
"Could you wait until we get out of here first? I'm trying to find my sister, damn it."
"Really? 'Cause it looks like someone else has found us instead." Ian nodded behind David.
They all spun around.
A huge vamp was lumbering toward them.
They scattered for cover.
*.*.*
Jared jumped to the side as the big vehicle came to a screeching stop beside him. Warily, Jared bent down to look inside the driver's window. All the windows were smoked, making it hard to see.
The window rolled down a few inches. Enough for the impatient voice to roll out and snap, "Are you coming with me or not?"
Relief flowed through Jared. "I didn't know who was driving."
"There's no one else here," the voice snapped. "Now get in. We're going to be late at this point."
Jared hurried around the passenger side, got in, and buckled up just in time. The powerful vehicle lunged forward, made a quick left turn, and powered ahead.
Jared had never been in such a car. The dash was full of unique, gleaming dials and knobs. He knew how to drive, but this vehicle looked and acted differently. How could it have so much power? Trying not to look obvious, he cast a quick glance at the driver. Tessa's brother carried the same genes as the rest of the family, and he resembled David rather than either parent. Of course, Tessa looked like her mother, so he'd expected the sons to look like Serus. He thought that had been Tessa's father's name. Who could remember after all the vamps and people he'd met?