by Dale Mayer
Reassured, Jared settled back to try and sort out the route they were taking. With any luck, he'd be able to retrace it himself in case he ever needed to return.
It didn't take long for him to realize that wasn't possible. The vehicle made so many turns, and at such speed, that he had no chance to read the street signs or count the turns. In just a few minutes, he'd become hopelessly lost.
Sighing, he sank back down.
"Problems?"
"Not really. I was trying to follow the route so I could remember how to get here, but I'm already lost."
"If the blood farm was easy to get to, it would have been found a long time ago."
"That makes sense. Still, I'd rather know how to get back home."
In the dark, the look Jared received from Seth was more of an impression than a real look. As if Seth had touched him in some way, but not physically. And that didn't make any sense either. He knew about vampires and their abilities, but not in detail. The vamps apparently did drugs real well. Who knew what else they did?
And he didn't really want to find out first hand.
He was glad that he knew Seth's family. Otherwise he'd be very nervous right now.
Seth's next comment came out of the blue. "So, tell me about your family. Apparently, you know most of mine."
His family? Jared winced. Oh God, did he dare?
While he was still pondering the issue, the vehicle came to a hard, sudden braking stop. He peered through the weird headlights.
What the hell?
*.*.*
Serus, we're in deep shit now.
Serus hated to admit it, but chances were good that Goran was right. Can you fly?
Hell yes.
Then go. Take off up high and get your strength back. You can't help with these guys in the shape you're in.
I could carry you…maybe. Goran's voice was still weak, but getting stronger. We could leave and bring the fight back another day.
I don't think that is going to work this time. Serus had only moments to decide on a plan of action. Pick up the woman after I hit her. She'll be lighter for you to handle. Make sure you kill her. I'll take out these other ones. But I want her and her damn needles gone.
Done. Just make the move.
Serus could feel Goran readying himself. He turned his attention to the big gorilla vamps. They appeared to want to fight him with their bare hands. That worked for him, but the woman and her damn drugs were something else altogether.
Without warning, he lunged forward and kicked the needle out of the woman's hand. She screamed in outrage and launched herself at him. He never felt her attack. Goran swept her up and high overhead. Serus lost sight of them in the confusion of bodies pummeling him to the ground. He pulled the silver spike from his pocket and stabbed it into the vamp trying to crush him in a bear hug. The vamp's arm loosened slightly, then clamped down tighter.
What the hell?
Serus stabbed it in deeper, realizing the vamp was wearing something different by way of clothing, something almost impenetrable, but not quite – at least at the neck. With the last desperate shove, his hand found the edge of the protective gear and stabbed…just as his ribs were compressed even more. He found himself bending over, gasping for breath, as ash floated around him.
"Hey, what did you do?" roared one of the vamps as they both jumped him. That was when Serus lost track of the punches he dished out, the kicks to the jaw he managed to inflict, as he was pummeled and beaten back. Temper firing, he saw red as he slashed and kicked, and stabbed with the spike. He couldn't find flesh. Damn. He was grabbed from behind, but he flipped the guy holding him over his shoulder and punched him in the face, once, twice. The guy lit up like a firecracker and burned to ash in front of him, on him, and around him.
Serus pulled back in shock to see Goran grinning in front of him.
"Glad to see you're feeling better."
"I’m in perfect fighting form actually. They might have some scary drugs, but that just makes them run through my system a whole lot faster."
His grin was something to see. Serus laughed. "Now that's good to hear. At least the way we're taking care of them this time means they won't be coming back after us again."
"True enough."
"You killed the woman – right?"
"Yep, the same as these two." Goran kicked up the pile of ash at his feet. "They were a little hard to stick, though."
"Yeah, they were wearing some kind of weird material."
"Probably some bulletproof vest thingy. Borrowing from the humans again."
"Still, if we come across any supply rooms, it wouldn't hurt to see if there are a few spares." Serus looked down at the pile. "I don't want to come upon a pile like this and realize it was one of my kids."
Goran sucked in his breath. "Don't say that. I am not going to let that thought even enter my head."
"Nor do I want them to find our bodies the same way," Serus added, his voice thick with emotion.
"Let's go find someone else to kill then." Goran smacked him on the shoulder. "Make you feel better."
*.*.*
Rhia stared at Sian. "What do you know about the computer?" She cast a cautious look at her sister, still talking at the doorway on her cell phone.
"Serus mentioned it earlier, but I forgot."
"Where is it?" Rhia whispered.
"Under your bed."
Sian grinned as Rhia shook her head rapidly. "No, it's not. I looked."
"Yes, it is." Sian looked in Gittora's direction. "It's tucked up against the underside toward the head of the bed."
Rhia's breath gusted out. "We need to get it to someone who can help."
"What we need to do is get rid of your sister," Sian said. "Then we can pull it out of the hiding spot and see what's on it. Without knowing, we won't know who to ask for help."
Just then, Gittora stormed back into the room. "I have to leave. Sian, Rhia's not allowed out of here. Do you understand?" She pinned Sian in place with her gimlet glare. "Everyone will be pissed if you let her leave."
Sian managed the most helpless, innocent look Rhia had ever seen. She barely choked back her laughter. Sian was a force to be dealt with. There was no way her sister could beat Sian in a fair fight, but her sister never fought fair and Sian was pregnant. Arouse the protective mama instinct and Sian would take on anyone who threatened her baby, but she'd also be less likely to take chances.
"I won't leave," Rhia said. "Not to worry."
Her sister studied her face before her features relaxed. "You'd better not."
She turned on her heels and strode off, her high heels clacking on the hallway outside.
Sian raised an eyebrow and stared at Rhia. Rhia grinned. "Check that she actually left, will you? I don't trust her."
Sian rushed to the doorway and looked out. She came back with a big smile on her face. "It's safe."
"Good. Let's get that thing out."
Sian bent down under the bed and tugged at something. A minute later, she popped up, a smile on her face. "I've got it. Even better, I have my laptop here. So we can change the skin on top and make it look like this is mine."
While Rhia watched, Sian opened her bag, tugged out her own laptop, and made the switch. Then, pulling her chair closer, she turned on the laptop. Rhia shifted her position to lean up against the head of the bed. Holding out her hand, she accepted the laptop from Sian.
"Now, let's see what we've got here."
Tessa landed behind the big vamp. He spun around, saw her, and grinned. "Came to have watch the fun, did you?" He glanced behind her. "I guess the big boss man won't care."
"He might." She looked up at him with a serious expression. "But I didn't want you to have to face this group on your own. I couldn't see how many are trying to escape, but the odds aren't in your favor."
"Pshaw." He chuckled. "I don't need any help. But you get a front-row seat this way."
"Who wo
uld even be trying to escape? This place looks pretty secure."
"Oh, it is. But every once in a while, we get a more difficult captive. Of course, we're usually forced to terminate those subjects, as they don't take to the mind-control drugs."
Mind-control drugs! It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him about those when she realized that, in her impersonation role, she should already know. "So, anyone with a curious or daring mindset doesn't take the medication well?"
"Right. The more normal or average human becomes docile in captivity, but there is always a renegade type and they don't accept the programming."
She nodded as if that made sense to her. "What about other vampires, do we have matching test results on them, too?" She was taking a chance asking about the vampire experiments, but as long as she pretended to know what the hell she was talking about, he might believe that she did.
And she figured he didn't know the difference.
"We're finding it takes several shots of the drugs at controlled injection times over a span of a week for the drugs to set in properly. We've had the odd one take to the programming right away, but it wears off quickly if they don't receive another dose within twenty-four hours. As for some of the bigger males, they just don't take well to any mind-control drugs." He shrugged. "Think about it. We're kind of bad-assed and don't like anyone messing with our minds." He grinned. "Or with anything else, for that matter."
"So it's effective on smaller, younger, and probably on older vampires, especially if multiple doses are given. That means you'd need to have a large place to keep them until all the doses are given," she said. "And probably you’d need to keep them under observation to see if they need a booster shot in a month or so."
"Exactly." He looked at her admiringly. "See, you understand this stuff. That's great."
"I have a mind for this type of thing," she said with a small, self-deprecating laugh. Like hell she did. But she was starting to understand. "Is that what's under construction here?"
"Yes." He walked forward, his arm out and waving to the weird-looking structures. "These all connect. We move them from one room to the next as we move them through the process. We can open any number of doors and pull out the ones we want any time."
Gross. She smiled brightly. "Nice."
"Yeah."
A weird hush had settled over the place. A feral look came over his face and he spun around, crouching. "And every once in a while, we get to play with the mice."
"And what do you do with them when you catch them?" she asked curiously.
He tossed her back a big grin. "I get to kill them. Human or vamp. Once they start to fight, they aren't worth keeping. We take them out back and bury them."
Nice. Not.
"Is this a show the big bosses get to see?"
"Naw. I checked to see if they are in the observation room. But they aren't. Just my luck," he said gloomily. "I get a chance to show off and they aren't even there to see it."
"No." Tessa smiled grimly. "But I am."
His eyes lit up. "You are, aren't you? Perfect. You'll be sure to put in a good word for me, won't you?"
"No problem. How can I find them so I can tell them? Maybe I can reach them in time for them to watch you round up the escapees."
"Not likely, but…" He pointed up to the side of the cavern, where some scaffolding climbed up the wall. "The observation room is up there and the offices are in behind." There's some kind of meeting going on today, so everyone is busy with preparations. That's why I've get to take care of these characters fast. We can't have people running around loose when the bosses are showing the investors around."
"Oh, no. That would never do." Tessa smiled prettily as she stepped back, as if to give him more room. "Go for it."
He nodded once, gave her a salute, and took off.
Cody, the mother of all big-assed vamps is just about there.
We know. You stay out of sight.
That’s so not going to happen. Tessa cast one glance up at the scaffolding area. As far as she could see, no one was watching. She slipped into the shadows, checked the observation room one more time, saw no energy signatures, and snuck in behind the vamp. There was no way she was going to let him kill her friends. And, from the sounds of it, he thought they'd be dead easy. That meant he had a trick up his sleeve.
Still…she didn't want to kill him. He'd been helpful. She slipped around the next stack of building material and peered out. There was no sign of him. Bother it, she needed to get higher. No sooner had that thought crossed her mind, she found herself on top of the construction stack. She ran to the other end of the lumber, and then hopped up on top of a higher stack. She made several lateral jumps, trying to keep her landings soft and her approach silent. From the corner of her eye, she watched the vamp creep up on her friends. She landed on the far side…
And then she heard Ian's voice. "Hey."
She grinned at him. Ian punched Cody and David. Cody pinned her in place, a willing victim to his glowing blue eyes as they landed and locked on her.
Yes. This was what she'd been looking for. Her insides melted, her heart swelled. Once again, the damn man turned her to mush.
Damn it, Tessa, you were supposed to stay out of sight.
She opened her mouth to snap at him, when the vamp, a huge sneer on his face, rushed them.
"Watch out," Jewel cried.
Cody spun around and stepped up beside David. They both whipped something from their pockets.
Tessa watched in shock and amazement as the big vamp jumped them both – his big arms coming around her brother and friend in a single hug – and squeezed. She winced.
Then something odd happened. The big vamp went down with a heavy thud and writhed, groaning at their feet. She ran closer.
Instead of a decent fight from a big warrior, it was a non-battle.
"What the heck did you do?"
And then she saw it. Both men had silver spikes in their gloved hands. She pulled hers free and held it up. Their eyes lit up. David grinned. He stepped around the dying vamp and wrapped his arms around her. "Damn, it's good to see you. Where the hell were you?"
She snorted. "Hello. I was in the SUV. Where the hell were you?"
Cody reached over and snagged her shoulders, pulling her out of her brother's arms and into his. He hugged her fiercely, and then set her back to look into her eyes. "You were still in the same vehicle?"
She nodded mutely, knowing her joy at seeing her friends and brother again was shining from her eyes. "I hated waking up alone. I wondered if you'd taken off on me."
Cody cuddled her against his chest. "We wouldn't do something so terrible. You know that, right?"
She nodded, but that was all she could manage as she was being held so close against him. And that was where she wanted to be. Tears welled up. It seemed like she'd been alone for so long that she'd never find them. And now, here they were, united once again.
She smiled mistily up at him. "I'm glad to hear that."
"It wouldn't happen, sis."
She nodded and tossed her brother a big smile. "Figures. Can't say being left behind was much fun. Then there hasn't been much fun altogether since Jared went missing."
At the mention of Jared's name Cody stiffened, then relaxed. His arms tightened briefly then dropped away. She hated that. She fought her instinct to step closer, to throw her arms around him and hold him close. But it wasn't the time. And she'd said that too many times recently, also. She wanted the time to be right. She wanted the time to talk to him. To hold him. To kiss him.
"Nice coat."
His dry tone made her laugh. "Yeah, isn't it? Don't worry, you can have it back." She went to remove it, but he tugged her back into his arms and said close to her ear, "You can wear it any time."
She grinned. It felt so right to be in his arms. She felt so safe with him.
But they weren't safe. Neither were their fathers. She pulled back slightly an
d said, "I spoke with Dad."
David reared back. "What? You have a phone?"
She pulled it free of her pocket and handed it over. "Actually, I got it from Bart. I checked all the dying vamps, too, but no one here seems to have cell phones."
"Bart?" sang a chorus of voices.
Cody's harsh gasp had her turning to look up at him in surprise. "Dying vamps?" he asked cautiously.
She snorted. "I killed a couple and the sun killed a couple." She took a deep breath, then continued. "One of them said as he was dying, that he was forced into being part of the blood farm."
"That makes sense. If the bosses have lost so many people, they would need to have more pressed into service. Many vamps will be lining up to accept the enhancements offered."
Cody frowned. "Size being one of them. They've got some monster siz—"
Ian fell to the ground with a heavy groan. Jewel shrieked as she was caught in a tight grasp and pulled off to the side.
Tessa gasped but didn't have time to cry out. Cody went to step forward…and stopped.
They were surrounded and there, in the middle of them, stood a beautiful young redhead.
Shit.
*.*.*
Serus ran behind Goran, happy to see his friend regaining strength. They headed through the main warehouse back to the rooms where Goran had been held captive before. The door was closed. Not a surprise. Goran glanced at Serus, then stepped back and kicked the door open.
Cries of alarm sounded. Then silence.
"Goran?" Taz's voice came from somewhere in the back of the crowd.
"There you are." Goran grinned as Taz made his way toward them. "'Bout time we found you. Are you all good guys in here?"
"Yes, and we're a mix of humans and vamps."
"Good to know. 'Cause there is a mess of bad guys out here just pissing us off. We've taken out at least a half dozen."
"Each," said Serus. He smacked Taz on the shoulder. "Boy, you need to contact Sian. She's going to kill you herself if you don't do it soon."