by Dale Mayer
"Then we need to contact those two. Anyone else?"
"Maybe. I need to contact Rhia. See if she and Sian found anything on the computer." Serus pulled out his phone and called Rhia. Getting no answer, he quickly dialed the hospital. "Yes, I'm checking on Rhia. What?"
He stared at Goran in shock. "What do you mean she's not there?"
His mind still reeling, he closed the phone and put it away. "She checked herself out."
"She wouldn't. She promised she'd stay there." Goran shook his head. "She promised."
"And she'd have kept that promise – unless there was a good reason not to." Serus thought he might know what that was.
*.*.*
The car moved through the darkness, winding its way up the mountainside toward the blood farm. Jared barely recognized the area. But there were enough landmarks in the shadows to make his heart race and his blood pound. He so didn't want to be here in any way whatsoever.
"We're almost here," Seth said.
And that just made it worse. Jared took a deep breath and nodded. He would do this. Failure was not an option.
Seth drove up to the house and parked. Everyone clambered out. Jared, being in the middle, was last. He took his time. He studied the surrounding area, hoping there were no other vampires here. There appeared to be only the five he had arrived with. He walked with them to the garage with the weird floor. Once on it, Seth lowered the floor, and they entered the steel door. Jared followed them down the series of tunnels he remembered from the last time. The white expanse had chills racing down his spine. So much white wasn't normal for any culture.
They passed the computer room and carried on down to the blood farm. As Jared watched the bodies appear, his heart stopped. They were still there – hanging the same as they were before. So nothing had been done yet. He sighed. What had he expected? It wasn't like anyone knew what to do with these people. The doctors had said it could be weeks or months until this was sorted out.
That meant his father was most likely still hanging somewhere. At least now he'd have a chance to look for himself. As they entered the blood farm, he realized there was very little physical movement. He couldn't see the hordes of people he was expecting to see working on the hanging victims. He stopped and looked around. Where could they be? Not that it mattered. He needed to find his father – before he lost his nerve.
Wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans, Jared crossed to the first row and down the line, searching for a man somewhere in his late thirties or early forties. But he worried that he wouldn't know what a man who'd been hanging for the so long would look like now. Would he look better for not having used his physical body? Or look older from lack of sunshine and movement?
Jared stopped to peer at the computers attached to each male. There were no names. Just numbers. He focused on the faces. He had ignored the vamps who'd driven up here with him, not wanting to know what they were doing here. It was hard initially, but then he got caught up in his task and forgot about them for real.
He had made it down four rows when he felt eyes on him.
He hunched his shoulders, crouched, and turned.
*.*.*
Rhia and Sian slipped down the back stairs of the hospital and left through one of the many delivery door exits. Rhia knew her energy was low, but didn't dare give herself any more time. She was a vamp. She could do this.
"I still don't think you should have left the hospital," Sian repeated once more.
"I got that." Rhia cast a glance around behind them. "But after finding my doctor on that damn list, I sure wasn't going to stay."
"Understandable." Sian added, "I copied it onto the flash drive, but now we have to keep both copies safe."
"And get them to someone who can help."
Sian walked at the same pace as the slower Rhia. "I have a few ideas. There were four council members not on that list, and I know one of the ancients personally. We need to get to them, make our case, and get their help. We have a war brewing and we need to have our side marshaled and ready to go before the other side counterattacks. They've been winning steadily. Enough is enough. We have to put an end to this."
"I know. My son and daughter are in that damn place."
Sian's phone rang. She peered at the caller display. "It's Taz."
Rhia smiled, happy to have any link with their team. But the smile left Sian's face almost immediately.
She waited for Sian to finish the conversation. When she closed the phone, Sian's face had sobered and deep worry lines filled her face. "Serus has released Taz and the others from where they'd been locked up. Serus and Goran have gone after the kids. Taz, of course, has gone back out to the warehouse."
Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Taz says things are really bad up there. They can't tell friend from foe. He said no one should go up there. It's too risky."
Rhia's heart plummeted. She'd just sent her oldest son into terrible danger.
Vampire in Deceit
(Book 4 of Blood Ties Series)
Dale Mayer
Hurt and hurting, Tessa wages war against her own as she tries to protect those she loves and save those that can't save themselves.
Ravaged by the constant attacks, afraid for her friends and family, Tessa is driven to the ends of her reserves as she strives to beat back the never ending wave of war. Thankfully she's never alone...inside or out.
Kidnapped and injured, Cody struggles to escape and find the girl whose connection to his heart, mind and soul is growing by the moment. The chances of them all surviving this chaos are slim...but he just knows he can't live without her.
Jared is determined to help his father and friends. He can't leave them alone to their fate, even when his own life becomes endangered...again. Only this time, he has allies on his side...or does he?
The war unites humans and vamps as the war ratchets higher to a survival of the fittest...but the people most deeply involved can't take much more. And then they find out the worst...
Valley Publishing
Copyright © 2013
ISBN-13: 9781927461839
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidences either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to all my children, especially my daughter Kara, who started me on the road to writing young adult books. Enjoy!
Tessa stepped into line behind her father as he searched the area for vamps. She hadn't seen anyone yet. Not that she'd been allowed to enter any of the rooms they'd come upon. Like usual, she'd been relegated to being a…girl.
It both pissed her off and made her feel loved.
Cody walked up behind her. "Tired of being in the background again?"
She smiled. "It's a bit unnerving to have my role switched depending on the people I'm with."
"True enough." He slung an arm around her shoulders. "Feels good to know you can handle yourself when the need arises though, doesn't it?"
"Yeah," she murmured, "it does."
Just then, the elders walked back out. "This place appears empty," her father said.
"Does that mean that we can release the captives?" Tessa looked around. "Then maybe go home and fight the rest of the war from there?"
"We have the captives’ location saved on the GPS," David said, holding up the phone.
"As this place
is empty, let's do what we can for them and get the hell out of here." Cody wanted away from this place.
Goran added, "We came here to find you, so if we're all here, let's check on the others. I'd like to see this room full of drugged vamps so we can help our own people and determine who's on whose side here."
Plan in place, Ian used the GPS on the phone to guide them back to the room full of drugged humans. Checking out the energy trails, Tessa realized no one else had come by since she'd last been here. So far, so good. Maybe the other team had finally run out of bad guys.
After a quick check on the still-drugged humans, Ian led the way back through the other rooms to where the vamps had been drugged. It was still empty. Or almost empty. They found Motre standing there, staring at the empty beds.
"Where the hell have you been?" Cody asked. He didn't know how Motre fit in here, but it was good to see him alive.
Motre grinned at them. "There you are. I've got the vamps in another place. Glad to see you're all doing okay."
He nodded to Serus and Goran. "Good to see you two."
"How is Councilman Bushman?" Goran asked.
"Awake and pissed." Motre's grin widened. "After we got separated, not by my choice, by the way," he rubbed his head and winced, "I decided to use the tracker and return to guard our people. Come on, I'll take you to the councilman. There are many of us up ahead."
They fell in behind him and entered the vast room to see that they were surrounded by vamps. Motre strode ahead toward a door on the far end.
Tessa stopped to study the faces of those around her. They didn't look familiar.
As the color of everyone's energy swirled around her, she realized that she recognized several from her treks to meet up with her friends and family. But none of them looked like allies. She whispered, "Shit."
She felt rather than saw Cody glance her way.
What's the matter?
They aren't on our side.
Are you sure?
No. But almost. And we're surrounded. So now what?
We kick butt.
*.*.*
Rhia slipped around the back of the huge mansion. Sian crept up behind her. Rhia's head still pounded and her limbs had a weakness she didn't like. She was getting stronger by the hour, but the hours had become too short and moved too fast. She had to get this information to people they could trust. And fast.
Damn it all. She wanted this mess over with. And her family home safe and sound.
"Is anyone there?" Sian whispered. "And why are we skulking around again?"
"Because we don't know who else might be here. We need to speak with Councilman Adamson only. Preferably in private."
"Right. He has no spouse, does he?"
"No. Or kids, as far as I know," Rhia murmured, struck by how different a life that meant. She had three children and Serus to fill her day. How lonely would her life be without them all? She couldn't imagine.
She returned her focus to the door at the back of the house. The house appeared empty. She hoped not.
Taking a deep breath, she rapped on the back door.
The door opened under her hand, the creak loud enough to make her jump. Sian's gasp had her looking behind. "Is there someone there?"
"I don't know." Rhia stepped into the dark interior, her senses on high alert. This could be a trap, but no one, and she meant no one, knew they were here.
She walked straight through to the main room, Sian right behind her. "Is the place empty?"
"It might be. Or," Rhia hesitated, "he might be hiding."
Sian looked at her curiously. "And why would he do that?"
"Because of the times we are in. If he had any idea of the other councilmen's involvement, he might feel like he’s in danger."
A heavy brush of wings filled the air.
Rhia stiffened. There was more than one vamp landing. Were they good or….
"You dare enter my home without an invitation?" Councilman Adamson questioned, his voice lethally sharp. A second vamp landed at his side. Rhia studied her. She thought it was Gloria, the dragon lady who kept the council in line.
That could be a very good thing.
"We called out," Rhia said. "But as we couldn't be sure if you were home or not, we decided to come in and check."
"And what is so important that you felt you were justified in doing such a thing?"
Rhia exchanged a quick glance with Sian. She took a deep breath, pulled out the laptop, turned it on, and brought up the saved material. Giving him a hard look, she spun the laptop around and held the information up to him.
"This."
*.*.*
Jared watched as a man in a white lab coat came around the corner of a row. A human doctor. "What are you doing here?"
Jared tried to smile. "I'm sorry. I'm Jared." At his name, the other man's face relaxed.
"You're the one that got away. I'm Taz. Tessa is a friend of the family. I was brought in to help these people out."
Jared relaxed. "Thank you. There was no one here when I arrived, and I was afraid something was wrong."
"Oh, we're here – just a few less than we started with. We were attacked and taken prisoner. Tessa's father and Goran came to rescue us."
"Oh, wow! I'd so hoped the bad guys were out of the picture now."
"I don't think so." Taz smiled. "How did you get here?"
"I came up with Seth, Tessa's brother, and four of his friends. They were already planning to come, I just hitched a ride."
"Really? There's no reason for any of them to be here." He frowned as he studied the area around them. "I'll need to find them and see what they want. They shouldn't roam around here freely."
"I haven't seen them since I separated from them at the exit over there." Jared pointed toward the way he'd come in.
"And why did you come back?" Taz asked, his voice low, solemn.
"I have reason to believe that my father is one of the humans hanging here." He took a deep breath, adding, "And has been since I was little." He hated the pity and compassion that came over the doctor's face. Taz was a good man. And he'd know all the implications of what Jared had just said.
"I'm sorry."
Jared nodded. He swallowed hard. "My uncle did it. He also sold me to the farm. I'm going to make sure he pays. I'd love to see him hanging up here." He motioned upward to the man hanging beside him. "Like this guy."
"No, you don't." Taz grabbed his arm and tugged him down the row. "Let's go down to the office we're using. There are computers there. And some food and drinks. Your father might be in the database. I don't know that they have any names there, though."
"That's why I'm walking the rows." Jared looked up and came to a dead stop.
Taz studied his face "What's the matter?"
Jared wasn't listening; his attention had locked on the face before him. Could it be? There was enough resemblance to his own face and a younger uncle’s to make him recognize the family line. But it was that inner conviction that made him sure. He could sense a connection. Sense a link between them.
It was his father. He knew it at a DNA level.
And it broke his heart to see this. To see the proof before his eyes. He dropped his gaze to the computer hanging in front of this man's body. Number 97239.
"It's my father."
*.*.*
Tessa's head snapped back as a blow came out of nowhere. "What the…" Only she was knocked forward into yet another blow. She went down…hard. Damn it, she was too tired for this.
Don't say that. Get up. Hurry. I can't keep them off for too long.
Crap. Tessa bolted to her feet, desperate to shake the fog from her rattled brain. A flash of silver had her instinctively shifting to the side and grabbing the hand behind it. She pivoted and stabbed the chest in front of her with her own spike.
Ash floated down around her. She groaned as another vamp stepped up and took his place, a ferocious grin on his face. The
y were all starting to look the same. Mean, ugly, and way too happy to be here for comfort. She backed up a step and hit someone. She pivoted, spike between her fingers, her nails long and dripping.
And found Cody staring down at her. She grinned up at him, loving the surge of warm power she felt between them. Then his eyes lit up in horror. He snatched her up and pushed her behind his back as the vamp she'd taken her eyes off charged.
And went down. She peered around Cody's shoulder to see it vaporize in front of them.
"I'm never going to enjoy a warm fire again."
Cody nodded silently. "I hear you."
There. She gasped. David and Ian are in trouble.
Let's go.
And go they did, meeting vamp after vamp, delivering blows and kicks, and taking too many for comfort. Finally they were in the center, where David and Ian had backed up against each other, chests heaving as they faced the enemy encircling them.
An enemy whose numbers never seemed to dwindle.
Tessa and Cody immediately took up positions next to them. Their last stand. She hated having that negative thought. Especially at this moment, with the four of them exhausted.
And surrounded.
"Where's Jewel?" David rasped, his voice low and hoarse and full of pain.
Cody answered, "She's with my father and yours."
Tessa couldn't see his face, but his relief was so strong she felt the physical wave that washed over her brother. His whispered "Thank you" hit a spot in her own heart. It also brought to life how very real and deadly this war had become.
They were all going to lose someone before long. They had to. The war was too big and too harsh for all of them to survive. She didn't want to lose anyone. She didn't want her way of life to die. And she didn't have a clue how to get through this.