“Actually, we are Dhampir.” Leading her daughter inside the house, she told her, “Your grandfather, Aidan Draco, was a Borne and your grandmother, Maria, was human.”
“Mom, did we inherit our gifts from them?”
“Yes, sweetie, we did.”
“Did you decide to become a full vampire?”
“Yes, so I can protect you. But you have the choice to stay human, if you want.”
“Hmm, I’ll have to think about that one.” Kai put her arms around, and she held her daughter tight.
David and Rona were chatting with the mysterious Anya until they saw them. Rona gave Mariah an arched glare. “Woman, out with it! What the hell happened at The Inferno?”
“The bouncers were ghouls, day guardians for the Damned. Candy’s tantrum was attracting them to us and … and there was a vampire in the office next to dance floor. We couldn’t let him know we were there. The Damned think Rathe is dead, and we need to keep it that way for as long as we can.”
“A vampire like you?”
“No, he’s not like us.” She dropped her fangs, like Tereza, Anya, Simon, Faeroes, Mina, and Rathe. “We have souls. The Damned don’t.”
Instead of fear, Rona grinned. “Way cool! Okay, so, you are a Borne, and the bastards who attacked Kai were the Damned?”
“Vampires attacked Kai?” Upset, she demanded of her kid, “Why didn’t you call me?”
“Because,” Kai explained patiently, “that’s what they wanted. I was the bait, Mom. Jarrod is mad. Really mad. He’ll never stop hunting us until he has us and makes us like him.”
Concerned, Anya told Faeroes, “We must leave here.”
“I know, my love. But honestly, I have no idea where would be a safe place for us to hide. Our enemy has established he has connections everywhere.” He appeared as worried as his wife. “Rathe, do we leave or fight?”
“We kill them all. I’m done running. Jarrod wants a fight, let’s give it to him.”
“Can we make our stand here?”
“We have the advantage of three telepaths and three Slayers.” The finality in his steely gaze and the determined set of his jaw, she knew Rathe was done running.
Anya corrected him, “Five Slayers.” She gave her husband a cool look, and he nodded, pride shining in his eyes.
“Yes, five Slayers.” Rathe winked at his mother, who rolled her eyes at him. Mina grinned.
Worried, Mariah asked, “Rathe, will we be able to return to our old lives?”
“Life as you and Kai knew it is over. The world, as we know it, will change when we declare war on the Damned.”
Rathe said to David and Rona, “I entrust you to guard Kai and Lydia while we sleep. Beware of the ghouls. They do their master’s bidding. You can tell what they are by their foul smell and blood-shot eyes. Trust Kai and Lydia, they’ll know who is friend or foe. Everyone, seek rest. At the next rising, we will surely meet our enemies.”
Just then the front door opened, Lydia and Simon entered the house. Lydia grinned when she saw her. “Well, I guess our adventure is ongoing, huh?”
“Sure is.” A chill swept through her and she held her daughter tighter. “Kai, I love you.”
“I love you, too, Mom.”
“Sweetie, would you show Lydia to one of the guest rooms?”
“Sure.”
“David, set the house alarms and do not invite anyone into the house.”
“Don't worry, Mom, we'll be fine. I love you.” Kai hugged her before hugging Rathe, surprising him. “Goodnight, everyone.” She waved at Lydia, “This way to the guest rooms.”
Mariah watched the girls walk upstairs before she left the house after Rathe and his family. David closed the door behind her, the sound of the deadbolt locking audible. Rathe’s family had already made their graves and they turned and floated down into them. Anya was in Faeroes’s arms, Mina in her mother’s. Simon winked at her before he disappeared into his grave. As one, dirt covered them.
Rathe asked her, “Ready?”
When she nodded hesitantly, he leaned down and kissed her, maneuvering her until their bodies completely touched. With a sweep of his hand, the earth opened and a grave was made. He held her tight as they floated down in the dark soil, cradling her to his rock hard body. As much as it felt right to be with him, fear choked her at being buried alive.
“Relax, Mariah. Sleep in my arms. Sleep.”
Giving into his ‘will’, she closed her eyes.
✝✝✝
Panting hard at the vicious attack upon him, Jarrod realized Mariah was gone. “Son-of-a-bitch!”
How did she break the spell binding the vampire inside her? Who exchanged blood with her? Anger boiled and festered in a mind already consumed with revenge and destruction.
Denied, denied, denied!
She was a vampire now — a vampire who had full possession of her precious soul!
“Bitch, I’ll make you pay! I will force you to watch me suck your precious daughter dry and then I’ll fill her with my blood. I will let her rip out your throat and let her feed off you. Afterwards, you will submit to my every pleasure and plead for mercy as I defile you and your darling brat,” he screamed, his chest heaving as rage consumed him.
A call rang on his bodyguard's cell phone, diverting his red-hazed glare to fix on the ghoul. The burly man answered it, watching him warily. “My lord, it's for you.”
Snatching the phone, Jarrod snapped at the caller, “What?”
“Hey boss, it's me, Reggie, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. I received a fax of the woman you're searching for. Good news. My bouncers told me she was here. Want her brought back to The Inferno?”
Vengeance could still be had. “No. Let her think she is safe. Well done, Reggie. I shall personally reward you when I arrive in good ole' Idaho.”
“Uh, my lord, I cannot in good faith accept such a gift,” there was a hitch of fear in Reggie’s voice.
“You have the girl I sent you to retrieve, do you not?”
“Well, um, boss, you see there’s a problem with the girl.”
“What kind of problem?”
“The men I sent to bring Kai Jordan here … well, they haven’t returned yet. Not answering their cell phones either. I’m on my way to check out the situation.”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Jarrod struggled not to crush the phone in his hand. “Do not bother. They’re dead.”
“How? There’s been no Slayers or hunters here since we took control of Idaho, Washington, and Montana.”
“Who else could dispatch our men, Reggie?”
“It’s Faeroes and Anya Romulas, isn’t it?” Reggie didn’t hide his terror this time.
“It appears so. How many vamps have you and your people made so far?”
“A hundred. I put them on the plane, at dusk, as you ordered.”
“What?” Cold shock hit Jarrod.
“I-I received your orders to send them to you.”
“You said the orders came from me?”
“Yes, my lord. By fax. Did I make a mistake?” Reggie’s voice trembled.
“How many of my children have you kept with you?”
“If the Slayers killed those I sent to bring the kid in, I have only nine, and they’re in Spokane.”
“Nine?”
“The rest were sent to you, my lord, to San Francisco. As was requested,” Reggie replied nervously.
“Did the fax say why I wanted my children here?” Jarrod asked, his fury barely held in check.
“You … I mean the fax said you were preparing for war and wanted them with you.”
If they were on their way, why hadn’t they arrived?
“Reggie, hold back and stay out of the Slayers’ way. I’m flying out immediately and will bring men with me. We’ve Slayers to destroy.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Jarrod tossed the cell phone back to his bodyguard. “Prepare my jet. We leave in an hour. Find Alexander and bring him to me.”
“My lord
,” the bigger of the two bodyguards said, “do you want us to investigate where the new recruits are?”
“Yes. I—” Jarrod stopped when the door to his bedroom opened and a young vampire named Warren hurried toward him and fell to his knees, bowing his head.
“My lord, Alexander called and told me to tell you the planes carrying our recruits have crashed.”
Jarrod roared, throwing his coffin across the room. Clenching his fists, he stopped when the young vampire’s words sunk in. “Planes? Only one was coming in from Idaho. Where was the other from?”
“Oregon, my lord. Alexander is at the Oregon wreckage, my lord.”
“How did he know?”
“When we’d awaken, he went to fax Mariah Jordan’s picture to our clubs in Idaho and found the orders to send the recruits still in the fax machine. He called to divert them, but it was too late. They were already down.”
“Why am I only being told now?”
“I do not know, my lord. I’ve only received his phone call a moment ago, confirming the crashes. Perhaps it took Alexander time to find their location?”
“Call Alexander and tell him I want the traitor found and brought to me, in Idaho. Tell him I am on my way to claim my brides. Warn him that nothing else had better happen in my absence, or I will be forced to find another second-in-command!”
“Uh, my lord, you-you—” Warren pressed his face to the floor.
“Me what?” he roared, his patience gone.
“You can’t take the jet. Alexander has it. I-I will call him and tell him to send it back.”
“Shit,” Jarrod screamed, his glamour slipped. Throwing open the balcony doors, he went outside. Grasping the railing, he squeezed, twisting the metal as if it were tissue paper.
“Do it, Warren, and make certain he does so with all speed!”
Chapter Thirteen
Blind. Cold. Unable to move.
Where am I?
It came crashing back on her.
Buried alive!
Opening her mouth to scream, Mariah inhaled clumps of cold, gritty dirt. Lungs burned, suffocating from no air, and the weight of the dirt pressing down on her, she was dying. Just as she was about to give up, the dirt erupted off her, and she felt someone grab hold of her jacket, yanking her out of the grave.
“Breathe, baby, breathe!” Rathe pounded on her back as she coughed, spitting out dirt.
Struggling to draw in clean air, she shoved him away and tried to stand on her own, collapsing onto her knees. Hands braced on the cold ground, the crunch of Rathe’s boots as he walked was like broken glass grinding in a blender to her ears.
Hunger slammed her with a savagery she’d never knew could exist. Closing her eyes, clutching her stomach, she saw the red-eyed monster that had haunted her nightmares. Roaring its hunger, it suddenly stopped and like a beast scenting fresh meat, it forced her to see the vein pulsing in Rathe’s neck. It whispered to her that she needed to feed, to rip out Rathe’s throat, and drink the life-giving blood — to feel his death as his heart sputtered and ceased to beat.
Snarling at Rathe when he raised his hand, she warily watched him as he swept it past her face and body. The dirt covering her vanished. She rose to her feet, could feel her fangs dropping. Accessing how to strike him and feed on him, she didn’t have time to react when Rathe took her by the shoulders, forcing her to look into his eyes.
“Mariah, ignore the beast inside you. Control the demon.” Slowly and cautiously, he offered her his wrist. “Drink my blood and ease some of your hunger until we can find you a donor.”
Grabbing his hand and wrist, she sank her fangs into his flesh, suckling the hot nourishment as fast as she could draw in his blood. When he pulled back, her first impulse was to clamp down harder, but she slapped down the feeling, allowing him his freedom.
Wiping her mouth with the back of her shaky hand, she sat down on the ground. “Why do I want to kill?”
“It’s the demon inside us. It attacks us when we are weak, hungry, or if the bloodlust is upon us when we battle, or are aroused,” he replied with a rueful smile.
“Is this why the Borne were condemned? Because of this-this blood rage?”
“Yes. It’s one of the signs to watch for. When the demon inside rises and those not taught to recognize it will succumb to the feeding frenzy and hurt someone.”
Glaring at him, she pushed to her feet, slapping off his hands when he tried to hold her. “A warning would have been nice! Waking up choking on dirt and then this … that was a total dick move on your part!”
“Forgive me. I thought you had met and controlled the demon when you survived the Change.”
“Where were you?” Feeling stronger, she walked unsteadily to the lake and scooped water into her mouth, rinsing out the dirt and blood taste.
“I wanted to scout around before you woke, to make sure it was safe.”
“Are we?”
“So far, yes.” Lord, he looked so damn upset, she couldn’t stay angry.
“I’m fine, Rathe. I’m in control and the demon, or whatever, is gone.”
He reached out his hand and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “It’ll become easier in time.”
She leaned to kiss him. Loving the way he opened his mouth and hos his velvety-rough tongue felt, she felt his arms draw her into his embrace. In his arms, she began to feel better, healing inside and out. From behind them, the girls' laughter broke them apart.
“Mom, you and Rathe are not supposed to be fooling around.”
Mina giggled, hiding her smile behind her gloved hands, while Kai grinned at them. They screamed, running away when Rathe chased after them. Mariah laughed as they squealed in delight when he effortlessly grabbed them, carrying one under each powerful arm. Simon and Lydia were walking toward them, holding hands. They looked so much in love. Anya shook her head, grinning when Rathe passed Mina to Faeroes, who tossed her effortlessly in the air. Tereza slipped her arm through Anya’s, smiling at them. In awe of seeing a family of Slayers, strong and deadly, who had survived vampires and hunters, and still they could laugh and love after all they have endured and lost.
Flash of headlights distracted her as a car drove down the long driveway. “Rathe, we have company.” Seeing the driver, she groaned. “Crap. It’s Jeremy.”
“Mom, be careful.” Kai wasn’t worried — she was scared!
Jeremy parked behind their cars and was getting out of his. She glanced back at Rathe and his family. Their fierce, glowing eyes should have given Jeremy pause, but he kept coming toward her.
“Mariah, I’m here to take you with me.” Unaware or just too stubborn, or stupid, to see the danger, Jeremy reached out to take her hand.
Rathe was in front of her and shoved him, sending Jeremy flying backward onto the ground. “Do not touch her!”
On his feet, Jeremy implored to her, “You have to leave here.” He jabbed a finger at Rathe. “Candy heard he’s wanted for a drug deal gone bad. They're coming to kill him. I'll take you and Kai away, hide you somewhere safe.” Jeremy scrambled back when Rathe took a threatening step toward him.
“Mariah,” Jeremy implored, “come with me. God, woman, don’t you understand that I am risking my neck to help you?” When she refused, he shouted at Rathe, “You son-of-a-bitch! She’s gonna die because of you.”
Pissed, Rathe grabbed a fistful Jeremy’s shirt and lifted him completely off the ground. Jeremy yelled, “Let me go, you bastard!” Trying to break the hold on him, he screamed when Rathe snarled in his face, fangs long. “What are you?”
She smiled, a humorless one. “I believe you have already guessed what we are.” He stared, horrified, as she lengthened her fangs before him. “You need to decide which side you’re on. Ours or our enemies?” She arched her eyebrow in question at him.
“Are you going to kill me?”
Rathe replied, “It depends, human, if you prove useful to us. Have you heard if a man named Jarrod has arrived at The Inferno?”
“Have you anything you wish to share with me?” She asked softly, boring into his mind, searching if he’d seen Jarrod yet. His mind was a rabbit hole of guilt and helpless anger, she had to pull out or be sucked into his self-pity.
Jeremy broke out into a sweat. “Do-do you want me to call Candy and see if she has heard anything?”
“No, I think it wise if you left us. Return here and I’ll kill you.” Jeremy had sold her out, knew it by the way he kept licking his lips nervously. “Rathe, send him on his way.”
Rathe threw Jeremy and he hit car. “You heard her. Leave.”
Faeroes and Anya pulled out their guns, checking their ammo. Jeremy struggled to open the car door, finally got in, and sped backward down the driveway, dust and gravel spewing in his wake.
“Well,” Rathe said grimly, “I guess we leave. Faeroes—”
“Can you feel it?” she interrupted him. “Something’s wrong.” Listening to the sounds of the forest, she realized it had gone quiet. She shot a quick look at her daughter, who was holding Salish and Bear’s collars. The fear in her child’s eyes had her grabbing Rathe's arm. The smell of rotting corpses hit her.
She shouted, “We have company!”
“Run!” Rathe yelled, drawing his gun.
Anya took Lydia and Mina by the arm, who grabbed Kai, dragging them back to the house. The dogs ran after them. Simon and Faeroes stood beside Rathe, shooting the vampires as they dropped out of the trees. When the vamps turned and ran away, they drew swords and gave chase. Drawing her gun and held it ready to fire, Mariah heard the laughter echoing out of the woods, opposite direction where Rathe and his brothers went.
A trap!
Shadows shifted, solidifying into vampires. Rows of sharp teeth snapping, drooling, their faces gray masks of pure evil, they advanced upon her. Fifteen men formed a scrimmage, placing themselves in front of the cars.
Hearing the front door open, she saw David holding a kitchen knife in his hand. “Get your ass in the house! The Damned cannot enter without permission!”
Whisper to Me (Borne Vampires Book 1) Page 20