by Dale Mayer
She frowned. “No idea. But I bet they stumbled into something they shouldn’t have. Jared was with them, and we know how much the blood farm has been trying to get him back into their clutches.”
“So all three would be a coup for them and might help them gain favor with the ever-changing hierarchy of bosses above them.”
“And your mother,” Motre said. “How does she fit into this?”
“No idea,” Tessa said. “Whatever she is doing will be to save Seth. I just don’t know how far she’ll go to save him.”
“The drugs have affected her, so who knows?” Cody said apologetically.
“So she took more. Right, that makes sense,” Motre muttered.
“She might have, but only if she thought she could control their effect on her. Otherwise, it doesn’t make any sense. If she only took a partial dose, she might be able to do just that.” Tessa sat forward in excitement. “That would actually make sense.”
Cody shook his head. “Tessa, I know you want to believe in her, but she took more drugs. Doesn’t that sound like a junkie to you?”
He caught the look on Motre’s face, the single eyebrow shooting to the hairline.
“No,” Tessa said, but instead of being mad like he’d expect, she sounded sad. “Mom is all about saving Seth. So we might not like her methods or understand her reasoning, but I do believe she’s doing it because she doesn’t see another option.”
“If they believe she’s trying to infiltrate their organization, they’ll kill her,” Motre warned.
“And she’d say that it’s what she had to do and if she died doing it, then she died.” Tessa leaned her head back. “So let’s find her before it comes to that.”
Cody let his breath out in a whoosh. “How far away is it, Motre?”
“Another ten minutes,” he said. He changed lanes and turned on his signal. “This should lead to where we want to go. The road had a lot more traffic since the big blow up.”
“Blow up?” Tessa asked. “Where exactly are we going?”
“The GPS signal is coming from the valley beside Moltere’s Mountain.”
She turned in shock to stare at Cody. “Really?”
Cody nodded. “That’s where the GPS signal stopped.”
She slumped back to her seat. “Damn. I swore nothing could be left alive in there now.”
“I don’t think it’s there as much as it’s in the same general location. That would make sense. You found the one place that went up inside the mountain and you came out at the top in the snow region. It’s on the list of places to clean up and out, but I don’t know that anyone made it there yet. The hospital became a priority once we realized our friends and family were all in trouble instead.”
“I’d forgotten about that place. It was at a much higher altitude than the other blood farm.”
“Do you know for sure that you were in a blood farm? Or maybe it was just offices? It seems ludicrous to make the blood farms so far apart.” Motre turned to glance at Cody. “Unless it was a new one they didn’t have up in operation yet.”
“I think that’s why they were hunting humans when they caught Jared. They had new blood farms and needed new livestock.”
“So we’ve taken out the old ones and now we need to find the fresh stock again.” Motre nodded. “Makes sense.”
“But we found one of the new farms that wasn’t finished yet. So it could just as easily be the one she escaped from was an original and it was difficult to move the blood so they built new ones. And maybe after blowing those ones up, they were forced to return to the original facilities until more could be built.”
“All of it is possible. I almost want to blow up the entire area,” Tessa said quietly. “But if there are people we can save, then we need to. Our numbers are declining. If we don’t stop this, then it’s over for us. Maybe not today or next year, but they have the capability to grow armies, and when they have enough, they will unleash them on us.”
Cody felt her shudder from the back of the van. Tessa had been through so much already. Just the thought of this mess never being over made him tired now. He couldn’t imagine what life would be like in several decades if this continued. He wanted life to return to the pre-blood farm era.
In that case, Tessa said, we have to wipe out ninety percent of the vampires around us.
*
“I’m not staying behind,” Serus growled. “You heard Sian. Rhia is there. I need to find her and stop her.”
“You won’t know which side she is on. You’ll want to believe her but won’t understand if she’s your Rhia or the drugged one. And she’s likely to stab you in the back,” Goran warned.
“I know, but I don’t have a choice. She is my heart. She’s doing this to save my son.” Serus stared out across the bright sunny sky. “Damn, we’ll have to drive.”
“I know. And that’s already a problem if they have any kind of lookout. We won’t be able to approach quietly.”
“Then let’s hope they don’t because we’re coming regardless.”
Goran grinned. Serus smiled. It was good to be back with his friend. He wished he was with his daughter too, but the whole family was splintered. He’d like it to be otherwise, but at least she had Cody with her. David was safe here now and his wife Rhia, well, he understood what she was doing even if she didn’t.
*
David shook his head. “No way am I staying here. That’s my mother and my sister out there. Someone needs to be on their side.”
Sian looked to be ready to pull her long beautiful hair out. He glared at her. “You know someone needs to help Mom. The other vamps are going to kill her on sight. So few believe she’s not been turned and most would say kill her just to be sure. You know that.”
“Your father has gone for just that reason. I’ve got two units verging on that location,” Sian cried. “But someone needs to figure out what’s going on here. Those three people – your friends – were snatched from here. And we need to know how to make sure there’s no one left here that isn’t supposed to be here.”
Jewel tugged on David’s arm. “Sian does need our help.”
He turned to look down at her in frustration. She’d been the one who wouldn’t stay before, now he was going to have to stay too? Finally he relented. “Fine.”
“Thank you,” Sian said in relief. “I really do need the help.”
And that made David feel all that much worse. “Sorry, I just hate to be left out of the fighting.” He grinned as both Sian and Jewel rolled their eyes at him. He snagged up Jewel’s arm and tucked it into his. “Okay…” He paused to consider their first move when his phone went off. He pulled it out and read the message in surprise. “Cody and Tessa suggest we find blueprints for the Council Hall and do a full sweep.”
“Now that is something I can help with.” Sian walked to an empty computer desk on the side and brought the machine up. She quickly logged in and opened up several folders. “These are the original drawings of the building.”
“Who’d know about these?” David asked, sitting down beside her to look. He clicked on one folder and a big blueprint rolled up. “This thing is going to be hard to read on the monitor.”
“Blow it up,” Jewel said. “Then print it off in sections. We can pin the whole thing on that wall.”
David looked at the wall she pointed at and back again. He nodded once. “Great idea. Let’s do it.”
*
Rhia took a deep breath then pushed the door open. And found it full of vamps all eager for enhancements. She wanted to give them a quick boot up the rear. What was wrong with them that they weren’t happy with who they were? Enhancements wasn’t going to make them better, it was only going to make them different. And considering how different, she didn’t understand the enthusiasm.
She frowned at them. Surely they weren’t old enough to make this decision. The part of her mind that was clear was screaming at her to tell them to run. To get away from here. And the part of her mind t
hat was like a gray ooze in her head was screaming at her to drug them up now before they had a chance to change their minds. This wasn’t the room she was supposed to do first. That was the good part of her mind. She was trying to delay going to Ian and Wendy, but she also knew if she waited, someone else would do the job.
The vamps stared at her. “Now what? We just had our blood taken,” one of the vamps lounging in front of her said. “The other woman said our blood would have to be checked before anything else.”
She nodded. “I’m in the wrong room. Sorry.”
With a cold smile, she left and closed the door behind her.
She heard one of the men say, “Wow, who the hell was that? She didn’t look quite right.”
She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. It was not the first time she’d heard something derogatory about herself, but it was the first in a long time. She couldn’t blame him, she was a mess and now with part of her fighting the drugs, she was a bigger mess likely than she even realized. Good for him for seeing something was wrong. Maybe he’d reconsider his own pathway here.
He didn’t have to take the drugs. These kids had come here voluntarily. In that case, they could all disappear and no one would know or care. Well, the blood farm would care. They’d probably turn the kids into unwilling participants. Rhia didn’t think anyone was allowed to leave – ever.
The door she was looking for was outside. She reached a hand in front of her and found it shaking. She clenched her fist and stared at it. This was a turning point. She knew and cared for the people on the other side of the door.
How she handled this was important.
For everyone.
She opened the door and stepped inside.
*
Ian watched Rhia survey the room, ready to fight.
He caught his breath.
Rhia turned to face him and smiled. A sad smile, but it was definitely a smile. “Hi, Ian.”
Ian let out a shaky breath, his gaze wary as he studied the mother of his best friend. She’d been through it these last weeks, but then, so had he. He’d had the same drugs coursing through his veins as she had, only she might have had more. And he’d missed out on the brainwashing system she’d been put through. He could emphasize, even sympathize, but no way in hell could he condone her helping the bad guys.
“Rhia,” he acknowledged with a head tilt. “What are you doing here?”
“I came here to help you,” she said. “The trouble is I don’t know if you know what that means.”
“Maybe the better question is do you know what that means?” he responded warily, his attention tracking her movements. She was a powerful vampire and older than him, as in way older. He was also hampered by respect for someone he knew. And respect for the relationship they’d had up until now.
The haggard look on her face damn near broke his heart. Seth’s actions had hurt so many people. He understood she felt guilty, but he wasn’t in the same camp that said Seth was completely innocent. At one point, Seth had signed up for this. At what age, and had he done so without influence, he didn’t know. But Seth was brilliant. And maybe he had been just naive and stupid. But somewhere along the way, he’d gotten in too deep. Rhia might be able to save the boy she remembered, but Ian was afraid the man he’d been hearing about was past saving.
“I need to find Seth,” she said, articulating carefully.
Why was she speaking so oddly? He studied her, looking for signs of drugging. “Are you still taking drugs?”
She opened her mouth to speak then snapped it closed. She appeared to be struggling as to what to tell him, then her shoulders slumped. “I took a little. Enough to try and get the information I need to find him.”
“And if you get sucked into this morass instead of saving him?” he asked gently. Inside, his mind was screaming. Why? How could she? She’d seen so much damage from the drugs. Had been drugged herself. She wasn’t likely to recover from another dose.
“I had to try.”
And oddly enough, he understood. “Then how can we trust you?”
Her gaze shifted to look across the bedroom as if to look across the distance between them. He hated to see her so torn, but she was an unnatural vamp in that she took to mothering like humans and not the cold survival strategies that most female vampires adopted. “I’m hoping you’ll help me,” she said quietly. “As I’ll help you.”
That was the last thing he’d expected.
Chapter 6
Tessa watched as they drove to a place that had nothing but harsh memories for her. She slowly, methodically chewed her way through her third granola bar. They’d been talking earlier, but the closer they got to the destination, the more silent they’d become. The three of them had faced death so many times already that in a way, it had become the norm. For all of them. Her family, Cody’s family, their friends and clan members. Now they were heading into battle yet again. It’s not that she was tired. She understood now that so much of her fatigue was mental, emotional. Not physical. At the moment, the melancholy was dominant. Not bad. Not sad. Just reality.
There was a sense of needing to move through the emotions and not trying to avoid them. Maybe that was part of maturing, or maybe it was just a reaction to the massive stress she’d been under and the changes wrought in her own psyche. She’d grown, changed so much. And now she didn’t know what to think. But the sight of the collapsed mountain brought back much that she’d hoped to never revisit. How so very appropriate that she was here again. It was like nothing ever changed…just the people caught in an endless loop that did. She had. Cody had. Everyone she knew had.
“You okay?” Cody asked her quietly.
She nodded. “I am. Just not impressed at where we are.”
He looked over at the new formation of the mountain beside them and nodded. “Both good and bad memories.”
Motre snorted. “You’re a sick person if you can find anything good from this place.”
Tessa grinned and reached for Cody’s hand, overjoyed to find his already there reaching for hers. She knew what good had come from this place.
Focus on that, he whispered in her mind. All the rest are dark details that will fade over time. We have each other. That’s what’s important.
Thanks for that.
No problem.
And damn if she didn’t sense a warm hug wrapping around her. God, she loved that. That sense of being part of an intimate twosome and knowing that others knew but that they didn’t really know. How could anyone if they weren’t part of it? Weren’t one of the two? It was so damn special.
Did all couples feel this way?
She hoped so. But with the mindspeak, it made the connection so much deeper. So much more intimate. There was no way to hide anything from him. And maybe that was the way it should be. Honesty on all levels.
She smiled, realizing how much better she felt already. Just knowing he was there for her had pushed the melancholy away.
No. Her smile widened. It hadn’t pushed anything away. His presence had helped her walk through it – and leave it behind.
He was a blessing.
“We’re here,” Cody announced, holding up the GPS.
She looked around. “There’s nothing here.”
“Maybe, but according to the GPS reading, this is where their last location registered. In fact…” He stopped talking as Motre shut off the engine and opened his door. “As there is nothing here, I’m going to suggest that we are right on top of them.”
The clouds had filled the sky, making it safe to walk. It was almost dark enough, but the late afternoon sun was still a problem. Tessa frowned. The clouds would help a little. It wasn’t a problem for her, but for Cody and Motre…
“Which makes sense considering the number of tunnels riddling this area.” Tessa turned to look at where they were in relationship to the mountain they’d brought down and the cliff she’d jumped from. It had to have a connection here. In fact, as far as she could tell, and she’d be t
he first to admit she might be wrong, but it looked like they were between both of them. The mountain she’d escaped from into the snowy peak rose sharply behind her with a valley near the toppled mountain. These vamps had done an incredible amount of work over the last couple of centuries to make this happen.
“Okay, but how do we access it?” Motre asked. He stood, hands on his hips, and surveyed the area. “There are no hills, doors, trapdoors, mine entrances, buildings, or anything obvious to show an entrance.”
Cody walked the area with his GPS tracker. “They are definitely below us.”
“How deep will that signal register?” Motre asked. “Will it read six feet down or a hundred feet down?”
Cody frowned, looked at the tracker, the ground, then the tracker. “I’m not sure it would read below the surface at all.”
“Then why are we here?” Motre asked in exasperation. “It’s obvious no one else is here, so why do you have a GPS signal unless it was registering below the surface?”
*
Cody stared at Motre. “I have no idea.”
Tessa strode to the left, catching his attention. He watched as she bent, twisted, then straightened. He nudged Motre, who turned to watch, too.
“What is she doing now?”
“Likely checking to see what energy is here now and who might have been here before. But I can’t say for sure.”
“The things that girl knows how to do…”
“The things she’s learned how to do,” Cody corrected, watching as Tessa backed up, as if trying to get a different view of where the vehicle had parked. “She didn’t know how to do any of this before.”
“And that just makes it all the more fascinating. So many vamps would kill for her skills.”
“Another reason why they want her DNA – so that they can figure how she is doing this. Good luck though as none of her siblings can.”
“Do we know that for sure though? What sent Seth on his pathway?”
“A very good question.” Cody studied Tessa, loving the ease with which she moved. The graceful movements as she searched for answers. She was truly beautiful, but it was the inside Tessa shining though that made her who she was. And that just reminded him of that Deanna bitch. Was she gone? Could he count on it? The last thing he wanted was to be kissing Tessa and have that old crone be on the inside playing games with him. That had already held him back, even if he hadn’t been ready to acknowledge it. But she wasn’t exactly what he wanted in his life. He wanted his Tessa. Not a Deanna/Tessa combo.