But maybe Tess was right. Maybe it was just because everything was so unstable, so exotic—my life was far outside anything for which I had any frame of reference. I stood back and didn’t obstruct her as she stepped out into the moonlight.
She staggered back into the tunnel screaming as three long claw marks spilled lurid crimson across her skin. A vampire with long, brown hair and no shirt dropped down from just above the exit to the tunnel. One clawed hand was red with Tess’s blood, the fingers curled in like an animal’s talons.
I thrust Tess behind me in a moment of gallantry and instinct. It wasn’t like I’d ever successfully fought a vampire before. “Back the fuck off,” I growled. I reached for that inner energy I had, getting ready to use it.
Tess pressed her silver spike into my hand. It was heavier than any knife I’d ever held, the metal warm and comforting in my grip.
“‘Back...off?’” the vampire mocked, lip curled. “Or what, jackass? Going to kick sand in my eye? Pine needles? I’m a vampire, idiot. We’re the absolute top of the food chain. There’s nothing you can do to us to hurt us. Just surrender, and I’ll make it quick.”
“When have I heard that before?” I muttered. I lobbed a fireball at him.
He dodged and landed a blow on the back of my skull, setting my head ringing like a bell. Stars shot through my vision, but I pushed them away with a force of will I hadn’t known was there, readying another fireball in seconds.
I released another blast at him, my aim unerring. He didn’t get out of the way. Rather than firing at his body, I fired at where he would be. Striking him with a sizzling roar, the fireball licked around his torso as he began to scream. Instantly, he was more Roman candle than vampire, and I felt my lips curl in satisfaction.
They could probably hear him screaming up in Bangor, and that certainly put an end to our plans for stealth. I didn’t let go, though. I didn’t lose focus. I held on to those flames, and by God, I fed them. I wasn’t going to let the vamp before me douse them like before. I turned the heat right up, reveling in the destruction even though the smell alone was enough to make a normal man puke.
The vamp fought me. He grabbed me in his failing grasp, but the flames didn’t do anything to me, and with each passing second, I grew stronger as he roasted. I could feel him trying to put the flames out, but he wasn’t any match now that I knew what I was doing. In thirty seconds, he lost the ability to scream.
In a minute, he was a tumbling column of ash.
Tess staggered out of the tunnel, her dark eyes as wide as the moon. In a decisive kick, she scattered the vamp’s ashes and grabbed my hand. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s get moving.” She dragged me behind her as we wound our way deeper into the woods.
The claw marks that had gouged her were just angry red scratches now, but her shirt was flapping rags. We’d have to replace it before we went anywhere people might see us. I tried not to look. It made my anger return in a wave to see her hurt like that, despite her supernatural healing.
We didn’t speak for half an hour of solid running, the pace brisk but bearable. At a break in our stride, I knew we weren’t being followed, so I spoke. “That guy was waiting for us.”
She sighed and looked down. “He was.” She bit her lip. “He knew where to wait. I don’t know how that’s possible. The exit is well hidden. He shouldn’t have been able to find it at all.”
“But here we are.” I swallowed. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
She waved a finger at me. “You’re no Han Solo, and I’m no princess.” She stopped in her tracks and looked up to the sky. “This way.” She changed direction. “Come on. We’ve got a long way to go before we’re done.”
I followed. We had a long way to go indeed, and I was afraid to know what we’d find when we got there.
13
We headed west, trying to keep to tree cover as much as we could. I wanted to steal a new shirt for Tess as soon as we found a house, but she dismissed my plan with a flick of her fingers.
“It’s frivolous,” she snapped, shoving her hands into her pockets. Her breasts peeked from the remains of her shirt, a state of undress she didn’t seem to notice as if it were a daily thing.
It wasn’t for me. My thoughts and thought processes were still human, and I still had a lot of human ways of thinking. Which, as it turned out, was the important factor here. “It’s survival.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “You may not care. I know you, Margaret, and Mort have all told me, once you’ve been doing this long enough, you don’t notice these things anymore. But if we happen to pass any hikers or whatever people might be wandering around out here, that’s something that’s going to stick out in their minds. They might even call the police. If we’re trying to stay out of the spotlight, you need to put those sweater kittens away, understand?”
She looked away, pouting a little bit. “I still don’t like it, but you’re probably right.”
“I know I’m right. Look, it’s a nice view, but a bit too memorable,” I told her, turning away to begin running again. I’d let her stew on the compliment—which was the pure truth—if only to make her understand that being a new Ferin meant I was still connected to my old world. It was a thread she didn’t need to cut—not if we expected to make it out of this.
I broke into a house not long after we’d been on the road, and my technique was anything but subtle. I wasn’t a crook, and I wasn’t pretending to be one, either. I just broke in and grabbed a few things we needed: bottled water, clothes, and a couple of duffel bags. Then I left, vaguely guilty from my lawless act but thankful for the gear.
I didn’t bother looking for money. Sure, we would probably need it, but I didn’t want to cause any more harm than necessary. It was bad enough that I was violating their privacy and sense of security by ransacking their home. I didn’t need to grab their wallets and credit cards on top of that, so we left with minimal crime and maximum reward.
Tess put on her new shirt, which was good because we did encounter a few people during our flight from Owl’s Head. We tried to stay off the main roads as much as we could, but even on hiking paths and old rail trails, we still found people walking their dogs, running, or doing other shady-looking things they wanted to keep out of general view. I didn’t look too closely. I couldn’t get involved with the police anymore, and I wasn’t interested in getting some guy into a legal bind for what he did with his own body.
“You nervous?” I asked. It had been six hours since we’d left the house and nine since we’d fled Owl’s Head. I had no idea how many of the others made it out.
“That’s a stupid question.” She didn’t break her stride as she reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of water. “None of this has happened in my lifetime. Why would I be anything but scared? I’m terrified, okay?”
She had a funny way of showing her terror. Then again, sitting around and wringing our hands wasn’t going to get us to safety. Maybe the way she dealt with her fear was just fine.
We walked well into the night until we were both too tired to take another step. There weren’t any hotels out here, and we couldn’t have paid for one anyway. Neither of us felt comfortable breaking into someone’s house and taking over. That was the kind of attention we couldn’t afford, so I checked the ground under a cluster of birch trees before collapsing in a pained tumble. “Can Ferin get poison ivy?”
“No, we can’t. Go ahead and ask me how I found that one out.” She chuckled softly. “Actually, wait. Don’t ask me. I don’t suppose you stole us a blanket or anything from that house you raided?” She sank down beside me, warm and real out here in the shadows.
“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t want to disrupt their lives any more than I already have.” I let my head fall back until it was completely supported by the tree. “I guess I’m not exactly sailing into this whole immortality thing.”
“Four days, man. It’s only been four days. You’re doing fine. I still had to be held back from stuffi
ng my face like a goose on day four.” She rested her head on my shoulder, and I wrapped my arm around her almost instinctively. “We’ll get through it. We just have to get to the safehouse.”
“Ah yes, the mysterious safehouse.” I chuckled. I didn’t know what else to do. I was glad for its existence, of course, but I couldn’t help but feel like I was jumping from the frying pan into the fire. “I don’t suppose you have any details for me about this safehouse? A general idea of where it is, maybe, or what I should expect to find when I get there?”
“Well, it’ll be hidden. And safe.” She grinned up at me, but her grin was a little sad. “I’ve only been there once, and even then, I wasn’t inside.”
“One of those need-to-know things, I guess.” I looked up at the sky. “Forgive me if I’m feeling a little twitchy about that kind of thing these days. Even sleeping out in the open is making me a little uncomfortable.”
She met my eyes. “I know how to calm you down.”
My mouth went dry, but only for an instant before my body took over with a less than subtle sign that it was most certainly the time and place. Tess was exquisite, and in my former life, untouchable. But that was then, and she was here before me, eyes soft with desire and invitation. Despite our loss and flight, she needed something from me, and I had it to give.
I bowed my head and touched my lips to hers.
Tess tasted much different than Margaret. Her mouth was cooler, with floral and wintergreen notes in her heated breath.
I needed more of it, slowly exploring her mouth, cradling her face in my hands as she began to wilt, neither passive nor assertive. She was accepting, then welcoming, and in a flash, urgent. My hands roamed her body, lithe yet soft as she lost the stolen shirt in a seamless motion, breaking away from my mouth to shed the offending fabric.
Her breasts were a perfect handful, supple in my fingers and stippled with a response to my touch and the cool night air. I had seen them before, but now she wanted me to look at them, her skin thrust proudly in front of me. I took the opportunity, moving my eyes over her like she was art. Her dark nipples stood out against her pale skin, perfect little points begging to be touched. I held my hand just over her right breast, hesitation fading as she leaned up to my ear, her voice low.
She took my hand and placed it on her chest. “I’ve wanted this.”
That was news to me. I rolled her nipple between my fingers, testing to see how sensitive the delicate flesh might be. The line between pleasure and pain was fine, so I listened for cues as the forest began to speak around us
She moaned softly and shifted, exposing more of her chest for me. The moon wasn’t full, but it still gave enough light to let me see the artistry of her face. Her eyes narrowed in pleasure, a tiny smile urging me on.
Challenge accepted.
I lowered my mouth to the other breast, sucking it into my mouth to tease her nipple with my tongue, now whirling of its own accord.
That earned me a little gasp of pleasure. I got harder with each soft moan, and the scent of her filled the air. It was time. I slid her pants down, watching her grimace as she flung them away in mock anger. Naked, she stretched before me on the altar or the forest floor, perfect in her pose. Her head was propped up on her duffel, and she lifted her chin in challenge.
I tossed my clothing out of the immediate area and knelt between her open legs. Her dark eyes brightened with anticipation, and I brought my face down to her entrance. She was wet, her lips dark and engorged, but I wanted her wetter. I wanted her to need me more than air itself.
I licked a slow stripe from her lips, tasting as I went. In small motions, her hips shook. I was where I needed to be. So was she. I brought my fingers to her, teasing, using, and then plunging, all in a movement that was unhurried and erratic, no rhythm around us save the night birds that called out high above.
She came hard, shuddering around my fingers and crying out for the forest and beyond, uncaring and joyous. It was what I wanted, because this woman—this Ferin—knew fear and longing. I would give her time away from that with each stroke of my hand or touch of my tongue, erasing her memory and bringing her to a place of rest and pleasure. With a swirl, I licked again, and then again until she held my head in a vise of uncertainty, her hands conflicted about asking me to stop. It was too much, her body a twitching mass of gooseflesh and heat, but I went still, my own body humming with the song of need.
“You gave first. You gave,” she said, her voice thick and dreamy.
“I thought you—”
“Shh. Two things. First, this,” she said, slipping me inside her in seconds, pulling her legs around me as I fought to lose my own clothing, now a gatekeeper to my own pleasure. Pants. Who needs them?
I didn’t move. Her warmth and grip were too much, too soon, so I stayed still as she began to move against me, down, away, up again, slick and divine.
“Count,” she said. “Count with me.”
“One,” I said, my voice guttural in her ear. “Two. Three.”
With each pull at me, I got closer, a scorching column rising inside my chest that was beyond anything I’d ever known. “What happens when I reach the last number?” I asked.
“You don’t. Stop just before. I’m not done taking from you,” came her answer, then she began to move again.
“Thirty-one.” I felt the edge nearing, a cliff I wanted to fall over.
She wriggled from under me, pushing me back onto the soft earth as her eyes gleamed with a wicked delight. “Count again.” She opened her mouth and lowered it on me, taking every inch in her mouth, her tongue, then crowding her throat, a wet compression of pleasure so bright it was almost painful. I began to count as ordered.
“Thirty-nine,” I managed, then I fell. My body convulsed in her mouth as she bore down with a noisy gulp, lingering well past my own tremors before letting me slide out of her mouth with agonizing slowness.
She wiped her mouth primly, smiling at me through my haze of pleasure. “Thirty-nine. Hmm.”
“Not good?” I said, momentarily dumb.
“We can do better. Next time, we go for single digits,” she said, sliding up to cling on my side. Her hair smelled liked pines, and only then did my heart begin to slow.
She fell asleep immediately; I couldn’t drift off quite so easily after the intensity of our experience. The sounds of night animals returned only after we were finished with each other, and every little noise had me convinced we were under attack. I couldn’t fight the inevitable when it came to post-coital slumber, though, and soon enough, I found myself pulled under. We had a long way to go in the morning, and I needed to be ready. For what, I didn’t know.
14
The next morning, we washed up in a nearby lake called Damariscotta Lake. Part of me wondered just how clean that lake could possibly be, but that was the human part of me that had grown up in a world full of pollutants and contaminants. None of them could affect me now.
We kept moving west and south, and just after sunset, we got to the safehouse. It wasn’t much of a house, though. The place was tucked away on Arrowsic Island, in an old mine. No one would ever know it was there, not from the surface, and I for one didn’t want to go into the old mine to find it.
“It looks like a grave.” I shuddered and took a step back from the mine entrance. “It looks like we could get buried alive in there.”
Tess glared at me. “Relax and think good thoughts, Fire Boy. Don’t flame out in there. It’s been a while since it’s been opened, and God alone knows what kind of gasses are at work inside.”
“Oh, shit. And you tell me to think good thoughts.” I complained but followed her inside. “What did they mine in here?”
“Tourmaline and mica, I think,” she said. “The mine closed when they put stronger protections for workers in place. Apparently, this one had a particularly bad reputation for lung problems with the miners. Those pesky unions, am I right?” She snorted. “Fortunately, Ferin don’t have any issues with silicosis
or anything like that, so we’ll be fine.” She fumbled for a flashlight, hidden on a secret shelf on the wall. Only someone who knew where to look would have ever found it.
We walked about half a mile into the mine before we found the house, such as it was. It looked like a crude hut carved directly into the rock. Inside, someone had hollowed out huge shelves in the walls, each one big enough to fit a body. The empty spaces looked like something from an ancient burial tomb, but inside, someone had placed the kind of vinyl-covered mattresses they used in summer camps.
They were bunks. The idea of sleeping in there sent chills marching up my spine. I was a man of the open air. The cloistered feel of the cave wasn’t natural, but I buckled down and calmed myself.
A few locked chests had been set in the middle, along with a card table. The hideout was a far cry from the mansion’s private rooms, fancy sheets, and high-end meals. The safehouse had only one way in or out. It was a place for hiding or making a last stand.
“I don’t get it.” Tess swallowed hard. “No one else is here yet.”
That much, at least, was painfully clear. I felt along the walls until I found another of those hidden shelves, which yielded a key ring. I tried different keys until I found one that opened the nearest locked crate to me. “Blankets,” I told her, feeling around in the dark. “Plus a couple of Coleman lanterns. Battery operated ones, I’ll point out.” I pulled out a pack of fresh batteries. “Someone’s been keeping this place stocked.”
“My guess would be Margaret or Mort. Probably both.” Words spurred her into action, which had been what I wanted the whole time. She took the blankets out of the crate while I worked to get the lanterns going. “We should probably get the place set up. We have no idea how many or how badly wounded they’ll be. If we’re here first, we might as well make ourselves useful.”
The light helped but not by much. Glittery mica dust shimmered all over the place in a spangled glow. It helped to reflect the light from the lamps, but it reminded me of exactly how screwed we were right now. I pushed the thought away because our situation wasn’t going to get corrected with despair. Instead, I found some cleaning supplies in another crate and used them to clear the dust from the mattresses and the flat surfaces.
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