by Dale Mayer
She should be asleep. Sian should be asleep. Instead they'd been working hard to get to the bottom of this nightmare before anyone else complicit in this atrocity had time to hide their tracks and burrow underground. Or worse, start up the whole operation again.
But she couldn't concentrate. She'd seen Tessa in Cody's arms. That had been such a shock. Even though she'd had a little warning from David, she hadn't been prepared. She understood the two kids hadn't been prepared for this either. But it had happened and like two parts of puzzle, they'd slipped into their relationship very smoothly. Maybe too smoothly.
And everyone around her just seemed to accept it. That blew her away. That Serus would let his little girl hook up with someone like that. Goran's boy. Jesus. Cody was a good kid. She'd had him over at her house for years. He'd make a good man – eventually. But young bucks lived a wild life, and she'd heard about Cody's relationships. She wanted something better for her baby girl. She wanted someone steady – like Serus. Someone who'd stand by her girl and protect her if she needed it, encourage her to be the best she could be, and be there for her when times got tough. Vamp women were the most vicious creatures on the planet, but not her Tessa.
She was unique, and her partner needed to understand that. Rhia also didn't want anyone permanent in Tessa's life for a long time. Decades. Maybe even centuries.
"Rhia, how old were you when you hooked up with Serus?"
Rhia stiffened. "That's a low blow."
"Why? You were the same age. Did you listen to your parents? Was Serus any less of a bad boy?" Sian chuckled. "Like hell he was. Both him and Goran were hell raisers. But once he found you, Serus went straight and solid."
"He was solid to begin with," Rhia murmured.
In a gentle voice, Sian added, "And so is Cody. He's not his brother. He'd been dealt just as big a blow as Goran, but he's standing strong. He's been there for Tessa all week."
"Week," Rhia spat. "That's the problem. They'd only really been together over this last week. Relationships don't start off like that."
"Sure they do. Add in the danger and stress, and of course that flare of attraction grew into something much bigger."
Rhia bowed her head, shaking inside. "How much stronger is the question. She's too young."
"They haven't taken their relationship to the intimate level yet. There's been no opportunity. You don't know that Cody will push for that or if Tessa will even want to."
"Cody will push, he's male. And Tessa doesn’t know what she's doing in that area." She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, letting her long hair flow down her back. "I can't even believe she might be close to that stage."
"Vampires enter puberty long before humans. They form sexual relationships young. Tessa is actually late to be entering the ring. You know that."
"I know, but she's not like the others." Rhia held out her hands, pleading for Sian's understanding.
Sian gave her a warm caring smile and asked the one question guaranteed to make Rhia stop and think. "Do you trust her?"
Rhia's shoulders sagged. That of course was the real issue. She had to think about her daughter, her growth this last week. The solid decisions she'd made and the way she'd taken charge. For all her youthfulness, Tessa had done what was right.
She sighed. "Yes, I trust her."
"Then let her be. Have a talk with her, sure. But don't be arrogant, aggressive, or overly protective. She's grown a lot this last week. Allow her to keep growing. Don't try to stuff her back into the old form. She won't fit anymore, and it will damage your relationship if you try."
Such words of wisdom. Rhia slumped down on the couch beside Sian. She clasped her oldest friend's hand and smiled gratefully at her. "You're going to make a great mom, you know."
A twinkle entered Sian's gaze, and with her free hand she rubbed her slight tummy bump. "I hope so. You've been a great teacher."
Chapter 3
Taz motioned Tessa into a small empty room, a supply closet from the looks of it. Taz came in behind her. He closed the door and the overwhelming noise that had risen sharply behind them dropped to something reasonable. Instantly, the frayed edges of her temper eased back. She smiled with relief. "Thanks. That noise out there is brutal. I don't know how you stand it."
"It's a mad house today." Taz ran his fingers through his hair.
Tessa took a closer look at him and winced. She'd had a good night's rest, a long bath, and all the food she could get down. Taz on the other hand looked like he'd worked through the whole weekend. "You haven't been able to leave here, have you?"
He shook his head. "There are too many patients from the blood farm. The large group that was brought out before the collapse, and even now a few are being brought in by helicopter from the army's rescue efforts."
That was news to her. She hadn't known there was anything left to rescue. "Wow, I'm so happy to hear some people survived."
"Yes, but we're overrun, and everyone who is missing anyone has shown up looking for their kin."
"I'd be doing the same." She gave a small laugh. "Actually, that is why I am here. Catherine and Jill, found in one of the blood farm rooms, were sent out with the injured vamps. I saw the girls at the end being loaded into ambulances – enough to know they'd survived. However, they aren't at their homes, at school, or answering their phones, so I'm here," she took a deep breath, "hoping for news."
He nodded, brought out his tablet, and started clicking through lists. "The two are in the same room on the second floor. They are both doing fine."
She brightened. "Can I see them?"
He checked the notes on his tablet. "I don't see why not. There were some family members there when I saw the girls earlier, but don't ask me when that was."
"That's fine. I want to speak to Catherine's parents anyway." She opened the door to leave. Immediately, the noise swelled around her. Desperate to ease all the noise back down – for his sake and hers – she slammed the mental door between her and Cody shut, after whispering, Sorry, it's too noisy.
Wincing at Taz, she said, "I'm going to end up with a hell of a headache if I stay here much longer. I don't know how you do it."
"It's been a crappy couple of days," he admitted, "But hopefully the worst is over now."
"I hope so. But somehow I doubt it." Taking a breath against the crowd and noise to come, she walked out and made a beeline for the stairwell. Inside the smaller space, the noise once again receded. She didn't envy Taz's job one bit.
At the second floor, she checked the room numbers until she came to the right room and stuck her head inside. Catherine slept on the first bed. Tessa's heart lightened at the sight of her friend. "Oh, thank heavens you are all right," she whispered as she walked to the foot of the bed. She glanced over to see white curtains around the other beds. Only Catherine's bed was open to view. She frowned. How could she find out if Jill was in here and if she was okay? She didn't want to poke her head inside the curtains. The curtains had to be closed for a reason.
"Jill?" she called out in a soft voice. No answer. She pulled up a chair beside Catherine's bed and wondered if her parents were still around. She hoped so, but Taz had no idea when he'd seen them. They might have left by the elevator while she'd climbed the stairs, or they could have left hours ago. As far as she could tell, she was alone.
She reached over and covered Catherine's still hand with her own. "I'm so sorry, Catherine. I wish you'd never gotten caught up in this mess."
Catherine never moved. Her pale face never shifted and her hand never twitched. Unnerved, Tessa studied her friend closer. There was a light pink bloom across her face, and her chest rose and fell as she breathed. She was just in a deep sleep. Like a drugged sleep. Tessa flinched. Damn drugs. She'd hoped the girls would have thrown off the medication by now. Instead, Catherine looked seriously out of it.
How could that be? She'd been away from Moltere's mountain for at least one, if not two days – hadn't she? Regardless of how many hours exactly, the drugs
should have left her system after all this time. They couldn’t stay in her bloodstream for so long without a booster, surely. Tessa stopped and straightened as she worried about this problem. Were the girls still drugged? As in had someone in the hospital given them more drugs to keep them comatose? And if so, why?
She knew she was overly suspicious of everything and everyone after what she'd been through. Some of the assholes had escaped, and many human assholes were likely trying to cover their tracks. What a great place to find more victims for the blood farm. At the hospital. All the records were here about next of kin, addresses, health conditions, etc.
She flinched at the thoughts that wouldn't stop running through her mind. She needed to talk to Taz again. Find out what was going on with Catherine – her sleep looked anything but natural.
She stood up and turned.
The side of her head exploded, and she collapsed.
***
Cody returned to the main Council chamber with his father. Silent and brooding, he'd kept his mouth shut after Serus's announcement over Rhia's attitude regarding a relationship between him and Tessa. Rhia had to get over it. He and Tessa belonged together. It might take them a while to be able to live together given their ages, but it was not like he had a choice. They were bonded. He had no idea how or why, but it was not something that he could stop. Walking several feet in front of the ancients, Cody headed for the main chambers. He entered and came to a dead stop. Rhia and Sian were sitting on one of the couches off to the side. He sighed. "Hello Sian, how are you feeling?"
She gave him a warm sigh, reminding him that some of the vampire women were stunningly beautiful inside and out. She'd chosen a hard road with a human partner. Choosing Tessa as his partner wouldn't be the easiest, yet it was easier than Sian's choice. At his own wording, he paused. Earlier he'd said he'd had no choice. Now he was saying he'd chosen her.
Which was it?
Both.
He hadn't known he'd had a choice in the beginning, but now that he knew, he'd made the choice voluntarily. Tessa was his. She might not have made the decision that he was hers…she hadn't had a chance to choose or even sample the others in the universe – but for him there was no longer a choice.
"What's with the long face, Cody?" Sian said
He brought himself back to the room. "Tired," he said shortly.
He turned and faced Rhia. "Where is Tessa?"
She raised her eyebrows and said, "Can't you tell me?"
He stared at her and called out to Tessa. Where are you?
And got no answer. He hated that. He'd been trying for the last few minutes, but she'd said something about closing a door. As if she couldn’t hear something on her end and needed to close him off to hear better. Like how did that even make sense?
"No. She closed the door between us."
It was the first he'd spoken of the telepathic communication between Tessa and him with Rhia. Serus had known for a while, but Rhia apparently didn’t like this development.
He stared at her, calmly waiting for her to make the next move.
She frowned. "Sounds like a smart idea on her side."
"No," he said. "It's a dangerous move. We might have survived Moltere's Mountain, but there are more bad guys out there and many of them are humans. She's gone to a human school."
Rhia's frown deepened. "Besides the fact that she should still be home resting, she went to that same school all year. She should be safe there."
"Saying that about Tessa doesn't work." Cody's lips quirked. "She can get into trouble like no one else."
A black stabbing jolt suddenly slammed into his head. He gasped and fell to his knees, his hand on his head.
Goran jumped forward. "What's the matter?"
"Pain, horrific pounding in my head." Cody tried to regain his feet, but waves of greasy pain continued. Then stopped completely. As in nothing. He stood back up and knew the elders surrounding him were as confused as he was.
And then he knew. "Damn. That wasn't from me, that was Tessa's pain. She's hurt." He spun around, as if hoping she'd materialize behind him but knew there was no way she could. She wasn't here. She was at her damn human school. Or was she? He checked the time. She should have been out and home again at least a half hour ago. "Where is she?"
Serus looked at Rhia. Rhia looked at Serus.
"School is over, so she should be home." Rhia was already dialing as she spoke. Her phone rang endlessly. Serus grabbed his phone and called as well. Cody shook his head. Tessa was in trouble after one day back at school. Already. Like that girl was a trouble magnet.
"Where could she have gone?" Sian asked quietly.
"Maybe to look for her friends. She's been worried about Catherine and Jill. If they weren't at school, she might have gone looking for them." Cody frowned, thinking about the short blasting noise he'd heard just before she'd closed the door. "Either to their homes or to the hospital."
Rhia clicked through the numbers on her phone. "I have Catherine's number here." She dialed it and trained her anxious gaze on Serus and Cody. "No answer."
"She could have gone to the hospital," Sian said. "Taz said they are overrun with people from the blood farm. And her friends might not have been released yet. Particularly if they were still feeling the effects of the drugs."
Goran frowned. "Would Tessa go to the hospital alone?
Sian held up her phone. "I'm calling Taz. Maybe he's seen her."
With everyone watching, she connected to Taz. And found within seconds that Tessa had been there and was now in Catherine's room as far as he knew.
Sian explained what had happened to Cody. Even Cody could hear Taz's exclamation. Sian held the phone slightly away. "He's gone to look. Said she'd been there about twenty minutes ago."
The noise from the hospital clearly came through the phone only to fade slightly as Taz raced upstairs. Everyone waited, staring at the phone in Sian's hand.
Taz spoke again, his voice filtering into the air. Sian pulled the phone in closer. "Yes, I'm here. We are all here." She gasped. "What do you mean she's not there?"
Rhia stepped forward and cried, "Where could she be?"
Cody was already on his feet heading for the door. "Ah hell. That girl..."
***
David walked into the main Council rooms looking for Cody. And found him stalking toward the underground garage. His jaw was clenched, and damn if his face wasn't twisted in anger. David stopped to watch his best friend. He'd only ever seen him so frustrated when a girl was involved. "What's up, Cody?"
"Your damn sister." Cody spun around to glare at him. "She's not answering her phone. She's not answering telepathically." Then he explained about the sudden head pain.
"You think she's in trouble?" David's own alarm bells sounded. What the hell? "Only Tessa would go to a hospital and disappear." Still in denial, he shook his head. "She's likely just walking home. She's used to doing that, you know."
"And the head pain?" Cody demanded.
David shrugged. "I don't know what to say about that. You guys haven't had anything like that happen between you before – good thing as neither of you would be able to fight if you were crippled by each other's wounds – so I don't know why you'd think it was from her now."
Cody just stared at him helplessly.
"I know she's got a nose for trouble," David added, "but surely it's safe now."
"Ha. This is Tessa we're talking about, remember?" Cody massaged the back of his neck. "I don't know what to think. She should have reported in to someone. Both your parents have been trying to call her, but she's not answering."
David lifted out his new phone. "It's the latest and greatest, but it's hard to learn. I found I missed several calls myself today, but the ringer had turned off in my pocket. Did you send her a text?"
Cody stared at him then groaned. "No. I never thought of it."
"See, that's too much telepathic communication. Sometimes old tech is the better answer." David sent off a quick text
to Tessa. Where are you?
And waited.
Cody did the same. He asked David in an absentminded voice, "How's Jewel doing?"
"Tired. The drugs are still clogging her system and she's got no energy. She just wants to sleep the night and day away."
"That's to be expected. We had a hard week."
"Yeah, Ian's a little worse. The drugs are still causing him trouble. He won't let the doctors do much. They want to run tests and he keeps fighting them."
Cody snorted. "I don't blame him. My damn wing was a bitch to get fixed. I wouldn't let the doctor come near me with any needles, so he set the bone without it."
David snickered.
"How about I'll stand by and watch these strange doctors give you a needle," Cody threatened.
"They are hardly strangers. You've been going to the same doctor since you were born."
"Uhuh, and that was what – twice?"
David considered that. "True enough. I wouldn’t let anyone poke me either."
Cody looked at him. "Did you ever wonder what happened to Bart?"
At that name, David started to laugh. "I think Tessa said something about him leaving with the group of humans she and the others rescued…but…" he frowned. "Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing him afterwards in all that chaos with Gloria."
"Or later when the ambulances and the army arrived." Cody turned to look out at the darkening sky that wasn't dark enough for him to travel in yet. "What do you want to bet he snuck away before then?"
"If he snuck away too early, then he's not likely to have survived the blast."
Cody stepped out onto the covered front deck of the Council building, staring out in the early evening. "I wouldn't count on anything with that sneaky bastard."
"I wouldn't either."
"But Tessa had a soft spot for him."
"Maybe, but she's no fool. There's no way she'd trust him. Hell, at this point, I doubt she trusts anyone." David didn't know what to do. He'd planned on visiting Jewel. But if his sister was in trouble...
"Yeah?" Cody said, looking down at his cell phone as he waited to hear back from Tessa. "So where the hell is she then?"