“Borrowing.” Adriana corrected her.
“Our borrowing is their stealing, and trust me. I’m real fond of my hands and would like to keep them right where they are.”
“Would be nice if they had a few horses we could borrow, since we’re in the borrowing mood,” Colin said. “I’m not looking forward to walking all the way to Tirgoviste.”
“Hey,” Riah said with a smile. “At least you have comfortable shoes to walk in. Have you looked at the nightmares Ivy and I have to wear?”
Ivy lifted her skirt and shook a foot in his direction. “These might look all sweet and pretty, but trust me, big boy, they feel like crap. I’d give anything for one of my nice pairs of Brooks Adrenaline runners right about now.” A look of wistfulness flashed across her face.
“Shhh,” Riah hissed. She narrowed her eyes and listened intently. Oh no, just as she’d feared. “Someone’s coming. We have to get out of here, and right now.” She picked up her skirt with one hand, tucked her contemporary clothes under her arm with the other, and began to run toward the thick trees. No one missed the urgency in her voice, and not another word was spoken. They all just followed her lead, running as silently and as quickly as possible.
Once she was certain they were all out of the direct line of sight of the incoming riders, she paused and listened again. The shouts of several men penetrated the deep woods. Two? Maybe three? Damn, she’d so hoped they’d make a clean exit from the manor house, though she’d known someone would have to come along before nightfall because of all the livestock to be tended to.
“We don’t have much time,” she said as she began running once more. “If they haven’t discovered our theft yet, they certainly will soon, and those horses you were looking for, Colin? Well, they have them, and they’ll be hunting us down like foxes.”
Her prediction came true, though. As it turned out, it was only two men, each one riding his own horse. They easily caught up to her and the others on foot, their ground travel no match for the finely bred animals.
Riah was loath to do it but didn’t see that she had any choice. Even with the great beasts beneath them, the two men had no way of knowing the advantage was not theirs. They weren’t hunting down common thieves or ladies in delicate shoes barely passable for walking, let alone running.
She caught Colin’s eye and he nodded. Both of them stopped running and readied themselves for the oncoming riders. They each took one. Colin’s arm shot up at the same time he made a vertical leap any NBA coach would kill for. He caught a thin man with long black hair around the neck, dragging him from the horse’s back. Riah drew on her own strength to capture the foot of the second man, pulling him off in one swift motion. In a matter of moments the two were on the ground and unconscious. They never knew what hit them.
Such a quick and easy takedown should have provided a sense of relief. It didn’t. The unfortunate part was, she hadn’t come here to hurt or kill anyone and resented the fact they’d been put in a position to do just that. It worried her, not just that they were here but what their actions might do during the events to follow. Killing someone could have devastating effects on the future, and she didn’t care to be responsible for that. The potential ramifications of every move they made were mind-blowing.
For now, they were lucky. No one had to die. The worst of it was a bloody nose, the result of a well-placed punch to the face. The guy would recover, after a horrendous headache. At the sight of the blood streaming down the man’s face, Riah hissed and, just as quickly, quieted.
“Do you feel it,” she asked Ivy, staring in wonder at the crimson blood glistening on the white skin of the man’s slack face.
Ivy’s eyes were wide and she nodded. “I don’t get it. What’s going on here? It’s all wonky.”
She didn’t get it either. First it was the walking in sunlight. Now this? The wormhole had allowed them to time travel, and she’d swear that’s all they’d done. Suddenly, it seemed so much more complex than that. It was as if they were in another dimension, not just another time. One in which she and Ivy were no longer creatures of the night but human again. How that could be, she didn’t know.
Standing over a bleeding man, the metallic scent of blood thick in the air, by all rights both she and Ivy should be craving it like any alcoholic staring at a bottle of booze. She wasn’t. Neither was Ivy, who, being a young vampire, had nowhere near the control Riah had been able to cultivate through centuries of practice. The calmness that flowed over her now shouldn’t be and yet it was.
“I don’t give a shit why you two are kickin’ it in human mode,” Adriana said as she peered back the way they’d come. “Call it a righteous gift and then move it. We need to get out of here before someone else shows up, not to mention it’s getting cold enough to freeze my little tootsies, if you catch my drift.”
Not quite as sensitive to the cold as humans, she didn’t notice the dropping temperature until Adriana brought it up. She was right. It was growing cooler by the minute. Colin had thought quickly enough to grab the reins of both horses the men were riding before they’d had a chance to race back to the manor house. They were no longer on foot, which gave them an even greater advantage.
“Adriana’s right,” Colin said. “Let’s haul it out of here.”
In a way, she wanted to stay put so she could try to figure out why all the rules seemed suddenly skewed. She’d spent so many years as a vampire, trying to even think as a human again was a foreign concept, throwing her normal patterns of logic into disarray. Understanding the new rules before she went any further seemed important.
Adriana didn’t give her time to dwell on it. She grabbed Riah’s hand and dragged her to a gray mare. “Come on, beautiful, let’s get going. Tirgoviste isn’t getting any closer while we’re all standing around wondering about shit we have no control over.”
How she loved the way Adriana’s mind worked and, as usual, she was right. Even thousands of miles and centuries away from home, Adriana zeroed in on what was most important. Ivy already sat behind Colin on the second horse, a beautiful black gelding. Riah mounted their horse, thinking how it seemed like just yesterday she’d ridden, when in fact it had been at least a hundred years. Some skills just never fade.
Wasting no more time, she glanced at the two unconscious men and then raced away, Adriana’s arms tight around her waist. Everything else might be screwed up, but the feel of Adriana pressed against her kept her grounded. As long as they were together, human or undead, nothing else mattered.
*
“We cannot stay here, brother.”
Nicoletta could feel the disquiet that rippled on the air, no matter where she went in the castle. It was this way whenever the Prince was in residence. Power rolled off him and flooded the castle as though a raging storm filled the halls, and it affected everyone.
Some in the castle thrived on the chaos that seemed to follow the Prince. Others, like Nicoletta, hated it. Wallachia was a hard land and yet a beautiful land. The threat of invasion by the Ottoman Turks always lurked in the background, and even Nicoletta could not deny that the Prince’s bloody ways had held them at bay for most of her life. Still, she longed for a day when she did not jump at the tiniest sound or could sleep soundly through a night without awakening with worry.
Such dreams were out of her reach. Her life was here, and things were as they were. But perhaps not forever. This woman, Lura, would change their world; it was written in the stars. Her life was more important than anything else. Nicoletta did not know what Lura’s role was in the impending change, only that she was the key. Alexandru had told her so and she believed him.
That she also made Nicoletta’s heart pound—was that also written in the stars?
Alexandru stood looking out over the courtyard, silently surveying the comings and goings of those already awake and at work. Today was to be a beautiful, clear day. The meadows were covered with a very light blanket of snow, crisp white and perfect, the sky blue and cloudless. The fres
h scent of air washed clean by the quickly passing snowstorm was refreshing and welcome. It would all melt away soon under the rays of the sun, but for this moment, it was a picture of perfection.
He finally turned and looked into her face. “No, sister, whatever is to happen will happen here.”
The urge to scream was strong. She hated this castle and every moment she was forced to stay here. Every corner she turned she saw another face, and each one, in her mind, looked upon her with accusing eyes. It was as if each and every one of them knew her shame. She wanted to run and hide, to leave and never return.
“We must leave. We cannot risk her safety. He will destroy her.”
Alexandru’s eyes narrowed and he stepped forward, capturing her face between his hands. She did not like the way he peered into her face as if he could see into her soul. “What is it, Nicoletta? What has happened during my absence?”
She kept her eyes steady on his, though it took every bit of strength she had not to flinch. Telling him the awful truth was impossible. Never would she be able to do that. The secret was hers to take to her grave.
“Dear Alexandru, while you were away, nothing changed.” It was not a lie, and it was the strength of the truth that kept her voice from trembling. What happened to her was not new. She was far from the first, only one in a long string of obedient women that the Prince had demanded. Many had fallen before her, and many more would fall at his hands after her. An old story whispered from the lips of many throughout the land.
The only difference for Nicoletta…well, she did not want to think about that. Pain welled up inside, nearly choking the breath from her throat. Not a physical pain. No, it was something much, much worse.
Alexandru did not need to know. Not just because she was ashamed. Should she share the truth with him, he would take her shame as his own because he had not been here to protect her honor. As her only living family, he would defend her from any and all who meant her harm. He would stand against the Prince in her name, and if he did, her brother would die.
She would not—could not—allow that to happen. Nothing would have been different even if Alexandru had been here. He might think he could have protected her and he would have been wrong. It was the way of things in this place. They could not be changed by those as powerless as Nicoletta or her brother, despite the gifts God had bestowed upon Alexandru. They were not enough to defy Vlad Dracula and live.
“I do not believe you. Nicoletta, you are different. Something happened during my journey, and you will tell me.”
She touched his face and gave him a sad smile. “And you have been gone a very long time, Alexandru. Everyone changes over time. It is so for me. Time has made me different.” That much was not a lie. Perhaps just a little misdirection. The last thing any of them needed at the moment was to be concerned over any misfortune that had befallen her. Lura’s safety and well-being were far more important than her condition.
“True, but your way of avoiding an answer to my question has not changed at all.”
She laughed, and it made her heart a little lighter. This was so much like when they were children. It had never failed to amuse her to play word games with her older brother. That had surely not changed. Nor had his ability to see through her. He knew her better than anyone and always had. He had been the one to care for her when their parents died in a raid orchestrated by the Prince’s brother, Radu the Handsome.
In some ways, she had felt sympathy for Radu. After all, the Ottoman Turks had stolen both he and Prince Vlad from their beds in the middle of the night. Dragged away, they spent years under the reign of the Ottomans. She, who had been raised by stern yet loving parents, could not imagine how it had been for the two young princes. In the beginning, only Vlad was returned. Radu had remained as their prisoner.
She wondered, however, if Radu truly had been under their dominance. For years she had believed it was so. The night her parents were butchered, her faith wavered, and for good reason. If he had still carried this land in his heart, how could he have had a hand in the death of her parents, loyalists to the court of Prince Dracula and his father before him? How could he have turned on his own brother as he did?
In a way it mattered not. The Prince and Radu the Handsome had both brought fear to the land. Different kinds of fear, but fear nonetheless. Alexandru knew this despite being gone for years. That much had not altered in his time away. Only the name of the ruler was different. Though Radu the Handsome had taken Wallachia away from his brother by force, God did not smile on him. His life was gone as quickly as a flash of lightning, and once more, his brother, tall and cruel, lorded over them all.
If she thought about how she had changed during that time, she could understand why Alexandru questioned her now. She had little choice but to embrace strength in order to survive. Every day she had to watch and worry. Every day her strength was put to the test. Now, it would be even more so. Not just because of Lura but because of the secret she had shared with no one.
She did not intend to now.
“Brother, it is just the state of things around us. So much trouble. So much worry. I think about it day and night. I know not what Lura brings to us, only that her importance has been written in the stars. It matters not what happens to you or to me, only that we keep her safe.”
With a nod, he gave her a sad smile and stepped away. “You speak truth, dear sister. I know you hide something from me, and when the time comes, you will share. Until that time, let us go to our friend and keep her from danger.”
A little flutter went through Nicoletta. They had known each other less than one day, and yet something about Lura made her heart light. She wanted to be with her, to touch her, to hear her voice. Others talked of love, and she had never understood anything beyond the love of one’s family. Since last night, she was beginning to fear that she finally understood. She had always believed it would be a man who entered her world and changed it. The last thing she expected was that it would be another woman.
Chapter Thirteen
“All right, boys and girls. I don’t know about anybody else, but my ass hurts.” Adriana stood unsteadily on her feet, both hands rubbing her rear end. Despite their odd and dangerous circumstances, Riah almost laughed.
“Oh, you big modern babies,” she said with a smile. “We’ve probably only covered half the distance we need to, and you’re already whining. You have to toughen up if you expect to last very long around here.”
Adriana’s eyes narrowed. “Are you fucking kidding me? I have to ride that beast another couple of hours?”
Riah pulled her close and kissed her. The warm, sweet taste of her lips was comforting, familiar. “You, my sweet, have to ride perhaps only another hour.”
Pulling away, Adriana studied her with eyes filled with something akin to distrust. “And why would that be, my beautiful vamp?” She was still rubbing her butt.
Riah couldn’t help the smile as she studied Adriana in her boy-clothes, her face now spotted with dust kicked up from the rough road they’d been following. “Because you can’t be seen riding astride this lovely horse with a noblewoman.”
Adriana threw her hands into the air. “Oh, isn’t that just fucking great? I’ve been kicked back a couple of centuries and the black woman is once again a servant.”
Kissing her again, Riah hugged her tight at the same time. “You’ll never be a servant to anyone. You just get to play one here in the old country.”
“Fuck the old country,” she muttered, but didn’t pull away. “When I get you in bed,” she whispered against Riah’s lips, “we’ll just see who’s the master and who’s the servant.”
Riah shivered just thinking about it. “Deal.”
They all took a seat on the ground, not caring that it was damp, and let the horses nibble on the grass crisp and yellow from the snow and cold. From a nearby pond they were able to drink, the icy cold water rejuvenating. The stop, in Riah’s mind, was as much for the animals as for them. She’d grown u
p riding horses, not that it did her any good now. Though the skills came back to her quickly, the conditioning didn’t. She’d just taken a century or so off but was feeling it as much as the rest of them.
Oh yes, her ass hurt too—not that she intended to admit that to Adriana.
With very little encouragement, she could drop on the ground and relax for hours. It was a little cold and wet, flakes of snow fluttering down every so often, but she still wouldn’t mind a little nap. This being human again was tiring. Rest wasn’t going to happen. No time. Too dangerous.
That thought got her up and off the hard ground. Sore ass and all, it was time to be back on the move. The quicker they got to Lura and returned to the rocks, the better. She hoped whatever doorway through time that had brought them all here would still be open enough to take them home again.
Being one of the old ones had let her live through many waves of history. Interesting in many ways, yes. At the same time, it didn’t mean she wanted to go back and live through those times again. The only way to survive as long as she had was to assimilate into the current environment. She’d outgrown medieval Europe eons ago.
No, she wanted warm showers, fast cars, and modern technology. She wanted her computer and her state-of-the art morgue where she could do her important work. She wanted to go back to her lab where she and Adriana could work side by side until they once more discovered the cure to what held her captive to darkness. She didn’t want to be here.
After they traveled for hours, the daylight began to recede, and as it did, a deep sadness washed over her. Though as an old one she could tolerate sunshine, she couldn’t spend a day in it. She’d exposed herself to daylight only in small increments. This was the first time in over five hundred years she’d ridden a horse, face exposed, skin warmed, throughout an entire day. It was an odd feeling. Not unpleasant.
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