Mistwalker

by Fraser, Naomi

  “I was distracted,” she said. “By that—”

  He grabbed her wrist and leaned down closer, his gaze dropped to her lips, then wandered lazily up to her eyes. He arched an eyebrow. “Distracted, eh?” He leaned in another inch, his dark hair spilling in a curtain around his face. The strands must have broken free of the band. His muscled thighs immobilized hers. Again, his gaze stopped on her lips. “Distracted like you cannot think of anything else?”

  The breath clogged in her throat.

  His incisors gleamed above his full lips. The moonlight struggled through the fog, but it was enough to accentuate a vein that throbbed wildly in his forehead. He tilted his head, and the light washed over him, highlighting the sheer breadth of his body over hers. He slowly placed his hands onto the leaves on either side of her head, and his elbows shook. The wind whistled against her cheeks, but she smelled his skin, that musk and spice. His face lowered.

  “Stay there,” he whispered. His face stopped mere inches from hers. “I cannot resist you any longer,” he murmured, and then he sucked in a hard breath. “I have searched for so long.” His chest expanded quickly as though the thought made breathing hurt. He sighed and sucked in air, hollowing out the curves under his slashing cheekbones.

  Terribly still, she gazed at him. “Why, Juliun? Searched for what?”

  His forehead wrinkled. A flash of doubt crossed his eyes before they darkened and fixated on her face and her lips once more.

  She frowned and lightly smoothed back the fall of his midnight hair. “You are incredibly strong and could have stopped me when we first met. Why didn’t you?”

  His teeth elongated into shiny points. The weight of his body pinned her to the ground. His face closed, and he withdrew, looking away. “I could not. Do not ask me to explain that.”

  Patches of wet, melting ice stuck to her jeans, and she stared at him, mystified. “What does that mean? Why shouldn’t I ask you?”

  He opened his lips, his teeth flashed, and a drop of his blood glimmered on his fang. He licked the blood back inside his lush mouth and shook his head.

  The smell of the gorgeous liquid slammed into her. “Juliun,” she choked out.

  He laughed and eased back into a kneeling position atop her thighs, none of his weight restricting her. “That is distracting too, hmm? It means I cannot talk about it now. What diverted your attention in the first place?”

  She pointed to the wall of rock. Slight shimmers expanded from the stone, highlighted by the moon. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  He rose to his feet and appeared at the wall, then touched the surface. “Witch’s magick.”

  Simone took form beside him on shaky legs. “Witch did this?”

  “Yes.” His hand caught hers, and with a light tug, he drew her close to his hard body. “We will have to travel through.” He gave her a quick, sneaky hug before she could stop him.

  She looked up at him with a wry glance. “But we don’t know what’s on the other side.”

  He stroked her arm absentmindedly. “The mist overrides all. Witch knew we would come.” He looked down at her with a smile. “Do not be alarmed.”

  He dematerialised them.

  The crackle and snap of flames filled her ears, and then the lustrous heat of a roaring fire licked her skin. The wall stopped most of the wind and intensified the pungent aroma of burning herbs. Parts of her solidified from the mist, and this time she looked down to watch the process happen. Her knees became whole, her thighs and then her stomach. Once again, she was overwhelmed with the feeling of lightness and freedom from the mist. The vibrational shift of it all.

  They stepped into a low clearing. Tammy lay on the ground beside the fire.

  Simone gasped and rushed forward and then knelt on the soft fur that shielded her friend’s body from the forest floor. “Wake up, Tammy.” Simone’s voice came out unsteady and broken. She gently shook Tammy’s shoulder and slid quick fingers down to the pulse. Simone pulled her hand away, shocked at how Tammy’s skin burned and her weak pulse. “She’s burning up.”

  A dark shadow loomed before he knelt down. “I will lift her and carry her back home.”

  Simone scrubbed the tears clouding her eyes. “Yes. We’ll take her to the clinic.”

  Tammy’s skin ran with moisture, and her head lolled to the side. Sweat dribbled down her neck and onto the rug.

  “I shouldn’t have taken so long in the forest.” Simone ran a soothing hand across her friend’s wet hairline and brushed the darkened, greasy strands from her face. “Oh, I shouldn’t have. I’m so sorry, Tam. It’s okay. We’ve got you now. You’re safe.”

  He controlled the mist that ate at their hands, and Tammy’s hands disappeared at the same time.

  “Stop.”

  The word held the force of the wind, and Simone turned to a woman who appeared at the mouth of a small cave at the other end of the clearing. Her long brown hair and calm, arresting face shone in the firelight. With dark eyes, hair and clear skin, she looked like a gypsy of indeterminate age for her skin glowed with unbelievable health.

  Witch.

  Juliun laid Tammy down on the rug and looked up. “You have done us a great service this night. I thank you.”

  Witch smiled and tilted her head. “It is your new ally who will do you the greatest service.”

  Juliun glanced at Simone. His hand crept toward her shoulder and squeezed. “You have seen this?”

  The Witch nodded. Juliun smiled.

  “Thank you for saving Tammy,” Simone said, swallowing in an effort to control her grief and show her gratitude. “I couldn’t bear it if she died. We tried to come sooner, but I needed to…to…” She looked up at Juliun.

  “The animals in the forest,” he said by way of explanation and shrugged. “I am her only direct food source here. We had to chase to expel her energy.”

  Witch’s gaze roamed from Simone and then back to Juliun. “I counted on that. You have almost given her enough time with me. First, you must wash your hands of her poisoned sweat.”

  Witch pulled out a wand from her skirt and held it aloft, calling, “Aqua Lacus.” The tip of the wand glowed yellow, and a small pool of water emerged beside Simone’s feet. Juliun promptly knelt and washed his strong, large hands while Simone stood there flummoxed.

  She hadn’t expected that water would appear at their feet. Juliun gripped her hands and pulled her down until she knelt beside him. “I’ve never seen…” she said.

  “I know,” he answered.

  The water disappeared after their task, and a light wind whipped the moisture from Simone’s skin.

  “Why can’t we take Tammy back to Ravenkeep?” she asked. “I can take care of her.”

  “You will, but not yet.” Witch kneeled on the ground in front of the fire and threw a handful of herbs into the flames. “She needs to stay in the forest for a few more minutes.”

  “I don’t understand.” Simone sat down beside Tammy. Her friend was burning, but she needed to stay here? The smell of the herbs clogged Simone’s nose and made sweat bud on her skin. “She’s so hot. Shouldn’t we try to cool down her body?”

  “Have to flush the toxins from her.” Witch threw in another handful of herbs. “I have asked the spirits for guidance. If she does not have this chance, she will die.” Witch gazed with curious eyes as though she were trying to see into Simone’s mind. The orange flames of the fire cast her face in the look of a caring and knowing mother. “I’m glad she is your friend.”

  That thought was painful enough, considering what she’d embroiled Tammy in, but Simone nodded and took comfort from the fact Juliun sat so close. “Then, I’ll wait,” she said.

  “It is good to see you again,” Juliun said. The flames made the firewood sizzle in a series of loud hisses and pops. “Grandfather contacted you?”

  “No. This one,” Witch said, pointing to Tammy, “is important enough to warrant my coming without Council approval.” She smiled. “It is wonderful to be ho
me. Congratulations are in order, I believe. Your father was the only one who waited longer than you.”

  “Thank you,” Juliun said simply, but a wide grin split his face again.

  Simone flicked her gaze from Juliun’s smiling face to the Witch.

  “I have been gone too long.” Witch sighed and threw more herbs onto the fire. “I miss my son.”

  “He misses you, too,” Juliun said. “Stay at Ravenkeep for as long as you wish. You are more than welcome.”

  “I have work to do here first.” She rose and brushed down her skirt. She walked across the ground with bare feet toward Tammy. Firelight played across Witch’s clear skin. One step away, she dragged a dagger swift as a striking snake across her own wrist, and bright red blood dripped into Tammy’s mouth.

  Simone came up higher to a kneeling position. “What are you doing?”

  “You must feed her twice a night.” Witch looked up from her task, and her dark brown gaze speared them with their intensity. Her long brown hair flowed down her back, crackling with life. “Remember, the stronger the immortal blood, the better. I know you cannot do this with the mist, but she will need to be given the best you have. Again, if you do not do this, she will die.”

  Simone frowned. “Who can we ask?”

  “Alec will volunteer.” The Witch glanced at Juliun. “I need you to tell him that the vampire who gave her the poison is dead.”

  Juliun swore viciously, pounded the dirt with his fists, and he jumped up, then started pacing. His muscles bunched, a hand rubbing the back of his neck. The air and ground around him faded in and out of mist. “How?”

  Simone cast him a sorrowful glance. She couldn’t imagine Tammy dying, and Lars had been a good friend to Juliun. “I’m so sorry, Juliun.”

  “There was nothing to be done by the time I got to him,” Witch said. “The Drachyn had him. If you want Tammy to survive, you need to get rid of the poison in her system. She must rest for as long as she deems necessary, and then be allowed to run and work her body. That will assist in the healing process. I have packed herbs for you to take. It would be beneficial if the donors could drink the herbs in a tea. Place one teaspoon in each cup, and let them have two cups a day. Also, you must never allow her to use her fangs until she is completely healed, or she will spread the poison.”

  “I understand and will relay your orders,” Juliun said.

  “Let me give you some protection before you take her.” Witch pulled out her wand again. “Scuture corpus pallium.”

  Simone stood immobile, suddenly decked from head to toe in a black plastic overcoat. Only her face peeked through the dark slash in the hood. “Incredible,” she said, looking down at her stiff and uncomfortable protection. “Magic, huh?”

  Juliun bent and carefully lifted Tammy with one arm beneath her knees and the other under her neck. Blonde, dank hair swept over the black plastic on his arm.

  Lifeless, but Simone intended to change all that with Juliun’s and Witch’s help. In such a short space of time her new friends in this world had come to mean a lot to her.

  “Take good care of them both,” Witch said.

  “I will,” Juliun promised. “I hope to see you at Ravenkeep.”

  “I can’t thank you enough.” Simone stepped closer to the mysterious and powerful Witch. “I don’t know what we would have done without your help. I will be eternally grateful.” Simone didn’t know whether to shake her hand or hug her.

  “It pleases me to know she has a friend like you watching her.” Witch laid a cool, soft hand on Simone’s arm.

  Simone felt tethered by the gentle touch. “She’s my best friend. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.”

  “Before you go...” The Witch began, staring at Simone intently, her dark gypsy eyes flashing in the light of the orange flames. “In the future you will have a choice to make.” She paused. “A hard choice. Some might call it fate. Choose with your heart, and remember the darkness of your past.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  “Place her on the bed immediately,” Alec ordered brusquely, and he sprang into action.

  The ultra-modern clinic with its automatic steel shutters grew grim. Alec’s face stiffened, but his blue eyes flashed with a million lights of determination. A muscle leapt to life inside his jaw as he stared down at Tammy’s prone body. “Another hour and the sun would have risen. Where did they take her?”

  “Werewolf Compound,” Juliun said.

  Alec’s hands shook, but he leaned down and listened to Tammy’s chest. He sighed and looked up at Simone. “Her heart’s beating in a rhythm signalling the change, yet she’s raging with fever. I cannot stop either course of action.” His words wavered. “Look at her arm. She’s been bitten again.”

  Juliun stepped close to Alec. “They thought she had the mist. Your mother came,” he said. “She induced Tammy’s fever after saving her. You cannot touch her sweat. Tammy needs to be fed twice a night from blood which has been immediately drained. The donors will need to drink some herb tea which will assist in her healing.”

  Alec’s trembling hands came down over Tammy’s arm as though he hadn’t heard the conditions. “Mother came? How did she know?”

  “How does she know anything?” Juliun discarded the plastic coat and slung it over the back of a chair. He laid a steadying hand on the Alec’s shoulder. “There is more. You will need to wash your hands, and then I will fill you in on the rest. Tammy will be safe with Simone. Witch has fed her enough blood for now.”

  Alec didn’t move, and his jaw set stubbornly. “I’m staying here.”

  “No, it’s fine.” Simone walked to the head of Tammy’s bed and eyed Alec curiously. “You should go with Juliun. I can take care of her for a few moments.”

  Alec swallowed, and his eyes went blank, but he nodded. “I’ll be right back,” he said briskly, following Juliun out of the room, the white coat flapping around his jean-clad legs.

  Simone’s body ached, and she pulled up a chair, leaning her tired head against the mattress. She placed her gloved hand on Tammy’s forehead, smoothing away her sweaty hair. “They’ll take good care of you here, Tam. I’m sorry for putting you through all this. I hope you will forgive me.” The night’s events played out in her mind. What had the Witch meant by her disturbing message?

  Simone never had the chance to find out because Juliun faded them to mist. She frowned, wondering if the decisions the Witch spoke of had anything to do with Tammy and her being kidnapped. Simone’s hand nestled high on the crown of her friend’s head. “Here we go, Tam,” Simone murmured.

  She closed her eyes and drifted inside Tammy’s mind like Radu had shown her with Kristoff. There were no walls to break through. Faint snatches of memories surfaced, and Simone saw herself through Tammy’s eyes.

  Laughing as they tried on Gothic costumes.

  Simone shoving her boobs into a tight corset without success; buying bat wing earrings that tickled their skin. Plastic, ridiculous fangs which kept falling out of their mouths and Tammy laughing, then kicking them under a display shelf. Stopping by the bottle shop for champagne before they hit the town; dancing wildly at the clubs.

  Then Juliun appearing out of thin air, as menacing and intimidating as an angel of death. Recognition of what he was. The total numbness and complete compliance of his orders, and then intense pain as Lars bit into Tammy’s neck.

  Tammy screamed, and her body shook. She turned toward Simone and shivered with absolute fright at the blood covering her friend’s face and body.

  Then darkness. Until…orange light hurt her eyes.

  The sickening motion of her body disturbed her, and her eyelashes fluttered open to see a man’s arm flinging across her middle. Impact. Pain exploded, and the darkness returned with relief.

  Simone let go of Tammy’s head and rubbed a hand across her tired eyes. She wanted to think about it for a while, to understand how this might fit in with Witch’s warning.

  Fatigue pulled at her eyelids, a
nd she longed to sleep. Would it be safe enough in her apartment?

  Juliun materialised in a cloud of black at the foot of Tammy’s bed. “You need to sleep, Simone.”

  She stared up at him. Sometimes, he was so magnetic and gorgeous that he stopped her breath. Her eyelids were heavy. “I don’t think it would be a good idea to go home. I’d rather stay with Tammy.”

  He nodded curtly. “I agree. It is far too dangerous at your apartment. Dravego has human blood-slaves working for him. You would be vulnerable in the daylight hours.”

  She looked around. “So where do I crash? On one of the beds?” She walked to the nearest hospital bed and plumped a pillow. “This looks comfortable enough.” Fantastic compared to the cave and Vinnie’s cupboard.

  “Perhaps you would be more comfortable in one of our guest rooms.”

  She faced him with an arched brow. “Why?”

  “You are going to need your strength tomorrow. There are other events happening that you need to be made aware of. Your friend will be under the best care with my medical team. Alec is seeing about donors, and he is calling upon the elders of the species, but for now, you need to sleep where no one can drain your blood. You can see Tammy again tomorrow night.”

  Simone snuck a glance at Tammy—her friend’s face slackened, so lined and tired as if all the energy had been sucked right out of her. The thought of Dravego doing the same chilled Simone to the bone. “But what if she wakes and doesn’t know where she is?”

  “She has seen Alec before in the hospital. He will make her feel safe.”

  Simone dragged a hand through her hair. “I really can’t think right now, Juliun. I’m not sure if I should leave her.”

  Alec walked back in the room with a flock of nurses behind him. He had a tea cup in his hand and kept tipping the lip up to his mouth. The scent of the strong herbs drowned out the disinfectant. He looked at them in surprise. “Still here?”