by Tijan
“Kates?”
I clasped my eyes shut a moment. The Immortal allowed me this weakness. Something broke inside of me. “We must leave her. I don’t know where she is—”
“Davy!”
Lucan was coming.
I whirled to Gavin and gasped, “I’m weakening. I can’t—”
Gregory was at the door, then through it. Gavin started to follow, but turned back. He saw the problem and with a hardened mask over his face, he swept past me. Picking up Wren, he carried her to the door. I started forward, still leaving Tracey frozen when Wren shouted, “At least let her escape on her own, or do whatever she wants. At least—” The growl melted into a forlorn look. As Gavin paused, right before the door, her shoulders dropped. She finished, “At least, let her decide.”
I felt inside of myself. I didn’t have much magic, but I nodded. “Go!” I yelled at them and unfroze Tracey at the same time.
She jerked out of place, but she knew what was going on. A resolved expression crossed her face. She nodded to me. “Go.”
“Wren is—”
“Go.” She surged forward.
I wavered on my feet. The magic was leaving me so quickly. My knees were weakening, an entire wave of exhaustion was rising up over me. It was going to crash soon. I felt its impending arrival.
The blonde vampire saw my dilemma and she cursed under her breath. I felt Lucan coming. He was roaring my name through the building, making even the cages shake from his fury. I looked back at the door. I knew then, I wouldn’t be able to make it. If Gregory, Gavin, and Wren got free, that was good. I wasn’t going to be with them. I had nothing in me to evade Lucan and his army.
Then, abruptly, Tracey soared to me. She grabbed me up and was running with me. I looked up at her. Her head was down and focused, but as she darted through the door, her eyes shifted to mine. She was getting me to safety. I nodded, thinking in my head, “I’m sorry.”
Her lips pressed together. She didn’t say anything, but I felt the sadness inside of her, and she thought to me, “Rest, Davy. I’ll carry you the way.”
We raced down a hallway and soared past a door. I was so tired. The wave was crashing down on me, but I lifted my head. I felt Lucan coming toward me. He sensed my presence. He knew we were going fast, but Tracey wasn’t fast enough. He was coming—the door exploded in the air and he was there. He was barreling after us. I closed my eyes and transcended above us. The Immortal was quiet, more than she had been the entire time. I didn’t have enough energy for this, so I knew she was doing this.
We weren’t as one anymore. We were almost two separate beings, and she felt my distress. She was lifting me up. My body was in Tracey’s arms, but I was up and I could see Lucan racing to catch up.
We were doomed. He was faster than Tracey was, but I had to try to help. I had to try, at least.
“Rest, Davy.” I felt The Immortal’s words. The anger was there, but held off. It was as if she knew I had tried, and then, my head started to fall back. I watched myself as my body grew limp in Tracey’s arms. She glanced down, her alarm picked up, but she didn’t stop. Her fear gave her a small boost of speed, but it still wasn’t enough.
Lucan was almost there.
“Davy.” The Immortal was at my side again. She laid a hand on my shoulder. “Rest.”
And, as if her words had magic over myself, the world started to grow black. My eyelids fell, suddenly so tired, but I saw The Immortal gazing down where I was in Tracey’s arms. Wind began to pick up. The walls of the hallway started moving around, and then we were gone.
I had fallen asleep.
Christian stared across the bonfire at the man he never understood. Lucas Roane was a vampire. They were all alike, but this one never did as he predicted. He loved a woman. He left her. He lost her, so he fell in love with the new thread. Next he chose to declare a war for the woman. And when she was taken from him, the old vampire he knew would’ve found another woman. This Lucas Roane sought an alliance with his enemy. They went together for this Immortal, for the woman the legendary Hunter thought he loved.
And then he glanced to his side. His sister sat there, content, as she munched on a chicken leg he roasted over the fire for her. Pippa was the younger sister no one understood. She scurried away from fights, hid in the shadows when confronted, and was so eager to escape away to a school far away. Then she called for them and she wasn’t the same woman. She had grown. She stood upright when spoken to, she met each attack with her own fierceness, and she rallied them all when she heard a friend was in need.
It was the same woman. They both loved the same woman, though not in the same way.
Christian looked down at his lap and gripped his water again. His confusion didn’t matter. He would go to this woman. He would rescue her and he would do it without protest. His sister believed in this woman and he would forever be grateful. He was given a new sister, one who loved herself, was proud of herself, and who made him proud as well. He would fight for whoever managed that feat.
“You’re thinking too loud.” Pippa glanced up as she bit into the chicken leg again. She grinned.
“That’s what being older and wiser means. We think a lot.” He draped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. A tender smile came to him. “Good thing I have you with me.”
She nudged him with her elbow. “I keep you on your toes.”
“You do.”
“I do.” She was solemn as she held her older brother’s gaze.
From across the fire, Lucas watched the exchange. A part of him tore inside, but there was no outward reaction. He sat as a statue and his face never moved. He was a stone, had been since Davy was taken. But something softened in him as well. Davy would’ve liked to see her friend happy, and she seemed to be with her older brother.
And then a woosh sounded behind him. Saren took the seat beside him. Her blue leather crinkled in protest as she lowered to the piece of tree. She glanced at him, looked where he watched, and sighed in disgust.
“You humans are all the same,” she snorted, rolling her eyes.
Lucas gave her a restrained look. “I am a vampire.”
“You’re still human.”
“I eat humans.”
“You drink blood. It is different. You still feel. You let those feelings overtake you. You’re still human.” She nodded across the fire. “As are they. They are worse.”
“How so?”
“Vampires act like they’re better than humans, but they know deep down they aren’t. They’re worse. You all are vain and weak, but werewolves feel their arrogance is fulfilled. They think they’re the greatest creatures on earth, all because they are still human, they have mortal lives if they want them, and they think they’re in control of everything.” She snickered. “Davy always talked how wolves were the best to be around. They repressed everything; she didn’t have to feel their emotions.”
A grin teased over his face. “That sounds like her.”
She mirrored his amusement, but looked over and it faded. She stared with an intensity now. It drew him to ask, “What?”
Her mouth tightened. “Why did you leave the witch with Mavic?”
His jaw slackened at her words and he whirled to her. It happened so fast, faster than in the blink of an eye, and his hand clasped onto her arm. “How did you know about him?”
She never blinked. “I’ve been watching you since Davy insisted she was in love with you. She was a fool,” she spat out. “You’re both fools.”
His fingers loosened. Just a little. “What do you know about Mavic?”
“He is a traitor. He is the worst scum underneath the dirt on my shoes. I want to squash him into the earth until his loins burst and his body bleeds dry. I want to—”
He lifted his hand free. “Okay. I got it.”
She drew upright. The embers in her eyes burst into flame. “What are your plans for the traitor sorcerer?”
Roane shot her an annoyed look. “I’d still like to
know how you could stalk me without me knowing about it.”
“I did not stalk.” She squared her shoulders back. “I do not stalk.”
One of his eyelids twitched.
She frowned. “I hunted you. I did not stalk you. Hunt. That’s more . . .”
Bastion stuck his head around. “Less creepy?”
Her shoulders dropped. “Yes. I am not creepy.”
The two vampires shared a look.
“What?” She looked from one to the other.
Bastion shrugged. “You’re a bit creepy.”
“I am not.”
“Yeah. Yeah, you are. Sorry to break the news.”
She took a deep breath. Her chin lifted and she sat to her fullest height. “I am the representative of my clan. I am here to help a fellow sister, the followers of my sister, and I . . .” She clamped her mouth shut.
Bastion raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
Her shoulders sagged down again. “Nothing.”
Roane grinned. “You’re creepy, but in a good way.”
“Thanks.” She lifted her head again.
The two shared a slight smile, and Bastion groaned. “I’m getting the creeps now.”
“What is the plan?” The question was almost thrown from the other side of the bonfire like a challenge. The small exchange between Saren and the two vampires was interrupted, and the small moment of a slight break in tension was sniffed away like it wasn’t supposed to have been there in the first place.
Roan straightened, remembering how Christian Christane had once taken the woman he loved. A dark emotion took root inside of him. He wouldn’t allow that to happen again. He didn’t fear for the same repetition, but that he’d lose Davy because of the Alpha wolf. That would not happen, and the wolf sensed the deep determination. It was like an old rivalry, once buried was awoken again. His nostrils flared, knowing the near loathing was there. He couldn’t do anything about it, and the two weren’t on speaking terms. They couldn’t speak about Talia, at least.
Pippa glanced up at him, picking up the undercurrents. She pressed her lips together and let out a small growl. She looked at both and said one word. “Davy.”
Roane and her brother received the message. The small flare-up dampened immediately, but it was still there. It was a back burner turned to simmer. It was still hot and still dangerous if left ignored.
Saren narrowed her eyes. She harrumphed. “Foolish human emotions.”
No one responded, but she stood, and as she stepped away from the fire, she vanished.
Roane continued to stare across the dancing flames at the werewolf. Neither looked away.
DAVY
I woke up on a bed and lifted my head, or I would’ve. My neck wouldn’t move. Stabbing pain sliced through me, and I cried out. My body instantly locked up, and I started trembling, sending even more stabbing pain through me.
“Davy.”
Gavin rushed inside, the sound of something was shoved aside, like a tarp. He added, “You’re awake? Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m—” I couldn’t talk. My teeth were grinding together.
He laid a hand on my arm and said, “You’ve been out for three days. Rest.”
“Wha-a-at happened?”
“You.”
Me? I frowned at him, trying to remember. The Immortal was with me, she told me to sleep, and I was watching from above. “Lucan was going to catch us.”
“You teleported Tracey and yourself. We only just found you guys yesterday. Tracey was exhausted by the time we did. She’d been standing guard over you.”
“Teleported?”
He nodded, grim. “You sent the both of you to the highest mountain. We’re twenty miles from the Mori camp. Wren’s the one that kept us going to find you. She said she could feel Tracey and used her scent. She tracked you guys.”
He thought I did this. I didn’t. The Immortal did it, and I tried to sense her right now, but I couldn’t. It was like she wasn’t even inside of me. All I felt was nothing. Exhaustion. Pain. That was it.
Gavin added, “It must’ve taken it out of you.”
“Yeah.” I looked away. “It must’ve.”
He gestured around, but I could only see above. It was a dark wall of rock. Gavin said, “We brought you into this cave. We used a tarp we found by a riverbed not far from here. It’s used to block out the cold for you.”
For you. Those two words—they were all vampires. The cold didn’t matter to them, but I was human. I was The Immortal, or I thought I still was.
“Is she awake?”
I tensed, hearing Wren outside. She was angry. I could feel it coming off her in waves.
Gavin studied me. “Are you up for her?”
No. I said, “I need answers.”
He nodded, then left my side. The tarp was lifted and he spoke to them, “She’s in pain. I don’t think she can take too much.”
“She’s The Immortal. She can take more than any of us.” She shoved at the tarp, coming inside. I didn’t move my head over. My neck would’ve seized up again, but her anger became stronger. As she stood over me, glaring down, it was blanketing on top of me, and I struggled to push through it all.
This wasn’t normal. This was my empathic side. This was how it had been when I still struggled to control my senses. Since becoming The Immortal, I hadn’t had this problem. Everything was easily controlled, even kept at bay so I could pull it forth as I pleased. This . . . something was wrong.
“What happened back there?”
“Wren.” Tracey came inside. “Don’t berate her. She needs rest, not to be interrogated.”
“I don’t care.” She twisted back to look at her. “She brought you both here. Why? How? Was it The Immortal power in her? Is Lucan coming for us? Does he know our location? Do we even know our location? We need answers.”
“And we’ll get them.” Tracey touched her lover’s arm. Her voice gentled. “But not now. I was carrying her body. Her body, Wren. Not her, but a body. Her heart stopped.”
My eyes snapped to her, and I jerked upright.
Oh.
Shit.
I held my breath, knowing what was coming—and yep, there it was. A crest of new pain crashed onto me, and I stifled a scream. I bit down on my lip, but I was wailing on the inside.
“Davy?”
I shook my head, holding a hand up to Gavin. I’d be fine. Answers. Answers. I focused on that. Wren wanted answers, well, so did I. I waited out the pain, then lifted my gaze to Tracey’s, and I asked one word. “Stopped?”
She nodded. “I thought you died. I was carrying you when you suddenly stopped breathing.”
“And you continued to hold her?”
Tracey shot Wren a dark look. “I wasn’t going to let him have her body. She wasn’t slowing me down.”
“But you said they were going to catch you,” Wren spoke.
Tracey nodded. “They would’ve, but then,” her hand lifted toward me, “we were on this mountain.”
“I was dead?”
“You weren’t alive.”
I couldn’t—I’d been dead. Had The Immortal left me? Was I only an empath now? A cold shiver of panic wound down my spine, but I shook it off. I wouldn’t start thinking about that, not until I knew for certain. “How long?”
“A day.”
“A day?” I was gutted. I was dead for an entire day?
“She’s The Immortal. How is that possible?”
Tracey looked at Wren. “I don’t know. I didn’t think it was, but she had no heartbeat. But she’s alive again, so I guess it doesn’t matter.”
But she didn’t sound so certain. Neither was I. I always had a heartbeat. Always. Not having one—I didn’t want to not be a human. I’d completely become The Immortal then and I knew that wasn’t right. I needed to hold onto my humanity as long as I could. A heartbeat was part of that.
“Davy,” Gavin said.
I looked to him.
He said, “We need to decide our next
move.”
Wren snorted. “Leave. Get back to Roane as fast as possible.”
Gavin didn’t look at her. He was waiting for me, and I knew what the unspoken question was. Kates. We had left her behind.
Raw emotion rose up, threatening to choke me. Like the panic, I shoved it away. I needed a clear head. “Where is Gregory?”
Tracey answered, “He’s on point, watching.”
“We’re twenty miles away. I think we’re safe, for now.” Wren threw both a disgusted look. Her anger melted into pure impatience.
I nodded. Okay. So this was the decision that had to be made. “We go back—”
“Go back?” Wren echoed me. “To die?”
I ignored her and finished, “—for Kates or . . . we continue forward, hopefully toward Roane.”
“Can you sense him?”
I couldn’t even sense The Immortal, much less my lover. I wasn’t going to say that, though. I shook my head. “I’m too tired, I think.”
“You need to rest,” Tracey said.
“We need to move.” Wren shook her head at both of them. “We move or die. Those are the options we have.”
“Not if we have her at full strength.” Gavin indicated me. “If we have an Immortal at full strength, we can fight back.”
“We’re in Mori territory. They’re going to find us.”
He shook his head. “It’s Davy’s call. We do what she wants.”
“I want to go back.” Tracey cut through any more argument. Wren’s mouth hung open, and before she could say anything, Tracey added, “I wanted to stay behind. My niece is there. I want to know her.”
“Your niece?”
Tracey looked at me and said, “If you go back for Kates, I’ll go with you. I’ll fight at your side.”
“As will I.” Gavin stepped beside her. The two were in solidarity and both turned to Wren.
She shook her head. “We’ll die.”
“Not if she can rest.”
Wren clipped out, “We go to Roane. He’s coming for us. He’ll have an army with him. We can go back for the traitor and your niece, but with him. We’ll have numbers on our side.” Her voice rose. “We’ll have a fighting chance. These are Mori vampires. You guys are forgetting that. They’re not like us. We’re lucky we got free at all. They’re a force all at once. They fight as one being. We’ll never win, with or without a rested Immortal on our side.”