by Amber Flora
I jerked my arm away and glared at him.
“My life and my friends are none of your damn business. Make an accusation like that again and you will see just how primitive I am.”
OK, so I was bluffing. The man was a trained assassin and everything I learned about fighting I've acquired from him, but I wasn’t about to back down. I wanted him to know that his stature didn’t intimidate me, I also didn’t want to admit how right he was. While I had never slept with anyone other than James I did make the huge mistake of kissing Ben and was fortunate enough to get a sneak preview of what a night with Mac would be like. I could blame my hormones on the magic rushing through my veins, but in truth I’m a woman surrounded by beautiful men and I haven’t been laid in a very long time. What’s a girl to do?
“You are either very brave or incredibly stupid,” he sneered.
“Seeing as how I’m trusting you, I’m going to have to go with stupid.”
When I made the decision to escape with Herrick it seemed like the logical choice at the time. The longer I was in his presence the more my brain screamed “Dummy!”
He was like that last beer of the night, when you tell yourself you can handle it but the second you stand and the room begins to spin, you realize you made a mistake. Herrick was poor decision wrapped in a pretty little package.
“You never told me what your type is,” I pointed out, frustrated that I was the only one who had to share her personal life.
Herrick froze, holding his finger to his mouth.
“What? You can root around in my life but you won’t ...”
He threw his hand over my mouth.
“Be quiet, I hear someone.”
I immediately clamped my mouth shut, trying to refrain from letting panic rush over me.
“Ashtyn, I know you’re out here. I can feel your raw power trying to escape. Come out now and I give you my word I will kill Herrick swiftly. You are mine, my dear. I’m afraid you are only delaying the inevitable. How far do you think you’ll make it? I will get you back, and I assure you when I do you will see the true me. I made the mistake of treating you like my equal. Next time you will be my slave. I will take you in every way imaginable.”
My eyes darted to Herrick. Would he turn me in to save his own hide? I should have gone with Mac, at least I know where his loyalty lies. Now my only ally was an emotionless assassin who was hired by the very man I was fleeing. The odds were not in my favor.
Herrick pointed toward a pond that was about fifteen yards away. He methodically started walking in that direction, making sure to move from tree to tree. I did the same, doing my best to follow his path.
“OK, Herrick, you made your point. I forgive you for killing Grison. Return the girl to me and I will offer you the same deal I made your mother,” Damon yelled. From the sound of his voice he was getting closer.
I caught myself wondering what Damon had done to Herrick’s mother and why she was involved with him in the first place.
I stepped on a twig and froze, panic seeped in and I could no longer move. He was going to find me. Damon was going to take me back to the estate and I would be his forever. He would never let me go again. The torment I received at Grison’s hands would be nothing compared with what Damon would do to me for betraying him.
Herrick moved back to where I stood. My eyes were closed but I felt his warm hands cup my face.
“Ashtyn, look at me.”
I forced my eyes open, seeing the determination on his features.
“Listen to me. I won’t let him take you. I need you to trust me, love. Stay with me and this will all be over soon.”
I nodded, taking his hand. I shuffled forward, trying to watch where I stepped. Every movement was strained, like my body was fighting against me. We finally reached the water and I wondered what his plan was from here.
“Can you swim?”
Shouldn’t he have asked me that question before he led me to the water?
“Yes, but where will we go? It’s just a pond.”
“We’re getting into the water. I need you to take three deep breathes and go under. He’s not far behind us. When he gets to the pond, he will go left. Once he is far enough away we will emerge and go right.”
“I … I can’t hold my breath that long. Herrick, I can’t do this.” My voice came out shaky and my hands were trembling.
“It’s the only way. I’m right here, you’re not alone. You can do this.”
Herrick pulled me into the water. It was freezing and my teeth immediately began to chatter. I looked around the forest searching for movement through the trees. There had to be another way. If Damon made it to the pond there was still no guarantee that he wouldn’t find us.
“Herrick I …”
He kissed my forehead and pulled me into his arms.
“Deep breaths. Ready?”
I was so not ready, but I did what he said and took three deep breaths and submerged.
I kept my eyes closed for as long as I could. I didn’t want to focus on my surroundings, I wanted to pretend I was somewhere warm and safe, maybe sitting at a cafe having a cup of coffee with Lori or snuggled under the covers of my cozy bed back at the cottage. After about thirty seconds I slowly opened my eyes to see Herrick directly in front of me. His arms were wrapped around my waist and as he watched my eyes. I oddly felt calmer looking into his reassuring eyes. The burning in my lungs made it seem like an hour had passed, but it was probably reaching two minutes. I was losing feeling throughout my body, and I could feel my heart slowing. I couldn’t hold out any longer, I began to thrash, needing to breathe in air. I tried to swim back to the top of the pond. I wanted out of there — nothing else mattered but getting out of the water. Herrick pulled me into him but I still fought. I was going to die, after everything I had been through, my life was going to end in this cold murky water. Grabbing my face he brought his mouth to mine. Relief filled me as he breathed oxygen into my lungs. He was giving me the last of his air. I watched as he withdrew. Finally able to calm down, I forced my body to still. Herrick’s eyes began to close and his arms floated upward. I swam over trying to shake him but he didn't move. Looking above me, I could see no sign of movement. I waited a few more seconds, as long as my body could bear it. Then I wrapped Herrick’s arm around mine and pulled us both to the surface.
I pounded on Herrick’s chest. It had been years since I took a CPR class, but I tried to remember the steps. Tilting his head back I pinched his nose and covered his mouth with mine as I tried to breathe life back into him.
“Don’t you dare die on me. The big bad assassin can’t go out like this.”
I pounded his chest. I was numb all over, but I didn’t stop. Continuing the motions I pumped his body with the palms of my hands, trying to remember how many times I was supposed to do so until I returned to his mouth.
“Herrick, please! Don’t leave me. Please come back to me. I’m sorry, I’ll tell you anything you want to know just come back to me.”
I laid my head on his chest sobbing. He couldn’t be gone. How would I get through this alone? Why did he give me the last of his air? Stupid vibrant, he picked now to be chivalrous.
“Anything?”
I looked down to see one gray eye looking up at me.
“You bastard, you had me terrified. I thought you had died.”
I stood and wiped my knees, as if my only concern were the leaves and dirt on my pants. He coughed, trying to free his lungs of the liquid.
“Apologies, next time you drown and I’ll assault your chest.”
“Let’s hope there is never a next time.”
I was never doing that again, I didn’t care how much he begged. Next time we were climbing a tree or finding a cave.
“Agreed. Can you walk?”
I knew hypothermia was setting in. I was shivering uncontrollably and I heard my speech slurring when I talked, but this man had just drowned and came back to life, I couldn’t give up.
“I think so, but not for long,”
I replied.
“We don’t have much further to go. We should be able to flash soon.”
I let the adrenaline control me as I pushed myself forward. I could do this. In two months I had found out I wasn’t human, met my long lost wizard father, was bitten by a vampire that caused an uncontrollable night of blood lust, and been kidnapped by a crazed half-blood. This was child's play when compared with my previous experiences. I will make it out of here. I was going to get my mother's memories and then I was going to come back for Damon. This time he would be the one running for his life.
Herrick carried an unconscious Ashtyn in his arms. She had made it longer than he anticipated. Her lips had turned blue and her face had lost all color, but she kept going. He honestly thought he was going to break before she would. His chest was bruised from her pounding on it, he had no feeling in his extremities and somehow he got a hole in his boot, which was making it incredibly difficult to walk. Yet the instant he saw her collapse all pain disappeared and the only thing he could think about was getting her to safety. He replayed the moments in the pond in his mind. He had never felt true fear before, not for himself but for the delicate creature that was fighting to survive. When he saw her panic and lose control he became paralyzed with fear. His only thought was to save her. She had once again surprised him with her compassion. He saw the concern in her eyes when he awoke and her tears touched him. In all his life Herrick had never had someone be concerned for his welfare and he certainly has never known anyone to cry over him. Damon was a dead man. It would be a cold day in hell before he got his hands on Ashtyn. Herrick would show him exactly what happens when you end up on his hit list. He wouldn’t just kill him, he would destroy everything Damon had worked so hard to build. He would watch his life crumble around him and then when he thought it was over and he was safe, he would watch him beg for mercy, right before he ended his miserable life.
Chapter 13
I awoke confused by my surroundings. I looked around at what appeared to be a cabin. I saw a wooden nightstand to my left along with a green lounger that looked like it had seen better days. Above me hung a rusty ceiling fan that appeared like it might break apart and crash onto the bed, decapitating me, if I turned it on. The bed that I somehow ended up in was wrought iron with intricate patterns woven through the frame. Suddenly it hit me, I was naked. Why was I naked, and where the hell was I? The last thing I remembered was walking through the woods with Herrick. Oh God, had Damon caught me? I scrambled upward, clutching the orange and green comforter to my neck. Hearing the creak of the door I closed my eyes and began to pray.
“Good afternoon, lazy bones. How are you feeling?”
Herrick stood in the doorway arms crossed wearing his usual bad boy getup.
“Where are we and why am I naked?” I looked at him accusingly.
“Are all dreamwalkers this uptight? Or is this strictly an Ashtyn trait?”
“Answer the question.”
He sighed and walked out of the room, I was about to chase after him until I remembered I was in my birthday suit. Luckily he came back holding my clothes in his hands. My cheeks turned crimson as he twirled my bra around his finger with a seductive smile.
“What the hell? Boundaries, dude.”
“They were soaked. I laid them by the fireplace to dry.”
“So you undressed me?” Shock radiated on my face. This man had seen me undressed so many times I was beginning to lose count.
“I mostly kept my eyes closed, but your boots posed a real threat. I have to say for you to have such tiny feet your toes are freakishly long. They look like an extra set of fingers.”
“I really can’t stand you. I guess you're perfect from head to toe?”
I saw a hint of a smile, but it disappeared quickly.
“Get dressed and I’ll give you the grand tour.”
He laid my clothes on the chair before casually strolling out. Why was he so closed off? Vibrant or not the guy had serious trust issues.
I walked out of the bedroom into a small quaint living room. A fireplace roared against the far wall. In the middle of the room was a brown suede couch. To the right sat a huge black leather armchair. No pictures or ornaments hung on the walls. The lighting was dim and cast shadows throughout the room. I noticed there were no windows so I still had no indication of where we were.
“Welcome to my home away from home.”
“Which is where?” I asked, looking around for some indication.
Herrick went to the front door. Opening it, a rush of air flew in followed by a dust of snow. I shivered, stepping closer to the fire.
“Alaska.”
My eyes widened. Before I discovered who I was and where I came from I had rarely ventured out of Philadelphia. In the last two months I had been to Scotland, Finland and now Alaska. Granted, none of these places were my choice, but I couldn’t deny that my life had drastically changed.
“Are you kidding me? You couldn’t have picked somewhere with sandy beaches and a poolside bar?”
“We aren’t on our honeymoon, love, we are in hiding. Damon would be hard pressed to locate us here.”
A honeymoon. When would I ever find the time to get married? Unless I accepted Damon’s creepy proposal of being his slave wife. I shuddered as I imagined being bound to that man for eternity.
“So, I guess I’ll be taking care of our little cottage while you go off and wrangle us some dinner?”
“Or, I get us some beers and we take a timeout from all the drama. We deserve a break, hummingbird.”
I wasn’t about to argue. Every bone in my body ached. I had walked God knows how many miles, almost drowned and was now shacked up in a cabin in Alaska with a ruthless killer. A beer sounded pretty damn good. I relaxed onto the worn out couch and waited while Herrick rummaged through the kitchen fridge.
“Is this where you live?” I half-expected an extravagant mansion with chandeliers and marble floors.
“I don’t really live anywhere. This is one of my safe places when I need to disappear for a while.”
He handed me a cold beer and I took a hard swallow. It felt good and warmed my insides.
“Doesn’t it get lonely? Not having a place to call home.”
He gave me a befuddled look.
“Oh right, no emotions. Got it.” That part of being a vibrant I kind of envied. I missed home so much that it hurt to think about it.
“Do you miss it? Your home?”
His question took me off-guard. He always asked such personal questions. It was strange that a man with no comprehension of emotions knew how to root around in the depths of my heart.
“I do, although it feels like that was a different lifetime. I miss the quiet. I could sit on the porch and hear the birds chirping, watch a squirrel run around the cherry tree in the front yard. It’s funny, there were times when I would sit and wonder where I came from. What my life would have been like if knew my parents. In all the scenarios I played through my head as a child I never would have imagined I would end up here.”
Herrick didn’t say anything. He just sat in his big armchair with eyes closed and his head back.
“Do you sleep?” It would have been an odd question for me to ask, but he looked like he was dozing off and given the fact that dreamwalkers and vampires don’t, it had me pondering if vibrants do.
“Yes, I sleep. I also age, although not at a normal pace. I don’t live as long as dreamwalkers but five years to a human is more like one to me.”
I had never thought to ask how old he was. Cody and Mac would live hundreds of years and barely age. My grandmother was nearing two hundred. I didn’t know how I would fare in the age category. Dreamwalkers and wizards don’t age when they are in their own realm, but I had lived in the human realm my entire life. I sleep unlike dreamwalkers, and I didn’t see the signs of aging slowing. My guess was until I spent an ample amount of time in one realm I was going to age just like any other human.
“So how old are you?” H
e didn’t appear much older than me.
“Old enough.”
I thought about pushing the issue, but if he didn’t want to tell me that was his choice. If I had to guess he was about thirty-two, but with mythical creatures looks can be deceiving.
“So we never got to finish our conversation in the woods. What is your type?”
Herrick opened his eyes, glancing in my directions.
“Short blondes.”
“Oh” was all I could say, looking at my wavy brown hair.
“What about personality wise?”
“Vibrants don’t feel emotions so there is no need for a personality. We go off attraction only. When two vibrants are attracted to each other we typically have an arrangement. There are so few of us that it’s difficult to find another vibrant that appeals to us.”
I thought about what he was saying and it dawned on me.
“You mean like a sex buddy?”
I saw a smirk on his face and knew I was right.
“Do you have one of those?”
If he did, she had to be badass. He said he was just interested in looks, but I couldn’t envision Herrick with a meek woman.
“No, I don’t have the time.”
I understood that, although my lack of a social life lately wasn’t really my doing. Even before this whole thing began I wasn’t actively looking for a relationship. After losing Ken and the betrayal of my ex, I had decided to take a sabbatical, allow myself time heal and figure out where my life was heading. If I ever do make it home, I’m going to stop fearing change and the unknown and experience life for all it has to offer.
Herrick had tried to avoid Ashtyn’s inquisition like the plague. He didn’t want to tell her the truth about why he actually didn’t have a “sex buddy,” as she called it. If he were to be honest he would have to admit that he liked sleeping with humans. Being with a vibrant woman was cold and emotionless. When he was with a human he could feel her desire. He enjoyed experiencing their emotions, sensing what they felt in the heat of the moment. Tasting their passion and hunger made the act bearable. Even with his ability to feel attraction it was difficult to feign interest in a woman he knew didn’t desire him. Sex to him was just about release, but he couldn't get off knowing his partner was just as willing to end their encounter as he was. Lately, his job had kept him too busy to seek out a moment of comfort from another. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been with a woman. He looked over at Ashtyn playing with the label on her beer bottle. He was pretty sure she had been with lots of men. How could she not? Any man that looked at her would want to bed her, although he was fairly certain it would take a special kind of man to capture her heart.