I closed it before picking up the bundle of clothing off the floor. I sat down on the bed and touched my own lips.
Her energy warmed me. It wasn't like anything I'd felt before. Neither better nor worse— just different. There was a subtle taste to everyone and everything. Huh.
The sky had changed to a dusky blue. It was almost time. I took off the robe and pulled on one of the shirts Tiara had brought me. Made from a soft weave, some kind of linen, the color of hay under a sunny sky. The leather pants were supple. When I slipped them on, I wondered how the maker had managed to fit them perfectly. They tied at the top with a suede string.
A pair of black boots, laced up my ankle, completed my outfit.
I heard Emmanuel's footsteps in the hall, and he entered, smiling when he saw me. "You look wonderful."
"Thank you," I said. "The clothing is perfect." I turned back to the bed, gathering up the spare shirts and undergarments that Tiara had brought me.
"Here." Emmanuel offered a backpack made from the same leather as my pants. I took it and put the clothing in. His gaze on my body burned. He stepped closer and an arm came around my waist. "You make me crazy," he burrowed his face into my hair. "I have to have you one more time before you go." He turned and pushed me up against the wall.
"So demanding?" I asked.
"You have no idea." His fingers made fast work of the suede cord at my waist. He dropped to his knees, pushing up my shirt and trailing kisses over my stomach.
I shuddered, his lips at once burning power and chilling relief. "We have to be quick," I said.
He laughed. "I do enjoy when you try to give me orders."
"Since when?" I asked, snorting.
"Since now." He moved back up my body. I undid his pants, and they fell away easily. I pulled at his shirt, and he raised his arms, letting me remove it. He roughly pushed my shirt up with one hand, squeezing my breast hard enough that I cried out from the mix of pain and pleasure. "Spread your legs.”
"I thought I was the one giving orders?"
"You did. You said be quick." He smiled. “Now you follow mine.”
His chi pushed at my thighs, and I widened my stance.
He ran a finger down my side and found me. I shivered, and he squeezed my breast again, pressing against me, the wall hard at my back.
I held his gaze, my body growing hotter.
He leaned down and sucked my earlobe into his mouth. I quaked, my legs shaking. He pinched my nipple hard, and I gasped. "You like a little pain," he said.
I nodded.
"You're hurting me by leaving." He teased me with his hand, I arched toward him. "Apologize."
"I'm sorry that I'm hurting you," I said, my words jumbled, the pleasure he was giving me making it difficult to talk, even harder to follow the conversation.
"All I want is to give you power, pleasure..." I nodded. "And a taste of pain." He pulled his hand away, and I fell forward, my legs weak. But he caught me, picking me up by the waist, and I instinctively wrapped my legs around his hips.
His mouth latched on my breast, biting me as he entered.
The mix of pain from his bite and the intense pleasure of him inside me made me cry out. He wasn't gentle. My body knocked against the wall. Power throbbed into me.
I moaned from the rough treatment. Loving it. Needing it. Feeling the power that it gave me even as he was the one exerting the control. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head back, as he bore into me.
Energy spiraled. Emmanuel thrust one more time and then I felt his release. He pressed me against the wall, leaning all his weight into me, his lips at my ear.
"Fast enough for you?" he asked.
I nodded, my breathing shallow, mind in shatters, body throbbing with immense power.
Chapter Fourteen
Dimitri and Megan waited at the front door. Their white skin shone in the moonlight. There were no two creatures in all the dimensions I'd rather be taking this journey with. "Where is Emmanuel?" Dimitri asked, looking behind me.
"We said our goodbyes."
He nodded, not questioning me.
We walked through the crowd of villagers who were preparing their evening meal. Their eyes followed us, but no one said anything until we reached the tree line. "Darling." Emmanuel’s son, Jacob, came forward, taking my hand and smiling warmly. "We wish you luck in your journey, and a safe and quick return."
"Thank you," I said, looking past him at the crowd watching us. "I hope to see you again soon."
He smiled and patted my hand before stepping back.
Dimitri, Megan, and I continued into the darkness of the forest. Dimitri picked me up and we blurred through the woods.
The energy of the forest had changed since the march of the bones. The usual pulses that coursed through these woods felt muted. This wilderness seemed almost tamed. No, not tamed— cowed. Like it had taken a beating.
Dimitri let me down when we reached the stream. I took his hand and reached out to Megan, and she intertwined her fingers with mine.
Closing my eyes, I searched for the void. Finding it, I twisted my energy into a point. "Breathe with me," I said. Megan and Dimitri did as I asked, inflating their lungs and pushing the air out in rhythm with me.
I moved the energy faster, pulling us forward into that emptiness. Our bodies disintegrated, the rhythm of our breath a suggestion rather than a reality as we traveled together into the emptiness. That déjà vu waited for me, as if it expected me. I went to it.
We began to reform, vision returning, the world spinning as our bodies took shape again. I blinked, unsteady on my feet.
Megan braced me. I looked over at her and smiled. She smiled back. "You okay?" she asked. I nodded, looking past her, up the hill to where her parent’s house still stood.
"They are still here," Dimitri whispered, following my gaze.
"Yes," Megan agreed, also keeping her voice very low.
"So I guess the vampires won the battle with the warlocks," I said, my voice barely audible to my ears, but I knew with their superior hearing, Dimitri and Megan would understand me. I hoped any vampires in the house would not.
"I don't want a run-in with my parents right now."
Dimitri nodded and bent to pick me up. I wrapped my arms around him, relieved at having a break from holding myself upright. There was nothing wrong with traveling by vampire, even if it made me feel a little like a damsel in distress.
My surroundings blurred, and I put my face against Dimitri's chest, the wind pulling at my hair.
When Dimitri stopped, we were on a suburban street I didn't recognize. The night was quiet, and the place felt empty. "Why did you stop?" I asked.
Dimitri looked over at Megan. She nodded and answered me. "There are zombies, a lot of them, up ahead."
I looked around and saw only the deserted, dark houses. "How far?" I asked.
"A few miles," Dimitri answered. “They are blocking our way to the city.”
"It sounds like there are millions of them," Megan said, her voice filled with a horrified awe. "I can't believe it."
"You don't think we can make it to the warlocks' building?" I asked.
"Not by the normal route," Dimitri answered.
"Can't you just run through them?" I asked. "I mean, they won't bother you guys."
Dimitri looked down at me. "Yes, but as we know, they will bite you. You may be immune to turning into a zombie but that doesn't mean they won't try to eat you."
Blunt but true.
"Right, I know, but you're so fast."
"We could try," Megan said. "But if we fail, and you're ripped from Dimitri's arms, we won't be able to fight them all off. There are far too many."
"Okay, so what do we do?"
"I'm not sure," Megan answered, chewing on her lip in a way that I recognized. It was a nervous tic of hers, and I smiled at the familiar gesture.
"What about getting a car or SUV?" I asked.
"The thing is," Megan said, "what makes us
think the warlocks are still at that same location? I mean, it seems logical to assume that the city is overrun, right?" Dimitri nodded. "So, would they still be in that building?"
"They have powerful magic protecting their headquarters," Dimitri said. "I don't think the zombies would even notice it was there."
"What about a helicopter?" I asked.
"Where are we going to get a helicopter?" Megan arched a brow.
"I don't know. We can move at super speeds, can't you just head over to the airport?"
"I doubt there are helicopters just sitting around waiting to be stolen," Megan said. "I mean, seriously, it's just about the best escape method in this situation. If there were any to steal, they'd be stolen."
"Doesn't hurt to check," I said.
Dimitri sniffed the air. "You smell that?" he asked Megan.
She nodded, her brow furrowing. "Yes," she said. "The sunrise?"
"That's impossible," I said. "You've only been awake for an hour or two."
"I agree, but I smell it. We must find shelter," Dimitri said, looking at the houses around us.
"I'm sure they have basements," I said.
Dimitri, with me still in his arms, blurred up to the closest house. Megan opened the door—it wasn’t locked. We entered into a large and grand entryway.
"You can put me down now.” Dimitri lowered my feet to the marble floor, his hands lingering on me for a moment longer than was totally necessary. Or at least that’s what I thought until I tried to take a step forward and stumbled, my legs wobbling under me. He caught me and I steadied myself. "Interdimensional travel really takes it out of me," I said with a smile. He nodded, not seeing the humor in my weakened condition.
"I can carry you," he offered.
"No, I’m fine.” Enough with the damsel in distress act already. He stayed close, though.
The house smelled like paint and sawdust. "This must be a new development," I said.
"Yes," Megan agreed. "I don't think humans ever lived here."
We wandered through the dark first floor. The kitchen cabinets were in, but not the appliances. The floor of the living room was still covered in paper. Megan found the entrance to the basement off what looked like it would eventually be a mudroom. The basement was half height and light tight. "This will work," Megan said.
"But what about Darling?" Dimitri asked.
"I'll be fine," I said from where I'd waited at the top of the steps. "I'm not tired, seeing as I woke up like four hours ago."
"But you won't wander off, will you?" Megan asked. I couldn't see her in the pitch black below, but I could make out the pale radiance of her energy field.
"No, don't worry," I said, smiling.
"You should try to rest with us," Dimitri said, and I felt him trying to influence me.
I smirked. "Dimitri, are you really trying to influence me?"
His energy backed off. "It's a hard habit to break." He shifted closer. "I would be more comfortable if you stayed with us down here. Let me search the other houses for some bedding for you."
"There isn't time," Megan said. "It's almost here."
"I will be quick."
"Don't," I said, putting my hand on his arm. "I'm not going to let you risk your life so that I can be more comfortable. I'll go check and meet you back here."
"Darling," Megan whined. "Please, just stay with us. Come on, I'm not going to be able to rest if you're running around by yourself."
"I'm basically immortal," I said. "Come on."
"Please," Megan said. "As a favor to me, just stick around."
"Fine," I sighed, letting Dimitri lead me into the basement.
"Thank you," Dimitri and Megan said in unison.
"We will figure out how to reach the city when we wake up," Megan said, her voice starting to sound tired.
I had to dip my head in the half height. It took a lot of concentration not to freak out at the confined dark space. This was not how I had pictured our first night back in this world. Why was the day so short? Did time change when you traveled between dimensions? Emmanuel and I had never stayed anywhere for more than a few hours, so I wasn’t sure.
Megan laid in a corner and Dimitri sank down next to her, pulling me with him. I put my backpack under my head and closed my eyes against the darkness around us. The only light came from the chi of the two vampires, but that did not illuminate the space—their energy seemed to exist in a vacuum.
They were out quickly, and I lay wide awake between them. They did not breathe or exude any warmth, their bodies as hard and lifeless as the floor beneath me. No need to freak out. This is totally normal…
* * *
Footsteps in the living room above woke me—I must have drifted off. Voices carried through the house.
Dimitri and Megan did not stir. It must be daytime still.
A loud bang shook the floor and someone shouted. So not zombies. They were out during the day, so not vampires, either. Must be humans or shifters.
What were they doing? Why would they be in an abandoned house making this much noise?
Should I go upstairs to investigate?
I didn't want to alert anyone to our presence.
It sounded like they were tearing up the walls. Probably looting the place. So they must have a pretty big vehicle with them then. Maybe something heavy duty enough that we could use it to get into the city.
It wasn't really dangerous. I could control humans or shifters easily. I slipped out from between my friends and crawled along the floor toward the steps.
I creaked open the door to the mud room and stepped into the narrow space, closing the door behind me. Moving as quietly as possible, I headed toward the sound of the voices in the living room.
Judging from the light coming in through the windows, it was mid-afternoon, around three or four. I heard grunting and more banging. "Come on, hurry up," a man said.
"If you could help, then this would be going a lot faster," another man responded.
"Don't talk to your father that way," the first man said, his voice venomous. The son’s only response was a loud bang.
I reached the doorway to the living room and, keeping my body hidden off to the side, peered into the space. A man leaning on a stick, his leg bandaged, watched as another slammed into the wall with a sledge hammer, exposing the copper wiring inside.
My influence glided across the room until it tickled the older man's neck. He swatted at it, and I felt the contact. He turned around, looking in my direction, but I was hidden in the dark hallway. His son swung again. "Hold on!" the father yelled.
"What?"
"Shut up!" He stepped in my direction. I let my influence descend upon him, and his eyes went hazy, the stick dropping from his grasp. His son stepped toward him.
"Pop?" he said. I spread my influence further, gathering the younger man up in it. He stopped mid-stride, his leg hanging in the air. Leaving my hiding place I stepped into the room. Their eyes were riveted on me. "Hello, gentlemen," I said.
"Hello," they answered in unison.
This was too easy.
I smiled. "I've got some questions for you.” I crossed to the window. Parked in the driveway was a van, its windows broken out and replaced with bars. Mounted on the front was a plow. "That thing zombie proof?" I asked, turning to Pop.
"Pretty much," he answered. "As long as you don't run into too many of them."
"What do you mean?"
"You can run over a couple. The plow will knock ’em off to the side, but you get any underneath you and they could jam you up. If you got stuck, I think they could tear it apart."
"But you don't know for sure?"
"Only one way to find that out, and I'm not particularly interested in testing the theory."
"Fair enough," I said. "What's my chance of making it into the city with that thing?"
The man shook his head. "No way, I wouldn't try to get into the heart of Crescent City for nothing."
"I'm not asking you to go. I'm asking
the chance of your vehicle making it."
"They are too thick. The highways are filled with cars. Overrun with them dead. You'll never make it."
I stepped away from the window and looked at the son. "You agree with your dad?"
"Not on much, but in this case, yeah, I don't think you'd make it."
"How widespread is the infection?" I asked.
"Don't know for sure. Radio stopped working two days ago. Last time we had any news it was almost to the coasts. There were already cases in Mexico and Canada."
"What about across the ocean?"
"Don't think so. But like I said, we have not had any news in days."
"How long ago did it start?" I asked.
"The first case? That was about six months ago."
“Six months?" I asked.
He nodded.
That didn't make sense with my own timeline—I’d left Crescent City about a month ago. So I wasn't just traveling through dimensions; I was traveling through time. Could I go back and stop this from ever happening?
"Is there an airport near here?" I asked.
"All the airports are closed."
"Okay, so how can I get into the city?"
"I don't think you can."
I looked at the hole in the wall. "What are you going to do with wiring and plumbing?" I asked. "Shouldn't you be trying to get food?"
"We have plenty of food," Pop answered me. "Once this gets cleared up, this stuff is going to be worth serious money."
His son rolled his eyes.
"So you think that it will be brought under control."
"Of course," Pop said.
An optimistic looter, how nice.
"Okay, get in your van and leave," I said. "Forget you were ever here. You never saw me."
They both nodded. I unraveled my influence from them, and they stumbled toward the exit.
"Wait," I said. They paused. I wrestled with myself for a moment. Should I keep the vehicle? Would I be signing their death warrant? The older man was injured. He wouldn't survive on foot.
"Do you have another vehicle?" I asked.
"A pickup back at the house," Pop answered.
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