Riding Rifts (Vampire's Elixir Series Book 2)

by Pippa Amberwine

  The bridge tipped to one side and then the entire end fell into the abyss below, and I was still running straight at it, unable to stop my momentum carrying me down into the canyon, down to certain death as tons of steel smashed their way through solid rock, humming and vibrating as they fell.

  The last thing I heard was tearing cloth before I was suddenly grabbed and my fall was stopped. Then, my body was lifted up into the air and finally deposited on the track a safe distance from the edge. My heart raced like a train on the track, but it was no train. It was me, sitting on the ground, wondering what the hell happened.

  “Are you okay?”

  I scuttled around to see Jevyn in his dragon form, magnificent as ever.

  “Thank you.” It was all I could think of to say. “Thank you so much. I owe you my life, Jevyn.”

  “I thought that bridge was unsafe,” he said.

  I looked back to see nothing but a cloud of dust erupting upward. I was shaking at the thought I could have been under it if not for Jevyn.

  “Oh,” he said. “By the way, I had to change with my clothes on, so I can’t change back unless you want to walk back with me naked.”

  I choked back a laugh that turned into a sob, which finally turned into full-blown crying. I guessed it was the shock, but I couldn’t stop. Then I saw Jevyn, still in his dragon form, looking at me with those liquid eyes but unable to comfort me without severely embarrassing himself. That made me even more hysterical but with a mix of laughter and tears.

  Jevyn watched over me until I managed to calm myself down enough to stand up.

  “Thank you,” I said once more and stretched my arms as far as I could around his muscly neck.

  “We’d better go back. If I land on the roof, I can hide up there while you go find me some clothes to wear.”

  “I guess so. We could always try a couple of the abandoned ranches.”

  He nodded his dragon head in agreement.

  “Sounds like a plan,” he said.

  “Come on then, my hero. Take me home.” I climbed onto his back, and he took a short run like the track bed was a runway before he soared up into the sky. “Hey, Jevyn, did you see whose stick came though first?” I yelled close to his ear.

  It took him a couple of seconds to answer. “It was yours, Katie. It was yours. You won fair and square.”

  I held tight to his neck and squeezed.

  I’d seen it.

  It was his.

  Chapter Eleven

  Jevyn

  Flying over Idaho

  “DOWN THERE,” KATIE yelled in my ear.

  “Where?” I asked, enjoying the feeling of the warm Idaho air flowing over me and even more the feel of Katie on my back. She was still a little nervous about falling, but hopefully, in time, that would ease off.

  I checked myself. In time? I had to think about that a little. Were there going to be more times? After my mother’s proclamations, as told by Blandin, I had to seriously consider that there might not be many more times before she decided, and meant it, that there was to be no more contact between Dracos and Earth.

  The issue with Kam and Myn needed to be resolved, and quickly, but once that was cleared up, I knew she was going to insist that I didn’t come back to Earth anymore for fear of bringing the virus back.

  The only way I could see her allowing contact was if I could persuade her that we needed to find a cure for the virus just in case it ever did get back to Dracos, so at least we would be protected. If I could get her to agree to that, I’d be willing to make sure Katie and her people got that cure, even if it meant defying my mother and accepting the consequences of that action.

  “That ranch. Down there. To your left.”

  I looked down at the ramshackle buildings. There were certainly no signs of life down there. The main house had windows left in it, although one or two were broken. No vehicles. No animals. No signs of life. Perfect.

  I swooped around on a thermal, banked sharply to a squeal from Katie, and started my descent.

  I landed right behind the main building, which looked even more desolate close up than it had from the air. The boards that covered the building had been bleached a sickly gray-white by the Idaho weather, and the windows that were still in place were dusty inside and out. In the broken windows, tattered shreds of drapes were billowing in the warm breeze that blew across the land.

  “How will you get in?” I asked as Katie slid off my neck and jumped down to the ground, kicking up dust where she landed.

  “Like this.” She walked across to the house and climbed the steps up onto a stoop that was occupied by a rusty swing. The cushions on it were dirty, and by the look of it, home to mice or rats, if the scattering of stuffing from them was anything to go by. The squeak of the swing rocking in the wind was the only sound other than the breeze.

  When she got to the front door, she pulled the sleeve of my jacket down and used it to clear a pane of glass of its dusty residue and peered inside. She took a step back and kicked the door so hard it banged open, snapping off the top hinge in the process.

  She turned back to grin at me. “I’ll only be a minute,” she said and then headed inside.

  I had to admit the whole place was spooky. I waited, hoping some old rancher who had just had his door kicked in didn’t appear with a shotgun.

  I needn’t have worried, though, as Katie came back out a couple of minutes later, carrying some very ancient and very rural-looking clothes.

  “This was all I could find. I figured it would do for the time being until you can get changed into your own stuff back at the shop. You can put these on while you wait for me to get back with your stuff so you don’t scare anyone walking around naked. Here, try them on.”

  Katie tossed the clothes onto the floor and then turned her back. I quickly changed back into my human form and put the clothes on. Dungarees and a plaid shirt were not my normal sartorial style, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.

  “Okay, I’m decent.” I stood in front of Katie as she swept her eyes up and down and then bent almost in half laughing. So much so that I thought she might be heading back to hysteria, but eventually she calmed down enough to take a couple of breaths and wipe the tears from her eyes.

  Admittedly, the trousers and shirt were the wrong size for me, but in an emergency and to preserve my dignity and avoid scaring any small children, the clothing choices were better than me walking around nude.

  Right then, all I could think about clearly was how itchy the dungarees were with no underwear!

  “Well, howdy there, farmer Jevyn,” Katy managed to blurt out before laughing again.

  “Yes, yes, very funny I’m sure,” I said, although I could see the humorous side too and couldn’t help flashing Katie a grin. “Right, turn around again while I change back. The less time I have these clothes on, the happier I’ll be.” I started to undo the straps on the dungarees.

  “No, no, wait. Don’t do that. Let’s have a look around.”

  “Why?” I couldn’t see the attraction of that idea. The place was rundown, and there was unlikely to be anything of any great value left lying around.

  “Because it’s creepy and sends shivers down my spine. I love abandoned buildings,” Katie said. “It’s almost like the ghosts of the people who lived here are still walking around.”

  “Ghosts?” I raised a quizzical eyebrow.

  “You know. Like there’s still a part of the people who lived here that stays behind after they’re gone.”

  “There is.” I put as much certainty into that as I could.

  Katie swung around quickly to look at me.

  “There is?”

  “Yes.” I hesitated for a few moments and then looked down at myself. “This shirt and these pants.”

  Katie tilted her head to one side like a puppy, crossed her arms, and raised one eyebrow. “Are you mocking me, Jevyn?”

  Oops, maybe I overdid the joke a little, I thought, immediately trying to look serious. I didn’t
mean to upset Katie, and if she believed . . . hang on a minute, I thought as I watched her expression change from admonishing to the beginnings of a smile.

  “Maybe a little,” I said, hoping a little bit of mocking would be okay.

  “Don’t you believe in spirits and ghosts? The spiritual part of life?”

  I thought about it for a while. On Dracos, there were no organized religions or anything even remotely like it. The dragon population only worshipped progress and money. At least the ruling families only seemed to worship money. Personally, I’d sooner make sure everyone had enough.

  “No, sorry. I’ve never had a reason to even think about it.”

  “Great.”

  “Huh?” I was confused. I was expecting some kind of lecture.

  “That’s great because I don’t either.”

  “So, you’re just—”

  “Trying to mess with your head. Yep.” She laughed again, and it was so infectious, and coming so often, that I couldn’t help but join in. “There’s a barn around the other side of the house. I want to check it out in case there’s a car or something inside so we can drive home. You did a lot of flying today, so you must be tired,” she said when she stopped laughing.

  “Now that sounds like an idea,” I said, stepping over and putting an arm around Katie’s shoulder as we set off around the house.

  When we got to the barn, I grabbed the piece of knotted rope that was hanging loose on the door and pulled. Katie, who was standing clear, waiting to head inside, or at least look inside, gasped and said, “Oh, my god!”

  I stopped pulling and stepped across in front of her while looking to see what had caused her exclamation.

  Inside the barn were two cars. Well, to be precise, one was a battered old truck that didn’t look like it had been used in decades. Parked next to it, with its hood up, was a modern SUV. In front of the SUV, two men, a woman, and two small children stood, holding each other tightly.

  One of the men shouted, “We’re sorry. We’re sorry. We don’t want any trouble. We thought the place was abandoned, so we rested up the night in the barn, and this morning, the car wouldn’t start. We didn’t think anyone lived here.”

  I glared at them for a moment, trying to understand what the man had said. He spoke in such a garbled rush that I thought I’d probably only understood half the story.

  Katie stepped past with her hands held out palms down as she walked into the barn, stopping just inside the barn doorway. “It’s okay. Don’t worry. We don’t live here. We thought it was abandoned too.”

  The two men looked at Katie and then at each other, and I could see their shoulders relaxing.

  “What’s wrong with the car?” I asked.

  One of the men shrugged. “I think the battery is dead.”

  “You mind if I take a look?” I asked.

  Katie turned to me and whispered, “What do you know about cars?”

  I smiled and said, “Nothing, but I know technical stuff and electronics. That’s what my family thrives on.”

  “If you think you can help, then by all means,” the man said. I noticed he was carrying a tire iron, once he had relaxed a bit and stood away from the rest of the group.

  “You won’t be needing that.” I pointed to the tire iron.

  The man looked at it and then back at Katie and me. He nodded and then went to the back of the car and threw the offending object in the trunk.

  “Sorry,” he said when he stepped back around. “We’ve had some trouble on our trip.”

  I nodded. “I understand, but you’ll get no trouble from Katie or me. If we can help you, we will. I’m Jevyn by the way.” I held my hand out to him. He looked at it for a moment and then grasped it and shook.

  “Bob. This here is Blaire,” he said, pointing at the woman. “And Billy.” He pointed at the other man. I shook hands with the other two and then shifted my attention to the two kids. Toddlers both, maybe four or five years old. I squatted in front of them. They were half-hiding behind their mom’s legs and had eyes like saucers.

  “What are your names?” I asked.

  Both the boys looked up at their mom for permission to speak to the stranger. She nodded and offered them an encouraging smile.

  “I’m Jeb,” the smaller of the two said. “And he’s David, but he won’t talk because he’s a scaredy-cat.”

  “Am not,” David said and aimed a gentle kick at Jeb’s shins.

  “Are so, or you’d talk.”

  David turned back and scooted a bit farther behind his mom’s legs.

  “Well, you guys, you all look like good people, but I can see I’ll have trouble from you, young fella,” I said, looking back at Jeb and winking, which won a shy smile from the young lad.

  “Where are you folks from?” Katie asked, looking at Blaire.

  “We come from Florida,” Blaire replied, but she was looking at Katie very oddly, staring, and trembling a little.

  “You’re a long way from home. Where are you heading?” I asked as I stood and stepped around everyone to examine the engine.

  “We’re heading some place safe.” Blaire spoke, but when I turned, she was still staring at Katie.

  “Is there anywhere safe these days?” Katie asked with a slight smile on her face, which looked to me like she was just trying to mask how uncomfortable she was with Blaire’s stare.

  “We were told this place was,” Billy said as he looked over my shoulder at the engine.

  “This place?” I said. I was surprised if this ranch was safe for anyone to live in.

  “No, no, the place we’re headed to.”

  “Oh, right. Got you,” I said.

  “So where is the place?” Katie asked.

  “Called NoonDogs town or something like that.”

  Billy stood as Bob shushed him.

  “Don’t shush me, Bob. This is my car and my family. You’re just a guest here.”

  “I’m Blaire’s husband, you asshole.”

  “No, I’m Blaire’s husband, asshole. You divorced her three years ago when those two were still babies—remember? I’m the one who puts food on the table and keeps a roof over their heads.”

  I could hear David sniffing while the two men squared up to each other, verbally at least.

  I stood up from bending over the engine and put out an arm to separate the two warring men.

  “Guys, you’re upsetting the kids.” I put as much force into the words as I could and offered each of them a hard three-second stare.

  Eventually, they both relaxed out of their fighting stances, so I turned back to work on the car some more and listened to the conversation Katie was having with Blaire.

  “So, you guys heard about that place, huh? It’s called Nindock’s town by the way. If you have a map, I can show you where it is,” Katie said, her tone of voice light and friendly.

  Blaire’s reply was anything but light and friendly. I didn’t know what her problem was, but she seemed to have had a problem with Katie almost as soon as we walked into the barn.

  “Uh huh. Thanks.”

  “Have you been on the road for a while?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “How long?” Katie asked.

  “Two weeks.”

  “How’s it been?”

  “Rough,” Blaire said shortly. “We’ve been sleeping in the car. There’s not much room.”

  “I guess not. It’s kind of an odd arrangement. You, your ex, and your current husband?”

  Blaire squinted. “You ask a lot of questions. Who are you people again?”

  “We were just passing by and decided to look in,” Katie said.

  “I didn’t hear a car, and I don’t see one anywhere out there.”

  I smiled to myself to see how Katie was going to get around that.

  “We were on foot,” she said. “We’ve been out camping in the hills.”

  “Where’s all your gear?” Blaire pressed.

  “Back behind the house.”

  “You do
n’t look like you’re dressed for camping. Especially him.”

  I guessed she indicated me, and I didn’t disagree.

  “So, why are you traveling?” Katie asked. “Are things bad down in Florida?”

  “The worst,” Billy said from next to me.

  “How so?”

  “Not safe to go out. Vamps everywhere. SCAR everywhere too. No power. No food, no nothing.”

  “Vamps with no implants?” Katie asked. Her tone had changed.

  “Yes,” Blaire said. “Just like you.”

  Billy dropped the wrench he’d been holding, and I heard Bob take in a sharp breath.

  “I’m—” Katie started to say.

  “You’re a vampire, and you’re not implanted. I can tell. Prove me wrong. Show me your implant scar.”

  “What do you mean you can tell?” Katie asked.

  “You look different. You smell different. Most of you act different too. Like you’re always hungry. A lot of people in Florida have been killed by rogue vamps.”

  I could hear the pain that news brought to Katie in her voice. “I’m sorry. I am a vamp. But I have my hunger under control.”

  I felt the two men tense up again, but this time they had a common enemy. I was surprised at how quickly the atmosphere changed from slightly to extremely tense. Was this how people were with the vampires on Earth? Fearful. Wary. Aggressive even, if Billy’s and Bob’s body language was anything to go by.

  “How?” Billy asked, taking a step forward. “How are you controlling your hunger? Tell me, now.”

  “Willpower,” Katie said. “Self-control, you know?”

  Blaire’s voice became louder and shriller. “Bullshit. It’s uncontrollable. I should know, my sister wouldn’t have an implant. I woke up one night with her about to bite me. I could see it in her eyes, the desperation. The desire for blood. She could no more stop herself than I could stop myself killing you if you come near any of us. Same as I had to kill her.”

  “I promise you, Blaire. I’m not going to do any of you guys any harm. I’m very sorry about your sister. That’s terrible. But my hunger is under control. Now, can you be calm while we try and help you? Where’s your map?”