Other than that, they were a complete mystery. I wasn’t surprised they guarded their secrets like every Sect. The more we shared about ourselves, the more vulnerable we became.
“Hello.” Naomi came to a stop in front of me, her voice laced in soft French undertones. What came out sounded like ’Ello. “We have arrived.”
“Yes, that was quite an entrance. I’m Jessica.” I didn’t hold out my hand. I was pretty sure vampires didn’t like to be touched, and actually, the thought of touching their cold, creepy skin was a little unappealing. “This is my team.” I gestured to the boys behind me.
“The Goddess we search for resides north,” Eamon declared stoically, coming shoulder to shoulder with his sister. They were remarkably similar. Both had sharply defined cheekbones, large wide eyes, and the same chestnut-colored hair. Eamon wore his shoulder length; Naomi’s flowed freely down her back. Maybe being frozen in death in their twenties had honed their similar porcelain features over time.
“Okay, north it is.” I nodded at the pair. “That sounds easy enough.” North of Minnesota meant Canada. He could’ve said the Congo, so this was decidedly better as far as I was concerned. We anticipated that Selene hadn’t been able to go far from the Ozarks, where we’d seen her last. She was toting an angry werecat, and Rourke would’ve put up quite a fight once he’d broken her spell. Goddesses could fly, but her time in the air would be limited. I was glad she’d headed north and not south.
“Mademoiselle, there will be nothing easy about this journey,” Eamon snipped. “The Lunar Goddess is a powerful being. She is a fearsome warrior. We shall be lucky to escape with our lives.”
I bristled. Gods, I hoped vampires weren’t all this stuffy. “I wasn’t talking about her being easy to defeat, monsieur. I was referring to being able to point the car in a northerly direction being something we could accomplish easily enough—and in fact, we can do so right now.”
Both vamps stared at me with clueless expressions, which on a vampire was a face void of any emotion and so still it was eerie. They looked like they were carved out of stone.
Alrighty then. “Okay. Enough chatting. It’s time to get moving.” I broke away from the group and walked around the Humvee with purpose, my wolf yipping excitedly in my mind. We were finally leaving. I yanked the driver’s side door open and jumped on the running board. No one had followed me. The wolves weren’t willing to move until the vamps did. I stood, peering over the roof at the immobile group and cleared my throat. “The plan is to head due north,” I said, wondering fleetingly where they were going to sleep during the day, and then the thought was gone. Not my problem. “If anything changes with you, give us a sign. If we have issues we’ll pull over. Sound good?”
“That is acceptable,” Eamon said. “When the road runs out, we will be waiting.” Without warning, they both shot up into the air almost quicker than I could track. Almost.
“Well, that was a bit vague, wasn’t it? We’ll be waiting sounds like something out of a bad horror flick.” Danny came around and pulled open the side door and climbed in next to a still unconscious Ray. “Creepy lot, vamps are. Though that female had a nice taper to her waist. Did you see her eyes when they flashed that bit of silver gray?”
“Leave it to you to find something endearing about a vamp.” Tyler climbed into the passenger seat without protest. I wanted to drive. I was too restless to ride shotgun and was relieved he wasn’t going to fight me for it. “I thought they looked even more hellish this time,” he declared. “Their faces are the color of old, bleached bone, and they stink like decaying syrup. They can’t possibly be seen in public. If I were a human and I got a gander of the two of them, I’d run for my life.”
“I don’t think they get out much, hence their propensity to wear pantaloons and corsets when they’re at home.” I slammed my door, which took more effort than it should’ve, and turned the key. The monster revved up, sounding like an airplane prepping for takeoff. “I’m actually surprised the Queen was so willing to give us these two. Having us interact with each other so closely is bound to expose some of their most guarded secrets, and it’s going to cost her. I’ve heard a rumor that they can mesmerize an entire room of humans without blinking. I wouldn’t mind seeing if that one was true.”
“They aren’t required to blink anyway, are they?” Danny added. “Being dead, they’ve no use for wetting the eyes. Thus, no blinking necessary. Right?”
I arched my eyebrow in the rearview mirror, meeting Danny’s sardonic grin. “Must you?”
“Yes. Of course.”
I rolled down the window with the manual handle. James and Nick stood at the edge of the parking lot. “James, tell my father I will connect with him on the road,” I called. “Nick, make sure you take the brunt of the office work until I get back. Marcy can’t do it alone, and tell her that was a direct quote.”
“I wouldn’t dare.” Nick smiled. “Don’t get yourself killed, Jess. I mean it.”
James stepped forward. “Take care and watch your back, Jessica. The Goddess will be hard to best.” Wolves weren’t a sentimental bunch, but I could scent their combined concern. “Use whatever means necessary to win this battle.”
“I plan to,” I said. “You and my father do the same. The South is not going to be any easier to subdue. I hope Redman Martin cooperates and decides to join us, but if he doesn’t, I hope you beat him into submission quickly.”
Tyler leaned over my seat. “She won’t be alone, Irish. We’re not planning on failing. We’re coming back. You still owe me a hundred bucks and I plan on collecting.” My heart constricted and I had to stop for a second to catch my breath. The last time I’d heard James called “Irish” was by Rourke right before the barroom brawl where we’d met for the first time. I’d never heard Tyler use that nickname before.
James stepped back and gave us a salute as we pulled out. Nick stared ahead with a pensive gaze as he waved goodbye.
Once we were out on the road everything went smoothly.
Until Ray woke up.
“Shut the bloody hell up!” Danny yelled for the fourth time. “Or you’ll end up worse than just rotting unconscious! I will sever your neck from your body if you continue to push me.”
It was just after midnight and we were almost to the Canadian border. We’d chosen to take the interstate most of the way and I’d driven fast.
But it was more than time to exit off the main road.
Clearly, I hadn’t considered the implications of bringing an angry American cop across the border. Ray wasn’t going to play nice and it was unlikely the Canadian Border Service officers would be amused if they found an unconscious body in the backseat. Taking a few human guards down wouldn’t be an issue, but the surveillance would put a damper on the events. The border was heavily monitored. I slapped my hands on the steering wheel in frustration, but not hard enough to break anything. I was learning how to deal with my new strength. Not popping holes or breaking things every five minutes was becoming an art form.
Upon waking an hour ago, Ray had immediately started ranting and raving. He’d kicked the back of my seat repeatedly until Danny had threatened to saw off his legs with a hunting knife. When Ray hadn’t acquiesced, Danny had brandished said knife in front of him and started picking his nails with it. Ray had stopped thrashing, but he hadn’t stopped yelling. He was gagged, but it didn’t matter. It was driving us all insane, and nothing short of knocking him out again was going to stop it.
My regret for bringing him along with us pounded behind my temples, throbbing in a dull ache. I’d clearly been out of my frigging mind thinking I could kidnap someone like Ray, even if it was only to save his sorry life.
The Humvee had a state-of-the-art GPS hardwired into the front console. I glanced at it and took a turn, following a small logging road off the main highway.
“One wrong move once we get out of this car and he dies, Jess,” my brother murmured from the seat next to me. “I have no idea why he’s here, but
there’s no way his life is worth more than ours. If he compromises this mission, he’s out. Are we clear?”
Ray raged from the backseat. “Goow dan mo fut ba—”
“Clear.” I was driving fast and hit the brakes, cranking the wheel hard to the right. We shot through a small break in the trees. The back end of the monster swerved in what seemed like a slow arc, the tires finally finding purchase in the dirt. I straightened it out and gunned it through the brush, careening over an old, weed-covered road like we were on a motocross circuit. All the crap in the back crashed around, making it sound like the truck was rending apart at the seams.
Tyler grabbed on to the side handhold above his head. “What the fuck are you doing? Did I miss something?” he shouted. “Where are we going?”
There were no streetlights and it was pitch dark. The truck bobbed over a small knoll and we skidded into a clearing, just missing a group of pine trees. I punctuated my mood by stomping on the brakes at the last second, sending us all flying forward in our seats. Then I jammed it into park. “Nope, you didn’t miss anything,” I said, turning toward my brother. “Just fixing the issue before it gets out of hand.”
“I should’ve driven,” Tyler muttered. “Girls are emotional drivers.”
“Emotional, huh?” I chuckled. “Guess who finally shut up in the backseat? I did that.” I tapped a finger against my chest. Before Tyler could comment, there was a whooshing sound outside and two shapes struck ground directly in front of the truck. The high beams of the headlights bounced off their faces, making them look like a couple of ghostly specters.
“They don’t waste any time, do they?” Danny angled his body toward the front seat. “Were they just hanging in the sky, then? Waiting around for us to stop and ask for directions?”
I had no idea how the vamps were traveling with us, but zooming above our truck on the highway hadn’t really crossed my mind. I figured they’d fly to the mysterious “end of the road” destination and be irritated we were taking so long. If we had an issue, like now, they would figure it out eventually. I hadn’t expected them so soon.
But now that they were here, a plan began to formulate. I could use them.
A slow smile spread across my lips as I slid around in my seat.
Ray was finally blessedly quiet, but the look on his face as he absorbed the shapes standing before us in the headlights was priceless. I’d never seen Ray stymied over anything, but getting his first glimpse of vampires in all their glory had achieved it. I could almost see the wheels of disbelief turning. “Guess what, Ray?”
His eyes narrowed as they shot to mine.
“I just found you a ride.”
7
“You brought a human with you?” Eamon’s voice was part superiority, part curiosity. We were definitely coming off like a bunch of hillbillies in front of the überrefined vampires.
I had a gagged Ray, still tied with a dish towel, by the scruff of the neck. We stood just outside the Humvee. Even though the high beams were illuminating the darkness, I swear the yellow paint on the car doors would’ve sufficed as a lantern. I shook my head sadly.
Danny and Tyler had taken up behind us, looking as tough and bold in their jeans as the vamps did. They were at least a foot taller than the twins, with more muscle and fiercer snarls. “That’s what I just said.” My patience with Eamon waned with every single word out of his mouth. “What I want to know is if you can fly him over the border without snacking on him or dropping him for sport?” Ray tensed at my words, but stayed silent. Ray’s utter shock made me certain that vamps could glamour themselves when they felt like it; otherwise they could never leave the confines of their home and go out in public, and I knew they had to go out. There was no way all those vampires stayed inside all night. But it was obvious they weren’t cloaking themselves now because Ray was just short of babbling like a baby. In this state the vamps screamed otherworldly. “He’s traveling with us and he goes unmolested unless I say so.”
Eamon curled his top lip, like munching on humans wasn’t what he did for a living. “We have already sipped tonight. We have no need of more.”
Sipped? From what I gathered of the Queen’s decorative chamber ceiling and walls during my last visit, when vamps ate, they ripped, tore, feasted, gulped, and sucked. I saw no evidence of sipping depicted anywhere.
“Great.” I yanked Ray around to face me, hillbilly style. “Listen, Ray. This is your last chance to get this right. You absolutely lucked out tonight. Do you hear me? These nice vampires are going to fly you over the border. We’ll meet you on the other side. Seeing that my original plan when I veered off the road involved a shovel and some digging, consider yourself spared. Vamp transportation is a much better alternative than a shallow grave.” He stared at me unblinking like I was speaking in gibberish. “And when we pick you up on the other side, you will come with us willingly.” That was the key word. “If you don’t get yourself figured out by then and finally buy into what we’re selling you, they get to eat you, or sip you to death, or whatever it is they do. Understand? This is it, Ray. End of the road. I’ve had enough.”
Honestly, if flying through the air with vamps wasn’t enough to convince Ray everything we’d said so far was true, nothing was going to do the trick and he was a lost cause. Introducing him to demons was not an option and anything else would take too long.
I hoped a little shock therapy would go a long way.
I ripped Ray’s gag off and tossed it to the ground. Then I spun him around to undo his ties, which turned out to be an artfully tied three-foot extension cord. Jesus. “Hannon, this won’t work,” Ray sputtered as soon as he could find the words. “I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to scare me, but it won’t—”
Naomi shot toward us in a blur, stopping a few feet in front of Ray, effectively cutting his tirade short. Her striking visage was even more startling this close. I could smell the fear instantly pool along Ray’s skin.
“Of course it will work,” I replied, acting like nothing unusual had just happened and a spooky vampire wasn’t invading his personal space. “After you’ve flown with vamps, there won’t be anything left to explain. You’ll come to your senses, believe what we’re telling you to be the truth, agree to our demands, and save your own damn life. We all win. I’m going to look forward to the pats on the back in Pack for being such a trailblazer when it comes to preserving human life. Who knew all it was going to take was a little solo flying with vampires?”
“I don’t care wh-what you say,” Ray stammered. “Vampires and werewolves can’t possibly exist. It’s not natural. I want no part of this fuc—”
Naomi leaned in quickly, her ivory fangs snapping down in an instant. She bared her incisors as her face began to do that slide-downward thing I’d seen Valdov and the Queen do when they were angry. Her skin appeared to melt off her face like hot wax. How in the hell did they do that? I wasn’t about to ask and ruin the show. “We exist, human,” she hissed. “You would do well to fear us.”
Ray stumbled backward so quickly he fell. I let him go and he landed flat on his back.
I left him there as I peered at Naomi, watching as her face glided back to normal. She glanced over at me once everything was back in its rightful place, seeming proud of herself for providing the trick to terrify the human.
“I think I’m beginning to like you,” I told her honestly. Nothing like a supe with a plucky attitude. She’d caught on to the situation fast, no tutorials needed. Unlike her brother, who stood off to the side brooding, with his arms crossed like a petulant child. “He’s all yours.” I nodded to Naomi. “We’ll cross the border up the main highway and pick him up five miles on the other side. I’ll look for an outlet.”
Eamon paced forward like he’d sipped a lemon.
“We will take the human,” Naomi agreed. “And we will make sure he’s frightened.”
Sweet. “Sounds like a plan.”
Crossing the border took longer than it should
have. The guards didn’t pull us over to search the truck, but they held us in front of the window for a substantial amount of time, quizzing us about how we’d obtained our lovely vehicle. Tyler had all the pertinent paperwork in the glove box, but even so they kept asking. After the thirteenth question about our wonderful military Humvee, I arched a look at my brother and muttered, “You couldn’t have gotten us a nice Buick instead of artillery Big Bird?”
Tyler scowled. “Nice and Buick don’t run in the same sentence.”
Nick’s gift of persuasion would’ve been extremely useful right about now. It figured Nick would get a good gift like molding human minds to his liking, and I’d get stuck with supernatural domination, which was a totally useless skill to have if I planned on living to a ripe old age.
“So what do you think vampires eat, then?” Danny asked conversationally when they finally waved us through. “Do you think they only drink blood, or do you think they enjoy the occasional bit of raw meat or a nice swig of wine now and again? Must be frightfully boring just guzzling blood all day. It wouldn’t suit me in the least.”
“I couldn’t care less what they eat,” Tyler said as he sealed all the paperwork back in the glove box. “Just as long as they stay away from me. There’s not another supernatural Sect out there worse than vamps. Being dead and still functioning is like reanimating a corpse. It goes against all the laws of nature.”
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