I stood next to him, catching his arm when he swayed uneasily. “You gave too much, you big oaf,” I whispered.
He chuckled, something I’d never seen him do before.
“Thank you, though. It would’ve taken precious time for my leg to heal without your blood,” I said, knowing he was hurting from losing so much blood in one night.
He nodded. Riza took my place at his arm and helped him walk away.
“Eira, are you okay?” Erick asked, pointing his passengers toward the tent where I knew Killían was resting. I could still smell him, and I recognized his heart’s pattern.
“I am now. We have to hurry.” The sky was half lit with the sunrise. Darkness had left us. Our people were more vulnerable now. As well as us. We could move more freely in the dark. And there were fewer people to see under the cover of night. The roads we’d used would be filled with cars now —morning commuters.
Chapter 33
EIRA
Erick’s hand touched my shoulder, cautioning me from moving forward. I turned and surveyed the camp before me again, noticing a guard to my left across the field. He was hidden away in a tree blind.
“I’ll take him,” Erick whispered, his voice barely at a decibel I could hear. “Those are yours.” He pointed to the two guards half-dozing to my right. “Bailey stay where you are until we clear the area.”
She nodded and crouched lower.
He blurred away first. The snap of the guard’s neck was the only distinguishing sound that could be heard from the tree. The guards to my right hadn’t even noticed.
I moved next, running as I drew Dragonbreath from my back. They never saw me coming.
None of the soldiers did.
We moved stealthily through the outer guards and closer to the panicked center of their command. They knew vampires were hunting them. But their fear made them stupid and careless. We picked them off one by one. Blurring through, grabbing them, and carrying them off to the edge of camp where no one was watching anymore, we fed until we had enough and then raced for the lake house.
I stopped at the edge of the forest and gasped for breath I did not need. The house was gone. Nothing more than a burning pile of rubble. I sniffed the air. The smell of explosives was acrid and thick in the air, but I couldn’t detect any human or diesel fuel. No trucks. Where were the soldiers?
Erick and Bailey came to a stop next to me. We stood in the shadow of the trees and stared in disbelief together.
Had they escaped? Were they captured?
The howl of a wolf sounded from across the field.
“Someone made it!” I ran, staying with the line of trees. A moment later, the thwack thwack of a helicopter beat the air above me, and shots rang through the trees, pounding into the branches above my head.
Fuck! I blurred in short spurts, hoping to keep their attention and draw them away from where I’d heard the wolf. The last thing I needed to do was lead them to our survivors. Bailey and Erick were still in the clear. They could move without detection as long as I went slow enough to keep their fire aimed at me.
The hiss of a missile made the hair on my neck stand on end. I leaped to the right and blurred a hundred yard away, disappearing from their view. The explosion behind me sent shards of trees flying like spears of death. I could only pray none had hit a target.
I peered around the trunk of the large tree I’d hidden behind and came eye to eye with a piece of wood the size of my arm impaled into its trunk. Shaking off the close call, I peered through the branches and listened as the chopper circled, trying to detect my location.
“We have them.” Erick’s voice cut through the din of the helicopter above my head. “Run.”
“All four!” I shouted.
“They didn’t all make it out!”
Damn it!
“Run, Eira!” Erick’s voice thundered. A human would barely have heard him over the roar of the engine, but I heard him like he was standing next to me shouting into my ear.
“I’m going,” I shouted again before jumping into a ground-eating run.
The brightening landscape rushed past me. Roads. Cars. Trees.
Thirst burned in the pit of my stomach. I could feel it creeping up, growing stronger and stronger until all I could see was the beat of life surrounding me. Heartbeats of the people in the cars I was passing. Heartbeats of the animals in the forest as I blurred past.
When we arrived at Vicksburg, all three of us would be ravenous. We had all been prepared to feed some from Alek. I needed to reach the Army base first. They had to be prepared.
I pushed myself harder, using every reserve of energy I could muster. I leaped the Mississippi and then the fence.
“Jared!” I stood from my crouched landing place. My vision was red, and I licked my lips as a soldier rushed past me a few yards away. His heart raced as fear blossomed like an orchid in his mind.
Two thuds behind me signaled that time was up. They were here.
Erick released Alek and growled for him to run.
Bailey was carrying Lisa, one of the Lycans.
That was it. No more? Only two? The guilt of losing more friends cut through the devouring thirst that drowned out my reason. I had failed them a second time.
A scream roared from my throat as I fell to my knees. The thirst and the pain of my guilt overwhelmed me. Jared’s scent filled my nostrils, and I fought not to attack him as he knelt beside me.
“Drink this, Eira.”
He held a plastic cup to my lips, and I sipped the warm, thick liquid. Blood. His blood. I hadn’t had the blood of a Phoenix before. It was spicy and rich and filled with magick. Just what I needed to regain control of my lucidity. As I downed more, my faculties returned, and my vision went back to normal. My fangs retracted, and I sat up next to him on the ground.
His body sank down beside mine, tension flowing from his muscles.
“Thank you,” I mumbled as I finished off the last few drops from the cup.
I turned to meet Alek’s glassy stare. He was sitting in the grass a few feet away. Lisa had disappeared. Erick and Bailey were leaning against each other, both sipping from a red plastic cup like the one Jared had brought me.
“Only two?” I waited for a response from the Gryphon.
He blinked and then met my gaze. “When I heard the missile, I barely had time to grab Lisa as I threw myself out the bay window. If she hadn’t been sitting there at the table with me, I would’ve been the only one. Even so, the blast would’ve killed her had I not wrapped her in my wings.”
I sighed and took in his appearance a little more carefully. His face and hands were blackened with soot. His hair was singed, and his clothes were burned in several places.
“I’m sorry. It’s just hard. We ran s-so h-hard,” I choked. Tears poured down my cheeks. I’d lost them. So many friends. So many I’d called family. Just gone. For no reason other than hate.
“Eira.” Killían’s voice called to my heart, and I gazed up into his glassy blue eyes.
“They’re gone,” I sobbed.
He exchanged places with Alek, and I crawled into his arms. Tucked into his embrace, I sobbed as he rocked me, telling me how proud he was of me. How what I’d done was amazing. And that I couldn’t blame myself for any of their deaths. That I’d done everything in my power to save everyone.
The words didn’t help, but the tears eventually slowed. The pain tearing at my heart would be there for years. Charlie had lost her parents and more than half the pack.
Killían hands ran soothingly through my hair. He tugged the hair-tie loose, and my long tresses fell down in a silky wave. Cradling the back of my head against his chest, he worked his fingers into the knots in my tense shoulders.
I allowed my eyes to close. It wasn’t that I needed sleep, but just to shut out the other things around me. I focused on his heartbeat. On the sounds of air leaving and entering his lungs. On the spicy smell of his skin.
Through all of this, the fates had allowed me to
keep him. No gift could be more precious than that.
“They have a van ready for us. We need to leave.” Charlie’s voice roused me from my haze. She was speaking to Erick and Bailey across the yard.
I took a deep breath and cleared my mind. Time to press forward. Time to turn off my grief and protect those that still lived. The dead were at peace. Those of us who remained still needed to reach home safely.
Leaning into my mate’s embrace, I cupped Killían’s face and pulled his mouth to meet mine. The sweet taste of his lips was heaven, and I drank him in.
He swept his tongue into my mouth, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him even tighter.
“I love you,” he whispered against my lips.
“I love you, too.”
“We have to go,” he said.
“I know.”
Chapter 34
KILLÍAN
I climbed into the fifteen-passenger van Park found for our group. I’d told him we’d leave it in Ada at the courthouse for someone to pick up. Erick had already called ahead, on what I’d found out were enchanted cell phones, and Harrison Bateman was standing by with a bus that would take us the rest of the way to Sanctuary.
Eira settled into the seat next to me, and a Lycan named Lisa took the seat on my other side. Alek climbed into the driver’s seat, and Mikjáll closed the side door after helping Riza onto the front bench. Park had even miraculously produced an infant carseat to go along with the van. Way to go, buddy.
“Alek, you sure you’re good to drive?” Jared asked, latching the front passenger seatbelt into place.
“Yep,” the big Gryphon answered. “Let’s get home, shall we? I, for one, have had quite enough.”
A resounding chorus of agreement echoed from the other passengers as he put the van into drive and left the Army compound at Vicksburg behind. Park had thanked Eira, Erick, and Bailey profusely for their help eliminating half of the force across the river. In a day or so, they’d have the SECR high-tailing it back to Savannah with their tails between their legs. Of course he’d also tried to convince all four of us to stay behind and enlist, to which we had all politely declined.
The miles of road whipped by. I dozed with Eira leaning against my chest. Until now I hadn’t really let myself relax.
I shifted in my seat, moving so that the sheath of my sword didn’t dig into my shoulder blade quite so much. Neither of us had been willing to disarm when we boarded. The last thing a soldier wanted to do was search for his weapon if something caught him by surprise.
But the hours stretched on quietly, just like the highways. We didn’t encounter a single hiccup the whole way.
As we pulled into the courthouse parking lot in Ada, I glanced down at the watch on my wrist. 2:30pm. We’d made excellent time. Other than my stomach being tied in knots from not having eaten the entire day, I was feeling pretty good. More than ready to climb out of the cramped van and stretch my legs.
Mikjáll opened the side door, climbed out, and then helped Riza out with the baby seat. I followed Lisa out, and Eira hopped out beside me as I stretched my arms and rolled my neck until at least a couple of vertebrae cracked loudly.
The group moved slowly. We were all tired. The spacious passenger bus was a welcome change to the cramped and crowded van. I’d never liked vans, and this experience had only reaffirmed that dislike.
Harrison came around the front of the bus and waved. Charlie ran to embrace him. Travis and Garrett were hot on her heels.
“They really are both hooked on her, aren’t they?”
Eira glanced up and smiled –a slow, quiet smile. Not an I’m-so-happy-for-my-friend-I-could-burst, but more of an I’m-glad-they-are-alive-and-have-a-chance-to-be-together smile.
I knew vampires didn’t sleep, but Eira, Erick, and Bailey were in desperate need of at least a long power-nap. Dark circles stained the skin beneath their jewel blue eyes. Their skin was paler than usual, and they moved lethargically, as if every step was an effort.
Though, as I watched the others in our little group, everyone was moving slowly. Sadness permeated the air, and even though the Lycans were home, none of them really appeared to be all that excited. Jesse was sullen and quiet. Lisa hadn’t said a word the entire seven hours she’d sat next to me in the van.
I knew what they were feeling. I’d lost family. Friends. My entire world.
But even though I empathized with their loss, for me, life was infinitely better than it had been before all of this started. If it hadn’t been for their original mission, Eira would never have ended up in my barn. I might not have found her for years, if ever.
It was selfish to be happy when so many had been lost. But one thing I’d learned from being a soldier for as many decades as I had, life was precious and could be stolen at any moment. Every second you had those you loved needed to be appreciated and celebrated.
I had a chance to start a life with Eira. A life I’d wanted to start with her almost a thousand years before.
Yes, things had changed.
She was a vampire, and I’d lost my soul. At least it had been lost until she showed up and shoved it into my chest again. I could feel again. Emotions I’d turned off or ignored since losing Jón had returned with the force of a raging river.
Life had meaning again for me. I just hoped Eira felt the same. I hoped she could forgive the blackness that had grown in my heart over the years.
“Killían?” Eira’s hand rested on my arm.
I glanced down and met her blue gaze. Her long black hair whipped around in the cold breeze. I’d pulled out her hair tie, and she hadn’t tried to put it up again. I liked it down. She reminded me more of the young woman I’d fallen in love with so many years ago. Her hair had always been down when she wasn’t training. Soft and silky, falling over her shoulders, just begging me to bury my hands in it.
“I’m here, my beloved. Just remembering you with your hair down from a long time ago,” I said, reaching forward and running my fingertips through her hair.
“Those are good memories.” She slid her hand up, running her palm across my cheek and rubbing the long stubble on my face with her thumb. The sensation was soothing, and my eyes closed as I treasured the feeling of her touch.
“Come on, you two,” Jared called from my right.
I opened my eyes and turned. He was beckoning us over from the front of the bus. Everyone else had already boarded and were waiting on us.
“I guess we better move along, love. I can’t say that I’m not anticipating a hot shower and a soft bed with you tangled in my arms.”
A small sigh slipped from her chest, and she smiled again. “That does sound nice.”
We hurried around the side of the bus and climbed the steps.
“Thank you for meeting us, Harrison,” Eira said as she passed the driver.
“I do anything for family, sweetheart. Plus, when Rose calls, it’s tough to say no.”
A few chuckles agreeing with his statement echoed from the sea of red cloth seats ahead. The bus easily held sixty passengers, but with only our small group, it seemed empty. Too quiet.
Then Riza’s baby cried, and the silence was broken. Several others began to speak, and a few muted conversations started as I settled into a seat next to Eira.
We made a quick stop at the lodge where the Mason pack lived. Charlie, Travis, Garrett, and the other wolves that had survived the trip exited. Sadly, it was only a handful.
During the ride, I’d overheard Travis and Garrett telling Erick they intended to help with the pack until Charlie made a decision about accepting them as her alphas. Eira didn’t seem surprised by their choice to remain in Ada, either.
After farewells had been said, Harrison turned the bus south, and we headed for Sanctuary. Alek and Jared dozed in the seats a couple rows ahead of us. Mikjáll sat with Riza and the baby across the aisle. And Bailey and Erick rested just a couple rows behind us.
The bus ride was smooth. I tried to doze again. A couple h
ours passed, and I opened my eyes when I heard Eira’s voice slice through the peaceful quiet.
“Why are we stopping?” The edge in her voice made me nervous. Everyone was standing and peering out the window. The sun was starting to fall, and its bright rays were blinding through the windshield.
“There must be a wreck ahead. It’s rush hour, but this highway rarely comes to a stop,” Harrison called over his shoulder.
The tension in the bus was thick enough to make me very nervous. With one hand, I reached for Eira’s, and with the other, I felt for the hilt of the sword strapped to my back.
Mikjáll had his arms around Riza and the baby, crowding them possessively against the window of the bus.
A second later, a man appeared in the middle of the aisle. His eyes glowed bright purple. Eira pulled me to the side as Bailey and Erick leapt for his throat at the same time. He disappeared before they touched him, and they landed where he’d been standing. Bailey grabbed Erick’s hand, and they whirled. Waiting. Watching.
Alek and Jared paired up as well.
A body appeared between Eira and I. A hand shoved me backward, and I flew across several seats, crumpling to the floor awkwardly in the center aisle.
Shouts filled the bus, and bodies leaped and flew through the air. Then another man appeared in the center aisle, and everyone in the front of the bus froze.
I held my breath. He hadn’t seen me yet. Neither had the Djinn popping around like a spastic wind-up toy.
The man reached forward and, without touching anyone, lifted Alek and Jared from the ground and slammed them first into the ceiling and then against the floor. Again and again, he motioned with his hand, throwing them up and down until their bodies moved like boneless rag dolls.
“I want my Kitsune, Dragon. So either you give her and the baby up or I’ll kill each and every one of these people in front of you before I kill you and take her anyway.”
Mikjáll’s eyes glowed orange, and his arms turned black as claws extended from his fingertips.
Sanctuary, Texas Complete Series Box Set Page 64
