“I can’t tell where we might be, can you?” Georgia Anne asked. “I do know it’s not humid enough to be anywhere near my neck of the woods.”
“I’ve never been to Kentucky, but I was in Savannah once in August. Is it like that?”
“I’ve got an elderly aunt that lives there! One summer, my mama dragged me to visit her, and I’d never been so happy to get back home. That was another level of humid. It felt like the air itself wanted to wrap around my throat and choke the life outta me.”
Having Georgia Anne sound like herself again was nice. I smiled at the reference she made, also. Oddly, I didn’t even remember anything about that mission except the weather. Probably because, unlike when I was with Gus, I’d followed all the rules on that trip.
The memory started me thinking about him again and whether Aurora or Danú had actually protected him. I had a sinking feeling in my gut they hadn’t. Besides that, if Georgia Anne hadn’t grabbed hold of me, I’d be here alone. The more I thought on it, the more I believed they’d been trying to send me away.
Then again, maybe that would have been the best option. It was my use of the quartz that had caused the initial quake. Then there was also the way it had shown me the vision of the portal . . .
Removing me from Breasal might have been the best. It was safer for everyone. Only, now they’d banished Georgia Anne with me.
While wallowing in negative thoughts, I’d ignored my surroundings. A fatal mistake if ever there was one, and it made me nearly jump out of my skin when Georgia Anne tapped me on the shoulder.
“What?” I asked a little too loud and spun to face her.
“We’re bein’ watched,” she whispered. “Be casual now, but look over there in the trees to your left.” She motioned with her eyes and nibbled at her lip.
I tried to turn back around and act like I was just going to continue down the trail while I scanned the area she marked.
Sure enough, crouching behind a spindly bush, not hiding well at all, was what appeared to be a young boy.
20
I turned back around to Georgia Anne and met her wide eyes. Our watcher was a young child, I wasn’t sure why she was so afraid, but I had to admit something didn’t feel right.
“Maybe we should take a break? I need to rest my legs.” I opened my eyes wider and nodded while I spoke, hoping she’d understand I wanted to draw the boy out.
Georgia Anne pressed her lips into a thin line and held her breath. “I don’t think I want to do that,” she finally answered.
I angled myself away from the boy and spoke quietly. “He’s only a boy, he can’t hurt us.”
“Well, if we’re gonna do it, might as well rip off the bandage.” With zero attempt at hiding it, Georgia Anne twisted and stared directly at the boy. “We can see ya standin’ over there. Come on out now, and tell us who ya are.”
That was unexpected, and a little unwise, however it did move things along. I turned and waited for the boy to respond.
“We’re not going to hurt you,” I called, hoping to sound like I meant it.
It was true enough, unless he made the first move.
After what was probably only a minute or so, but felt like forever, the boy crept out into the open.
“You’re not like the others?” he called to us.
Others? “What others? Where are they?”
Maybe he’d seen some of those who had supposedly been part of our unit.
“Come on over, it’s just the two of us. We don’t know nothin’ about any others.” Georgia Anne really needed a few lessons on what information to give a potential enemy.
The boy shuffled his feet closer and then must have decided to trust us because he ran to Georgia Anne. She opened her arms for him and he melted against her side. How was it possible to make someone feel so comfortable with you so quickly? It wasn’t a skill I possessed.
“Now, there, let’s have a look at ya. What’s your name?” Georgia Anne pushed the boy out to arm’s length.
He wasn’t as young as I’d thought, just small and skinny. His clothing was like that of a peasant, with a long, cream tunic that he’d tied a section of rope around—presumably to keep his brown linen trousers from falling off his spindly frame. His bare feet were dirty, but that was to be expected when running through the forest with no shoes. There weren’t any mats in his dark hair though, and he didn’t seem like he’d been in the woods that long.
He also didn’t look like anyone from the time frame Aurora had said we were heading to. I had an uneasy feeling about what might have happened.
“Why are you alone?”
My tone wasn’t nearly as gentle as Georgia Anne’s, and I saw him flinch and scoot closer to her. But before I could deal with where—or when—we might be, I needed more information.
“Go ahead and answer, she’s not as scary as she sounds.” Georgia Anne smiled at him, and then glared at me over his head.
I rolled my eyes and disagreed with her assurances.
“I’m Mihai. I was chasing a cat just for fun, when three people came into my village. They were calm, but then started killing everyone. Biting their necks and then dropping them to the ground to grab someone else.” He hid his face against Georgia Anne’s side and started crying.
She met my gaze. I was sure at that moment we both wore the same concern over our faces. The only being I knew of that might behave like he’d described was a vampire. I’d never been face to face with one before, except for Orsika, and she was different. But I’d heard the stories. It made me wish she’d made it through with us. She might have had some insight or advice on what to do.
“There were three of them, you said? What did they look like?” Georgia Anne asked.
“The two men had straight dark hair, and the girl had long, wavy, brown hair. They didn’t look any different from anyone else really—just tall. The girl was really pretty, but when she looked toward me, her eyes were black. That’s when I ran away.”
“How far did you run?” I needed to know how close we might be to this slaughtered village. The boy would only be able to run so fast, and even with my little bit of knowledge, I understood vampires were noted for their speed.
“I ran as fast as I could. I zig-zagged too, like my papa taught me. He said animals do that to get away from predators.”
He was so proud of himself that it took everything inside of me to keep a neutral expression. That might work for prey animals, but all it did was make him go slower, and that meant he didn’t get as far away as he might have thought.
“How long has it been since ya left?” Georgia Anne asked, after she must have come to the same conclusion.
“Not long. I crawled under that bush where you found me when I heard you coming on the trail.”
“We need to hurry,” I said and spun back to continue walking.
Behind me, I heard Georgia Anne tell Mihai to take her hand and stay with her because we needed to go fast. Their footsteps caught up to me not long after.
Every little twig snap or animal sound crawled into my ear and made my skin prickle. Orsika had become my friend, of sorts, and yet she still made me nervous. I didn’t want to come across a vampire I didn’t know—one who wouldn’t have any qualms about sucking the blood out of me.
“Why are you both dressed like that?” Mihai asked. “You wear a royal color but it’s not silk.”
“Well, we were traveling, so we wanted to wear clothes that were more comfortable,” Georgia Anne explained.
She’d actually given a plausible yet vague answer. Perfect. The girl was a mystery to me.
The river made a slow bend, and the trail diverted in the opposite direction. We hurried around a large oak that made for a blind corner, and then I halted abruptly. Georgia Anne squealed and nearly ran into me, based on how close her voice sounded behind me.
On the trail, not twenty paces from me, was a figure I could only guess Mihai had seen in the village. A woman, tall, thin, and deadly.
We locked eyes, and I wasn’t sure what to do. The best thing would be for me to draw her away from Georgia Anne and the stray she’d picked up. Surprise usually worked as a tactic in situations where I wasn’t sure of my opponent’s strength.
I raced toward her, but at the last minute before I reached her, the uneven terrain tripped me. Sticking my hand out to block my potential fall, I absorbed the shock against a tree trunk, and bounced away. It was almost as if the tree had caught me and put me back on my feet.
The action startled me, but I didn’t have time to contemplate what had happened, as the woman came at me. Her arm stretched out and smacked me across the chest. As I flew backward, a low-hanging tree branch came within reach. I grabbed it and swung until my momentum slowed, then I snapped frontward toward the vampire. Like a whip, my body hurtled ahead, and I kicked the woman in the jaw, knocking her off her feet.
She was up in a heartbeat. I let go of the branch and landed nimbly to face her again. Unfazed, she rushed onwards.
As I’d practiced in the arena classroom, I pictured my favorite weapon. A thin branch of a nearby bush grew longer and met my palm. A second later, I held a coiled whip. I hadn’t been fast enough, however.
The vampire tackled me around the shoulders, and we flew ten paces before I landed on my back. Air whooshed out of my lungs, and sparks flashed at the edges of my darkening vision.
A hissing sound caught my attention, and I managed to roll just as the vampire snapped at me like a cobra. She’d narrowly missed my neck.
A shriek rang out from her as I hopped to my feet. The whip still firm in my hand, I let it uncoil onto the ground. Instead of watching her face, I concentrated on her feet. I saw when she tensed her muscles to leap, and cracked the whip in time to meet her in the air.
Just like I’d practiced, I left a long slice across her body from shoulder to hip. She retreated, breathing heavily as her wound began to close.
Her healing powers were faster than mine. I’d need to keep a step ahead of her if I was going to win this fight.
I raised my arm again, ready to strike.
Instead of rushing back at me, she smiled. The way her eyes glittered in anticipation made my skin turn to ice.
I hesitated, and it gave her time to jump. Sailing through the air, she met my jaw with her fist. My head snapped sideways, and for a split second, I thought I might have broken my neck. I fell to my knees.
I could change to ethereal form, but I didn’t know if I could fight her that way. If I couldn’t, it would leave Georgia Anne vulnerable. It was better to face the vampire woman and hope I could come up with a better strategy. It was time to prove for myself that tactics could win over raw instinct.
I chuffed and eased into a fighting stance. I wouldn’t go out easy.
Just as I saw her lower slightly into her own battle stance, someone stepped out from behind a tree and put her in a chokehold until she crumbled.
As she fell to the ground, Orsika arched her brow at me with a smirk.
21
“Are you always getting yourself into trouble, or only when I’m around?” Orsika asked me as she stepped over the fallen vampire.
“This one wasn’t my fault. Where have you been?” I turned around and whistled to Georgia Anne, an ‘all-clear’ signal I’m sure she’d recognize from her experience in the woods. I wasn’t sure how far I’d drawn the vamp away from them, so we’d need to head back that direction to be sure to catch up.
“Who’s with you?” Orsika asked before she came any closer.
“Georgia Anne and some little boy she’s picked up like a stray cat.”
“And you haven’t killed them yourself yet? Impressive.”
I chuckled to myself. “She’s actually pretty helpful. It turns out she knows her way around the woods. Have you seen Sabra? Or anyone else?”
Orsika snorted as she strolled behind me. “No, I ended up in the woods about a mile or so from here. I’ve seen no one until you.”
I nodded. Finding Orsika gave me hope that others might have arrived also, and I hadn’t been banished purposefully. “Any insights you want to share about who that woman was?”
“She’s only knocked out. I don’t know about Valkyries, but vampires are already dead, so there isn’t any way to keep them from coming back after you. Unless you take off their head, drive a stake made from rowan wood through their heart, or set them on fire. She’ll be up in a short while.”
She said it so casually, as if the deadly beast was a harmless bunny.
“We should hurry, then. You are a dhampir, a vampire hunter, and you didn’t kill her?” I stretched my legs into a longer stride so it didn’t look like I was anxious. Though I could feel Orsika’s grin through my back.
“I could have killed her.” Orsika shrugged. “I didn’t want to be covered in blood. It also would draw too much attention from other vampires in the area and create more danger.”
We’d gone far enough that we should have run into Georgia Anne and Mihai already. I whistled again. Mihai had said there were two male vamps also, and I started to feel jittery that maybe I shouldn’t have left them alone. Just as I was about to whistle a third time, I heard a birdsong that didn’t match the others I’d been hearing.
I stopped and listened more carefully, then chuckled. “You can come out, Georgia Anne. I’ve found a friend of yours.” I glanced at Orsika in time to see her eyes roll.
From the side of the trail, Georgia Anne and Mihai crept slowly out of the trees. Mihai clung to Georgia Anne and hid behind her, even though he looked too old for that, as far as I was concerned. The boy needs to get a backbone.
“Orsika! You made it!” Georgia Anne ran over to her, wrapping her arms around the stricken woman.
When Georgia Anne pulled back, Orsika’s eyes were wide, and she looked as if she’d sucked on a lemon. Georgia Anne giggled and stepped back to Mihai again.
“You know her?” the boy asked.
“She’s a friend,” Georgia Anne announced.
“She’s a vampire,” he said.
Georgia Anne scoffed and waved her hand dismissively as she turned to me. She appeared to want my confirmation that the child was crazy, but I just shrugged.
Georgia Anne froze and her face paled as she slowly turned her focus to Orsika. The chilling grin that lifted one side of the vampire’s mouth was enough to make the hair on my neck rise. Poor Georgia Anne seemed like she was about to faint.
“Wha . . . what’s happening?” Georgia Anne took a step backward, dragging Mihai with her.
Orsika slid her gaze to me and then back to Georgia Anne. “Don’t get so bothered. I’m not like the rest of them. Just be happy I’m here, because I can help you.”
“But, you’re not really . . . a—” Georgia Anne slammed her lips together, and her eyes widened to the point I thought they must have hurt. “A vampire,” she whispered.
I laughed at the gesture. It had been a shock to me for sure, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but Georgia Anne was a step above.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” Orsika leaned to the left and peered at Mihai. “Though who’s your friend?” She fought a grin, and I realized it was the first time I’d seen her playful. Somehow, being in this environment seemed to relax her.
Mihai let go of Georgia Anne and started to run, but I blocked his path and grabbed the back of his shirt as he tried to dodge around me.
“If it makes a difference to you, I’m a dhampir,” Orsika told him.
Mihai stopped struggling to get away. “You can’t be that. I know you’re a vampire. I can tell.”
“I’m sure you can, but I’m positive.”
“She’s the original vampire hunter. You won’t be safer with anyone else,” I answered, though I had no idea if I was right. For some reason, I just felt the need to be kind.
I shrugged at Orsika when she gave me a questioning glance.
“That can’t be,” the boy decided. “That would mean you’re as old a
s my grandmother, and you don’t look like her.”
Orsika met my stare.
Mihai’s statement confirmed what I’d suspected. If we had traveled to the modern time I knew, as Aurora implied, it would be centuries after Orsika had become the dhampir. Though I had no idea how old Mihai’s grandmother was, Orsika only appeared eighteen or so, like Gus.
“Is this your fault?” Orsika asked me.
“Probably.”
“What’s happening? What are y’all not telling me?” Georgia Anne asked. She was still pale, but she seemed to be recovering from her shock. “Besides the fact that one of my friends could suck all the blood from my body.”
“I don’t do that.”
“I’ve seen the steak you eat. It makes a lot more sense.”
“She doesn’t suck blood, Georgia Anne. Perhaps we should find a place to talk where we’re safer, since that true vampire back there will wake up soon, am I right?” I directed my question to Orsika, and she nodded.
“There are some caves not far from here. I found them a while ago when I was hunting,” Mihai said.
“Are you both okay with that?” I asked.
It made sense to me, but I could tell that Georgia Anne needed some coaxing. If we forced her, she was likely to run screaming straight into the river. I’d have to figure out how to tell her we’d managed to go four hundred years off-course once we were more settled.
“I’m fine.” Georgia Anne turned to Mihai. “Stick with me. Orsika won’t hurt us, I’ve known her for a while. She might be hard to get to know, but she’s nice.”
Orsika snorted and turned her face away from us. If I hadn’t been mistaken, I’d seen a fleeting regret pass over her features.
Personally, I thought Georgia Anne was projecting what she hoped, not what she knew.
Mihai, with Georgia Anne at his side, led us away from the river and further into the woods. The terrain began to climb and become rockier, but trees still provided ample cover. He stopped in front of what appeared to be a pile of large boulders, and glanced sheepishly around.
Time Academy Page 12
