Shame on Sasha for looking that gorgeous. Did all vampires look this incredible? If they did, it wasn’t hard to understand how they could prey easily on humans.
Lordy, what was wrong with her? Okay, she could blame it on stress. After all, someone had blown up her house like it was nothing more than fuel for a campfire. All her things were gone—her clothes, her computers, her memories. Well, maybe not her memories. The photos, yes, what they represented, no. All of that still lived bright and clear in her mind.
Still, it was stressful, and that had become as clear as a summer sky when she, Prima, and Rodney had ventured out a few hours ago. They’d taken Sasha’s lead and slept for a few hours, but by noon, they were awake and wanting to take measure of what was happening outside the bunker. Even Rodney, who preferred to spend the vast majority of his time inside his sanctuary, was up for the adventure to the surface. For Dee it was more about getting clean clothes, a toothbrush, and a few other essential items that had gone skyward when her house blew up. Once they made it back to the city, what on any other day might have been an easy errand turned into something out of a futuristic movie.
Chaos was everywhere. Death was everywhere, and no one quite understood why yet. CDC trailers were parked on streets. Armed national guard drove in those imposing green vehicles that made her want to run for cover. Stores were closed, and no one appeared to be out and about. Was anyone left to be out and about?
Fortunately, Prima had clothes and sundry items that fulfilled what she needed. She packed a couple of bags, as did Prima, and after driving around for an hour, they decided their best course of action was to get back to the bunker. Perhaps Sasha would have an idea about what was going on.
“You’re back.” Sasha’s words, deep and sultry, brought her back to the moment.
“Ah, yeah.” Smooth, Dee, smooth.
“Where were you?” She dropped the hand holding the towel she’d been drying her hair with to her side, seemingly quite comfortable with her back-to-nature look.
Dee liked that look a great deal but tried to keep her gaze on Sasha’s eyes. Nothing good could come from acting like a lovesick puppy. “We went to get supplies.”
“Supplies?”
“Yeah, like clean clothes, a toothbrush, and deodorant. Important stuff I didn’t have any reason to bring with me yesterday because I thought I’d be going back home.”
Sasha’s eyes narrowed and then she nodded. “Yes, I understand. You must tell me what you found outside.”
She’d be happy to share, in a few minutes. “You want to get dressed first?” Sasha came across as perfectly happy to trot out to the main room in the buff and go directly into a debrief session with her three bunker mates. If she did that, Dee would find it very hard to concentrate. It was taking an effort now not to lick her lips.
A flash of a smile flew across her face. Here and gone in an instant. Somehow she had the feeling that Sasha knew exactly what was going through Dee’s mind. “Perhaps that would be a good idea.”
“Here.” Dee held out the second of the bags she’d filled at Prima’s house. “I thought maybe you could use some things as well.”
Again an expression flashed across her face. This time it seemed more like gratitude, and Dee was very glad she’d taken time to put the bag together for her.
“Thank you.” Sasha took it from Dee’s outstretched hand and then moved quickly down the short hallway and into the small bedroom, leaving Dee staring after her.
“Wow,” she muttered softly. Just when she thought things couldn’t get more interesting, they did. Twenty-four hours ago she didn’t believe vampires existed, and now here she was not only lusting after one but bringing her clothes and a toothbrush. Did vampires need to brush their fangs? Her world was growing stranger by the moment.
All of a sudden she remembered why she’d come this way in the first place, and she raced to the bathroom, laughing as she went. It was official; her world had flipped upside down. Everything outside was going crazy in a way that made absolutely no sense, her home was gone, and she was laughing. Not in a hysterical, need-medication kind of way. Nope, it was a “hot damn, this is gonna be quite the ride” kind of way.
World apocalypse or not, Dee liked it.
***
Katrina looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. As much as she hated losing time, it was time well spent. She looked incredible. A good meal and hours of rest did wonders for even the strongest of her kind. For her in particular, it was even better. She was the most beautiful vampire in the world, even if she did say so. And she did. So did everyone else, if they valued their existence, that is. No one could resist her.
That thought brought the ghost of a frown to her face. That statement was technically incorrect. One was able to resist her. In concert with the changes she’d put into motion, the single dark spot on her reputation would be wiped away as if it had never existed. Then she’d be able to sit back and enjoy her new status as was rightfully her due.
She smiled at herself again in the mirror. Everything thus far was going along swimmingly. She was quite happy with the reports that had come in so far, and she’d been up less than an hour. In the other room she could hear Eli moving around. He had beat her awake, as he always did, but then again, he didn’t need the beauty sleep. He was handsome and efficient, just no prince. It wasn’t important, considering she didn’t need a prince at her side. She had no practical use for one unless he was as skilled at doing her bidding as Eli was. The very last thing she wanted in her bed, however, was a prince, or a duke, or even a king. That sort of companionship left her cold and disgusted. She never understood the desire and, even after centuries of existence, still couldn’t fathom the appeal.
Now a princess, that was a whole other story. Women could warm her bed any time as long as they were beautiful and obedient. Willing wasn’t a necessary element, and at this time in her life, she didn’t care if they possessed an ounce of royal blood. There had once been a time when that had been a very concrete goal.
The last instance when she’d set her sights on royalty and even found herself unexpectedly falling in love, the end result was less than desirable. A defining characteristic for her was that she never made the same mistake twice. From then on she focused on straight-up sex and physical satisfaction. So much easier and cleaner, and who needed love anyway? She had everything without the necessity of touchy-feely emotions. Those sorts of things simply got in the way.
With one last pat to her hair, which didn’t need it because it was already perfect, she turned away from the mirror. “What have you got for me?” She walked into the main room, toward the desk where Eli sat at his laptop. Outside, the big window that provided them a perfect view of the city and the river beyond sundown was complete, and the lights of the city were glowing. Eli had his head down and his fingers flying across the laptop keyboard.
He looked up and smiled. She had to admit, for a man, he was attractive, and he probably had his fair share of woman with a mere flash of that smile. It was mysterious and appealing. He did seem perpetually satisfied, so she suspected she was spot-on. “It’s all coming together.” He leaned back in the chair and nodded. “Everywhere from New York to LA, the Consortium is making their move, and it is incredible.”
In many ways she wished they could be back in Seattle, where she could watch their carefully planned coup roll like a wave across the city. Spokane was big and urban, and it was dropping as it should. Still, it wasn’t Seattle by any stretch, and that’s where she wanted to be as her empire came into being. She loved the tall buildings, the Space Needle, the ocean—all things that were lacking from this place.
Seattle was missing only one thing, and that’s what kept her here when she wanted to be on the other side of the state. She was somewhere out there in the darkness that spread across this falling city, and Katrina needed to be here when they finally flushed her out. She’d waited for this too long to be denied now. Even in the face of everything that was c
oming down on the humans who had selfishly clung to a world that should never have been theirs in the first place, she couldn’t leave this city. Once the deed was done, she would fly back across the mountains and to the place that she preferred to call home.
“Have you located her yet?”
Now a frown darkened his face. “I don’t know how she’s doing it, but it’s like she was never here. She should have surfaced after we blew her building, but nothing so far. It doesn’t make sense. She should pop up somewhere.”
“Have any of her people heard from her?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. Again, it’s like she knows they’ve turned on her, although I can’t figure out how. We were more than careful, and not a single one of them would have given us up. They all have an interest in what’s coming down, and they aren’t going to jeopardize it for her. She was good to them, just not as good as we’ve been. Their loyalty is to us.”
Anger flowed over her and washed away all the good feelings she’d awakened with. Just like so many years ago, she was gone like the stars on a cloudy night. To say it pissed Katrina off was putting it politely. She calmed as she reminded herself that she couldn’t hide forever. At some point she would be forced to surface if she wanted to survive.
One thing she was counting on was that her penchant to avoid human blood taken directly from the source would bring her out of hiding. Unlike Katrina, who had no such reservations, it made survival more complicated. Katrina liked simple and always had. Besides, taking it directly from the human source was infinitely more pleasurable, and she did prefer pleasure. In the little bit of time they’d had together, she’d tried to teach her that, but she’d resisted, and then she was gone.
“You have eyes on all sources of stored blood?” Unless she had changed in the last century, and Katrina doubted that was the case, she would have to make a run for one of the outlets that stored donated blood. If she refused to take it directly, it was the only logical choice.
“Indeed.” Eli sounded a little offended that she would ask him such a question. He was thorough, and she supposed she’d be annoyed too if in his shoes.
“Don’t get your panties in a twist.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
She nodded. “I’m aware of that. What about the writer? Surely you’ve tracked down Miss Snoop?” That one she was going to take great pleasure in drinking dry. How dare the busybody stick her nose in vampire business. They had a way of dealing with people like her when they got too close, and it was what one might term a permanent solution. She smiled again, her good humor returning.
This time Eli ran his fingers through his hair. “Funny thing is, she’s gone missing in action too. I’ve never had this much trouble tracking down anyone before. I figured as soon as she heard about her house she’d come racing back. I put some of our best human soldiers on the watch, and according to what they’re telling me, she hasn’t stepped a single toe in the neighborhood.”
That news bothered Katrina, though she couldn’t quite nail down why. Someone as curious and smart as this woman would have to see the destruction for herself. She was sure of it. A tingling at the back of her neck made her think that perhaps this time she’d encountered a human that might cause more trouble than she was worth. Eliminating her intrusion should have been done and over with many hours ago. “Does she have any family in the city?”
He shook his head. “Way ahead of you there. The closest family she has is in Portland.”
“She could have driven there. It’s not that far.”
“She could have, but she didn’t. Her car was parked at her house when the boys did their handiwork. No rentals in her name. Unless she rode a bicycle, she’s still in the city somewhere.”
Katrina slammed her hand on the desk next to the laptop. “I don’t care what you do or how you do it, but you will find her before sunrise.”
Chapter Fourteen
Sasha almost laughed at Dee’s expression when she encountered her outside the bathroom in all her natural glory. Sasha had gotten over her prim and conservative ways as the years rolled by. She’d been raised to be quite the proper princess. Nothing that could ever be considered revealing was ever to be worn. Never would she have considered walking into a common space with nothing on. Time had wiped away all those early lessons, and she said good riddance. Frankly, she didn’t have time to worry about things like that. So she didn’t.
The look on Dee’s face had been endearing, and ego-building. Behind the shock that had been evident had been something else, and Sasha would be lying if she tried to say she hadn’t liked it, a lot. Usually she didn’t care what anyone else thought about her or her habits, her looks, or her body. Too much to do to worry about offending someone’s puritan sensibilities.
By this time she would have thought those tendencies in an enlightened society would have faded. It wasn’t the case. A certain segment of the population still clung to the antiquated beliefs, as if nothing else in the world was more important than modesty and propriety. She supposed that, to them, nothing was more precious, and that was fine with her as long as they kept their beliefs to themselves. She didn’t need or want their piety.
What she did want, and maybe even needed, was to see that raw desire on another woman’s face. She’d kept to herself for enough years now that the last time she’d been with a woman was more like a dream that fades in the morning upon awakening, a sort of shadowy memory with no form or definition. She’d decided that keeping everyone at arm’s length was the best way to focus on the war that had been building for what seemed like forever. That was the only way she’d be prepared and ready when the day hit, and she’d been okay with that course of single-minded concentration.
By the gods, how wrong she’d been. She’d been so blindsided it was embarrassing. Traitors in her midst. Total destruction of her business and home. It was a wonder she ever became a successful businesswoman. Hopefully none of her clients would ever get wind of this colossal failure. But enough of that worry. It was for another day, considering she didn’t even have a business to go back to at the moment. At least not the main office anyway. Surely a couple of divisional offices were still standing, she hoped.
Right now, neither business nor betrayal was foremost on her mind. She wanted to take a moment to simply bask in the enjoyment a woman’s appreciation could bring her. It was something that let her feel good again, even if it was for a mere minute or two. Perhaps then she’d regain some feeling of control, because everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours had pretty well stripped her of any whisper of power. She didn’t care for the feeling. It had taken her far too long to capture and retain a sense of control, and to feel it slip away was abhorrent.
To see the admiring look in Dee’s eyes gave her back some of what she’d lost in the last few hours, and she’d love to stand here and soak it in. If only she could. Good sense told her that Dee’s suggestion she get dressed was a solid one. She’d love to take it further, to see where it might go. Maybe, if they lived through this, she would have time enough to see if what was behind the shock was worth exploring. She was fairly certain it was. She was quite literally not born yesterday and knew raw desire when she saw it, also when she felt the same strong raw desire in herself. That shouldn’t be wasted.
First things first. She had to get dressed, make a plan, and go take down those bastards who had destroyed her life and were now trying to do the same to the humans as well as any vampire, like her, who didn’t bow to their master plan. They were coming for her, but she was ready, and what they didn’t know was definitely going to hurt them.
Sasha opened the bag Dee had handed her and smiled first at the toothbrush. The long-sleeved T-shirt with the single word “Namaste” on it seemed appropriate. She slipped it on before pulling on the tight leather pants that would serve as her armor. The jeans that Dee had put in the bag weren’t going to cut it, and she left them in the bag. While she appreciated the clean shirt, she’d stic
k with her own pants. She laced up her boots and stood. Now that she was dressed and ready to face the night, her mind turned to the one thing this hideaway couldn’t provide: nourishment. She was old enough to have discipline and restraint, and she was drawing on that now. The need that pushed at her before she rested hadn’t disappeared. It was still there, tapping at her, reminding her it wouldn’t be denied indefinitely. For the moment it would have to.
Not, however, all night. Sooner or later, the hunger would take hold like a giant conflagration, and she’d have to feed. It wouldn’t be here, where three humans out in the other room trusted her. She refused to hurt her friends, and she didn’t want Dee to have to witness the reality of what she really was. Despite depictions in popular culture, it wasn’t pretty, or neat, or clean. Dee didn’t need to be exposed to that.
Funny how the same concern didn’t extend to Rodney and Prima. Of course, they’d known her for some time and understood what she was, not that either of them had ever witnessed a feeding. She hadn’t wanted or needed to put them in that position. With Dee she absolutely didn’t want to expose her to the ugly reality. My, oh, my, how things could change in an instant.
Why should she be surprised? Wasn’t that exactly how she had become what she was right now? One moment she was a young woman dying of multiple bullet wounds and in the next, a creature of the night. One instant. That’s all it took to change everything.
Enough! She didn’t plan to take the time to analyze herself. No, she was going to leave this room, check on the state of the world outside their shelter, and then step out into that world, kick ass, and take names. She didn’t intend to allow those bastards to destroy what she held dear. They had taken everything away from her once, but not again. Never again.
Drawing Down the Mist Page 14
