by Bryce Evans
“I’m in.” River placed her hand over Star’s. They both looked over at their brother, waiting for his answer. His face showed no emotions.
“I’m in. Whatever it takes to keep my family safe,” Sky assured them both, and placed his hand on top of theirs.
“Great. Can you get off work early, Sky?” River asked, getting up. “I know I can, and then we can beat the rest of them home and go outside and practice.”
Sky nodded. They made plans to meet at the house after lunch to practice. Star felt relieved as she followed River out to the car. They needed to work hard and fast on a plan. She had the feeling that whoever this vampire was, he’d be coming after them soon.
****
“Okay, let’s write on the board what we know already,” Pelton Miller said as he wrote on the white board.
“Star said it was a vampire; one that made them use their powers,” Banks contributed.
“Did she say what her powers were?” Nash asked. Jansen liked Nash. He’d been a good friend to him since he arrived in Freedom.
“She said that the vampire wanted River to read his guard’s mind. He told her that the three of them each have their own separate powers, and together they can do something unbelievable. She said they hurt Sky so that River and Star would do what he wanted.” Jansen gripped the side of the table as he explained. He wanted to get his hands on that vampire for putting that fear into her. Nobody would ever take her away from him. He looked over at Banks, who appeared to be having a hard time too.
“Do you realize how dangerous that vampire would be if he got his hands on them, especially if they knew what everyone was thinking? They’d know what you were going to do as fast as you thought it,” Nash grunted.
“And Sky and Star — do we know what their abilities are?” Powers Newman asked. Everyone stared over at the wolf. He hadn’t spoken two words since he arrived at the Unit. Powers was a tracker, and nobody knew what else he could do. He was always around, but never spoke to anyone much.
Larken just laughed as he stared at Powers. “Damn man, I never knew you could talk until now.” Everyone laughed; even Powers smiled briefly.
“No, she doesn’t know what they can do. She only dreamed about what River can do; but I would bet money that River and Sky have these dreams, too. Reece and Jonas said that River has been having nightmares, but she won’t talk about them,” Jansen said.
“Reece, who would fit this vampire’s description? She said he was bigger than anyone she’d ever seen,” Nash asked.
Reece snorted. “There are a lot of so-called big vampires, but this man would need to be exceptionally huge, and also, I would think, very smart and a collector. The Powerful Three aren’t spoken about much even in our history, much less any other paranormal history. This man would probably be very dignified and have a lot of money. I’m not a profiler, but wouldn’t you agree, Pelton?”
“Yes, I agree with you one hundred percent, Reece. Whoever this man is, he’d be very refined and likely part of the Vampire Council. Even if we don’t know who he is, we know the type of person he is, so we can come up with a plan.”
“There’s someone here at the lodge who could probably tell us all about the Powerful Three. He’s a tomb raider and historian,” Larsen informed them. “I know you’re worried about him, Reece, but for some reason I don’t think Sullivan Grayson would betray us. Actually, he may be able to help us.”
“Sullivan Grayson — the one who located the tomb of Sindrid Abner?” Nash asked.
“Yep, and he located The Book of Primal Elders. Sky told me that he never found Sindrid’s body or remains, though. He said they were gone. Either someone moved him, or he’s still roaming the earth,” Reece said.
“Really? You think the first vampire is still alive? If that’s true then why doesn’t he make himself known?” Pelton questioned.
Reece shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe he’s the big vampire Star saw in her dreams. But for some reason I don’t think so.”
Nobody said anything. It was something to think about, Jansen thought.
“All right, so we’ll call this vampire ‘Joe Blow.’ Now let’s come up with a plan,” Pelton suggested.
Chapter 11
Star, River, and Sky watched as the guards took their places inside the house. They all acted like they were going to their bedrooms to lay down; then they’d sneak out the windows.
River waited until she saw Star hiding behind the tree before she started climbing out of her window. Her mates would kill her if they found out what they were doing without them and without the guards. They didn’t have much time to practice, but they’d put every minute to good use.
River was just about out before her pants got caught on the window frame and she fell head-first into the snow. She heard Star gasp. When she looked up, her sister had clamped her palm over her mouth to hold in her laughter. Sky ran over and helped River up, but he also had a smile on his face.
She could feel the wet snow dripping off her face as she looked up at her brother, who was trying not to grin. But it was Star’s giggling that made River flip her off. Unfortunately, that only made Star laugh more.
Sky turned around and put his finger over his mouth, but she could still see the partial smile across his lips.
They needed to hurry, because her mates would be home soon. They ran through the woods to a spot Sky loved to visit. They all knew where he went to think; one of the guards had told Jonas that they followed Sky and he always went to the same spot to read by the pond.
“Okay, we still have to keep our voices down so we don’t attract anyone who goes outside on patrol,” River began. “Let’s start with you, Star. Try to remember what was going on in your dream and what the vampire told you to do.”
Star walked away from them and held out her hands, pointing them away from the house just in case something did happen. If she starting shoot out electricity, she didn’t want it to hurt anyone.
“Concentrate on something coming out of your hands,” River suggested.
Star tried to think about something coming out of her palms, and then her thoughts went crazy. She started thinking about slime shooting out, which made her lose every bit of her concentration.
She dropped her hands and shook them out. Why couldn’t she concentrate?
“Star.” She turned around, and Sky had River around the neck with a knife to her throat. “Now point your hands toward the water and think about that vampire cutting your sister’s face, or mine. How are you going to protect us? Protect us, Star!” Sky yelled. She could feel the anger building up inside her as she turned back around and pointed her hands toward the water. Then she closed her eyes and pictured the vampire holding River down, cutting into her face.
She could feel her hands turning warmer as she thought about it, and then water flew up and hit her in the face. She opened her eyes; the pond water was rippling as if someone jumped in and made a big splash.
She turned around and saw that River and Sky both had shocked looks on their faces. River tried to speak, but couldn’t get anything out. “What, what happened?” Star asked.
Nobody said anything until she asked again, “What happened? I had my eyes closed.”
“Electricity shot out of your hands,” Sky muttered, staring at her.
“No way,” Star boomed.
Both River and Sky nodded.
Sky turned around, listening to something. “We need to go. I think your mates just pulled up.”
Star started walking back to the house. She could still feel the warmth in her hands. River continued to stand in the same place, not moving.
“Come on, before they get curious.” Star grabbed her sister’s hand and started running toward the cabin.
When they got close they stopped and watched Reece and Jonas get out of their vehicle and go into the house. “What are we going to say now? They’re already in the house,” Star asked. She glanced over at River, who was staring out into space.
“I
’ve got an idea — just go with it.” Star pulled River out of the woods and into the front yard. Fresh snow had fallen early that morning, and it was sticky enough to build a snowman.
Star bent down and grabbed a handful of snow. “If they ask, we walked around back to look at the mountains on that side then we came back and started a snowball fight.” She squeezed the snow into a ball and then threw it at River, hitting her in the face.
She looked over at her brother, who was smiling as the snow dripped down their sister’s face. Without waiting for her to say anything, Sky reached down and picked up more snow and then tossed it at River, hitting her again in the face.
River narrowed her eyes at both of them, reached down and picked up two handfuls of snow, then took a running leap and slammed it on Star’s head.
The fight was on. Reece and Jonas must have heard them screaming and laughing at each other, because they ran out onto the porch. They stood in shock as the three siblings threw snowballs at each other.
Star didn’t give River’s mates any reprieve; she hurled a couple balls of snow in their direction. She laughed harder and ran when Reece and Jonas jumped down from the porch and started throwing snowballs back at them. They glanced at each other for a moment before they ganged up on Jonas and Reece, bombarding them with packed snow.
They must have looked like a bunch of crazy kids by the time a vehicle pulled up and Larsen, Larken, Ash, and Sullivan Grayson got out. Everyone was smiling except Sullivan. He simply stared at them.
****
It can’t be. No, no, please don’t let it be him. Sullivan remembered what Regis Yulson had said to him: “When the Powerful Three came to me in my visions, I couldn’t see their faces, but I could tell they were two women and a man. They live together somewhere where it snows. I saw them playing in the snow together, with a beautiful log cabin behind them. Whoever built the cabin has a lot of money; it was one of the most luxurious cabins I’ve ever seen. The rock pillars had to be brought in. It must be a billionaire’s home.”
Sullivan looked around and saw that the cabin was indeed extraordinary. Only someone with lots of money could build something of this magnitude. On the way up the mountain, Ash had informed him that Reece was the Prime over the vampires in this area and that he was her uncle. She mentioned that he lived in a beautiful cabin overlooking the mountains.
Sullivan watched as Sky and his sisters played in the snow. Everything Regis had seen in his vision was playing out in front of him. He knew what would happen if Regis got ahold of Sky; he would make him suffer until he got what he wanted.
He would hurt one of them to get Sky to do what he wanted, and even though they’d just met, Sullivan knew him well enough to know that the man would do anything for his family.
“You okay, Sullivan?” Ash asked, glancing over at him.
“Ahh, yes,” Sullivan answered, but he wasn’t okay — he felt fear creep up his body like a snake. Not Sky, was all he could think, over and over. He needed to leave this place so Regis couldn’t find him or Sky. If the vampire got close enough, he’d be able to sense him and follow him to his friends.
Before he realized what was happening a snowball hit him in the face. He turned and watched as everyone laughed, including Sky. He hadn’t seen the man this unguarded before. He saw happiness on all of their faces as he glanced around.
This time Star hit him with a snowball, and then Sky hit him again. He reached down and picked up some snow and threw it in Sky’s direction. It hit him on the back of the head. Reece started laughing until his mate River hit him in the face. He chased her around, then tackled her to the ground and kissed her. She giggled the whole time. Sullivan was in awe of all of them as they chased each other and laughed. He hadn’t seen people having this much fun since he left his pack.
“Come on in everyone, I put some beef stew on this morning and it should be done,” Jonas announced. Sullivan watched as everyone started moving toward the house. He needed to leave tomorrow before Yulson found him. These were people he cared about, and he would never let someone hurt them; Regis Yulson would do just that.
For the first time in his life, he didn’t want to find what he was paid to search for, especially when it was Sky.
“You have a frown line between your eyes. Is something wrong?” Sky asked.
Sullivan could hear the concern in Sky’s voice as he walked over and stood in front of him. Sky lightly ran his fingertip across the line. His touch felt wonderful.
“Are you coming in?” River yelled from the door. Sky lowered his hand and turned, waiting for Sullivan to accompany him to the house. He would cherish this night they had together; hopefully it wouldn’t be the only one they had. He needed to lead Regis far away from Freedom, Colorado. The vampire would never get his hands on Sky Johnson or his sisters. Sullivan would die before he allowed that to happen.
“I’ve got some sweatpants upstairs if you want to let your clothes dry. It’ll be more comfortable than sitting around wet,” Sky offered. Sullivan nodded and followed Sky inside the house.
“It’s beautiful,” he acknowledged as he walked inside. The cabin’s interior was huge, with large log beams stretched across the ceiling. His eyes widened at the stone fireplace that was centered in the middle of the room. It looked the same as the one in the lodge.
“I felt the same way when I first walked inside this house. I got lost the first time I was here, but it’s home now.” Sky explained as he lingered on the staircase, watching Sullivan take it all in.
Sky waited for him then escorted him upstairs to his bedroom, took out some sweatpants and a shirt and laid them on the bed.
He was amazed at how detailed the woodcarvings sitting around his room were. “You did these?”
“Yes,” Sky answered.
Sky had started to walk out when Sullivan stopped him. “Aren’t you going to help me get out of these wet clothes?” he asked. He waited to see what Sky would do. He never expected the man to turn around and slam him up against the wall.
“You’ve been taunting me since we met. Don’t underestimate me, Sullivan.” Sky grabbed his shirt and lifted it halfway, waiting for him to raise his arms. He gave them both what they wanted and lifted his arms up so Sky could pull it over his head.
Both of them stared at each other until Sky lowered his head and kissed his chest. Sullivan gasped as Sky looked up at him. His heart was beating so fast. He’d never felt like this before; he couldn’t understand why this man affected him so much.
“You’re dripping all over my floor. You need to take your pants off.” Sky pushed off the wall, watching and waiting.
Sullivan smiled. Yes, he could get use to this. He unbuttoned his pants and pushed them down as he continued to stare at Sky. His friend had been brave a few minutes ago, but now Sky’s breathing picked up and he started to back up.
“You look like you need to get some dry clothes on, too. Go get dry,” Sullivan told him, but Sky didn’t move, continuing to watch him take his pants off. God, he wanted this man, but not here and not now. He had to get as far away from here as he could before Regis found him and the Powerful Three.
****
Sky closed his eyes then took in a deep breath. When he opened them again, Sullivan had already taken his pants and underwear off. There he stood in all his glory, and what a sight it was — the man’s erection was huge, and it was sticking straight up toward him.
He did the only thing he could do, which was to smile then back up toward the bathroom. When he was close to the door he turned around, walked in, and closed the door behind him. He knew that Sullivan had a great sense of hearing, so he didn’t make a sound.
He sat down on the toilet seat with his head in his hands. He wanted this man more then he’d ever wanted anything in his life. He was attracted to women too, but Sullivan did it for him, and by the looks of it, Sullivan wanted him too.
“Knock, knock.” Sky almost jumped out of his skin.
“Sky, supper is done a
nd we’re waiting on you.” River advised.
“Okay, I’m changing clothes then I’ll be down. Don’t wait on me,” he answered.
“Are you kidding? They’ll probably have already eaten everything by the time I get back downstairs.” River giggled. Sky could hear her closing his bedroom door.
He dressed quickly. He wanted to talk to Sullivan more.
Chapter 12
As Sky walked down the stairs he could hear the laughter. Jonas was at it again, telling stories. He loved it here, and now Sullivan was here in his home and that feeling hammered at his heart for some reason. This man pulled at all the emotional strings he had, including lust.
Sky walked into the kitchen, ladled out some stew and went and sat at the table. He glanced up at Sullivan, who was smiling and listening to Jonas. Sullivan’s smile was genuine as he watched him interact with his family. Sullivan’s life had to be fun. His green eyes glimmered as he laughed at Jonas’s story.
Better still was the fact that Sullivan had on the clothes he’d worn last night. Images of lounging around on the couch with a fire going as they snuggled together watching TV flashed through Sky’s mind.
Could he have a life with a mate? He wondered if Sullivan would stick around and see where this might lead. For the first time, he hoped. Emotions flared inside him as he thought about having a family of his own, like his sister did.
