Vampire's Forbidden Territory (Sídhí Summer Camp Series #2)

by Jodie B. Cooper

  A small bright red creature stood out from the hoard. Its red body was smaller; it was only two feet wide and its back was rounder, not as flat. Front legs waved wildly through the air. The little red creature reared upon its two back legs and exposed its fat belly.

  The creature’s underbelly was not smooth.

  Katie stared in horror as the skin split open and snapped shut, revealing row after row of needle sharp teeth. It bellowed-out an alarm. The creature’s cry was low and muted, deep like a fog horn sounding at midnight. For something so hideous, its cry was not terrifying.

  Well, the deep sound wasn't frightening until all the big black creatures answered the little red monster's obvious order.

  The black mass of legs and bodies moved like a flock of birds, turning in perfect synchronization.

  The spider monsters shot forward, running on four hind-legs. The front two legs were actually giant stingers that waved in the air.

  The monsters were fast!

  Katie's fear escaped through her teeth in a hiss as the hoard swarmed toward them.

  Jared grabbed her hand and they ran, heading for the trees, which stood a good hundred yards away. They were running all out, but she didn’t think they were going to make it. If she didn’t have the stupid silver bracelet on, it would not have been a problem.

  The creatures grew nearer, screaming in a sharp, high pitched whistling cry. The sound made her hair stand on end. Fear streaked down her back, freezing her scream of panic in her throat. She couldn’t compare the horrible noise to anything she knew. She had never heard anything so terrifying.

  Oh yeah, hands down, the black screaming warrior beat the single red monster when it came to instilling fear in its victims.

  Eighty yards to go.

  She swallowed mind babbling words of fear and tried running faster. It didn't work. The monsters gained on them.

  A monster screamed. It sounded much too near. The grass swished as the black creatures ran swiftly across the overgrown meadow. There was no way she could outrun them. She was giving it everything she had.

  Seventy yards to go.

  She'd never make it. Jared was faster than she was. Time for a reality check: She was slowing him down. Her mate would die because she was too slow. All she could think about was his dying to protect her. And she knew, without a doubt, he would throw his body in front of hers to save her.

  Sixty yards to go.

  He would die, gored under the monster's black spikes. She was choked by a wave of grief so black she could not think. She couldn't bear the thought of his dying. The terrible dark thought snagged in her brain. She had to do something, anything to save him. She was willing to fight the monsters one handed to save him.

  It dawned like a light bulb going off. Their bond was very new. If it was destroyed, at this stage of their mating, he would probably live through the shock of it.

  The thought of dying terrified her. But the thought of Jared dying was beyond terror.

  If she couldn’t outrun them, then she’d fight them.

  She steeled her nerve.

  Fifty yards to go.

  Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to believe she was making the right decision. She knew it had to be, because it was her only option. She refused to let him die for her. She tried pulling her hand out of his hand, but he wouldn’t let go.

  If he would just let her hand go, she would still run as fast as she could. She didn't want to die.

  She would only stop and fight them if there was no chance remaining.

  Forty yards to go.

  The monsters had grown so near she could hear every click and swish. Every shrill scream ripped a hole in her chest. Fear for Jared's life erupted into desperation.

  She had to save his life. Her resolve grew, knowing it would be better for one of them to get away than for both of them to die. Jared could reach the safety of the mint ring. He could run for help. She knew Mitch was alive. She could feel her twin’s pain as she reached for him. Emily and Nick might have survived as well. And she honestly didn't believe a mere monster could kill Sarah.

  “Jared, please let go,” Katie said, trying to pull her hand away.

  He didn’t respond.

  She repeated her plea, begging him to let her go.

  Desperate, she mentally pushed her love and understanding through their lifeBond. “It'll be okay. I swear that I'll be right behind you.”

  _____________

  Horror slammed through Jared as he realized Katie was dead serious. Anger shot through him like a swarm of hornets. Did she have any clue what she asked of him?

  His fury peaked, but his pace never slowed. His only answer was to jerk Katie toward him, throwing her over his shoulder in an awkward move. He stumbled, nearly hitting the ground. Desperately, he clutched her legs against him and regained his footing. He ran, pushing his body to the breaking point as he surged toward the tree line and waiting ring of mint.

  Thirty yards to go.

  The moment she thumped across his back, she wrapped her arms around his waist hanging on as he sprinted for the trees, pressing her body into his.

  Katie’s overwhelming grief swamped him as she sobbed against his back. “Please, Jared, I can't bear the thought of you dying.”

  Anger pulsed in sync to the rapid beat of his heart, threatening to blow the top of his head totally off. He was so furious he couldn't answer her. At her whimper, he forced a choke-hold on his growing fury, but for the life of him, he couldn't understand her. How could she think he would ever sacrifice her? She was his lifeMate. When she died, so did he.

  Twenty yards to go.

  She shifted to the side and he wished she'd stop squirming and hold still. He wondered if she was doing it on purpose, trying to make him drop her.

  Her terror hit him in the gut with the finesse of a battering ram.

  An image of running monsters bloomed in his mind and he realized why she'd been squirming. She'd been trying to look behind them.

  The sound of clicking pincers increased. So did the excited shrieks as the monsters closed in on their prey.

  Movement near the tree line caught his attention and he sent a fast 'thank you' to God above.

  Ten yards to go.

  They weren't going to make it. At least, he wasn't. If he could get her close enough, she could run to the safety of the mint while he held them off. Many Sídhí creatures hated the smelly plant.

  Her fingers dug grooves into his skin and her fear turned black with revulsion. She sent him an image of the attacking swarm. The nearest monster was less than three yards behind them.

  Jared growled in fury, desperation laced the sound. He rolled the image of the monsters around in his mind, searching for a way out. It didn't work.

  It dawned on him the monsters didn’t have pincers. If they didn't have pincers, what was that awful clicking sound?

  He tightened his hold on his obstinate lifeMate and pushed for more speed, but with the silver bracelet restricting his strength, he couldn't run any faster.

  He heard Katie's gasp of surprise and knew she must've seen Beth and Brianna running toward them waving large bundles of mint.

  _____________

  Katie peeked past Jared's side, staring in shock as Beth and Brianna came running out of the trees toward them. The girls charged forward with mint plants clutched in each hand. It was obvious the plants had been hastily ripped from the ground as roots and dirt clung to one end.

  If she hadn’t been so petrified, she would have laughed.

  Plants? Hello? The shifters had to be insane or maybe they had more in common with the dragons than Katie first realized. Like some dragons, the two girls could belong to SARA, Sídhí Animal Rights Activists.

  Whatever. All she knew was her blossoming hope was fast shriveling into a rotten pit. If Beth and Brianna planned on a rescue, they were sorely under armed. Anything would've been better than a soft, fluffy plant.

  Jared's anger continued swirling around Katie as h
e charged through the knee-high mint. His foot tangled in the thick vines covering the bigger plants and they tumbled to the ground.

  With a grunt, she landed on top of him. She didn't have time to think. He grabbed her, shoving her behind him, closer to the tall trees. She scrambled backward, expecting to have one of the stingers slam into her.

  They both expected it, but the monsters didn't rush them. Instead of attacking, several of the big black creatures ran in the opposite direction toward the pool, screaming in pain. Huge black and red blisters bloomed across their legs and back.

  “Mint is poisonous to them!” Beth, the shorter of the two girls, shouted.

  The spidery-like monsters surrounded the girls as they swung leafy plants right and left.

  Neither Jared nor Katie hesitated. They ripped mint bushes out of the ground and ran to help the girls who had rescued them.

  Katie swung her mint, attacking the monster on the edge of the black circle of bodies that surrounded the girls. The mint swiped along the creature’s raised leg. It screamed and scrambled away from her.

  Katie felt Jared's anger simmering at the edge of her mind, but he stuck to her side like glue, while swinging his mint at the long legged creatures.

  With the smooth hulled monsters so near, the loud clicking reminded Katie of being stuck in a metal drum during a hail storm.

  A scream sounded to her right and she dodged the black spike, swinging her mint bush at the lethal point. The creature hopped back, bumping into another black body. They tumbled to the ground fighting each other.

  It didn't take long before Katie realized how to predict a coming attack, because each time a monster jumped forward, it screamed.

  Katie was sure if someone had been watching, the entire fight looked like a scene from a cartoon. But the simple green plant was serious poison to the monsters, not even the hard shell of their back protected them against the greenery.

  The tension in her chest eased as the four teens slowly drove the creatures away. What had looked like a hoard of monsters was actually only a few dozen. Between the four of them, they quickly had the attackers retreating.

  Jared shoved his bundle of mint at one of the few remaining animals.

  The creature hopped, jumping backward in a crazy maneuver trying to avoid the poisonous mint. Its legs tangled with the creature behind it. The black body flipped over and smacked the ground with a thud. Landing on its back, it frantically waved its legs in the air, but it couldn’t turn back over.

  Katie recoiled.

  Baring her fangs, she hissed in horror as the creature’s belly opened. Its black mouth was awful. The gaping hole repeatedly snapped open and then shut. The first few rows of teeth looked like thick needles. The teeth deeper inside its mouth were differently shaped. The teeth grew bigger, both in shape and size, some two inches thick and chunky. The huge set of teeth constantly banged together in a clamor of loud clicking.

  She stumbled backward, shrinking away from the sight. If she lived through this day, she would definitely have nightmares.

  The monster finally flipped itself over and darted toward the pool.

  Stepping forward, Katie sucked up her nerve. Keeping a tight hold on her biggest bunch of mint, she pitched the smaller bunch of ragged leaves on top of the last attacker’s body. Its shell bubbled into a carpet of blisters, appearing one on top of another.

  The monster screamed and swerved away from Katie, running in a circle trying to get the pungent smelling bundle off its back. The creature jerked to a stop and the leaves slid, sticking between its tall jointed legs. With a full body shudder, the creature gave up trying to get the poisonous plant off its back and raced toward the waterfall at a dead run.

  Katie looked beyond the last monster as it raced across the meadow, her eyes drawn toward the waterfall. She gave a sigh of relief. They were not climbing the cliff. A long straggling line of monsters ran along the rocky edge of the pool, disappearing one by one.

  Vampires, dragons and some fairies had the ability to teleport from one location to another, but Sídhí animals could not port. Since the monsters couldn't port, she knew there must be a cave behind the cascading water or maybe under the water.

  She needed to find the entrance and quickly. She hated the thought of entering the monster's home turf, but she knew Mitch was alive. Absolutely nothing would keep her from her twin.

  Katie mentally reached for Mitch and grunted. Her knees buckled as pain shot through her head.

  Before she hit the ground, Jared wrapped his arms around her. She cringed into his chest, ignoring the rumbling growl shaking her cheek.

  She tried choking back a whimper, but couldn't as she felt mind-numbing pain radiating from her twin’s mind. That wasn't normal. She didn't have the skill necessary to create a link to feel his physical pain. She shook off her rattled thoughts; random details didn't matter.

  Thank God, Mitch was still alive, but he was also unconscious and swiftly moving away from her, deeper into the base of the massive rock cliff.

  The monsters were carrying their freshly caught prey deeper into their nest.

  “Katie?” Jared questioned her. His voice thickened with worry as he carefully tilted her chin up.

  “I’m okay. I reached for Mitch, but his mind was full of pain,” Katie said, grinding her molars together. She felt so helpless. She wanted to scream at the injustice of it, but that wouldn't help matters.

  “I can’t contact Emily or Nick,” Jared said, his voice growing dark with frustration. “With these stupid bracelets I don’t know if they are simply beyond my range or dead.”

  Jared’s body shook. Katie felt his frustration and anger continue to grow and build as he tightened his hold on her, hugging her to his chest. He rubbed his cheek against the top of her head, no doubt in an effort to calm his fear and reassure her.

  When Jared's despair increased, she knew he feared his little sister and cousin might be dead.

  She dropped her remaining mint and wrapped her arms around him, shivering with the need to feel his warm body next to hers.

  “My twin bond with Mitch is really strong so maybe that's why I can feel him and you can't feel Emily,” Katie said, trying to reassure him that his little sister and cousin might still be alive.

  Jared kissed the top of her head and they turned away from the now calm waterfall. If they had been close enough, they would've been hard pressed to see any indication of an attack. The rushing water, cascading across the boulders, quickly removed the bloody stains splotching the rocks.

  Their rescuers seemed to be as glad the fight was over as Katie. So when Beth hurried toward the pool the fast move surprised her.

  “Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Brianna asked, trotting to catch up with Beth's rapid strides. Not getting a response, the sleek blonde grabbed her friend's arm, tugging her to a stop. “Beth?”

  “We've got to get them out of there,” Beth said, impatiently pulling out of the girl's hold.

  Katie and Jared caught up to the girls.

  He thanked the shifters several times for their timely rescue.

  For a moment, Katie was struck speechless. She literally could not talk as the tremendous pressure of Jared's gratitude, mixed with his fury, blasted into her. She stifled a growl as the emotions pounded around her, shoving their way through the lifeBond whether she wanted them or not.

  “Yes, thank you,” Katie added as soon as she could speak. She uneasily rubbed her chest, wondering if her bond with Jared was somehow malfunctioning. The burning emotions certainly seemed to point toward the bond growing at an abnormally rapid rate.

  She shivered.

  In response, Jared roughly rubbed his hands up and down her arms.

  She wasn’t cold.

  It'd be just her luck to go into shock or something when they still needed to save Mitch and the others.

  “How did you manage to get back so quick?” Katie asked Beth, trying to ignore Jared’s burning anger.

  “Aft
er we left, we stopped to eat lunch, so we weren’t very far away,” Beth said with a small smile. The curl of her lips appeared strained. “We had just finished when we heard all the screaming. Honestly, you don’t know how much I wish we could have been sooner. But if we want to save the others, we’ll have to hurry because I think those creatures are cave mites.”

  Beth raised a brow, questioning her friend. “Bree?”

  Once Beth had stopped walking toward the waterfall Brianna never once looked at them. Her entire attention focused on the pool. Her cool demeanor matched the smooth bob of golden hair. It dawned on Katie that Brianna considered herself Beth's protector.

  Katie's curiosity sparked and she looked Beth over. Maybe she was a princess or something. It wasn't an impossible idea. Every teenager at summer camp was somehow related to their home valley's elite.

  The petite girl couldn't be taller than five foot four, but she held herself with an air of confidence most adults never came close to achieving.

  “Yeah, I agree. And when there are cave mites around, olitiau, trolls, or some other nasty creature won't be far away,” Brianna said, maintaining her position between the pool and Beth. “Hopefully, whatever it is, it isn't a sentient race.”

  “You're calling those three foot monsters mites? A mite is so tiny it's nearly microscopic. Those things are way beyond that,” Katie said in a snort of disbelief.

  Beth looked surprised at Katie's outburst. “That's a very mundane thing to say.”

  Jared growled softly. With menace marring his features, he leaned towards Beth and said, “Katie and her brother weren't raised inside a valley.” He gently squeezed Katie's arm, looking down at her. “You know that many of Earth's mythological creatures are really Sídhí creatures. Well, many Earth-born and Sídhí animals share similar names like ‘cat’ and ‘khatt’.”

  “I can understand that, but how can a three foot monster and microscopic mite be related?”

  “The eggs of cave mites grow to term embedded in the skin or fur of larger cave dwellers like trolls, chimera or olitiau. That’s Sídhí’s version of a bat. Anyway, they remain in the tiny mite stage for years, even reproducing at that tiny size. But I've never heard of the small gray mites – that we have back home – turning black and getting larger than a foot high,” Jared said, his eyes rested on Beth, waiting for some kind of explanation.