SURVIVAL (Fire & Ice Book 2)

by Karen Payton Holt

  “He appeared from nowhere. He said he was the general, and then he saw Rebekah and-” Emily’s mouth twisted in anguish as she said, “he left me, and went after her.”

  “There is more to it than that, although, given the choice between you and her-” Connor twisted the knife as his eyes raked over her in disgust. “Where did he take her? Which direction?” He ground out the words, his fingers laying a few more bruises into the base of her throat.

  The seven other human hearts pounding in the small space of the cavern reverberated inside his head. I’m scaring them half to death. After Thomas’ display of gullibility, he decided that it was probably a good thing.

  “I don’t know.” Her knees trembled violently.

  “So, he said he was the general, and you’ve no idea where he’s taken her, or why he chose her?” A blast of cold air stole her breath as Connor roared with frustration. “You must know something.”

  Without warning, he clenched a fist and buried it deep inside the wall beside Emily. She flinched as an explosion of grit grazed the side of her face.

  He eased his fist out of the crater and said, “Tell me that story, again.”

  The blood pumping beneath the hand framing her throat ran cold and her face drained of color as he drew his shoulder back, and aimed his fist at her face this time.

  “Please, I only know he would have killed me,” she sobbed. A bone deep shiver undulated through her body as her knees buckled.

  “And you think that I won’t?” His snarl sprayed venom over her face. “I promise you, if Rebekah dies, you die.”

  Connor’s lunatic rattled at the cell door inside his brain. I could slip into grave sleep right now and grind her bones to dust. The act of finding Rebekah was the padlock keeping the door closed as he fought the urge to unleash his fist and obliterate her tight features.

  He froze suddenly, then jerked back at a fetid smell filling his nose. With a low growl he pressed his cold face into the girl’s neck. Emily finally believed Connor could kill her, too, and she whimpered. Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited for Connor’s teeth to tear at her throat and end her life. He pressed his muzzle into her breast, moving up over her skin to just below her collarbone. He pulled in a deep breath.

  The stink on her skin was familiar and the information slotted into place. I know the why now. The general was the vampire Rebekah had fallen prey to in the woods outside the eco-town that night. Frustration tore a hole in his gut as Connor realized the general’s real identity, or what he looked like, still evaded him.

  <><><>

  Julian shrugged off the nuisance of Serge’s protégé, and almost made it back to his house. The leafy suburb of Richmond was a fragrant blur. The tree-lined streets were cool under the canopy of arching branches, and the rain had released the earthy smell that Julian loved. He filled his lungs, anticipating Leizle’s scent. So different from Rebekah’s. As the thought punched a hole into his subconscious, effortless coordination deserted him, memories poured out, and he skidded to an abrupt halt, his coat slapping against his thighs.

  Wheeling around, he retraced the journey. He mounted the wide stone stairway and re-entered the council building, scanning the sea of vampire faces as he walked into the council meeting room. Affecting relaxation, he joined in discussions on the day’s hearing, hoping to learn something of Sebastian’s whereabouts and discovered the arrogant young vampire had already departed.

  Julian’s memory had kicked in too late. It was Sebastian I tracked through the woods the night I found Douglas’ body. His thwarted desire for confrontation urged him to give up on this fishing expedition and take a different tack. But, he needed to uncover something which would provide a flash of inspiration. Until I have a damn clue what the hell to do next, I’m going nowhere. He was angry at himself. I should have known.

  A whisper of fabric attracted his attention as Juror Marius appeared at his side. “Marius.” Julian inclined his head. “Serge was on form today.”

  “Indeed.” Marius smiled slowly. Everything about him was considered, ponderous even.

  “I met his protégé after the hearing,” said Julian, casually.

  “So, he is not just another guardsman then. Does he have potential?” Marius asked.

  “Maybe. However, Sebastian seems to have kept a low profile, until now. No one knows much about him.” Just saying the name reminded him of how stupid he had been. “Except that, since he arrived in London, he has been close to Serge.”

  “Being close to Serge is reason enough for others to distance themselves.”

  Julian agreed. Aside from his stench, Serge made the beautiful people uncomfortable. His decrepit form offended. Not that all vampires considered themselves beautiful, more that they were not so unsightly that looking at them made skin crawl.

  “I think we may be seeing more of him in council. He struck me as ambitious.”

  “Should we keep an eye on this one?” asked Marius.

  “I think Serge is playing a dangerous game. He may discover he’s created a monster,” said Julian.

  The cogs turning inside Julian’s mind kept returning to his discovery of Douglas’ body in the woods. Right there, I have him on threatening the food supply. Only Connor and I know where the body is buried, and Sebastian’s venom is locked in the tissue. An open and shut case. Except, condemning him will take time which Rebekah doesn’t have. Intuition told him it was Sebastian who was holding her.

  “You’ll excuse me, Marius.” Julian was already heading for the door as he spoke.

  His plan taking shape, he passed by the hospital to collect his human blood vials, grateful for the enhanced allocation due to him as principal of the vampire council. With the vials tucked into his pocket, he headed for home. Collect Leizle, take her back, and find Connor.

  He was later returning home than he intended, and he began to worry about how quiet Leizle had managed to be. Navigating along the hallway on automatic pilot, he stopped in the sitting room and found it empty. The tarpaulin which had covered her motorcycle lay outside on the gravel in a crumpled heap, his sweatshirt was draped over the couch, and her wet clothes were gone.

  “Damn it.” I should have known a wounded animal always goes to ground. “I may kill her myself when I get hold of her, if pneumonia hasn’t finished her off first.” The other dangers he chose not to think about. Picking up the sweatshirt, he buried his nose in the Leizle-scented fabric and, in that moment, he decided that if she was safe, she was his.

  Julian took off along the dark street, glad to be doing something, at last. His powerful run hit the perfect balance which released his mind to choose the words he would need if he was going to convince Leizle to accept him.

  Approaching the eco-shelter, he shot across the field, and, arriving in the pitch black tunnel, he was relieved to feel the radiating heat of the motorcycle parked in an alcove. She made it then. His pockets weighed heavy with vials of human blood. It’s time to break the news of Sebastian to Connor. I have a plan, but first, I’ll find Leizle. He urgently needed to look into her face.

  Chapter 10

  Leizle paced her cavern, and the circular route she carved matched her mood. She chased her thoughts, indulging in the he-loves-me, he-loves-me-not game of recrimination. Her dreams lay scattered like discarded petals. She was left holding the bare stem with Julian’s words clinging to it, “It takes more than a pretty face to turn me into a fool”. There is no hope, then.

  She had heard the wounded roar of Connor when he arrived back at the eco-shelter a couple of hours ago, and it chilled her to the core. Muted voices told her Rebekah’s trail was cold, and Annabelle faced another interrogation. The frenzy of subdued human activity hummed with drama, but Leizle had no appetite for it. The hurried footfalls of Harry and the others barely scratched the surface of her conscious thought. I’ve had enough excitement for one night.

  Realizing she could not outrun her pain, she stopped. Her face glowed with perspiration and her teeth chattered as he
r damp clothes made the chill creep in to her bones. With a ragged sigh, she peeled off her wet denims, unveiling clammy blue-mottled thighs. Very attractive. She massaged her cold muscles and wished her heart could feel as numb.

  She scrubbed a towel over her damp skin, shoved her legs into sweatpants, struggled her way into a t-shirt, and sank down onto her bed. She ached so much that even her hair follicles seemed to hurt. “Why does it hurt so much?” she whispered, as she keeled over onto the mattress and pulled a blanket up over her.

  She lay very still, dry-eyed, and hugging her middle. She ducked her chin underneath the woven covers, feigning sleep. In case Rebekah comes looking. Her thoughts stalled at that. Rebekah is gone.

  In disgust, she flung back the blanket and sat up. “Pull yourself together. Rebekah’s in hell, and you’re weeping because an iceberg won’t hold your hand? Pathetic.”

  “Iceberg? That’s a bit harsh.” His whisper swirled around inside her head.

  “Great. Now I’m hallucinating,” she muttered at the same moment as a cold caress covered the hand on her knee, and the mattress dipped beneath his weight as he settled beside her.

  Julian’s relief at finding her stung like iodine in an open wound. Her spiced aroma always carried a sharp sting, but now he felt like a burning man and even his revival sleep could barely dull the pain. He drank in the details of her profile, with the dew decorated lashes and the stubborn set of her chin. He savored the surprise vibrating through her body.

  She turned to face him after what was, to him, an age of perfect contemplation. Her surprise became confusion as her hand reached out to touch his cheek before she was in control of it. His green eyes deepened to sage as her fingers molded to his chiseled face.

  “Julian.”

  His name on her lips melted the last of his doubts. She loves me too. He wanted to turn his face into her palm and bury it in her scent. But, he waited. As he knew it would, the joyful beat of her heart stalled. He watched her face drain of color as his harsh words surfaced in her mind, and her fingers began to fold away.

  Covering her hand, he pressed it firmly to his face, and the heat branded him, her scent permeating his skin, feeding his addiction. “I don’t have the words,” he breathed as his lips brushed hers, and he slipped his free hand tentatively around her waist. He had so much to learn about her softness and his strength. I’m afraid I’ll break her.

  “Do you need words?” Her voice broke as she pressed her lips to his.

  As he tasted her kiss, his throat aching with greed, he retreated.

  Leizle followed him. Resting against his solid chest, she reached up to run her hands through his hair.

  His harsh sigh shocked her back to awareness. His urgent departure robbed her of support. She put a hand out in time to stop herself from falling, and her eyes darted around the cavern as she prayed she had not scared him away.

  Julian’s anguished voice echoed through the cavern as he said, “I’m new to this. You’re going to have to be patient.”

  Her eyes found him standing with his back pressed to the wall in the tunnel outside. His hair was mussed, his cheekbones were blades of white, and his eyes glinted in shadowed sockets. She had never seen him anything less than immaculate and to see him rattled was a glorious revelation.

  Shards of jade gleamed in his eyes, and his hands flexed at his sides as he whispered again, “Will you? Be patient and wait for me?”

  She nodded slowly and dared to smile.

  He pushed away from the wall, and debris rained down onto the floor as he dug out a rock which fitted into his palm and locked his determined gaze to Leizle’s. “I could hurt you, so easily,” he said. Crumbling the rock to dust took a second, and no effort.

  “But you will try?” she pleaded softly. “To love me?” There it was, her heart out on the line. She had words enough for both of them.

  “I won’t try.” An expression of fierce concentration bared his white teeth for a fleeting moment. Taking a deep breath and smoothing his features to a gentle smile, he said, “I will love you. I can’t not.”

  He crossed the cavern and sat beside her again, with a gap of a foot between them, this time. “How about, you stay still, and I’ll try to kiss you?”

  Still stunned at his just being there, with a loud swallow, she nodded her head.

  He leaned in until he touched his mouth to hers. The tip of his tongue brushed over her lip, and she moaned in frustration. As her heart raced, the cadence of the wet chambers echoed inside him as he relaxed through the desperate need to tear it from her chest.

  “Better,” he lied as he moved back. The smile on his lips disguised the torture. Two hundred years of control are barely enough. Trailing his fingers over her cheek, he said wistfully, “I have to go and find Connor, but I’ll be back.”

  She smiled, but her eyes betrayed her sadness as she fought the feeling that he was slipping away.

  He said quietly, “I don’t blame you for doubting me. But I will be back.” He risked leaning forward to bury his nose in her flame-shot hair, taking in a lungful of her scent as a memento, and then he was gone.

  Leizle placed a hand to her chilled cheek and closed her eyes. Tumbling over onto the bed and pulling the covers up over her, she ran the scene through her head and dared to hope.

  <><><>

  As though destiny decreed it, Julian and Connor arrived in the meeting cavern at the same moment. Connor, wired from his fruitless search of the woods, set eyes on Julian’s face and absorbed the meaning of his friend’s disheveled appearance. Grasping at respite from the hell threatening to bury him, Connor cocked a speculative brow.

  Julian groomed his hair self-consciously. “You win,” he said.

  “I never doubted it,” said Connor, soberly.

  Julian’s happiness dimmed as he murmured, “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be.”

  “What did Annabelle have for you?” Julian asked.

  “The vampire in the woods is called ‘the general’, and he has Rebekah.” Connor’s voice was tight with desperation. “I’ve searched the woods for clues, but there’s nothing left to track.”

  “He’s called Sebastian,” said Julian with quiet conviction.

  At Connor’s pointed look, Julian told him the rest.

  “He’s Serge’s protégé, and a smart one at that. He’s been hiding in plain sight all this time.”

  “Does Serge know?” Connor growled.

  “My gut feeling says Sebastian’s acting alone.” His matter-of-fact tone crumbled with self-recrimination. “I let him slip through my fingers. I’m sorry, Connor, I have no excuse. I just did not place his smell until it was too late.”

  Connor’s fingernails carved crescent moons into his palms. “Did you smell her blood on him?”

  Julian shook his head. “No, only her sweat.” And her fear. But he kept that nail in the coffin to himself. “I have a plan which will find Sebastian and Rebekah, fast.” At Connor’s intense look Julian added. “It’s at huge personal risk for you, but it’s all I’ve got.”

  “Tell me the plan. If it saves Rebekah, I will do it.”

  Clearing his throat, Julian laid out the details he had agonized over. Every road leads back to this as the fastest solution. How much longer can Rebekah survive Sebastian? Julian feared it could already be too late.

  “Will Anthony cooperate?” asked Julian seriously. “Success depends upon it. I can’t do this without him.”

  “He might need a shove, but for me, yes, he will cooperate.” Excitement glittered in Connor’s eyes. He had a name to focus his rage on. Sebastian. I may not survive, but Rebekah will, and that’s all that matters. “Let’s go,” said Connor.

  He left the cavern, knowing Julian would catch up, and every flame in the sconces along the tunnels guttered and died at the shockwave of two vampires hitting top speed as they passed by.

  The rain had stopped, and beneath the glowing moon their racing shadows cut through the streets with a knife ed
ge of purpose. They finally stopped on the sidewalk outside the darkened house. Serge was inside, they could smell him.

  “Ready?” asked Julian.

  Connor’s shoulders sagged and the excitement melted from his features as he allowed his desperation to bubble to the surface. His voice rasped as he said, “Ready.”

  Moments later, with Principal Julian’s arrival setting him back on his heels, they were standing inside Serge’s study where the councilor had lived out his middle and old-aged human years, and continued to do so during his fifteen years of vampire reincarnation.

  Connor guessed it was the only place Serge could find relief from the miserable reality being a vampire had turned out to be. He had bought into the myth that becoming a vampire restored youth and vigor. He had not bargained on remaining old and frail.

  “Principal Julian.” Serge’s wet swallow curdled Connor’s stomach. “This is unprecedented.”

  “These are exceptional circumstances,” said Julian with quiet authority. “Doctor Connor has admitted to your charge of ‘threatening the food supply’.”

  Serge’s startled gaze darted to Connor. “So, you are here to tell me he’s under arrest?”

  “He will stand trial.” Julian nodded. “But no, I’m here to tell you I want Sebastian’s head, too.”

  “Sebastian? Why? What has he to do with this?”

  “I expect you to comply.” Julian exposed his teeth in a threatening smile. “Sebastian has abducted Doctor Connor’s pet and taken her for himself. That cannot be tolerated.” Julian’s green eyes bored into Serge, shredding his poorly disguised nerves. “He also has information that the council demands he share. He knows where the human nest is.” Julian twisted the knife as he said with contempt, “He’s taken you for a fool. Your reputation is at stake, and you will go down with him if you shield him now.”

  “Let us be clear,” Serge said. “Doctor Connor’s trial is a formality? He will be found guilty. I have your word on that?”

  Julian nodded, and leaning against the wall with casual disregard for the grime of his surroundings, folding his arms across his chest, he waited.