by Dale Mayer
Then, without warning, the stairs ran out. Ian slammed into him. Cody grabbed the railing, teetering on the bottom step.
"What the hell?" Ian asked peering over his shoulder.
"Exactly."
Water rushed up against the bottom stair, tasting, reaching hungrily for Cody's boots.
"Where'd this come from?" Ian asked.
Cody shrugged. Who knew? Geography wasn't exactly his thing. Did underground rivers even come under that heading? Who cared? Careful to keep his balance, Cody grasped the corner of the wall and stretched around to see what else was down below. Nothing. Only gleaming, rippling water. No movement, no exit. Nothing.
"It looks like this is the end of the road," he said.
"That so doesn't make sense. All this way for water?" Ian squeezed up beside him and looked around, too. "There's some kind of light up ahead. Might be an entrance."
"Why would there be an entrance down here? We must've come down a mile of stairs."
"Not likely." Ian scoffed. "It just seemed that far because we were going straight down. Think about the location of the house above us. It's perched up high on a hill. Chances are, this is even with the ground level before the road starts to climb up. This could actually be an outside entrance or even a bolthole for people trying to escape."
"An exit they could've used to haul Tessa out of here?"
"I doubt it." Ian shook his head. "She's no small child to carry down these stairs. That's a long distance, and there's no way to know how deep this water might be."
Cody's heart lightened. "I wonder if we should walk out in it a bit just to make sure."
Ian groaned. "Feel free, but there's no way I am. Can't you fly down the passage? I'll stay here, and you can just swoop out to make sure we know exactly what we're dealing with."
"I don't know. The place has barely enough room for me to open my wings, much less extend them properly. I'm more likely to end up swimming."
Cody studied the space. He could barely make out the far wall. And the ceiling dropped, so he wouldn't be able to get much height. The water didn't flow, really. It sat. So no force directed it one way or the other.
"I bet water levels have risen, flooding this over time," he said. "I don't think it's very deep. In fact, I'm sure it isn't."
He stepped off the bottom stair into the water.
***
David huddled inside the doorway and glowered at the rising sun. His inability to endure daylight was a definite downside to his vampire heritage. And not one that bothered Tessa. Her kidnappers, if they'd been human or even turned, would have walked out of here, no problem. While the 'normal' vampires had to wait for darkness to fall. Outside of his own jacket to throw over his head, he hadn't been able to scare up anything better. An old nasty looking tarp was crumpled in the far corner, but had more holes than were healthy were his purpose.
"Well, I'm not just sitting here. They could be counting on the sunlight stopping us."
"Don't do anything foolish. We might have a few limitations, but stupidity isn't one of them." Serus's alarmed tone pulled David back from the door.
He shot his father a disgusted look. "I'm not an idiot stupid. The house is only a short run." He stripped his jacket off his shoulders, "With this, I can make the distance easily."
Not giving the elders a chance to argue, David pulled the jacket around his face and bolted from the shed. Dashing across the short distance, he jumped onto the stone staircase and then the porch. Once he reached the front door, he found it unlocked. Perfect.
Pushing it open, he bolted inside, then waved to the other two. "Come on, it's safe."
He didn't think his sister would be here, but who understood the minds of men who could suspend hundreds of humans to form a blood bank? Sure, vampires needed blood, but the old days of going out and hunting down prey were gone. Synthetic blood was cheap, easily available, and tasted better. Just the thought of what humans ate made David's stomach cringe. Everything a human ate affected the flavor of their blood. For every good tasting human, there had to be dozens of fat clogged nasties. He'd take synthetic blood any day.
He walked into the living room and waited for his father and Goran. At least they could search the house thoroughly. A vampire lair, the windows had been blackened and the heavy shut out all light that dared enter.
Pounding footsteps preceded the door slamming open. Serus and Goran skidded to a stop at the base of the wide staircase. David laughed at them. "You should see yourselves."
"Brat." His father glared at him.
David's grin widened. "Considering all the traps in this place, I think we should stick together. Start at the top of the house and search our way down."
"I'd be flying if not for the damn daylight." Goran stared out the still-open front door.
"I wish you could," Serus said morosely. "Who knows how far they could take Tessa from here? We might never find her."
"Don't even think it, old friend." Goran wrapped an arm around Serus's shoulders and squeezed. "We will find her."
Serus nodded, tight lipped. "Let's do our part. I don't like leaving Rhia alone down there for too long, either. Upstairs, everyone."
David took the lead. He'd no sooner stepped on the first stair, when the front door slammed closed and locked behind them.
CHAPTER THREE
Her eyelids at half-mast, Tessa lay still as the men approached. Trussed up like a fowl for roasting, she couldn't defend herself. Neither had she found a way to loosen the ropes biting into her flesh. Playing dead was a lousy defense.
"It's not like she's going to volunteer any information, you know."
"Don't be stupid, Troy. Of course she isn't. At least not without a little persuasion."
His creepy, gleeful voice sent shudders throughout Tessa. Surely they wouldn't hurt her. She was a baby when it came to pain. Couldn't even put a Band-Aid on herself. Then again...she'd been through nothing but pain these last few days. She cast her mind back to everything she'd been through and realized that the old Tessa was gone. She'd changed, matured, evolved.
These men were dealing with a whole new critter. One even she didn't fully understand.
"You can't bruise her up. You know that. The rules are very strict. Everyone has to be in good health. Bruises kick up the human healing response. We don't want the immune system activated; it turns the blood."
"They can do without this one." He grabbed Tessa with his huge hands and flipped her onto her back. She stayed silent, floppy and let her body roll.
"See, she's still out. She can't answer any questions. How much did you give her, anyway?"
"She never really went out properly. And with all that upchucking she did, I'm surprised she has any drugs left in her system."
For the first time, Tessa noted a hint of concern in the big man's voice. Maybe there was hope for her after all.
That hope was dashed with his next words.
"You'll tell the boss about the throwing up, right? I didn't do nothing to her. You saw that."
"No, I didn't see what you did. Did you give her the right dose? Damn it, Bydron. Did you overdose her? That would explain the vomiting. She's tall, but there's not much meat on her."
"I used the same as I would for anyone her size," Bydron protested. "She's big, Troy. She should have been able to handle it."
"She obviously didn't," Troy snapped.
One of them placed a warm hand against her forehead. If she could have, she'd have giggled. What did her forehead temperature have to do with anything?
"She doesn't have a fever. I already checked," Bydron growled. "I'm not stupid. I know she's warm, but there's no sign of anything else wrong – except she isn't waking up
A weird silence engulfed them.
Finally, Troy added in a calmer voice, "We need to get the specialists here. Let them check her over."
"Easier to just kill her. Way less trouble," Bydron snapped. "That's what I should have done right off."
"You better
not let the team hear you say that. They need more donors, remember?"
Tessa wiggled her fingers beneath the small of her back. Her shoulders now pulled against her spine at an odd angle, but the rollover had done something to the ropes. She could shift her hands a little bit. If the men would just go away and leave her alone, she might be able to get them free.
As if answering her prayers, Troy said, "Come on. Let's find out where the others are. Maybe they can check her out now."
Tessa listened intently as their heavy footsteps retreated, followed by a door opening and closing. Had all of them left? Or just one? She sneaked a look beneath her lashes and discovered they had all gone.
She was alone.
Elated, she sprang into action.
***
Cody sank into the water to just past his ankles. He bent and tugged his jeans into his boot tops.
"Now that's just wrong," Ian said from the bottom stair.
"Wrong or not, we need to see what we're up against. Tessa is tall but not heavy. A male vampire could carry her down here easily. But he wouldn't have come this way if the place was heavily flooded." He glanced back at his friend. "Stay here. I'll be back soon."
"Don't worry. I'm not getting wet." Ian smirked as Cody rolled his eyes at him then headed to the far side.
The bottom dipped slightly, but the water always stayed below the top of his boots. Cody eyed the water. "What's the chance of my getting out of this with dry feet?"
"Not bloody likely. Better you than me." Ian laughed. "I know she's David's sister, but water and I don't mix."
Cody grimaced. If Ian only knew how rarely Tessa was just David's little sister in his mind. Thank God David didn't know. Although now that David's relationship with Jewel was out in the open, he might be more open to Cody's feelings. Then again, maybe not. Tessa was young and different. Her whole family protected her. After what he'd seen, maybe they should be protecting the world from Tessa. She was hot. And deadly.
Several careful steps brought him to the low ceiling at the far side. To the left was just pitch black forever. His vampire eyes said the wall continued around for a long while. The right side told him a different story. He moved in the direction of the light streaming in. Might be an exit.
"Hey, what did you find?"
"I'm not sure," Cody called back. "Going to check out that light. Could be just another room on the other side."
"Careful. If they came this way, they may have left a guard to watch the entrance."
"True."
"Let me know if you want me to join you. I've only got shoes on, but if that's what I have to do..." Ian's disgusted voice made Cody laugh.
"Hold up. I'll check it out and let you know." Cody splashed his way toward the end, trying to ignore his wet jeans. If they'd carried Tessa, they could have gone out this way. He doubted they'd have forced her to walk through here unless she was tied up. The light grew brighter. He reached the opening and peered out.
Daylight reached for him.
***
Jared opened his eyes, then closed them again. Nothing had changed. He was still in a sterile white room filled with empty beds. A captive of a nightmare no one would understand, much less believe. Including him.
His one pathetic escape attempt had failed.
"Hi there. How are you feeling?"
Opening his eyes, Jared locked gazes with one of the most beautiful females he'd ever seen. A vampire female. Although she didn't wear the same lab coats the others did. Studying her more closely, he realized that although she didn't resemble the others she looked vaguely familiar.
"Hello." Was that his voice? Sounded like someone had taken a sander to his throat. "Do I know you?"
"Not yet," she said with a smile that rocked his world. His gaze widened as he took in her beauty. Dynamite. He drummed up a smile, knowing the expression was probably only a caricature of his normal self. He hadn't had a good day in a long time. Since the day he'd gone to the movie with Tessa. Who knew how long ago that had been?
"Did you get the test results?"
She frowned, reaching down to straighten his blankets. "What tests?"
"I'm still here, aren't I?" Jared studied her, and then glanced around the room. "At the blood farm?"
She smiled gently. "Yes, you are. But don't worry. We've come to rescue you."
He brightened. Relief mixed with disbelief coursed through him. Was this really over? "Really? I'm safe now? Will these other people be rescued too?"
"Mostly. A team is coming to determine what can be done for everyone else here. You attacked one of your rescuers, and he knocked you out. Sorry. We didn't mean to hurt you."
"I remember." He vaguely recalled hearing voices and standing behind an open doorway with a weapon of some kind, then…everything went fuzzy. "I was trying to escape."
"That's what we figured." The woman placed a hand on his forehead and checked his temperature. "Not to worry. You didn't know we'd come to help."
Jared remember thinking he'd heard Tessa's voice. Surely that had been the drugs speaking. He didn't want to ask and sound like he was mentally incompetent.
"You're a very lucky man that you weren't strung up like the others."
"I was," Jared answered softly. He risked a look out the open door into the cavernous warehouse still filled with hanging bodies. He could stop the shudder rippling down his frame. "But there was something wrong. They found something odd in my blood and wanted to run a few more tests."
"Interesting." The woman's eyes sharpened. "Any idea what they found?"
"No." Jared didn't know, and he wasn't sure he'd tell her if he did. Could he trust her? She'd said she'd come to rescue him, but he only had her word on that. Did he believe her?
"How are you feeling? Do you want to try sitting up?"
"I'd really like to stand up and walk around. Make sure I'm no longer held down." He glanced around. All of the other empty beds except one were in pristine condition. He pointed out that one bed. "I know another guy was in that bed for a while. I don't know if they strung him back up or not. I hope not. He wasn't much older than me."
The woman nodded, concern in her voice, caring in her gaze, as she viewed the hanging horror out the doorway. "We're going to do what we can. Some of them, we may not be able to be save. Depends on their muscles and bones." She stood up and pulled back his blankets.
Jared tried to stop her, then realized he was fully dressed. "Oh. Somewhere along the line, I acquired some clothing."
"My husband found the clothes. They were piled in one of the other rooms."
Jared hid his face as heat rose up his neck. He wasn't going to ask who'd dressed him. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up slowly. His head swam a little, and a pulsing headache settled into the back of his skull, but otherwise he felt normal. Hopping to his feet, he stood on his own. He blinked several times as he swayed in place. Releasing a huge breath, he glanced over and grinned at her. "I feel better already."
"You don't appear to have suffered any lasting effects from your kidnapping."
"Thanks for rescuing me." Moving slowly to the doorway, Jared looked back at her. "But how did you know I was here?"
A smile lit up her face. "For that, you owe my daughter."
Her daughter. First, he couldn't believe she was old enough to have a daughter; and second, he didn't know any vampire females. Had never met any, to the best of his knowledge.
He walked out into the warehouse. "Who's your daughter?"
"I believe you go to school with her. Her name is Tessa."
Jared spun around in shock. The room swam at the sudden movement.
He collapsed to the ground.
***
Ignoring the locked front door for the moment, David stood aside as the two elders with him wrangled good naturedly over which one would open each door they came upon. Their competitive nature was legendary. He didn't mind their games. He knew it was their way of coping with the fear and anger. They were
nothing, if not in control. Goran, especially. He was famous for his temper.
Whereas David's own father was more calm, more stern and probably the more deadly of the two. At least David had always thought so. Cody would probably laugh at him and say he didn't know what he was talking about. Tessa was the only girl in both families, and although she was an odd duck, she was well loved by both him and Cody. He frowned. "No sign of her."
