by Dale Mayer
The ground was hard, with little bits of grass and brush around, but nothing had been obviously trampled. And that didn't make sense. As an afterthought, she bent to look under the vehicle. Nope, no one there.
Damn it, Cody. Where are you?
On the heels of that notion, she swore she felt eyes on her. She spun around and searched…everywhere. But there wasn't even a cloud in the sky to hide behind. With no trees, or structures, if someone was watching, they had to be invisible.
And didn't that concept give her the creeps? Still, she couldn't shake the sinister feeling that she was being observed.
Tessa looked up at the sun. She had to accept that her friends weren't coming back anytime soon. In fact, chances were good they couldn't. She had to do something. She'd done that whole stay-in-one-place thing, and so far that hadn't worked out so well.
But leaving meant possibly going in the wrong direction and, damn it, she was tired of this crap. She bent down and studied the ground. She opened up both her visions, human and vampire, and walked the area, focusing on where the others had exited the vehicle.
At each open door, there was a long, wide puddle of energy on the ground. She'd initially taken that to be several people having stood around. But giving it a closer look, she realized it was most likely from someone having fallen out of the vehicle and crumpled to the ground.
Alarm bells rang in her head. She couldn't think of anything that would do that but drugs. Something else might have gotten one or two of them, but not all of them. Surely not Cody. He'd been in the front seat with the driver and the councilman. But his energy lay snugged to the ground. He'd collapsed and stayed there.
It took a long time, but she finally sorted out the puddles. Mixed into the energy of her friends, she counted three other sets of vampire energies. They'd circled the SUV and had apparently collected everyone else and taken off.
And again - why not her?
Had they assumed she was dead? If they'd gassed the inside of the vehicle and she'd been sleeping, she might have gotten a stronger dose than the others. She might have looked dead to them then. And then there were her weird genetics. Maybe the drugs hadn't affected her as badly as the others. Or maybe she'd been affected much worse. If they'd wanted to see if she survived, they'd have taken her with them. Or left someone to watch over her. But they hadn't.
Or had they? She'd already had that horrible feeling once. Little goosebumps marched over her skin, giving her the heebie-jeebies. She couldn't help but glance over her shoulder.
If they were watching her, what were they looking for? Nothing. That was just stupid.
And the idea of her friends being captives again made her want to puke. Speaking of which, her stomach didn't feel bad at all. She could use some food, but she didn't feel sick or anything. If she'd been drugged, wouldn't the drugs have left her with after effects? On the other hand, she'd been groggy when she'd woken up. She'd taken it to mean she was still sleepy, but it most likely was lingering effects of the drugs.
A bit of a headache, maybe, but that was all. And a sore arm. She rubbed her upper left arm. It had a redness to it. Probably from the way she'd been sleeping.
Tessa tilted her face to the sun and closed her eyes. Which way to go? The energy signatures didn't move from around the vehicle, so the only way her friends could have been taken was up.
Well, she could only go up so high and then she came back down. Fliers would be able to go a long distance before they'd have to come down. She should have seen the energy signatures if they'd done that. So many people flying at once. Oh yeah, that could show as a huge streak in the sky. But…if they'd left hours ago, it would have dispersed quickly with the winds.
Damn. That jet stream when she'd woken up. Where had that been? She spun around and retook her earlier position when she'd exited the vehicle. She faced the direction and studied the sky with both sets of visions. There. Above and across in a pale, dissipating slash was the energy she'd been looking for.
Without a second thought, she set off.
***
Cody shifted his sore body and winced. Instinctively, he hunched against the pain ruffling across his wings. Sharp stabs lanced through him, slamming his eyes shut before they opened too far. "Shit." At least he thought he said that, but his voice, rusty and damaged, came out a small, tinny sound. He shuddered – only that movement was also weak, barely enough to register. He tried to shake his head, but everything appeared to move in slow motion. His head swam with the movement. He groaned softly.
What the hell had happened to him?
"Cody," a softer, raspy female voice whispered beside him. "Is that you?"
His heart leapt; he barely held back the instinct to turn around. Tessa? No. "Jewel?"
"Yes." She coughed softly, as if trying to clear her throat. "What happened, do you know?"
"No idea. Are we alone?" He tried to open his eyes, but they weren't willing to cooperate. He tried to lift a hand to rub his eyes, only to find his hands bound tightly in front of him. "We're tied up?" It finally registered. He shifted upwards, his abs crunching instinctively to lift his shoulders. And couldn't. He fell back down on the floor. "Jesus. I can hardly move."
"Same here. David is still out cold."
He froze. David. Jewel. "Oh shit. Jewel, please tells me that Tessa is here."
A long silence, then she answered in a small voice, "I can't see her. Ian is behind you. He's asleep still, too."
"Asleep my ass. Unconscious maybe, drugged, yeah, but asleep? So not." Cody lay there for a moment, trying to process. "What about the driver and Councilman Trondjent? Are they here?"
"I don't know. I can't move to see."
"Don't move. It hurts like hell."
"I know." She choked back tears. "Is this never going to end?"
"Yes. It. Will." He bit off the words, temper building. But damned if they weren't going through another round first. This time, give him a little leeway and he'd make sure no one was left to tie him up again. He'd kill every last one of those assholes.
Jewel sniffled quietly in the background, and that made him angrier. Tessa had better be here. If she wasn't, he'd kick her ass good when he found her. And find her he would. He had to. But first they had to get free.
"Jewel, from where you're lying, can you see anything else. About where we are?"
"No. Just that we're in a white room. There is a door on the side, but it's closed.
He forced his eyes open. White walls. White floor. White ceiling. His blood ran cold. The goddamn blood farm.
How could this be? They'd driven a long way from that place. He tried to recall the last thing he remembered from the journey. He'd checked on Tessa in the back seat to find her sleeping like a baby. He remembered there'd been a problem with the heater. It had started smoking. He didn't remember much after that.
What was the chance the smoke was actually gas?
Anger built like he'd never felt before. He might not be very old himself, but the blood of his ancient line swam through his body, and it smoldered now. Ready to flare into life at the first opportunity.
He reined it in. For the moment.
"Have you seen anyone?"
"No," she whispered. "But I'm so afraid they'll return any moment."
"Right." He snapped to attention. "Let's take stock. Are you tied up? Hands? Feet? Any injuries I should know about?"
In a slightly stronger voice, she answered, "Hands tied behind my back. Feet bound with something that's too damn tight for comfort. And there's some weird stuff on my eyes…" Her voice broke off then. She took a deep breath, cleared her throat, and continued. "As I can see clearly, I'm hoping that's only minor. David's eyes look like he's been crying heavily, and there's some dried stuff on the surface of his eyelid. He's also tied up but appears unharmed."
"Good." Cody bent his knees and, in one heavily muscled move, rolled up and onto his knees. He bowed his head, waiting for the fog to dissipate. And the pain to ease back. His feet k
illed, but it was nothing compared to his wings. "Someone is going to pay for this."
"Damn right. Hey. I can see you. How did you do that?" Surprised consternation colored her voice.
Cody glanced around at her and grinned as she imitated his movement and ended up kneeling too. Jewel was nothing if not competitive.
The grin fell off his face. He pivoted. His head swiveled. "Where's Tessa?"
Jewel gasped. "She's not here. Neither is our driver or the councilman."
"Oh, not again," Cody groaned softly. Damn that girl anyway. She could get into more trouble than anyone else he knew. Under his irritation was a growing fear. There had to be a reason why Tessa had been separated.
"I wonder if they've hung the councilman up." Jewel's voice had dropped to an almost inaudible tone. "Like Moltere."
"I hope not. We have to keep in mind we have no idea which of the council members are on which side. Maybe Trondjent is one of the bad guys. That would help explain how we ended up here." He glared at the closed door in front of them. "We need to get the hell out of here." Those assholes had taken Tessa somewhere and he had to find her. And fast.
"Suggestions?"
With a move learned at soccer practice a long time ago, Cody jumped up onto his feet. Now he could look down at the bindings on his feet. Knotted rope. Not a heavy gauge, but tight enough to make it impossible to get his feet out. At the sudden movement behind him, he twisted around enough to see Jewel on her feet as well. She hopped toward him.
"My hands aren't very tight. Do you think you can undo them? I can't see them, but you can." She took several more jumps around David until she was in front of him. With little shuffling steps, she turned her back to him.
Reaching out, Cody tugged on her bindings. They were only closed with several half hitches at the end. Wiggling and twisting, he managed to unloop first one, then another. Before he had a chance to work on the third, Jewel had wiggled her hands loose.
"Now we're getting somewhere," he whispered savagely. "See if you can undo the bindings on your feet."
While she sat back down and went to work on those, Cody used his teeth on his own hands. His arms were loose in minutes. He joined Jewel on the floor and had pulled off the rope binding his feet by the time she was done herself.
"Good. Let's get the others untied. I want them awake and pissed."
Jewel ran to David while Cody started on Ian's bindings.
When Ian's arms fell back as they were released from the ties, he groaned. Cody slapped his hand over Ian's mouth to keep him quiet. Ian's eyes flashed open. Black and confused, his gaze landed on Cody before relaxing. Bending lower, Cody quickly explained. Fury lit Ian's gaze and his nostrils flared. "Untie me," he bit off.
"Almost done. Hold on."
By the time he helped Ian to his feet and turned to face Jewel, David was sitting up and untying his own feet.
"David, you okay?"
"I'm not going to be okay until I get my sister back and these assholes are dead," he snapped. "There is nothing else in my future but to make sure this stops happening." In a short, jerky movement, he threw the bindings from his legs to the far side of the room and hopped to his feet. "Let's go. There are some vamps to kill."
He strode to the door and turned, his body vibrating with tension.
Cody knew how he felt; at the same time, he knew Jewel was a different animal altogether.
He motioned to where Jewel stood – slightly off to one side, her shoulders drooping and her eyes downcast. She'd been a trooper, but she'd been exhausted before this last mess. He didn't know how long they'd been unconscious, but it felt like months to him. And he'd woken up pissed…unlike her. She'd woken up scared. Anger fed his energy. Fear had drained hers.
David glowered at him, not getting it.
Cody rolled his eyes and motioned again. David switched his gaze from Cody to Jewel and back again. Then he caught it. He strode the few steps to stand in front of Jewel. He enfolded her in his arms and tucked her in close. He blocked her from the other two and whispered in her ear.
Cody watched as Jewel wrapped her arms tightly around David and burrowed deeper.
Did David understand how lucky he was? Not only did he have someone he cared about and that same caring was returned, but his relationship was open now. They didn't have to hide how they felt about each other. They could be together. A huge gift for them both.
Something he didn't think he could have with Tessa. He doubted anyone would think it was okay. Not her father or her mother, and although David might be okay with his best friend together with his kid sister, none of their peers would be. Tessa was young. Not super young, but a year or two more than was comfortable. That would improve with time as she matured.
Still, he knew of no other comparable female. She'd become something he couldn't have imagined. He used to call her Tessy, and now he wouldn't dare.
Feeling foolish, but desperate for answers, he mentally reached out. Tessa? Are you there?
Nothing.
Well, what did he expect? They could be separated by miles of steel and mountain.
He wanted her to be with him so bad. To know that she was safe and at his side. To spend time, real time, just the two of them – alone – together.
To find out if she felt the same way he did. Or was he destined to always stand on the outside of her world?
He'd hate that.
He knew the feelings had hit fast. Too fast, his father would say. But it had happened. Sure, maybe in another week he'd come to his senses and realize how foolish this relationship idea was…but not likely. This felt too real to be anything but right.
That didn't change the fact that they couldn't have a relationship like he wanted right now. He knew exactly what he wanted to do with her and, given her age and innocence, that was likely to send her screaming in the opposite direction. But he hoped not. And if David or Serus had any idea what was going through his head, they'd probably string him up in that damn warehouse themselves.
Damn him for being an idiot. A lovesick idiot. He shuddered. That "love" word again. That was just freaky. He didn't plan to fall in love for a long time. Until he'd sown a lot of wild oats. Checked out a lot of options, and although there weren't tons of available women in the vamp population, the ones that were…were really available.
And he couldn't think of any he wanted like he wanted Tessa.
Damn him for being a fool.
"Yo, Cody. Are you there?"
Cody blinked. Ian grinned at him. "Hey, Casanova. Do you want us to leave you here to ponder the big issues in your life while we go hunting?"
Cody narrowed his eyes at his friend, shot David – whose grin said he knew exactly what Cody had been thinking about, but maybe not with whom – a dirty look. He strode to the door and flung it open. "Let's go kick some vamp ass."
***
The sounds of the busy clinic faded into background noise as Serus stared down at his wife. Anger still vibrated at the thought of his own people drugging and trying to reprogram her mind. It had been a long time since he'd had to deal with threats to his family. Now it all came rushing back. He'd survived any number of wars and, as time had passed peacefully, he'd become more complacent with every year that passed. He'd settled down, had kids, and turned into a softie. Well, enough of that. In his day, he'd commanded many warriors.
And he could do so again.
In fact, he was itching to do just that.
"She's going to be fine, Serus," Goran placed a strong hand on his shoulder and gave a light shake. "Let her rest. The doctors are running their tests, and you know that will take time."
"I know. But she's been out for hours. Almost the full night. It just angers me that we're back to the same damn place we thought to have left a long time ago. Why is this all happening again? It was one thing that Rhia and I were fighting back then. Now the kids are involved. They are fighting our war. It's like we didn't do the job properly the first time and our kids are forced to cl
ean up our messes," he growled. "I won't be able to live with myself if we lose any of our own."
Goran shook his head. "I doubt the kids would agree with you. And remember, we'd assumed we'd put an end to this a long time ago. Instead it went underground. I want to know who is behind this mess. When I thought it was Moltere, I had an enemy to focus on. Now it's like anyone and everyone is our enemy and that, well – to use the kids' term – sucks.
Serus smiled at that. "When I saw Moltere hanging there as the product of his own creation, I couldn't help but think he got what he deserved. Talk about justice."
