by Trisha Telep
He walked to her door, letting his senses expand, feeling for her. She slumbered, waiting for him, as insatiable in her dreams as she was in life.
She wasn’t alone in the apartment, though. The beat of another heart echoed through the silence. Rhoan, her brother, undoubtedly.
He smiled and entered her apartment. She’d invited him over her threshold long ago, and there was nothing now that she could do to keep him out. It was one of the few vampire laws literature actually got right.
The apartment was in its usual mess, clothes and newspapers strewn everywhere. Neither she nor her brother enjoyed housekeeping, though Rhoan tended to be a little more domestic than Riley.
His smile grew as he headed for her bedroom. Only to stop short in the bedroom doorway.
The other life he’d sensed wasn’t Rhoan. She might be asleep and dreaming of him, but she was sharing her bed with another wolf. His nemesis, and rival for her affections. Kellen Sinclair.
Rage rose in him, thick and fast, and, for several seconds, it was all he could do not to rip the other man from the bed and throw him out of the apartment. Not out through the door, but through a window, so that he could smash down onto the pavement below and be gone from her life for ever.
Damn it, she was his. His being had claimed her, and he would not willingly share her, no matter what she thought or desired.
She must have sensed his anger, because she stirred under the sheets, murmuring something he couldn’t quite catch. She turned, the sheet slipping down her body, revealing the golden skin and full breasts he’d been caressing in his dreams.
Desire stirred beneath the anger. He wanted her for real. Right here, right now. And he’d be damned if he’d walk away and leave her in the arms of his rival. Not tonight, when loneliness was high and his body and soul ached with need for her.
His gaze switched to Kellen. Slipping into the other man’s thoughts was easy enough, as the fool wore no shields against psychic intrusion. His dreaming state was filled with sated thoughts and happiness, and again the anger stirred through Quinn. It would be easy enough to slip deep into unconscious thought, to command Kellen to walk away and never come back. To never touch or contact Riley again.
So easy.
So, so tempting.
But Riley would wonder why he’d walked so abruptly, and she’d go after him for a reason. Given her considerable psychic talents, it wouldn’t take her long to uncover his interference.
And that would only make her angry. Possibly angry enough to end their somewhat tenuous relationship. The risk wasn’t worth it, not until he was sure of her feelings.
Though nothing could stop him ordering the man away from her side now.
He connected lightly to her sleeping mind, keeping her unaware. Then he forced the young wolf up, ordered him to dress and marched him out of the apartment. He stopped at the door, but kept the mental leash on the young wolf until he’d driven away. He’d wake in his own bed and wonder how in the hell he’d gotten there.
Amusement ran through him. No one had ever said love was fair, and he had every intention of playing as dirty as he could to win Riley’s affections.
He blew out a breath, and turned to re-enter the apartment.
And in that moment he sensed the wrongness.
He froze, reaching out with both his telepathic and empatic senses, searching for anything – or anyone – out of place. Riley’s apartment was peaceful, the beat of her life force strong and rich in the silence. There was no hint of anything wrong.
No, whatever it was, it was coming from below.
He frowned, letting his senses flow downwards, sifting quickly through the various floors, searching for the source of that oddness. Humans dozed, some dreaming, some not, the beat of their lifeblood thick and strong in the darkness. Hunger stirred, but it was a slumberous thing, easily controlled.
There were no humans, no non-humans, not even rodents, in the building’s basement. But the sense of wrongness seemed to be coming from there.
Only what might be causing it, he couldn’t exactly say. There was an odd sort of deadness to the feel of the thing, as if whatever it was had no heat or breath of life. It wasn’t moving, wasn’t even doing anything untoward, but yet its mere presence made him uneasy.
It wasn’t something that should be in this building.
He turned to investigate, but at that moment, Riley appeared.
“And the dream man appears in the flesh.” Though a smile touched her lush lips, annoyance sparkled in her cool grey eyes, “Which undoubtedly means you’re the reason Kellen’s no longer asleep in my bed.”
“I’m afraid so.” Surprisingly, she’d dressed – if you could call a thigh-length T-shirt and little else dressing – and in the cool night air, the heat of her golden skin flowed across his senses as sweetly as a caress. It made him hungry to touch her, taste her, and he curled his fingers into a fist to stop the impulse to reach for her. “He’ll wake safe and secure in his own bed, although he may be a little confused as to how he got there.”
“You’d better hope he comes to no harm as he sleepwalks his way home.” Her annoyance momentarily caressed the air, a rumble of distant thunder that held the promise to be a whole lot more. “It would have been easier if you’d just phoned ahead and let me know you were coming.”
“I would have, but it was a last-minute decision.”
“And, as usual, you simply expect me to be sitting around in my apartment waiting for you.” She shook her head, then added, “Is there any particular reason you’re haunting the hallway rather than coming inside?”
“I’ve just sensed something out of place in the basement.”
She frowned, and power shimmered across his skin as she flung out her psychic senses. In very many ways, her psi powers were as powerful as his. Only hers were still growing.
“It feels very odd.” Her gaze met his again, and this time those silver depths were alive with excitement – and not just the excitement of the chase. Danger was an aphrodisiac to a wolf and her hunger had his own blood racing. Such a reaction was a pleasant sensation for one as old as he, and it was something she’d brought back into his life. “Shall we go see just what might be down there?”
His gaze slid down her luscious body. “Dressed like that?”
Amusement teased her juicy lips. “You’re right. Wait until I get some shoes on.” She turned and ran for the bedroom.
He shook his head and smiled. Only a werewolf would consider shoes the only thing the outfit needed to be decent.
She came back with sturdy-looking sneakers on her feet and a laser in her hand. Once upon a time, carrying a gun would have been unthinkable to her. He wished it still was, simply because the more she carried, the more it meant she was sinking deeper into the world of guardians. And he had no doubt that it would take her life one day. Not even a werewolf with vampire blood and extraordinary powers could keep flirting with death and not have it eventually take control. Although, if carrying a gun kept her safe for that little bit longer, he wasn’t about to argue against it.
Because above everything else, he wanted her safe.
They walked back to the stairs. Though they moved as quietly as possible, their footsteps still echoed down the stairwell. In the cellar, the darkness stirred, and a sense of anticipation seemed to flow across the blackness.
“Whatever it is, it waits for us.”
He glanced back at her as he spoke, and she raised an eyebrow. “Us specifically?”
“It would seem so.”
She grunted, and her fingers tightened around the laser. The weapon whined as it powered up. “So why the two of us in a building filled with people?”
“I don’t know.” He opened the stairwell door. The basement was dark – no surprise given the lack of lights in the rest of the building. Not that it was a problem for either of them – their infrared vision made the most out of darkness.
“You can’t read it empathically?” she asked.
“Not at the moment.” He caught the door with his fingertips once she’d stepped through, easing it closed as quietly as possible.
Energy burned across his skin as she probed the darkness telepathically. “There’s a deadness ahead that feels oddly familiar.”
Though little more than a whisper, her words seemed to jar the stale air. Deep in the basement’s darkness, something stirred, and the sense of deadness seemed to retreat.
“It’s moving,” he said, rather unnecessarily.
“Yes.”
Her heart racing, the beat as sharp and as delicious as the excitement that teased his senses. His hunger stirred again, but this time, it was accompanied by desire. Although the desire had never really left him – she was simply fuelling the embers of it.
He led the way forwards through the wasteland of old machinery, boxes and rubbish. They quickly reached the far side of the room, but, even so, they were too late. The creature had left – and the only way out was via a fissure in the old brick wall.
“I’ve never noticed that before.” Riley squared and picked up a chunk of broken brick. She studied it for a moment, then held it up for him to see. “It looks clawed.”
“And newly broken. Whatever that thing is, it’s created itself a tunnel to get into here.”
She tossed the brick down and rose. “It’s big enough for us to get into.”
“Not by chance, I’d imagine.”
She looked at him. “A trap?”
“Could be.” Why else would it attract their attention then retreat?
Her sudden grin was as sexy as hell, and he found himself cursing the thing even as his fingers twitched with the urge to reach for her.
“How about I go spring it, and you go upstairs and wait?” Even as he said the words, he knew it was useless, but he had to try. Women’s liberation might be standard fare in this day and age, but he still couldn’t see the sense in allowing any woman to put her life on the line unnecessarily. But then, he was a very old vampire who was somewhat set in his ways, despite the fact he’d seen eras go by and conventions change many, many times.
“You already know the answer to that, so why bother asking?” Her voice was wry, but her eyes danced with amusement and again the hunger rose in him.
He pushed it down again, even as he wished he didn’t have to. “Because one of these days, you’re going to do the sensible thing and shock the hell out of me.”
She smiled again. “Me and sensible? I don’t think so.” She paused and looked in the hole. “But I will allow you to go first.”
“I’d really rather be upstairs, with you, in bed.” He wrapped his fingers around hers. The warmth of her grip flooded through him, spinning desire to greater heights.
“You should have thought of that before you began this chase,” she murmured, the amusement so evident in her eyes finally lacing her tones.
“True.”
He tugged her forwards. The tunnel’s entrance was jagged, the brick cut unevenly with claws. The creature, whatever it was, had a lot of strength behind it. But brick quickly gave way to clay as the tunnel headed downwards, although the earthy smell of soil was quickly overrun by a more odorous scent – human waste.
“Oh Christ,” Riley said, dread in her voice. “We’re heading into the sewage system. I think I’m going to puke.”
“Breath through your mouth.”
“It’s not helping.”
The tunnel broke into a pipe large enough to drive a car unto. He jumped into the muck flowing gently downwards then turned to help her down. “At least it’s late at night. Not as many people will be flushing their business.”
“Thanks for that cheery though,” she grimaced as her feet disappeared into the flow. “Wrong shoes for this sort of walk.”
“You can always go back.”
“And you can always shut up and get moving.”
He smiled and led the way forwards again, following the flow of the water. The creature was somewhere ahead – a blot of ‘wrongness’ his senses could get no real fix on.
But the closer they got to it, the more its anticipation grew, and the uneasier he grew.
Riley suddenly stopped. “I have felt this thing before. It’s a chameleon.”
Chameleons were a rare breed of nonhumans, who could take on any background and literally become part of it. They were also ferocious flesh-eaters and extremely hard to kill.
He frowned. “Chameleons aren’t usually city dwellers. They prefer the wild areas.”
But even as he said it, he flared his senses outwards, taking a stronger, closer look at the creature ahead, It did feel like a chameleon.
“Maybe so, but this one is old. And it rots, just like the ones we encountered in the underground lab.” She hesitated. “You don’t think it could be the same ones, do you?”
“I doubt it. The Directorate cleaned that whole place out, didn’t they?”
“Yeah, but who’s to say one didn’t escape?”
“It still makes no sense for it to come here.”
“It does if it wants revenge for its kits and partner being killed. It might well hold us responsible because we discovered them.”
It was possible. While chameleons were often considered little more than basic animals, that wasn’t based on any actual scientific evidence, as the creatures were elusive and difficult to study. And this creature had led them here. That in itself suggested a high degree of intelligence.
“In which case this trap will be a well-prepared one. Perhaps you should retreat and call in the Directorate,” he said.
“Leaving you to face this thing alone.” It was flatly said, and the air fairly burned with her disapproval.
“Riley, I have an advantage over these –”
“Quinn, I’m not going to walk away and leave you to face this thing alone.”
Annoyance rolled through him, and he was tempted, so tempted, to roll her with power – forcing her to leave, and therefore keeping her safe. But she would never appreciate the concern behind such an action. Indeed, even if he succeeded in forcing her away from danger, in the end it would probably damage his long-term aim of making her his.
So he shook his head and continued walking. The chill in the air seemed to sharpen, as did that sense of anticipation. The rank aroma of sewage swirled around them, but underneath it ran the fresh aroma of earth. His gaze swept the dank walls ahead, but he couldn’t see anything that indicated another break in the walls.
He glanced at Riley. “Can you smell that?”
“Define that.” Her voice was clipped. “Because this place has a lot of different smells, most of them vile.”
“Earth. Freshly dug earth.”
“It’s ahead, another ten yards or so.”
He couldn’t see it, but then she was relying on senses other than sight.
“The sense of anticipation is growing,” she added. “I’m not liking the feel of what we’re walking towards.”
Neither was he. He slowed his pace, forcing Riley to do the same. Another fissure came into view, this one larger than the other. Dirt, rocks and concrete had tumbled out, half blocking the meagre flow and redirecting it into the crack.
“There’s something odd–”
Her words were abruptly cut off, and her hand ripped from his. He swung around but there was no sense of her in the darkness, no spark of her life force. It was as if she’d completely disappeared.
The fury that swept through him was as cold and as angry as anything he’d ever experienced in his 1,200 years of life. But as quickly as it rose, it went, replaced by a hard emptiness.
An emptiness that was filled with the certainty that he would get back what was his.
He turned around, using his psychic senses to search for any hint of her. The darkness held its secrets well – there was no sign of her life force, no melodious beat of life.
She had to be unconscious, and in the grip of the chameleons, hidden by their ability to merge with the background.
>
She wasn’t dead. Not yet.
He reached down, deep down into that place in his soul that had never been human, had never been vampire, using powers long since gone from this world to disappear into the darkness. It was more than just wrapping the shadow around him, more than just merging with the background, as the chameleons did. He became the darkness, became the air, became a shadow that held no substance – one that would not be seen or heard or felt.
He floated towards the fissure. There was nothing else he could do. The chameleons had sprung their trap; all he could do now, was track them down and make them pay.
The water that trickled beneath his feet began to swirl as he reached the obstruction he’d noticed earlier. He swung left, into the fissure created by the creatures. The walls were raw, bleeding moisture, the air thick and rank. Though the sense of anticipation had gone, and there was now no sign of either the creatures or Riley, he knew they were up ahead.
The part of him that had shared blood could feel her nearness, even if he could not see her life force or hear her thoughts.
The tunnel continued on through the earth, winding slowly downwards. Gradually, the way began to widen, until he was in a huge old cavern.
They were here.
He stopped, taking it all in. He saw the dark-red blurs of life that were the chameleons; saw Riley, a blaze of heat and life lying on the ground. He regained form and attacked.
There were four of them – one larger, three smaller – and they hadn’t sensed his presence. They were too intent on their prey.
He swept in, grabbing two of the youngsters and tossing them across the cavern. He grabbed the third one just as the mother lashed out, her claws raking his side and drawing blood. The scent of it stung the air and hunger stirred through the darkness. But the flesh eaters wanted more than just blood.
He crushed his hand around the neck of the third one, and flung it with all his might at the mother. She screamed, a high-pitched sound of fury, as she tried to catch and save her child.
With the chameleons distracted, he grabbed Riley and dragged her out from under their feet, hauling her across to the other side of the cavern, near the fissure but not actually going into it. Fighting in close quarters was never a good choice.
