She didn't argue with him. That was another thing he was grateful for. It wouldn't have mattered if she did. When they were in danger, he would have covered it, stopped it immediately and taken over. That was his way, but he was glad he didn't have to. He was glad she'd listened to him when he'd laid down the rules of his world. He didn't want her to ever be afraid of him, but above all, her protection came first.
Her hands tightened on his shoulder, and when he glanced down, Teagan's eyes were closed. He was in her mind, a shadow, no more, monitoring her, making certain she was all right. He felt that reach. Tentative at first, but she'd been in his mind and she was already learning. She might not have identified what he was doing immediately, but she knew how to do it. She learned that fast. She sent her senses reaching out into the night.
Mistakenly, she concentrated on the threat that was coming up behind them. The four men following them had split, two working their way around to try to cut them off. The other two had gained on them because, before Andre felt the threat of the vampires, he wanted them to catch up.
Teagan found the location of all four men. She didn't stop there. He found himself smiling inwardly. She was afraid, just as she said she'd be, the fear inside of her, but that didn't stop her. She allowed herself a brief moment when she identified those following them and knew they were closer, but she continued to follow Andre's instructions, reaching out into the night.
Tell me what you know.
She gave a little shudder. Belowground are insects and worms. A few ground squirrels. Not much in the way of animals. Giles and Gerard are behind us, maybe the distance of a football field. Their cousins are coming up on our right, almost parallel with us.
He waited, his chin dropping down to nuzzle the top of her head. A part of him was still smoldering inside that she hadn't called out to him when she recognized she was in danger. He didn't like that and he intended to address the issue when they were in a safe place. He pushed that aside and let himself feel pride in her. She learned fast.
He knew the exact moment she allowed her senses to rise above them. Into the mist. Into that dense fog that pressed down on the forest and mountain. Her breath caught in her throat, and she clutched him tighter as she buried her face against his chest.
A vampire.
You missed one. There are two. I doubt either are the master. They are not covering their tracks. Both are on the way to the village. They are hunting victims.
He felt her fear. The panic rising. Her feeling of terror nearly overwhelmed him it was so strong, but along with it, he felt something else. Sheer, utter determination. A will of absolute steel.
We can't let them get to the village, Andre. They'll kill someone. Maybe more than one innocent person.
He had no intention of allowing the vampires to get to the village. He was a hunter. He sought out and destroyed the undead. That was who he was. What he was.
I am going to draw them to us. You will have to trust me, Teagan, and do everything I tell you. I am going to bring Giles and his friends to us as well.
Teagan went still. She had known, even before she said something, that Andre wouldn't allow the vampires to reach the village where they could kill any number of innocents. She bit her lip. This was certainly one of those moments to prove the old adage, Be careful what you wish for. Still . . .
I left my grandmother's off-the-Internet vampire-hunting kit in the States, so you might want to take them on all by yourself. Giles and his slimy friends, I can help with. In fact, I'm all about helping with them.
You are all about sitting quietly and waiting for your man to clean up the neighborhood.
Teagan bit her lip. She wasn't really all about that. She believed in pulling her own weight, and six to one weren't the greatest of odds. She didn't reply. Andre took it for granted that she would obey him. He did that a lot. She figured sooner or later he would catch on that she wasn't good with authority figures. He could deliver his commands in his low, sexy voice, but that didn't mean she would obey them.
Andre stopped under some trees where there was just a small clearing forming because a large tree had come down and hit another, dropping both to the forest floor.
Shift to an owl. I want you in that tree and very still.
Teagan blinked as Andre set her on her feet. She looked up the tall tree, at the thick branches. You want me to hide away while you face all this alone, because I don't think I can do that.
His hand slipped into her hair, bunched there, exerting pressure until her head tipped back. He kissed her. Hard. Long. Delicious. As if they had all the time in the world. Even as he kissed her, she knew he was still scanning the area around them and he knew the exact position of all six threats. She didn't bother to scan, she enjoyed the kiss. A lot.
Do what I say. I do not want to have to worry about you.
Well. She felt a lot more in the mood to do anything he said after that kiss. She had to admit to herself that she was maybe a lot bit of a pushover when it came to Andre and his sexy side.
She stepped away from him and held the image of the owl in her mind. She'd already done this once, so it wasn't nearly as difficult the second time. One moment she was Teagan and the next she was the owl, spreading her wings to get the feel of them.
Next time, instead of a bird, I'm going for sex kitten. Lots of curves.
You already are a sex kitten. Now get into that tree. Keith and Kirt are very close, Andre announced. Get up in the thickest part of the tree and stay there.
She liked that he thought she was already a sex kitten. Wow. She knew he was telling the truth because she was in his mind and he spoke matter-of-factly, as if his mind was elsewhere and he could only be honest.
Teagan.
She did a full body shiver right there inside the owl. Well, she'd definitely have a ringside seat. She took to the trees, rising fast, her wings silent. She found a branch that was slightly under several larger ones and she perched there, her talons gripping the bark so that she could peer down and see the little clearing and much of the surrounding trees.
Teagan could feel the vampires, much closer now. The air had turned foul. Oppressive. She could barely breathe. She was shocked that the human men couldn't feel the difference in the air. Each time she drew in a breath, her lungs hurt. Burned. Felt raw, almost as if they pushed the air out as fast as possible to avoid contamination.
From her vantage point she saw the two men creeping through the trees, trying to sneak up on Andre. He had his back to Kirt, and Keith approached from the front. Kirt was much closer, moving into position for the attack while his brother kept Andre's attention.
Andre, behind you.
No distractions. Do not help me.
He didn't turn around. He just barked orders at her. Sheesh. Try to do someone a favor and they just got mad. Kirt was nearly on him now, and she could see the knife in his fist. Keith broke through the brush right in front of Andre, also armed with a knife. Andre whirled around fast, slashing across Kirt's throat with his open hand, his nails long and sharp. Blood spurted. Andre spun again and met Keith as he rushed in, knife low, blade up, going for the softer parts of the body. Andre slapped the knife away with blurring speed, so fast Teagan couldn't actually see his palm hit Keith's wrist, but she heard the smack and saw the knife go flying. Andre's hand continued in motion, going from where he'd deflected the blade away from him, up to Keith's throat.
Teagan's heart stuttered to a halt. There was blood everywhere. Droplets hit the fog and she knew Andre was calling to the vampires, using their assailants as bait to bring in the undead, to draw them away from the village. With hunger clawing at them, the vampires would never be able to resist the lure of the scent of fresh blood.
Andre flowed around the two men, fluid and breathtaking, no wasted motion whatsoever. Teagan felt as if she watched a brutal dance of death, primitive and savage. She shouldn't have been caught up in the beauty of Andre's every move. She should have been horrified--and terrified. She wa
sn't.
There was no anger at all. He didn't hurt Keith and Kirt out of a personal vendetta. They came after him and after his woman. It was a logical conclusion. At the same time, he could use them to keep the vampires from invading the village and murdering an innocent. She knew all that because she was still in Andre's mind and she saw his strategy.
There was nobility in how Andre lived his life. He had honor and integrity. She saw the warrior, the true warrior, willing to put his life on the line for others--always. He was a fierce fighter yet absolutely cool and calm. She moved through his mind and couldn't find one single thing that might raise his blood pressure. No fear.
No fear. He had told her he hadn't felt fear in centuries. Not since he was a seventeen-year-old boy. He hadn't been exaggerating. He was telling a strict truth because he really didn't feel fear. Not in battle. Not when he knew two vampires were coming--that he was luring them to him in order to keep them from a village of innocent men, women and children.
She could never have explained how she felt to anyone, not even her beloved grandmother, but the moment she saw Andre in action, moving so fast, his body in motion, as graceful as any ballet dancer and as lethal as any tiger in the wild, she knew she would always love him. The moment she realized she had been the one to bring fear to him after so long on earth, there was no way to resist him.
She fell hard. She would always crave him. Always belong to him. Always, always love him. Maybe it was wrong to be so madly in love with him, when he was killing someone, but it was the sheer poetry of it. She couldn't take her eyes from him. She almost didn't see the two men staggering around, or the blood running down their necks while Andre stood to one side, not looking at them, but keeping his attention on their surroundings.
Deep inside the body of the owl, she suddenly felt a pull. A tuning. A discordant note out of place. There was harmony in nature and at that moment she realized she was always aware of it, aware there was music, a symphony, everywhere she went. She needed that symphony and she sought it out, climbing and hiking around the world so her body became part of nature's orchestra.
Now, that jarring note hurt. Sickened her. She nearly shifted to her own form in order to press her hand to her stomach in an effort to fight the bile rising. She forced herself under control, but used the owl's superior range of vision to look around her. She saw nothing out of place. Not one thing, but the note became jangled. Insistent. The owl went utterly still. A strange clicking noise, one with an offbeat pattern began in the trees surrounding them as if the branches were rubbing together in the wind. She knew better. That clicking was the drumbeat to the harsh, inharmonious notes that jarred in the beauty of the symphony nature created.
She pushed further into Andre's mind, a gentle flow, conveying the information to him. He didn't look her way, but she felt him stroke a caress through her mind.
My woman. Looking out for me.
She would have bitten her lip if she had one. The words. The tone. That caress. She shivered. He still took the time to make her know she was his and he was watching over her. She didn't consider herself shy, but she couldn't find the words to answer him back. When it came to relationships, she didn't have the first clue, only that she was determined to have his back. She wanted him to know that. To feel it, just the way he made her know he would be there for her under any circumstances.
The branch the owl rested on shivered. Teagan's stomach did a somersault, and not in a good way. The large, very thick trunk shuddered. Sickness spread through the tree. She felt it--disease--as if some mutant parasite had entered through the roots and moved through the veins and arteries of the tree, spreading a dark acid through the sap. Branches trembled. Shuddered. A few leaves curled on the lower branches.
Now the note became several. The clacking noise continued, providing a jarring beat behind the malevolent notes. The musical symphony of the night--of the mountain itself--changed into something altogether different. Teagan tuned herself to the notes, separating the sounds until she knew there were two of the undead stalking the night. Now she simply had to trace the path back to them.
Do not.
She winced. That was nothing less than a command. Seriously, Andre, I can help. Kirt and Keith may be bleeding profusely, but they're still alive and they could be dangerous to you. I can find the vampires and tell you exactly where they are.
She ignored his warning, because it was the only thing she could do to help him. It might have sounded like she was joking when she told him he could handle the undead, but there was no way she was getting close to one of those creatures. Well, not unless it was a dire emergency.
Teagan stretched her senses, allowing them to flow out of her, listening to the music in her body. To the tone. To the . . .
Everything in her stilled. Inside the owl she went rigid. Paralyzed. She couldn't move. She couldn't reach out to Andre, let alone anyone else. Panic hit her hard. Something had taken over her mind. Shut her down. She couldn't shift. She couldn't scream. She couldn't warn Andre. The vampires had found her.
You are perfectly fine. Sit there quietly. The vampires have no idea of your existence and we are going to keep it that way.
Oh. My. God. Andre had totally shut her down. It was Andre controlling the situation. She couldn't help because Andre had decreed it. When he let her loose, if he was still alive, she was going to kill him. Make her own vampire-hunting kit and do him in while he slept. No. She wanted him to see it coming. She'd be the black widow and kiss him silly and then stake him.
Do not make me laugh. You are distracting me.
She couldn't reply, which made her all the angrier. But he was reading her thoughts and that meant she could think about what a rat bastard he was. Her best friend growing up, Cheryl, had it right. Cheryl decreed a lot of men were rat bastards, and now Teagan was hooked up with one.
The very branch she was on shook and then it expanded as if it couldn't contain the poisonous brew spreading through its main body. Instantly she saw Andre's head come up alertly, even as he faded into the trees, behind Keith, who was on the ground, on his hands and knees, knife gripped tight in his fist as blood continued to run down his throat to soak the front of his shirt. Kirt slumped a few feet from his brother, the slashes in his neck much deeper. He gasped over and over as if he couldn't get air.
The entire tree trunk quivered and then began to creak ominously. If she could have, Teagan knew she wouldn't have been able to stop the owl from flying off the groaning branch. Because she couldn't move, neither could the owl. She knew Andre saved her life. She could never have remained calm and still when insects surged up the tree, a black moving carpet, swarming over every leaf and twig, straight toward her.
Right before the insects reached the owl, the trunk of the tree began to split. Black sap erupted and rats and more insects poured out of the center as if the tree was giving birth to something malignant. The pile of rats fell to the ground, revealing the vampire. The rodents rushed toward Kirt as the vampire laughed hideously.
"What do we have here?" The creature's breath hissed out of him. "Did you two get in a knife fight? How very sad. Brothers, I see. I will end your suffering. Not right away, but I promise . . . eventually."
He waved his hand as the rats reached Kirt and began tearing at his body with sharp teeth. "My friends are hungry. That one is too far gone to have much fun with, but . . ." He smiled down at Keith, revealing his spiked, blackened teeth, stained with the blood of his victims. "You and I can have a great deal of fun before you die."
Everything about the vampire was hideous. His voice hurt Teagan's ears. His skin was drawn tight over his bones, so that he looked like a walking skeleton. Flesh seemed to slough off of him. His eyes appeared to be two burning holes in empty sockets. She didn't want to watch as he approached Keith, but as if a horror film was unfolding, she couldn't look away, even if Andre had released her from the paralysis.
Andre materialized out of thin air, his body between the vampire and h
is prey. The two came together hard, hunter and hunted. She saw Andre's fist hit dead over the heart, punching through the wall of flesh and bone to get to his target. He rocked the vampire with his enormous strength, with that punch that penetrated deep, so deep a good portion of Andre's arm disappeared as well.
The vampire threw back his head and howled. Spittle ran down his mouth. His eyes blazed fire. Black blood erupted around the hole in his chest and ran down his stomach and legs. Teagan also noted the thick goo that coated what she could see of Andre's forearm.
The vampire went wild, thrashing, slashing, biting at Andre, and calling to his rats for aid. He raised his voice loudly to the wind, calling his master and his brethren for help. To Teagan's horror, the rats abandoned Kirt and raced toward Andre.
Andre didn't flinch. He didn't even look at the rodents. He kept his gaze burning over the vampire's face, staring him right in the eye. There was a terrible sucking sound and Andre withdrew his hand, whirling away from the vampire to toss the blackened, wizened organ a distance from him. He raised his hand toward the sky and a whip of lightning sizzled and cracked, hitting the heart as it bounced and rolled along the ground trying to find its way back to its body.
The whip of lightning struck the heart, incinerating it. Instantly the vampire went down, falling in the middle of the rats that had stopped just as abruptly when the rotten heart had been destroyed. The white-hot whip hit the vampire's body, the flames jumping to the rodents.
Teagan felt her body tune to the second discordant note. It was much more muted, as if the vampire was aware it was being tracked--or if it was already stalking Andre. Her heart stammered. Andre, another one. She couldn't reach him on their shared telepathic path, but she knew he was in her mind. She concentrated on the jarring, jangled sound resonating inside of her. She could at least give Andre a direction.
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