Dissension

by Adrienne Monson

  Suddenly, Samantha felt all alone in the world. Who could she call? The only person she knew in Nevada was her father, and there was no way she would call him. Tears welled up. She missed her mother terribly.

  Turning to hide the few silent tears from Leisha, she said, trying to steady her trembling voice, “I don’t have anyone to call. I can just go back to the road and hitch a ride. It’s no big deal.”

  Leisha seemed torn—her eyes downcast in thought. It was obvious she did not want Samantha to be there when that Ptah guy arrived. Hitching her way back home where she knew her father would be waiting wasn’t Samantha’s first choice either, but there wasn’t any other way around it.

  “You have lost a loved one recently, haven’t you?” Leisha asked, to Samantha’s surprise.

  Samantha didn’t bother to hide her tears this time. “My mother,” she whispered, staring at her feet. She hated having to admit her mother’s death out loud—every time she did that, it seemed realer. So much had happened in such a short amount of time—her best friend was dead, she couldn’t trust her father, she had just snuck into some government compound and witnessed unspeakable atrocities, and now she was all alone with nowhere to go and no one to turn to for help. It was just too much for her to handle.

  Leisha was suddenly beside her and holding her gently. Samantha hadn’t expected it; she’d stiffened at the sudden embrace. She hadn’t cried about her mother in front of anyone and didn’t think it was right to burden the woman she hardly knew with her emotional baggage.

  Leisha murmured something in her ear she did not understand. She thought it might have been French—whatever it meant, the tenderness in Leisha’s voice pulled at her heart. Before she knew it, Samantha was hugging Leisha back and sobbing into her shoulder. At that moment Samantha was a lost little girl clinging tightly to a stranger as if she were her lifeline.

  Samantha didn’t know how much time had passed, but she felt utterly drained. Every emotion she’d suppressed had come racing back to the surface, and it had exhausted her completely.

  Leisha had not said a recognizable word the whole time. She just stroked Samantha’s soft, fine hazelnut hair and let her cry everything out. It was good for Samantha to finally have some kind of emotional release no matter how awkward it felt.

  Samantha felt the need to say something, but nothing came to mind.

  It was at this moment that she noticed a man coming from over the crest of a hill. He was tall, with sandy-colored hair. His hazel eyes focused intently on her, and when she met his gaze, the rest of the world ceased to exist. His thin, lithe frame filled her entire vision. This mystery man had just become her whole world. She knew she needed to be closer to him as she was aching to touch him, smell him. And before she knew it, she found herself walking toward him, a lustful smile on her face.

  CHAPTER 6

  Leisha did not hear any footfalls, but when she saw the dreamy look on Samantha’s face, she knew a vampire was behind her. Turning, she saw Nikita staring Samantha down. Nikita had a skill the vampires referred to as luring, and he was currently using it on the girl.

  Leisha bolted to her feet. “Stop it, Nikita.”

  Nikita broke his gaze on Samantha, and turned to face Leisha. “She is fair game,” he said, his Russian accent barely noticeable. “You have not marked her.”

  “I haven’t, but you may not touch her. She is under my protection.” As soon as the words came out, Leisha wished she hadn’t said them. The only reason vampires kept humans under their protection was because they intended to make them human servants. Nikita would now expect Samantha to come with them; the binding process would have to commence soon.

  Nikita shrugged. “If you really like her that much, then by all means.” And with that, he broke the trance, and Samantha came to herself again, blinking several times and looking around as if she were just waking and couldn’t remember where she was.

  Leisha stepped forward, her arm around the girl’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Samantha. You’re safe with me. I promise.” She didn’t like manipulating Samantha and exposing her to vampires, but she had no other choice now. It still amazed her how quickly a situation like this could go downhill so rapidly—no matter how many times Leisha had experienced the same thing, it still astounded her.

  “I’m afraid you will need to come with us, Samantha.” The girl was still recovering from Nikita’s spell, no sign of comprehension on her face. “It’s for your own protection. I promise that you’ll be able to contact your family and let them know you’re all right.” Leisha couldn’t say anything more with Nikita standing there. She knew she would have to explain everything to Samantha in another time; she would have to reveal the monster that she was. For reasons she couldn’t explain, she wanted Samantha to like her, not fear her.

  An image of her daughter’s wide, frightened eyes filled her vision.

  Samantha looked like her lucidity was coming back, though she remained subdued. She was dependent on Leisha to take care of things. Seeing the innocent look of trust in Samantha’s face pained Leisha even more. But she ignored the feelings and turned back to Nikita with a cool gaze.

  “You got here rather quickly,” she said. “Did Ptah even leave the States?”

  Nikita gave his usual soft smile. “Of course, he left. There was plenty for him to do at the base,” His gaze roamed over Samantha’s figure in a casual manner. “He didn’t trust you completely. He wanted me to stick around to make sure you followed through on your word.”

  The insult thickened Leisha’s blood. “I still hold my word as my bond, and Ptah should know that will never change.”

  Nikita shrugged nonchalantly. As usual, nothing ruffled him. Not even when Ptah approached him four hundred years ago and asked him if he wanted to join the undead. Leisha remembered her shock when Nikita studied Ptah’s obsidian eyes passively. He’d shrugged then, too, and said, “I have nothing better to do.”

  She decided to return to the original subject. “You saw me being taken and did nothing to stop them?” The austere edge in her voice had no effect on him.

  Nikita walked over and sat down on the boulder next to Leisha. She decided to mirror him and repositioned herself on another boulder nearby. Samantha, now beside her, was fully alert, but stayed quiet, observing everything with intent curiosity.

  “I was going to get you out,” Nikita said. “I was studying the compound, and trying to figure out how to get past their security so I could find you before I had to fight them. I heard you screaming, but they weren’t killing you, and I certainly didn’t want to be the next subject for their little science project. I was rewiring the security cameras in the parking lot when you two came bursting out.” He appeared undaunted, but Leisha had the feeling that he was somewhat jealous that a mere human girl had beaten him to the rescue. Maybe he had a soft spot after all.

  Samantha piped up with wide eyes. “There were security cameras in the parking lot? I didn’t see any . . .”

  Nikita nodded.

  “So,” Leisha said, somewhat impatient, but mainly irritated that Nikita had heard her screams. “If you were right there, why did you wait so long to show up?”

  “I was waiting for Ptah’s orders. Not sure what he would want.” Meaning, he wasn’t sure whether to approach with Samantha being around.

  “I see,” Leisha said. “Well, did you bring transportation? Or do we still have to wait for Ptah to send his plane?”

  “I got a car from the parking lot. Ptah is sending the jet to the airport.”

  “Is the car going to be reported any time soon?”

  Nikita gave his infamous shrug and stood, brushing dirt off his black slacks. It was time to go.

  Leisha rose and turned to Samantha.

  Samantha seemed a little hesitant to come with them. She obviously knew there was something unusual about them, but Leisha knew she would never guess just how unusual.

  Leisha hesitated at the thought of exposing this beautiful young woman to her
sordid world, but she knew there was really no choice since she didn’t want Nikita to suck this girl dry.

  They got to the car in no time and were on their way, with Nikita driving and Leisha in the passenger seat. Samantha was in the back.

  “How long until we get to the airport, Nikita?” Samantha asked.

  Nikita glanced in the rear view mirror at her. “About an hour. Please, call me Nik. It hurts to hear you mar my name like that.”

  Samantha actually smiled quite warmly. “Sure, Nik. Thanks for coming to get us.”

  Leisha wasn’t sure what to think of her response. What was the girl thinking? She shouldn’t make friends with a vampire. Especially Nikita, who cared so little for human life, or anything at all. Leisha was definitely going to have a long talk with Samantha on the plane. Nikita would probably be piloting the plane himself with the pilot door sealed shut; he wouldn’t be able to hear her. That was lucky, since it was going to be a tedious conversation.

  She couldn’t do anything about it now, so she sat back and closed her eyes to rest.

  Leisha woke when Nikita made a thoughtful humming noise at the back of his throat.

  “What is it?” she asked, instantly alert.

  “I believe we have a tail,” he said, in his usual calm voice. “No doubt, it’s the people from whom you have just escaped.”

  Leisha’s blood went into a boil, her body pulling itself into fighting mode. She looked back at Samantha, who appeared pale and more than a little frightened, and changed her mind. “Can you lose them?”

  Nikita shook his head. “It’s quite obvious we’re headed to the municipal. Even if I lose these ones, more will follow.”

  He was right. Leisha cursed her frustration. “We have to get to the jet. Once we’re in the air, they won’t be able to touch us.”

  Nikita nodded. “I have a few weapons under the seats and in the glove box.”

  Leisha stared at him in surprise. Most vampires considered themselves more dangerous than any weapon a human could manufacture.

  Nikita was unperturbed by her shock. “I was going to go into that compound by myself. I figured a little backup would come in handy.”

  Leisha nodded and checked under her seat. “Nice.”

  She reached for the pieces of the Parker Hale sniper rifle and assembled it within seconds, hesitating briefly before aiming it out the window at the Humvee that was quickly gaining on them. She generally didn’t like killing, but figured these guys were just as bad as the murderers she put to rest.

  As she started to point the rifle out the window, Samantha grabbed her arm. “You can’t! You don’t know who’s in that car.”

  Leisha studied her briefly. Samantha had mentioned she knew someone who worked in the compound.

  Struggling momentarily, Leisha tried to decide what was best. She definitely was not going to be taken again, no matter what. But she also didn’t have to be so aggressive so soon. She must first know their next move.

  “You’re right,” she said to Samantha. “But I will act to defend myself, you, and Nikita.”

  Samantha withdrew her hand and sat back. She didn’t look happy about Leisha keeping the weapon in her lap, but did not protest. She was completely on edge, drawn with dilated eyes. Leisha couldn’t blame her.

  The car was right behind them now, trying to blind them with their bright lights.

  “These guys think they can intimidate me with lights?” Nikita chuckled.

  Samantha focused her eyes intently on the car, Leisha assumed, to see if she could find a familiar face. Of course, the build of the Humvee and the bright headlights made that impossible, but Samantha looked anyway.

  The back windshield shattered as the first bullet fired. Samantha screamed and ducked low. Nikita swerved to throw off their aim. Leisha concentrated her senses on the vehicle and was able to detect five passengers. She didn’t need to read their minds to know they were all military trained. Leaning out the window, Leisha took two seconds to aim before blowing out the two front tires.

  The Humvee swerved both ways before spinning out on the highway.

  “I’m pretty sure I hear a helicopter approaching.” Nikita was so casual in his comment that it took a second for Leisha to fully comprehend him.

  Leisha put her head out the window and searched the sky. Sure enough, a black helicopter was quickly making its way toward them. When it was a hundred feet above and directly behind them, bullets flew. They first struck the pavement just behind the car, quickly making their way to the car and up the trunk.

  Leisha and Nikita exchanged glances when they heard another vehicle heading toward them from the opposite direction. It was a classic ambush.

  “We have more advantage fighting on ground than in the air,” he commented. Leisha reluctantly nodded in agreement.

  Nikita slammed on the breaks and manipulated the steering wheel as the car swerved dangerously in every which way. It finally came to a halt, but they didn’t have much time. The helicopter had turned around and would be on them in fewer than twenty seconds.

  Leisha jumped into the backseat and pulled Samantha out the door. Nikita was already beside her by the time she got Samantha out.

  “It looks like she hit her head or something,” Nikita observed. “She’s barely conscious.” It was true. Leisha was holding the girl upright, but Samantha’s head was lolling to the side.

  Leisha turned to Nikita. “I’ll find some place safe to put her, and then come back to help you fight.”

  “There is no time.”

  She followed his gaze to the second Humvee that was almost to the car. The vampires could hear the men from the first Humvee trying to sneak over to them on foot. Leisha cursed under her breath.

  Nikita would have been a blur to any human eye, but Leisha could see him clearly as he ran back to the car and pulled out another rifle and a couple of handguns stashed under the seats.

  There was no more time. Leisha sped forty feet away to let Samantha rest on the ground and hurried back to Nikita.

  He was already aiming his rifle at the helicopter. He fired and hit one of the shooters right between the eyes.

  Leisha directed her attention at the Humvee parked next to Nikita’s stolen car. There were four men inside, one of them being a four star general. She could see the man behind the passenger seat clearly enough to catch the freckles lining his face. The one behind the driver had a distinct square jaw, and was loading a shotgun with more of those specialized tranquilizer bullets.

  In her peripheral vision, she could see Nikita running, and then leaping high into the air, landing with perfect grace in the cabin of the helicopter.

  Leisha nearly flew as she raced toward Square Jaw. Apparently, no one was expecting her to take the offensive, and they were momentarily paralyzed when she punched through the window, stabbing her fingers through Square Jaw’s eyes with one hand while pulling his shotgun out the window with the other.

  The men got over their shock and scrambled out of the vehicle with their weapons ready. It was a cinch for Leisha to take out the driver. She pulled out his throat before he got his second foot out the door.

  Four Stars fired his handgun and hit Leisha in the shoulder. She hissed at the pain and was immediately up in the air, flipping over the Humvee, landing behind the general before he could blink. Pulling him toward her with her right arm, she grabbed his handgun with her left and proceeded to bite into his neck, at the same time, clipping Freckles in his heart, giving him no time to react. She didn’t like the taste of her victim’s blood—he ate way too much salt and had marijuana in his system. But he was a well of information. It was difficult to sift through all of his memories as they poured into her brain faster than his blood poured into her mouth. She figured out that he had been on this latest assignment for three years and was beginning to lose his sanity with everything he’d seen, though he agreed with the results the scientists were trying to achieve.

  These people were part of a secret sect of the FBI.
The Attorney General was the top guy in charge, but he only saw reports of their progress from afar. About thirty years ago, they discovered vampires were no mere legend; they studied everything they could find about vampires, and developed weapons to be used against her kind.

  Then they decided if they could combine the blood of a vampire with a human, they could create a new breed of super soldiers that would be faster, stronger, and could heal quickly in combat. For the last six years, they had managed to capture four vampires, testing their strengths and weaknesses before draining them and experimenting with their blood. So far, this FBI division hadn’t been able to create a formula that the soldiers could use. Most of the men who volunteered for the experiments had to be killed after trying to go on a murderous rampage.

  Leisha pulled away from the general, panting with his memories overflowing in her mind; he’d given her more than enough information to digest. Leisha would never want to be in that compound again. Ever.

  A bullet penetrating her side snapped her back to the situation at hand. She spun and crouched while aiming her gun at the direction of where the shot came. When she saw the spark of a second shot, she fired and hit her target while her opponent’s bullet whizzed past her head.

  Something exploded in the sky. Leisha looked up to see Nikita hurtling into the night air, his arms spread wide, showing a slight smile on his face. The other men, distracted by the fireball, plunged toward the ground. Leisha seized that moment and ran in their direction.

  But no one was there. The assault team was not in the small sand dunes where she’d suspected. In the darkness in the field, a movement caught Leisha’s attention. It was a hundred feet away from Nikita and close to the spot where Leisha had left Samantha.

  No! Leisha leapt to her feet and ran to the movement she had seen without any thought of the other men around.

  She felt sudden pains in her calf but didn’t break stride. Another pain shot through her left side into her liver—that one really hurt. She ground her teeth. How was it possible for her to be hit when she was moving faster than her assailants’ human eyes could follow? She tossed the thought aside and continued to her destination. There was no place for her to hide for cover; she just had to keep going and get to Samantha.