“It happened…” Tabitha started to say when he interrupted her.
“Just an infected scratch that I got from one of those thorn bushes back at the river.”
“You need to have it looked at,” she said, trying to lift his shirt.
“No!” he spat, taking a firmer stance with his feet. “Already had it cleaned up. No big deal, really.”
Tabitha controlled the fine tremor of a low growl, knowing he was lying to everyone, including himself. She could smell the change happening to his body, and also knew he would be one of the ones that would be able to make it through the transformation, or his body would already be dying, just as D`nae’s had. He was strong, mentally as well as physically. The more the curse took over his will, replacing it with a beast that he would have to learn to control, the weaker he would become, but the moment he turned, all his strength would return ten times that of a normal man.
“Fit wull we be daein tae nicht?” Danny asked out of the blue. “Ah wis thinin, wu’ll aw be fur needin tae feed.”
“I would like to have another foot dog, with the brown stuff. It was most enjoyable,” Tabitha smiled, getting everyone’s attention.
“You got her fast food?” D`nae asked looking back at Grady, who just raised his shoulder. “Way to go, dude. Sounds great, sweetie.”
“I have fed well, thanks to Mr. O’Brian. You may both take from me to appease your hunger.”
“I am hungry, lost all my dinner last night,” D`nae said, licking her lower lip.
“Come, you can feed in the truck. Mr. O’Brian finds our ways repulsive,” Tabitha claimed, glancing over at Grady as they walked by.
He just shook his head, knowing that no matter what he said, they would all know it was a lie, because even the thought of D`nae feeding from another’s body was more than he could handle. After seeing all the mutilation since he started looking for Alasdair, the thought alone was enough to make his stomach sick. D`nae took from Tabitha, but Danny chose to look elsewhere for his meal. He took to the sky, returning close to thirty minutes later, smiling with a red smear on the side of his face.
“Where have you been?” D`nae asked, wiping the blood off of his face.
“Ah wis doon the road. They’re be a fine keekin ranch.”
“You fed off of a farmer? Did you kill him?” D`nae asked excitedly.
“Nae, Hen. Ah ne’re even saw meself nae crofter. Ah drank fae one o his coo’s, nae be me first time either,” he replied, wiggling his brows.
“You’re so crazy,” she kissed his cheek and smelt the musk fur of the cow. “Yep, you been suckin cow, alright.” Then she started laughing.
“I think Alasdair will keep moving north,” Grady said changing the subject, showing that it still bothered him seeing them together. “If we can somehow get ahead of him, we could possibly prevent some innocent people from dying.”
“Ah agree. Ye aw take the wheels, an Ah’ll take the sky.”
“Like hell you will, what if we lose you… each other?”
“Can ye nae feel me hert beatin in yer chest, luv. We’ll be ane frum eer lastin.”
“Let’s move it,” Grady interrupted as their lips embraced.
“Be careful, and if you see anyone, or anything out of the ordinary, you better damn well come find us. I mean it, Danny!”
“Yes, Meither. Noo, gae feed oor frien. Ah’ll be watchin ye.” He kissed her one more time then yelled as he leapt into the night air.
“Show off,” D`nae said, then jumped up several times.
“What are you doing?” Grady asked, semi-laughing.
“Nothing,” she replied sheepishly, then pushed Tabitha towards the truck.
They drove through a drive thru and got Tabitha her ‘foot dog’ and fries. D`nae licked her lips and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths of the aroma into her lungs. Temptation got the best of her and she picked up a french fry, and popped it into her mouth. A few seconds later she began spitting like her mouth was on fire.
“Did you try one?” Tabitha asked with chili covering both sides of her mouth. D`nae nodded, then spit in Grady’s back floorboard a few more times.
“What’s going on back there?” he asked, looking in the rearview mirror.
“She placed food in her mouth,” Tabitha snickered.
“I didn’t know it would turn to fuckin’ ashes that taste like shit.”
“It just tastes that way, but it did not turn to ashes. One such as yourself should never attempt to eat or drink what you did in your life as a mortal,” Tabitha explained, doing her signature tilt with her head.
“It smells so good, but I sure won’t do that again. So, nothing, huh?”
“Some drink a dark red wine of age. It works on your kind like a strong whiskey would, say on a small child.”
“So, I can still party… how interesting.”
“Just remember, everything comes with a price.”
“Yeah, kind of just found that out,” D`nae said spitting one last time for good measure.
“Not meaning to change the subject, even though anything would be better than hearing you spit in my floorboard,” Grady coughed. “I’m passing the last place now, so keep your senses open.”
Tabitha and D`nae both stared out the window down the little dirt road that led to the elderly couples home, then looked at each other, remembering the sight they had walked away from. “Wonder how long it will be before anyone finds them?” D`nae asked, sliding down in the seat and kicking one leg over the front.
“Hey, do you mind?” Grady grumbled pushing her foot back over the seat. “You need to keep your eyes and ears open.”
No sooner than the words left his mouth, something crashed into the hood of the truck, then smashed the windshield on the passenger side. D`nae instinctively threw herself over, taking Tabitha with her. “Hang on!” Grady yelled, trying to get control of the truck, pulling it to a stop sideways in the bar ditch. He held the wheel in a death grip catching his breath, before he asked if they were okay. Both just nodded their heads and pushed themselves back up in the seat. Grady looked over at the damage, and wondered what the hell could have hit so high on the hood of a four by four truck. He opened the door to get out when Tabitha grabbed his wrist.
“I smell blood, better let us get out with you.”
“Why? You think the human can’t take care of himself?”
“No, because we can see and hear better than you, saving the human the trouble of losing his head,” Tabitha sarcastically replied, pushing the passenger seat up and opening the door.
They stepped out at the same time, while D`nae twitched her lip, holding them as tight as she could to keep from laughing. Her thoughts of Tabitha being too submissive just went right out the window, and she loved it. She slid out of Grady’s door, and walked around the back of the truck. Tabitha pushed the round solid object around with her foot then wiped the tip of her shoe on the paved road, marking it with a red smear.
“What is it? A head?” D`nae asked leaning down.
“No, it’s a bloody rock,” Tabitha replied.
“As in ‘bloody hell’?”
“As in blood coated, soaked,” Grady said, reaching down, already donning his latex gloves, and picking it up. “Can you get that black bag, there’re a few trash bags in it.”
“Glad you put those on before you picked that thing up, who knows what’s on it,” D`nae said reaching for the bag.
“Kinda been doing investigations for a while now,” he retorted, lowering the rock into the trash bag.
They walked around to the front of the truck and all eyes went to the sky. The dent was a good foot from the front of the hood and so indented that it almost pushed down into the motor. “Get back in the truck,” Grady demanded, pushing them toward the driver’s side door. He was facing D`nae when Tabitha screamed out. They turned back to see her being lifted into the air by a male that neither of them knew. Tabitha shifted in mid-air, and both went down somewhere in the trees about a hundre
d feet away. Grady pushed D`nae into the front seat then jumped in, hitting the gas so hard that the truck slid even further sideways before the front tires grabbed enough traction to put them back onto the paved road. He slammed on the brakes where he thought she might have gone down and was out the door without hesitation. D`nae was not only on his heels but passed him as soon as she was over the fence.
“Tabitha!” D`nae yelled.
“There, in the water!” Grady yelled from behind her, changing his direction, going straight for the tank.
Tabitha’s beast of an arm came shooting out of the water, then slammed back down on the head that was just breaking the surface. Grady threw his gun to the right and billfold to the left, never once missing a beat with his feet. He was knee deep when he threw his body forward and began swimming like a crazed man. The two fighting went under then came back up with the slender male vampire striking at Tabitha’s head, doing his best to get away from her massive jaws that were snapping mere inches from the front of his face.
“Don’t kill him, we need him,” Grady tried calling out over the waves rushing up and over his face.
Another dark figure came down from the night sky like a falling star, slamming into the water right beside Tabitha and the vampire. Grady began swimming as fast as he could to help a creature that once would have been his target, but was now becoming his friend. Two figures shot out of the water, leaving Tabitha’s wolf form to stare up at them, while she clawed at the water in anger.
“Whaur wud ye like me tae drop this de’il?” Danny asked, holding the unconscious vampire by the back of his clothes. Grady could be seen by the white of his teeth, then soon after as his body lifted up out of the water onto the shoulders of none other than Tabitha. He grabbed a handful of fur and held on tight as she made her way to the shore, with extreme speed for such a large being. She lowered him to the ground about the same time that Danny brought down the other man. D`nae ran up to Danny, as he rolled over the one that had attacked Tabitha. She walked over, still in beast form, her nose wrinkled and her breathing becoming more labored.
“Do you know him?” Grady asked, looking back up at her.
Tabitha nodded her head once then closed her eyes, backing away as her body began to change. She was on all fours, screaming out in pain when her transformation was complete. Grady and D`nae both rushed to her side. Her stomach was contracting with every gulp of air she sucked in, and when she exhaled, a huge moan of agony rolled from her lips. Grady ran to the truck and grabbed a long sleeve shirt and a pair of sweat pants. He pulled a towel out of his personal bag, then took it all back to D`nae. She began drying off the gunk that covered Tabitha every time she changed, and by the time she had the shirt over her head, the color had made its way back into her cheeks.
“What happened to you, sweetie? You just scared the holy shit out of me, ya know it?” D`nae said holding back a few tears.
“I forced myself to change back.”
“I thought you could do that at will,” D`nae replied, helping her up and into the sweats.
“It is true, but when I change from anger, it is a much more difficult process to control the creature that lives inside. Even I do not understand, I just know it is a harder ordeal.”
“But, you’re alright now?” Grady asked in a low voice.
“I am, and thank you for coming to my rescue, it was a very brave thing to do.”
“Hey, it was nothing. I just didn’t want you to kill him,” he said, then stopped when he saw the hurt look on her face. “You would have done the same for me. Glad you’re alright,” he added, then went over to Danny, and the enemy who was now moving.
The male opened his eyes, rolling them into the back of his head several times before actually being able to focus on his captors. He went to scoot back and bumped into Tabitha, who looked down and shook her head back and forth very slow. He made a move for the side, and Danny slapped him so hard his body lifted off the ground and he landed back by Tabitha’s feet. “What are you going to do with me?”
“Aw depends on fit ye be fur yackin aboot.”
“Where’s he at, Andrew?” Tabitha asked, stepping around and in front of him.
“He’ll kill me.”
“Cum, Andra. Dinnae tell that ye were nae gaun tae kill oor lassie here.”
“He told me to grab her, bring her back.”
“Bet you won’t be doing that again,” D`nae snickered, getting a stern look from everyone but the man on the ground.
“Where is he, Andrew?” Tabitha asked again, squatting down as her eyes began to glow.
“Hold your temper,” Grady said placing his hand on her shoulder.
“He said something about making all of you come to him. Knew the way he said.”
‘Where!” she screamed as her face began to elongate.
“Buddy if she changes, it’s your ass.”
“Said he was going to Colorado…” he paused. “After he made a few stops on the way.”
“What stops? What the hell are you talking about?” D`nae asked stepping up.
“You’ll find out. He really wants you for taking his dog,” Andrew replied laughing up at D`nae.
Tabitha made a move to go for him, when Grady’s gun blew off his head. He looked at the others, then took a few steps back and walked off. Tabitha kicked what was left of the body. “He was no more than a dog himself. Alasdair would have told him nothing.” Then she too walked away.
Danny put his arm over D`nae’s shoulder and kissed the side of her head. They explained to Danny what had happened to the truck, while Grady went over a few of his maps. He drew a line that ran all the way from Austin to the center of Colorado State, then hit the tip of it down.
“He could be anywhere, hell he could be watching us right now,” Grady claimed, looking down at the map.
“He’ll nae be round here.”
“Danny’s right. I would feel it if he were that close,” Tabitha added.
“You didn’t know ole Andrew was here.”
“You will soon find out the difference between a new creature and one that has been around for more than two hundred years. They have a different smell, a very powerful scent of strength,” Tabitha proclaimed, bumping into his bad shoulder. “It would pay to remember that.”
D`nae got into the truck with Tabitha, while Grady and Danny stood outside and talked amongst themselves for a few more minutes. Tabitha sat quietly, contemplating on whether or not to tell D`nae that Grady’s emotional flips were due to the scratch that she had given him that night. She could see that he was bouncing from smiling one minute to growling the next. His skin was a consistent red tint, and his eyes were taking on a glow every time his temper flared. She looked a D`nae with a worried scowl on her face as the boys got in the truck, and D`nae mouthed the words, “Are you okay?” Tabitha lowered her eyes, then looked back up at the back of Grady’s head, slowly glancing back at D`nae.
“Where to now, Grady?” D`nae asked, looking over at Tabitha.
“I think Alasdair’s going to be having his little goons on us no matter where we go. I say we head to Colorado.”
“I think we should find a place that we can relax and make a good stand, at least until we have a better plan. No way in hell are you sticking us in a damn cemetery again,” she replied putting her hand on Danny’s shoulder.
“We have a good seven hours of night that we can drive,” Grady snapped argumentatively.
“It’s three against one, Grady.”
“And it’s my damn truck!” he yelled, swerving on the road.
“Then let us out right here!” she demanded, causing Danny to turn around and look at her. “No, if he wants to be an ass, then let him.”
Grady slammed on the brakes, and D`nae hurried Danny up by pushing him on the back. Tabitha glanced back at Grady, then slid out to join the others. He hit the gas and left them in the wake of his dust.
“Noo fit?” Danny asked smiling.
“We walk,” D`nae repl
ied and started north up the road.
“I should have told you this before,” Tabitha said, walking up behind D`nae and Danny.
“Told us what?” D`nae stopped in replied.
“Grady is changing.”
“Well, hell honey we already knew that. He’s been acting like a real jerk.”
“When my claws went through your flesh, they marked him as well.”
D`nae just stood there staring at her.
“Are ye sayin that he’ll be fur cumin ane o yersel?” Danny asked with a shocked look on his face.
“You telling me that Grady’s turning into a werewolf, Tabitha?” D`nae asked taking her by both arms.
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
D`nae’s head went back and the sound of laughter reverberated throughout the woods that surrounded them. Tabitha blinked her confusion while Danny smiled, shaking his head. D`nae held her stomach, regaining her composure, and then put her arm over Tabitha’s shoulder.
“It serves him right, sweetie. Maybe he will see the light once he gets out of that stuffy human shell.” They talked while they made their way down the road, until they saw that Grady’s truck was pulled in behind an old abandoned gray house a few feet back from the road. The closer they got, they could see him leaning over the front of his truck, holding his side and throwing up.
Dark Knight of the Skye Page 15
