Silence.
Keeping an eye on the ghoul, who remained where he was, she cautiously walked past several cars when the smell was overwhelming. “Seriously? You’re using a ‘77’ Cadillac’s trunk for a coffin?” Grinning at the ghoul, she tapped the tip of her gun on the trunk. The surprise and fear on his face confirmed it.
Jackpot!
Now what?
Crunch of shoes on gravel had her swinging around. Salish snarled. The ghoul was already halfway across the parking lot and running hard for her. Damn, he could run fast! Aiming her gun at him, the trunk flew open, and the vamp inside jumped on top of her. Drool and teeth was all she saw as she struggled to keep the vamp away from her throat. He yelped and was thrown off her. Rathe yanked her to her feet, and she aimed, squeezing the trigger at the vamp when he ran at them.
Thrashing on the ground screaming, the vampire clutched his wounds as smoke rose where the bullets hit him. Rathe swung his sword and cut off the vampire’s head. The ghoul made to run in the other direction, stopped when she put a bullet in the back of his skull. Staring at the dead ghoul, blood and brain splattered across the gravel, it hit her what she’d done.
“Oh, my God, I killed him. I just shot a man dead.” Shaking, her gaze dropped to the gun in her hand. “I didn’t flinch. Just pulled the trigger.”
Rathe didn’t answer. He went to the ghoul and picked him up and threw him in the open trunk, slamming it shut. Tossing Holy water on vamp, the corpse burst into flames.
He opened the SUV’s door for the dogs. “Salish, Bear, inside.”
Taking her by the arm, he pulled her to the passenger side and pushed her inside the SUV. Hurrying, he climbed into the driver’s seat and put the car in reverse. He sped out of the parking lot and headed out of town.
“Rathe?”
“Keep watch. We’ve got to get rid of my car. The vampire we killed might have reported earlier what you’re driving.”
“How about a rental? We can leave your car there and switch to a new one.”
“Good idea.” He glanced at her. “Mariah, set the safety on and put your gun in your inner coat pocket.”
Numb, she did as he told her. Two blocks down the road, he pulled into a car rental agency and parked. “Grab everything. Empty the glove boxes, too.”
Hurrying to do as he ordered, she carried what she’d found to the back of the SUV and put it in the duffle bag. In the back seat, she found her computer bag. Checking to make sure it was intact, she had to laugh. Well, when her adventure ended, at least she could go back to her writing. Rathe returned and took the duffle bag as she leashed her dogs.
“Our car is the Escalade SUV.”
“Sweet.” Black with dark tinted windows, it was a beefy and beautiful.
“Can you drive?”
“Me? Sure.” She took the keys he handed her and urged the dogs in the luxury SUV. Sitting in the driver’s seat, the plush leather was soft to the touch and nice to sit on. Pushing the button, she lowered the window when Rathe came round to her side.
“Follow me.” He went to his car, and she followed him out of the parking lot.
Twenty minutes later, Rathe signaled right and turned down an old logging road. When he stopped, she did. He hurried to her and opened the passenger door and jumped in, motioning for her to drive back to the road.
“Rathe, how did I kill the guy without flinching? Just aimed and pulled the trigger. Is it the vampire in me that makes killing easy?”
“No, honey, you’re not evil. You killed him in self-defense. There’s nothing human left in a ghoul or any good found in the Damned. There’s no right or wrong in killing them, we do it to survive and to protect.”
Sniffing, she tried not bawl, but couldn’t stop. He stroked her hair. “Don’t, honey. You did right. Please don’t cry! Ah, shit!”
“What?” She glanced around, searching for vampires or ghouls.
“I forgot to purchase extra insurance for the car. You wreck it, I’ve got to buy it, and these cars cost around sixty thousand dollars!”
Wiping her wet cheeks with the back of her hand, she laughed. “Forgot the insurance, huh? You’re just asking for an accident there, mister.”
Grinning, he sat back in his seat. “Chuck it to shock. I don’t think I’ll ever get over seeing you calmly take out a vamp and his ghoul like you did. Nice shooting by the way.”
“You taught me.” She smiled at him as he got comfortable. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Being here, with me.”
“Mariah, I won’t let anyone hurt you or your child, I promise.”
“Where is your family?”
“They’ll meet us in Idaho. We need to move it though. We can’t risk staying in one location long.”
“You’re right.” She floored it.
“Have you eaten or can you eat?”
“Actually, I’m not hungry. Are you?”
He shook his head. “I’ll feed when we arrive in Coeur d’Alene.” Rathe fell silent for a moment. “Mariah, how are you handling finding out you are a Borne vampire’s daughter?”
“I-I guess I really wasn’t that surprised. Since the dreams, I pretty much had already figured out I was Aidan and Maria’s child. The real question is — who is the vampire who saved me. He must have been the one who arranged for me to live with the people I thought were my parents. I wish I knew who he was. I’d like to thank him for saving me from my uncle.”
“Probably not a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“He’ll want to kill me for endangering you and exposing you to Jarrod.”
She took Rathe’s hand in hers. “I have no regrets. Sooner or later, Jarrod would have found me. If you hadn’t found me first, I would be Damned now.”
Passing the ‘Welcome to Oregon’ sign, Rathe was quiet.
She swallowed, needing to ask him, “Have you heard of a prophecy concerning a child who is Gypsy and Vampire born, not bitten? Who is a telepath?”
“No, I haven’t. Why?”
“Jarrod thinks I’m the child of the prophecy and I can bring back his soul to him. I’ve got abilities, but not like my daughter.”
“What do mean?”
“My kid telepath, but she can do more than read people’s minds. When she was little, she could make them do things she wanted them to do. I had a helluva time teaching her to control herself. If Jarrod finds out about Kai, he’ll try to take her and convert her to the Damned.”
“Son-of-a-bitch.”
“I’ve kept her hidden to protect her from those who would use her gift and those who called her a freak. It’s been a long, hard road for her to live with what she can do. Now, because I’ve had to find out who I am, I’ve had to tell her to embrace her gifts. I’m so stupid sometimes.”
“No, you needed to know. Especially after what I’d started in you, when I gave you my blood. But you’re right. If Jarrod cannot get his hands on you, he’ll go after Kai.”
“I’ll kill Jarrod before he lays one finger on my kid!” The frightening possibility Jarrod contaminating Kai made her sick, and she gripped the steering wheel tighter.
Giving her a thoughtful perusal, Rathe said, “Maybe you should consider turning Kai.”
“What? Are you nuts?”
“Since I’ve met you, I’ve gone off the deep end a bit, but I’m being dead serious here. She would have the strength, like you, to fight him.”
“No, I can’t turn her. I’ve accepted I am becoming a vampire, but I cannot bring her into our world.”
Squeezing her hand, he said with frightening sincerity, “She already is. As the grandchild of a Borne vampire, the daughter of a dhampir, she will always be in our world.”
“Rathe, there’s something else you should know. I found out what Jarrod’s plans are for me.”
“His plans?”
“He wants to make me his bride.”
Rathe’s face grew hard, stony in his anger. “I knew he’d sunk low, bu
t to want to take his niece as his bride, to defile his brother’s daughter ... I’m sorry, Mariah, there is nothing sane about Jarrod Draco anymore.”
“I know. I thought once there might be something left of what he used to be, but not anymore.”
“Together, we will defeat him.”
Gazing into Rathe’s dark eyes, she saw his determination. “Yes, together, we can defeat him.”
✝✝✝
During the next seven hours they made small talk. Sleep was out of the question. Since her second blood exchange, the Change had taken firm hold and the night was like day for her.
Around four a.m., he pulled over at a turnabout, so they could take a break and let the dogs out to stretch their legs. She felt alive as never before. The whispers of the night spoke to her as she inhaled the pine and spruce scent of the life-brimming forests. She saw the dark was bluer than black as she gazed at the world transformed with vampire eyes.
“Mariah,” Rathe took her hand in his, “sunrise is in two and half hours. There’s no way you can make it to Coeur d’Alene.”
“I’ve got sunglasses and the windows are tinted. I cannot stop, not when I’m so close to home.”
Staring at her, he finally nodded. “I’ll drive until dawn, after that, you can go on from there. Tonight, I’ll meet you in Coeur d’Alene.”
“Rathe, have you ever heard of a vampire who’d lost his soul and later regained it?”
“You are sympathetic to the Damned’s plight, aren’t you?” He seemed to be genuinely amazed at the revelation.
“You wrongly judged Jarrod.”
“How? He—”
“He had full possession of his soul when he killed the villagers for murdering his brother.”
“No, do not allow him to fool you. Jarrod—”
“Rathe, he’s my family. His memories do not lie. I saw it. He was a Borne when he sought revenge.”
Rathe drew back, as if he’d been slapped. “No. No, it can’t be.”
“It’s true. Afterwards, when he declared war on you and the Borne, he told me he had deliberately chosen to lose his soul, to gain power and strength to fight you.”
“You don’t understand, and we do not have time for this.” He made to leave, but she stopped him.
“Rathe, what happened the night you judged Jarrod?”
Drawing in a deep breath, he let it out with a heavy sigh. “Aidan … Jarrod, it’s complicated.”
“You knew my father, didn’t you?”
Looking away briefly, he answered, “Yes. Aidan and Jarrod were part of our family. They’d been abandoned by their parents, we took them in. We were close as brothers. In fact, we were made Slayers on the very same day.”
“If you knew them, how could you have mistaken Jarrod losing his soul when he hadn’t? Was it the list of ‘what to look for’ constructed by your father?”
“Partly.”
“Partly?”
“Mariah, he slaughtered an entire village in revenge for his brother, a vampire who would have been condemned by the Elders for consorting with a human pregnant with his child.”
“So you would have judged Aidan, too?” Horrified Rathe could be so cold-hearted, she made to withdraw, but he stopped her.
“Dammit, woman, I’m not that much of a bastard!”
“Okay. Tell me your side.”
“My side?”
“Yes. I’ve seen Jarrod’s, the vampire who saved me when I was born, and the memories of my mother’s. But I haven’t yours.”
He looked away. “I’ve been careful around you. I wanted to tell you, but,” he shrugged his big shoulders, “I wasn’t certain how to. The horror I witnessed. The villagers’ bodies. Aidan butchered. So much blood and carnage.” He jammed his hands in his jean pockets and shifted to lean back against the car.
“Aidan left for Bucharest on orders to slay a rogue vamp hunting humans there, while Jarrod and I had gone onto Moscow on another mission. He was supposed to meet us in two days, but a week went past and contact could not be made with Aidan. Jarrod knew his brother wasn’t dead, but Aidan wasn’t responding to him. We went searching for Aidan and learned he had never reached Bucharest. Jarrod was frantic, still unable to speak with his brother.”
“We were about to call my father, when Jarrod heard his brother's call for help, felt his rage and fear. We flew as fast as our abilities allowed, but we arrived too late.” Rathe rubbed his face, as if he were trying to scrub the horror he’d witnessed away. “The villagers were savage in making certain Aidan did not rise from his death. When they finished, they displayed him at a crossroad, a mile from the village, as if he were a prized trophy. Or a warning. Either way, it was gruesome, even for a Slayer to see.”
“Jarrod just stared at Aidan’s headless corpse tied to a wooden cross. Never said a word. The villagers had stuck Aidan’s head on a pike. I cut Aidan’s body free, and that’s when Jarrod dissolved into mist. I opened a grave and had buried Aidan when I heard screams in the village.” Rathe looked at her when she laid her hand on his bicep.
“That’s when Jarrod attacked the men who killed my father.” She leaned back against the car for support.
“Not just the men. Bodies of women and children were everywhere. Jarrod had torn the humans’ throats out, ripped them limb from limb. He was like a maddened beast, draining his victims and tossing them aside like rag dolls. To stop him, I knew I had to kill Jarrod. We battled until he realized he could not defeat me, and he fled. That’s why Jarrod declared war on me, because I chose to protect the humans from him and his rage. Now you know why I had to kill him. Even if he hadn’t lost his soul at the village, Jarrod had to be stopped. If he had only killed the men who had hurt and killed Aidan, I would not have interfered. He went too far when he killed the innocent.”
“Well, we have to finish the job now,” she grimly said. “We’ve an advantage since he thinks you’re dead.”
“First things first, we need to get your daughter to safety. Afterwards, we can devise a plan to stop him.”
“Then we’d better get a move on.”
Following him to the passenger side of the car, he let her dogs in and opened her door for her. Buckling her seatbelt, she sat there, astounded at the depths a vampire, Damned or Borne, could feel, how much they could love — the grief they felt when those they had loved died. It was humbling and terrifying, to be part of the tragedy vampires suffered and endured. And the consequences of her actions had led her to it, returning to the world her guardian vampire had tried to spare her of.
✝✝✝
True to his word, when dawn broke the horizon, Rathe stopped and shut the engine off. Recognizing the town as New Meadows, she calculated at least five hours of driving ahead of her still.
“Keep the gun on you at all times. Be safe. Please?” He cupped her face between his hands, his eyes imploring her to heed his warning.
“I will. I promise. Just hurry when you rise. I-I have a bad feeling that Jarrod is not far behind me.”
Kissing her, gently and slow, he reluctantly drew away. “I—” Whatever he was about to say was lost when a ray of sunlight streamed across his face and he disappeared.
Sighing, she scooted into the driver’s seat. Faced with her growing feelings for Rathe and the stress of driving in sunlight, she mentally pulled up her big girl panties, put on her sunglasses, and started the car.
Several twenty-four ounce, quad shot lattes later, she sighed in relief as she began the descent toward Lake Coeur d'Alene. Its blue waters stretched out alongside the forest surrounding it. When her road neared, she signaled to turn. Half a mile and the two-story lake house loomed before the car, a welcoming sight in the midst of running from a psychotic vampire and sunlight slowly killing her!
Parking beside David’s truck, she opened the door and slid out of the SUV, her legs shaking. She let her dogs out, smiling as they ran about, barking happily. A shrill shriek jerked her around to the house, and she saw Rona running toward her with a
big grin. Six inches taller than her, Rona hugged her tight, lifting her completely off the ground.
“Don't you ever scare me like that again, do you hear me?” Rona set her down and took her arm in hers, leading her to the house. “Okay, fess up. What’s going on?”
David, Rona's husband, held the door open for them. “Rona, give her a break. You can interrogate Mariah later.” He smiled at her. “Go on and get some sleep. Don't worry about Salish and Bear, I'll feed them.”
“Thanks. I’m exhausted.”
“Don’t you want something to eat first?” Rona asked, concerned.
Shaking her head, the thought of eating food was completely out of the question. “What time is the book signing?” she asked as she forced her feet to walk up the stairs to her bedroom.
“At five.”
Checking her wall clock, it read twelve. “Good. Gives me a couple of hours to sleep. Rona, I need to call Kai.” Groaning, she stretched out across her bed.
“Sure. I’ll close the door. I’ll wake you around four.”
“Sounds good.” When the door shut, she fumbled for her cell phone, dialing Kai.
“Mom, you’re here!”
“Physically anyway. You safe?”
“Uncle Joe has taken vacation time to stay with me. I had to tell him what was really happening.”
“He believed you?”
“Yep, and he got Holy water and crosses for us, too. Anne got scared, so she took her daughters to Canada. Joe was not happy, but he said it was much easier to guard me without fighting with Anne.” She laughed nervously. “Is Rathe coming? I love Uncle Joe, but Rathe knows how to fight Jarrod.”
Amazed by her daughter's confidence in someone she had never met, especially a vampire, it struck Mariah what her daughter had said. “Kai, how do you know Rathe and Jarrod’s names?”
“I was warned about Jarrod. Never trust him. Keep hidden from him. He said I could trust the Romulas family, and they would protect us from the Damned.” Kai hesitated. “Mom, don’t get mad, but I think he’s always been there for us. Like a guardian angel, protecting us.”
Whisper to Me (Borne Vampires Book 1) Page 16
