by W. J. May
"Figures. So how do you feel about trying it today?" Tessa grinned at the disgruntled look on his face.
"I’d rather you had your learner's license." He rolled deeper under the boughs.
Tessa snorted. "Yeah, right about now, so do I." She crouched down, looking for a corner in their hidey-hole for herself. "We need to call Mom or David. They could come pick us up."
Serus grimaced. "She'd love that."
"That's hardly the issue right now." And it wasn't. Not today, not when they needed help.
"Damn it." Her dad went to reach inside his pocket then stopped. "Except if Jacob is involved then she’d be driving into a trap." He put the phone away. "We got into this mess, we’ll have to get ourselves out of it."
Tessa groaned and settled down.
It was going to be a long wait.
***
"Jared?"
"Wake up, Jared."
A harsh slap helped pull Jared out from his drug induced dreams. He swam through swaths of cotton batting to the surface way above him. Opening his eyes a few minutes later, he groaned and slammed them shut again. "The light," he gasped. "It hurts."
The lights dimmed.
Jared tried to open his eyes again. "Thanks, that’s better." He studied the face in front of him. "What happened?" Two other people moved around the room, both in white lab coats. "Am I in the hospital?"
"Not really. But you weren't absorbing the drugs as you should have been. We had to bring you down to run some more tests."
A small prick in his arm had him glancing down.
"There. Nothing to worry about. We’ll do the tests in the morning when some of the drugs clear your system. Just try to rest and have a good night’s sleep."
With that the room emptied. Jared took a quick glance around his half of the room. Empty beds lined both walls. In the windowless room, he struggled to get his bearings. Fluorescent lights flooded the room. It resembled a hospital ward, but not quite. He tried to sit up.
And stopped.
He was strapped down. His hand went to the buckles and tried to loosen them.
"Don’t even bother."
Startled, he turned slightly to face his neighbor. Another young male, strapped into a bed similar to his, stared at him.
"Where are we?" Jared asked.
"In the infirmary – at the blood farm."
***
Tessa woke to heavy snoring.
Yawning, she sat up and groaned softly. Her back screeched in outrage. Sleeping under a tree did nothing for her spine. Looking around, she studied the other two sleeping vamps. Hard to imagine anyone would be afraid of her species if they could see these two. Her dad was curled up in fetal position that mocked his large frame and height. On the other side, still curled under Tessa’s jacket, Wendy slumbered like a baby. They were all tired from having powered through those miles last night. They had a right to be tired. Tessa didn’t feel too lively this afternoon, herself.
She peered through the heavy boughs. They were missing a lot of the basic amenities, like a toilet, but as a hiding place, the dense branches had done the job.
Both vehicles had left. She’d never even heard them start up. She’d been so tired it would have taken a bomb going off at her side to wake her.
With one last look around, she nudged her father’s shoulder. "Dad, wake up. It’s almost evening again."
"Whaaat?" Groggy, and rubbing his eyes, Serus sat up and banged his head on the low branches. "Ouch," he bellowed.
"Shh. I think we’re alone, but I wouldn’t want to find out the hard way that we aren’t."
Now that he was finally awake and aware, understanding filtered into his eyes. "Have you seen anyone?"
"No. The vehicles are gone, too."
He shot her a quick look. "You didn’t hear them?"
"No. And no, I don’t know where Jacob is either."
He pursed his lips as he studied the layout of the place. "He’s probably worried he lost us and has gone for help."
"I highly doubt it," Tessa muttered. She scrambled to her feet and slipped out from under the boughs. Straightening her back, she couldn’t stop moaning. What a relief to be able to stretch all the way up again. They’d only been under there for half a day, yet her spine felt like it had been compressed into a Slinky.
The afternoon heat still lingered, making pine and spruce the flavor of the day. She sniffed appreciatively. It reminded her of her childhood and the one time they’d gone camping. That was during her mom’s attempts to help her get in touch with her human side. Camping, was apparently a common activity for humans.
She could see the fresh air and open skies might make it appealing, but sleeping on the ground sucked. She glanced down at Wendy. "We should wake her up and get moving."
Her dad nodded. "Yeah, I want to go home and fill up."
Tessa frowned. Yet another difference. She was starving too, but she'd eaten before leaving and had a granola bar stuffed in her pocket. They'd had smoothies earlier and usually could longer than her but this amount of expended energy must have drained them quickly.
"I’m fine. Don’t give me that look. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time now. Don’t need my daughter to fuss over me like I’m in my dotage."
Tessa hid her grin. At least he didn’t sound like he’d pass out on her.
Wendy sat up and yawned. "Is it safe to leave now? I could use a shower."
"I think so." Tessa strode toward the house and tested the front door. "It’s locked."
The two had walked up behind her. Serus said, "Good. Let’s head home."
The return journey was faster than she’d expected, and they were home in just under two hours.
The house was full.
Her mother came running. "There you are. We were worrying about you."
Serus gave her a warm hug. "Time ran out and we had to hide out."
Rhia cast a long look at Tessa’s face, the worry easing from her features. "That’s what we figured. Goran isn’t back yet, either."
"Really?" Tessa frowned. The flyers should have made it home in half the time. "That’s not good. They should have been home a long time ago."
"We were just organizing a search party. None of our teams are answering their phones, and we haven’t heard from them since dawn."
Serus straightened. "Let’s go. There’s no time to lose."
She nodded. "Tessa, you need to eat and rest. There’s a whole group of people here who are going to be waiting with you."
"That’s nice. They can wait without me."
"Don’t you start," bellowed Serus. "Haven't you had enough excitement for one night?"
"Absolutely. However, as Jared may not get a second night, I’m not going to bail on him because I might be tired. Cody could also need help. For all we know the flying group found something. Or worse, someone found them. I’ll grab something to go, thank you very much."
Father and daughter glared at each other.
Rhia stepped between them. "No. You’re not going this time. This could be dangerous."
Tessa snorted. "Like it hasn’t been already? Jacob has likely betrayed us. You did notice he didn’t return with us, didn’t you?"
At the shocked look on her mother’s face, Tessa shrugged. "I saw him standing with several men after Dad and Wendy were locked in a basement. I’d left the three of them together while I scouted the outbuildings in the daylight. When I came back after doing a search, Jacob stood outside with two other men. They searched the outbuildings, presumably for me." She glared at her father. "So I’m coming. Don’t talk to me about danger."
Her mother gasped and turned on Serus. "Is she right?"
"I don’t know. I didn’t see Jacob with anyone. All I know is after he went to look for another way out, we never saw him again. Then Tessa showed and told me this." Serus held up his hand to forestall both women from speaking. "We can’t assume anything at this point." He patted Rhia’s shoulder. "Maybe the house belongs to friends of
his and he headed them off to protect us."
"Did you consider that he might have been captured? That maybe he’s in danger right now?" Rhia spun around at the gathered crowd. "What am I going to say to his father?"
"I haven’t seen Bret in weeks – if not months. Matter of fact, Marie hasn’t been around much either."
Her parent’s gazes locked.
Tessa hated that. They always seemed in perfect communication. Telepathy wasn’t something vampires were known for, but long-time unions tended to develop the skill over the years. Not only was it freaky to those on the outside, but it made her envious. What she wouldn’t give to have someone who knew her so well that speech wasn’t required.
David walked over to them, studied the intent look on his parents' faces and sighed. "Whenever you’re done? Hello?"
His mom blinked. "Oh, I’m sorry. We’re just discussing some things."
"Yeah, we know. Can we get this show on the road? Cody is in trouble," David snapped.
"How do you know that?" Tessa grabbed his arm. "Did you hear from him?"
"Just got a text in. He's locked inside some weird mausoleum of a house with self-locking doors up in the hills."
Serus's face darkened. "I might know the place. Let's go." He turned to Rhia. "You and David drive. I don’t want all of us arriving from the same direction. Just in case."
"I'm coming. You can’t go alone. Mom and David can drive. And we’ll probably still beat them. What about Seth? Can he come? He’s a great glider."
"He's been called out on an emergency at work. At the time there was no reason to keep him home. Tessa, honey, you can't jump again. You have to be exhausted!"
At the reminder, Tessa could feel her muscles screaming, especially her upper thighs. "I'm sore, but I'm not injured." She tapped her foot impatiently. "Alright already. Let's go."
She raced inside the house for a quick visit to the bathroom. At the last moment she folded a swatch of toilet paper and stuffed in her pocket. Better to be prepared and all that. Exiting via the kitchen, she stuffed her pockets full of granola bars and hooked an apple and banana from the fruit bowl on the counter. The banana she peeled and scarfed down as she walked back outside. The apple she stuffed into another pocket.
"Your father just suggested that we all drive."
Tessa shook her head. "If we drive, Goran might miss us. He can track us much better if we're airborne."
Serus paused in the act of getting into the front seat of the family Land Cruiser. "Damn. She's right, Rhia. We're going to have to jump to make sure we don't miss them."
"Serus, no. She can't go out again. You know she doesn't have the strength or endurance for this..."
Tessa never heard the rest of the complaint. Instead she took a running jump to the top of the fir at the back of the property. "Coming, Dad?"
"Serus?" Rhia wailed.
Tessa watched her father land gracefully a few branches down from her. "Think you're so smart do you? Well, I've still got a few tricks to teach you. Let's go." He hopped to the top of a large telephone pole and gracefully ran on the wires to the next one. Within seconds he'd reached the middle of the next block.
"Well, are you coming or not? You don't want them to beat us, do you?" he called back softly.
"Hell, no." But Tessa still had her work cut out for her – to keep her mouth shut as she watched her father glide ahead of her. Damn it. How did he do that? By the end of the fourth block she realized she'd forgotten to switch her vampire vision on. With that open and functioning, her ability to judge the distances smoothed out and she landed easier and could take off faster. A giggle escaped. Two nights ago, she'd have sworn that she'd never be pole hopping with dear ole dad. Yet here she was.
Her giggle turned to laughter as she managed the next three horizontal jumps more smoothly yet again. Now she felt like she was flying.
"Hey, that's not bad. Maybe you just needed to get in some practice."
She stopped to catch her breath one pole away from him. "And I needed to switch to vampire vision." Their voices carried easily in the evening air.
"You really have to turn it off and on? Why not just leave it on all the time?"
"Because I can't see in daylight with my vampire vision and human vision gives me a longer viewing distance."
"It's better?" He reared back, obviously shocked at the concept.
"Not better – different." She took a bite of her apple while she thought about that. "The colors are stronger with vampire eyes and I have better peripheral vision with my human sight." She shrugged. "When I open them both at the same time, I see so much more."
"There's your answer then." He floated to the next pole. "Keep them both on all the time."
For the next while, it took all of Tessa's energy to keep up with her father. He'd picked up the pace as they came to the end of the poles and moved cross country toward the mountains. Treetops to roofs to sheds to high voltage stations. That last one had made her gulp. Still, after watching him barely touch before floating onward, she decided to not think about it and just followed his lead.
After another ten minutes, she glanced back, surprised to see that not only was the house long gone, but so was town. They'd covered miles already. The air had chilled, too. Her jumping style had changed as well. Without realizing it, Tessa had started to copy yet another smooth move of her father's. He touched a bough, then slipped off to the next tree, landing and gathering energy, without expending energy from a full stop.
She couldn't ignore a sense of pride at his moves – or with her ability to keep up with him. She might not have his skills, gracefulness, or experience. However, she was making up for all three with sheer guts and determination. Her crab walk had developed to something that was similar to her father’s moves but with a style all her own. That had to count for something.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Tessa had to admit that once again she'd misjudged her abilities. Fatigue made her legs shake and her landings were no longer graceful. More like firewood hitting cement.
"Come on over here. We’ll take a quick break."
She couldn’t hide the relief on her face when she landed beside her dad. "How much further?"
"Not. The house should be in the next half mile. I just want to make sure you understand that things could get dicey, depending on what we find when we get there."
"I didn't choose it, Dad, but once trouble came calling––"
"Don’t think that I don't appreciate the determination and sheer guts you’ve shown. I just wish the reason was different."
"I do, too. Now shouldn't we finish this last half mile?"
He just stared at her and shook his head.
"What? You don't want Mom to beat us, do you?"
"Hell, no. She'd never let me live it down."
Tessa grinned. The competitiveness between her parents had provided many funny moments over the years.
"Then lead off."
He glared at her and took off in a smooth glide.
Alone, she allowed herself a moment of weakness. Just one. Then, digging deep, she followed at a slower pace. They reached their destination short moments after. She landed on the roof of a huge house that sat in complete darkness, hidden by large trees. Sunlight would have a hard time reaching this place.
What a perfect vampire house. Many of her vampire relatives had similar places on the edge of town, only not as imposing or as large.
"Quite the place." Tessa couldn't help admiring the sheer size of the mansion.
"Yeah. It's been in Moltere's family forever. I can't sense him here at all."
"Did he live alone? Have a family?" Tessa asked.
"He lost his partner over a century ago. To my knowledge he never did find another one. As for children…there were some. I can't say I remember the details. Suppose I should have kept track. ‘Understand thy enemy’ and all that. We all just tried to forget that he'd even existed."
"Until now." Tessa walked the large roof looking fo
r vehicles, or any sign of occupants. "I'm not sure anyone is here at all. Could Cody be anywhere else?"
"Possibly." Serus walked to the one end and stared off in the distance. "Those headlights should be your mother’s."
"So, we did beat them."
"Of course." The two exchanged smirks. Triumphant partners.
Tessa's frown dropped away. There'd been no triumph for Jared yet. Or Cody. And Cody was here because he had helped her, believed in her when no one else did. She walked to the edge of the roof and looked down. "So now what? Go in through the front door?"
"How else?"
Tessa pointed. "Through the decks, maybe. An element of surprise, just in case."
He joined her at the edge, glanced at the deck she'd pointed out and nodded in surprise. "Not bad."
They landed softly and tried the glass knobs on the French doors. Both opened easily.
"Guess no one’s worried about intruders, huh?" Tessa peered inside.
"They’re open because who is there for Moltere to be concerned about? He’s the one that used to cause all the trouble."
Serus had walked through what appeared to be an office and out into the main upstairs hallway while he spoke. Tessa followed, awestruck at the grandest house she’d ever been in. "Wow," she whispered at the size of oil paintings covering the large walls. The ceilings were vaulted and covered in fancy scrolls.
The upper hallway was edged by a beautiful railing. When she looked over it, she could see all the way down. Magnificent, yet a little cold. The house was so vast it should have been filled with kids and staff. Laughter and conversation should echo throughout – instead, it felt empty. Unloved.
Her father walked the upstairs hallway and opened four doors, checking for signs of life in each room. Nothing. She waited for him to join her. "Down a level?"
"Yes. I’d like to be on the main floor before the rest of the family gets here."
"Right."
They moved like clockwork going from floor to floor, checking every room. Nothing. At the main floor there was a huge entranceway. Footprints in the dust shone in the moonlight. Tessa pointed them out. "Cody's energy is on those. So they are here somewhere."
