by Dale Mayer
The hallway was empty. She had to pull her memories up to the front as she tried to refresh herself on the recent events. She was sorry about Bart, but given what he’d done to her father, she wasn’t sad that he was dead. Enough was enough though. So much death, and there was no end in sight. Why? For the damn blood farms. Ones that should have been closed down a long time ago.
She ran a hand over her temple, wondering when she’d last fed. At the word, she paused. God, she was starting to sound like a vampire. She was one, but she hated to be associated with them. At least in that way. What she wouldn’t do for a granola bar. Only there wouldn’t be any here. Where in this war were they? Bart had taken the canisters. So where were those now? She came to a stop and spun around to face Cody and Motre. “What happened to the canisters?”
“They were taken back to the Council Hall for analysis,” Cody responded. “No one has gotten back to us as to what was in them.”
“Not enough time, I imagine.” She kept walking forward. “And my father?”
“He’s improving.” This time it was Motre with the update. “Goran is with him. He’s recovering slowly.”
She nodded but kept moving forward. “And the war?”
“It’s at a stall. The enemy appears to have retreated.”
“Damn. The hospital is clear?”
“It is ours.”
“Well, that’s something. Do we know where the enemy is now?”
There was no immediate answer, and she knew she wasn’t going to like what she was about to hear. She slowed and turned. “Motre?”
“No.” He winced. “We lost them.”
“What about the men from the mechanic room.”
“None were left alive.”
She groaned. “Of course there weren’t, that was David and Goran I suppose.” She smiled at the memory. “How is David doing?”
“He’s fine.” Cody said. “He’s looking for Jewel.”
“Jewel?” Tessa gasped. “What’s wrong with her?”
“She was at the hospital but walked out.”
“Right.” She vaguely remembered hearing something about that.
Of course David was searching for Jewel. Tessa would be on it herself if she wasn’t tied up here. But David was out there. If he ran into trouble, he’d ask for help. He was good at knowing his boundaries. Too bad she wasn’t. She’d walked where angels feared to tread, and look at what it had gotten her. Just mistrust and suspicion from the others, and she had to admit to having doubts herself. She not only couldn’t be sure about Deanna, she now had to wonder – where was Hortran in all of this? Had her cataclysmic fire burnt him to ash too?
She hoped not. She liked Hortran. And if he was still alive, he had much he could teach her. And she’d like to learn everything he was willing to share. That highway system to communicate with others like them would be wonderful. She could only talk to Cody right now, and that was awesome—
Damn right, he growled in her head. And that’s the way it’s going to stay.
I got that. But there is more to learn. Hortran knew so much.
Knew? Past tense?
Maybe. But I can’t tell for sure.
Can you sense him anymore?
No. Her answer was short, curt.
She felt more than saw his smile. He was walking on her left, Motre on her right. There were others around somewhere. Her reality had shifted so much she didn’t even know what she was thinking or feeling. One dominant sensation was fatigue. Lord, she was tired. Why? Right. The fight with Deanna. The energy required for what she’d done had drained her. She needed to refresh her energy supplies. She could feel her vampire genes kicking up, but almost like a wet spark plug, as if they were there and willing but not capable of jumpstarting the engines. She needed food and rest. But not here.
“If everything here is fine, then I suggest we head back to Council Hall.”
“Best idea yet.” Motre laughed. “My men are in need of blood and some rest.”
“Me too,” she said, trying to keep her voice strong. She could hear the fatigue in it herself. “I don’t suppose anyone has a granola bar on them, do they?”
Motre laughed. “Not likely.”
“There are several cases at Council Hall,” Cody said.
“Good, I’d like to be there. And catch up on the news. Not to mention to see everyone.” She yawned. “I hope they are all okay. I really need to rest.”
“Sian is fine,” Cody answered. “Your mother is still missing, and who knows on Jewel? I’m presuming David has found her. If not, then he’s still looking.”
“Yeah, and Jared? Wendy? Ian?”
She frowned at the confused look on his face. “I have no idea.”
Just then, Cody’s cell phone rang with text messages, followed by Motre’s phone going off.
She glanced from one to the other.
And heard Cody’s whispered, “Shit.”
“What’s wrong?”
Then her phone went off. She pulled it out of her pocket. “Jared.” She grinned. “Perfect timing.” She read the message and gasped then cried. “Oh my God. My mother?”
Behind her, she heard Cody muttering about Ian and Wendy. She spun to look at the men. “How can we track them? We have to find them now before we lose all of them into the system. They’ll be drugged and lost to us within hours.”
Cody stared at her. “We have Jared’s cell number now. We should be able track his phone and find them.”
Motre frowned. “It was always Ian who could do that stuff.”
“And my brother.”
“I’m not as brilliant, but I can do this,” Cody said defensively, already clicking on his cell phone. “We’ve been able to track several people this way through the tunnels.”
She laughed, remembering. “We did indeed.”
“And now we can use it again to track the others. One big rescue and we’ll be able to scoop all of them up.” Motre grinned. “I like it.”
“We’ll need backup.” Cody said.
“No problem,” Motre said, holding up his phone. “I’ve got lots of young men ready and willing to join the fight. We just need to know where to send them.”
He turned to look at Cody. “How long is that going to take?”
“I’m on it. Give me a few more minutes…” Cody muttered, clicking away.
“We need to contact the others. Our fathers. Sian and Taz,” Tessa said. “They need to be a part of this.”
Motre nodded. “Call them. Bring them up to date. They need to hear from you too.” And he walked a few steps away to make calls of his own.
She stared down at the phone in her hand. It was almost as if they were coming full circle. Jared had been kidnapped by rogue vamps and she was mounting an army to go after him. It was funny and sad at the same time.
She called Sian and filled her in. It took longer than she expected, and then she had to speak to her father and Goran too. They were all at the Council Hall, all of them ready and willing to come to the rescue.
God, she loved that about them. All of them. Not one questioned her sanity or identity. They all trusted her.
She glanced over at Cody and realized he’d been watching her for the last few moments.
Now if only he would trust her too.
*
Cody watched Tessa walk out the exit. She looked normal. Sounded normal. Acted normal. Except Deanna was a time bomb waiting to happen. And he couldn’t help feeling that having happened once, even though Tessa believed Deanna was no longer capable of such a thing, Deanna could just be waiting for another opportunity to strike. Or rather waiting for the time to move her agenda to the next level.
Somehow Tessa had to be convinced that she had a problem. And as much as he wanted to trust her, he wasn’t sure that he could. At least until he knew that Deanna was gone. Or had so little control that she couldn’t take over Tessa again.
I can only tell you that I can’t feel her, Tessa said quietly. Her memories are here,
but there’s no hint of anything else.
Maybe she’s just hiding.
There was an odd silence. I don’t think so, she said.
Neither did you think so before, he snapped, his frustration boiling over. After a moment, he said, I’m sorry, but it wasn’t much fun to watch Deanna in action.
No, she whispered. It wasn’t much fun for me either.
He reached out and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her closer. When she leaned into him, he kissed her temple.
He hated that he wondered if Deanna was going to spring out and surprise him with a cutting remark. He’d love to kiss Tessa, but to know that Deanna…
“She’s not here,” she whispered.
“So you say, but you didn’t see her in action…”
“No, I didn’t,” she said softly, her voice low so Motre, walking slightly ahead of them, couldn’t hear. “But I could feel her. It was horrific not being able to get free of my prison.”
“Prison?” He hated the thought of Deanna having that level of control. And to think of Tessa imprisoned inside her own mind, aware but incapable of doing anything about the situation, well, that was really hard to deal with. Let alone accept. He was so damn pissed at that old biddy he wanted to punch something, but it was Deanna he wanted to punch.
“What about a signal to say that it’s me and not her?”
“A signal?” He studied her as she walked. “But if she’s in there right now, wouldn’t that signal be something she’d know, too?”
Tessa was quiet for a long moment then said, “Not if the key was something from your mind. She can force her way into anyone’s mind, or rather she could, but she couldn’t access your memories.”
“And?” How was that going to help him?
“So she couldn’t know about things you know.”
“We could only use it once though, because as soon as she knows, then it’s no longer a safe word to use.”
Her feet slowing, Tessa nodded. “I’m not sure what access she has to my memories right now. I want to believe she’s completely incapable of accessing anything…”
Cody snorted.
She nodded, “But I’m not a fool. She’s tried to take over several times already, but not since this last dust up.”
“Thank you for at least acknowledging she’s potentially still a problem.”
“Only for your sake. I’m sure she’s not in there anymore.” Tessa stopped and closed her eyes. After a moment, she shrugged her shoulders and said, “I can’t feel her.”
“Can you feel Hortran?” he asked curiously.
She closed her eyes then said, “No.”
“So as nothing happened to him and you know he’s in there somewhere, then you know that she likely is, too.”
“But there is only a tiny bit of Hortran left.”
“Well, maybe after what you did, there’s only a tiny bit of her left, too,” he said in exasperation. “But I don’t care how small, that women is a menace.”
Motre stopped and turned back to face them. “Are you two done?” He motioned around them. “The vehicle is supposed to be here with a driver. Now there’s a vehicle all right, not that you two noticed,” he snapped. “But there is no one here.”
Cody did a slow search of the car park. There were a few parked vehicles farther away, but there was no sign of anyone. The ministry van was in front of them, cold and empty.
“Then where is he?” Cody asked, his back going up. “Like we need more shit going on.”
“There’s no energy around it. This vehicle hasn’t been driven in days.”
She spun and waved her arm. “The same for the rest of these. There’s been no one around here for a long time.”
“Can you see any energy?” Motre asked. “Anywhere?”
In a sharp voice, Tessa said, “There’s been no one in this lot in days. So I don’t know where we are, but it’s not the same place everyone else was.”
*
Hell, the last thing he wanted to do was tell Serus about the text he just got from Jared. How the hell had that kid found his number in the first place?
Except considering how many of the kids had hooked up comparing notes, it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise. The kids were running circles around him when it came to technology.
“What is it, Goran?” Serus asked.
Goran looked over at this friend. “I’m not sure I should tell you.”
The skin on Serus’s face tightened. “Tell me.”
With a shrug, Goran handed over his cell phone. “Read it yourself. It’s from Jared.”
Serus snatched the phone out of his hand and read the message. His eyebrows shot up and the little color he’d had in his face completely drained away, leaving his skin a gray pasty color. “No, oh no. Not this shit again.”
He scrolled up and down the phone then tossed it on the bed close to Goran. “Game plan?” he barked. “What’s our first step?”
Goran studied his friend. “For you to get healthy.”
Goran’s phone buzzed. He checked the incoming message. “Jared apparently contacted everyone. Cody is working on tracking the cell phone and Motre is collecting an army,” he crowed. “Yes. We’re on it, Serus. You are going to stay here and heal.”
There was a snort at the doorway. Goran looked up from the phone to see Serus out the door and striding down the hallway ahead of him.
“Hey, wait for me,” Goran raced after him. “You shouldn’t be doing this, you know.”
“My wife is in trouble. My son is missing and my daughter is going after them both. Who the hell knows where David is, why hasn’t he checked in?”
“No idea. He’s searching for Jewel, who walked out of her hospital room.”
“Smart girl.” He shot Goran a ferocious grin. “If I’m going to die, it’s going to be in a way that I take dozens of assholes with me.”
“Ha.” Goran poked him. “In the condition you’re in now, you’d likely die in the first confrontation.”
And with the two men wrangling like old times, they raced to the main elevator. And came to a complete stop at the wash of sunlight shining through the doors.
“God damn it. It’s like the world is against us. Even Mother Nature won’t let us catch a break.”
“We need suits and bikes or a good vehicle.”
“No bikes. I might be on my feet, but I’m not sure I could handle that right now. So a Council vehicle it is.”
The two spun around and raced to the garage. There were always a half dozen vehicles available. And sure enough, Goran found several empty ones. Another drove up. Goran hopped into the driver’s side as the driver got out. He looked like a doctor. He nodded at him then hopped in and slammed the door. He started up the vehicle and waited while Serus buckled up. “You sure you’re up for this?”
“Just drive. There’s no way in hell my family is going off to war without me.”
“Can’t wait to see what Tessa’s going to say when she sees you.”
“She’s my daughter. She won’t say a damn thing.”
Goran roared with laughter as he hit reverse and drove the vehicle out into the sun. “Wanna bet?”
*
David raced down the hallway. It couldn’t be her, could it? He’d just caught a glimpse of her profile as she darted around the corner, but it had been enough for him to race after her. “Jewel, is that you?”
Could it have been her? And if it was, what the hell was she doing here? He’d been searching for her for hours. He thought she’d be safe, but instead she’d walked out on her own. And why run from him? Unless she didn’t know it was him? He stood undecided in the middle of the two sets of stairs. One up and one down. Which way had she gone? “Jewel, damn it, where are you?”
He heard a startled squeak and just had enough time to open his arms when she dropped over the railing above and into them.
She laughed and threw her arms around him. “Oh my God, I didn’t know it was you. I wondered but fi
gured it had to be someone else. I’ve been wandering lost in this place forever. How can it be so big? Why? Where the hell is everyone?”
There was only one way to stop the stream of questions. He lifted her chin, lowered his head, and kissed her. A kiss of relief. Of overwhelming joy. Of passion. She’d always been the only one for him. When she’d decided he was the one for her, he’d known he was blessed.
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
He’d have stayed there, even contemplated grabbing one of the many empty rooms on this floor, when his phone buzzed. And again. And again. Regretfully, he pulled back but kept her in the circle of his arms. He grinned when her wings wrapped around him, too. “Damn, it’s good to see those working again.”
She reached up and kissed him on the chin.
“I know. I was so relieved. Where did you come from?” she asked as he pulled his phone out to look at the mess of messages stacking up.
“I just came up the stairs from the floor below. Checking out the room you found,” he said, reading her message. “I’m pretty sure that was testing on the canister contents that Bart had,” he answered in a distracted voice. “We’ve got trouble again.”
“Again?” she exclaimed. “We’ve never yet not had trouble.”
He showed her the texts. She gasped and turned pale as she read through them all. “Oh no. Poor Jared.”
David shook his head. What was it about Jared that everyone felt so damn sorry for him? He understood Cody’s problem with him but up until now, David hadn’t been worried. Now Jewel’s tone was anything but detached.
“Poor Ian and Wendy, you mean,” he snapped. “Poor Jared, too. But damn it, that man is a trouble magnet.”
“He might be, but he’s our trouble magnet.” Jewel glared up at him. “And we have to help him.”
“I’m going to help,” David said, his temper rising. “You are going to stay with Sian and man the fort here. Someone needs to be with her.”
“I’m not hurt anymore. I’m fine now.”
