by C. L. Quinn
Unsure of where to go and what to do, he stood there, barefoot, for several minutes, his hands in his pockets, as a door to his far right opened.
“Sir, good morning,” a male voice with a French accent said behind him.
A small man walked towards him. “I am Alaire, the housemaster. If you would like to follow me, I will see to it that you have a fine breakfast. Your hosts will not be available until sunset, so you are free to enjoy the grounds. If you need anything, you are but to ask and I will provide it.”
Nodding, Marc didn’t move, his mind racing again. Did he have any needs? Catching Alaire’s patient gaze, he pursed his lips. “Just, uh, a toothbrush, maybe.”
“Ah. All ablutions are available in your room.”
“Then I guess I’m good. You said something about breakfast?”
Night fell fast, the darkness squeezing the sun’s light from the sky as Marc sat on the beach, a half-empty bottle of whiskey in his hand.
“Hi.”
From behind, a burst of air curled around him in a whirlwind and he looked to his right. Eillia sat beside him, dressed in a nearly see-through gown, the wind lifting the bottom around her legs in little waves.
“Have you had a good day?” she asked.
Marc held up the bottle, twirling the remaining contents around.
“Yeah, I’d say so.”
“Good. It’s lovely here, isn’t it?”
“Peaceful. I’ve never had that. Even before I went to war, I lived in a household with four siblings, and two parents, any number of which was yelling at any given time. But here, a man could hear himself think.” He took a long swig of whiskey. “Turns out, that isn’t exactly wise.”
“I would disagree. There’s a lot going on in that mind of yours.”
Lazily, Marc turned his head to Eillia. “Actually, you’re right. I visited her last night, in my dreams.”
“Marc, that’s wonderful. I don’t suppose she was able to give you any idea where she was?”
“Worse. She insisted we leave her. Said we shouldn’t come for her.”
Eillia smiled. “She would. Since she joined my family, she’s become incredibly protective. Now, she’s protecting this man Frank. And you. Ridiculously, she probably thinks she’s protecting all of us, too, but we know better. Everyone is in danger from this man and we have little time to capture him and…”
She didn’t finish. But Marc knew she didn’t need to.
“Kill him. You can say it. I agree with you. You guys seem to be decent people, and that man is obviously evil. He has to be neutralized. It’s nothing less than I’d accept either.”
“He’s already hurt a lot of people, and he’s found a way to hurt even the strongest of vampires. You’re right, of course. I’m glad you understand that we’re not murderers.”
“So how do we find her?”
“Research, so far. Timothy is Bas’s computer guy. The little guy is brilliant, and has found some leads. He’s holding a meeting right now with Koen and Bas.”
“Can you catch me up a little? On who you all are?”
“Sure. Okay, Koen and I are first blood vampires. Did Tamesine tell you much about our natures?”
“Just that you guys were born vampire instead of changed to one.”
“That’s true. Any vampire that has ever been made would be able to trace the blood back to a first blood somewhere through the past thousand or so years. Koen and I are not related, but we are like family. This villa is his, and is shared by myself, my husband, Daniel, who is not first blood, and our son Caedmon. First bloods can, under rare occasions, birth a child who will also be first blood. Daniel and I have been so blessed and this brilliant child has transformed our lives. The gorgeous redhead Park, who you’ve met, is Koen’s daughter. She and her husband Bas have a new villa minutes down the road from this one. Having stated that children are possible, but rare, I will tell you that Park and Bas have a little girl who is the light of our lives, too. Other than Tamesine, who normally does live with us, everyone else here is human. Blood-bonded, and honorary members of our families.”
“Okay. Thank you, I feel less intimidated. No less freaked.”
“It takes some time. Our discovery changes your world view, and that means disbelief, understanding, and finally acceptance.”
She didn’t tell him that anything he learned wouldn’t matter in the end anyway. Ultimately, before he returned to his life, he would be compelled to forget any knowledge he’d ever had of their existence. It was best for both worlds. Less complicated, safer.
Reaching out, she brushed back the long hair that covered his troubled eyes. “Are you okay?”
He pulled back away from her touch. “Yeah. You don’t have to do that thing…that thing where you calm me down. I’m okay, really.”
“Tamesine introduced you to impressing.”
“She did. But I think right now, I’m better off keeping my wits, so just let me deal on my own, and just tell me the truth. I’m pretty good at working my way through things.”
“I sense that. You’re very troubled. Your aura is smoky. Are you sick?”
“No. Maybe. In the head. Tamesine thinks that’s why we’re connected. We both have a lot of bad memories and pain, and she thinks that’s why we walk in each other’s dreams.”
“Ah. Now I know. The universe often sends what one needs. It seeks to balance your pain with each other. We must find her and you two must finish this bond. Marc, you will be well again, if we can complete your assigned destinies.”
“I don’t know how any of this works. It makes my head hurt. But I do know I have to rescue Tamesine. That’s about the only thing I do know for certain right now.”
Eillia moved in front of Marc, and took his hands.
“That’s all you need to know. We will accomplish this together. Welcome to our home, Marc.”
Her eyes were mesmerizing. For the first time in a long time, he smiled, genuinely, and felt like things might really be all right. Through all the craziness of this fucked-up world, things might actually be all right again someday.
“Come on.” Eillia pulled him up and linked an arm through his. “Vampires have giant buffets when we rise. We eat ten times what a normal human does because our bodies burn the calories that quickly. And oh, hell, do we have good chefs.”
She wasn’t wrong. Marc was taken into a big dining room, and introduced to Daniel, two very active children, three golden retriever dogs, and four cats. He sat, amazed, while they cleared two long tables filled with the most incredible food he’d ever had in his life. The sense of family was intense, and he knew that anyone in that room would give his or her life to protect each other. They belonged. How wonderful, he thought, as he watched them, to have a place, people, to belong to.
The meal was winding down when a slender young man came into the room. The biggest vampire, Koen, called out to him.
“Tim! Come, join us.”
“Not right now. Bas wanted me to let you guys know if I found anything helpful. And I think I may have.”
Bas nodded. “Go ahead, Tim.”
“Okay.” He set a laptop up on one of the tabletops and faced it towards the group of vampires and Marc.
“I’ve been tracking some bank transactions. Two that were particularly suspicious. If I’m correct, and I think I am, Lamont’s company purchased a large hotel in the Swiss Alps three months ago. I think he may be in Zermatt. I sent Andre there yesterday morning and he has reported a lot of activity at this supposedly closed hotel. Also, an outrageously big limousine is parked right outside the basement door all of the time. But here’s the most interesting part. He saw five white-coated men and women go through a basement door. Sure, that could mean they’re food workers or something, but it could also mean they’re research biologists or physicians. Andre said they didn’t look like lunch ladies, though. He’ll keep us apprised.”
Bas pulled his daughter back just before she grabbed a plate filled with chocolate truffles. “No, chérie.
You have had too much.” He pulled the toddler with pale red hair in close to his chest and hugged her.
“All right,” he said to the rest of those gathered in the room. “That has possibilities written all over it and it’s the closest we’ve come to finding Lamont’s newest lab. If he’s there, so is Tamesine. We need to go right away.”
Koen grimaced and pulled his cell phone out of his pants pocket. “Yeah, have her ready again, we’re heading to Zermatt. We should be there in about an hour.” He rung off.
“Okay. I’ll contact Ahmose again and have him send his guys back.”
Marc just watched everyone without a word. Eillia saw the quiet acceptance on his face.
“We have two first blood children and they are not only beyond precious, they also may be targets of the man we’re seeking. His name is Lamont, and he has issues with vampires. Increasingly confusing ones, I think, but we believe he would love to get his hands on a first blood child. So if we leave here, even for a short time, we have to make sure there is enough protection. One of our first blood brothers from Africa had sent four of his biggest first blood males to sort of babysit the kids while we went to California. They were heading home, but we’ll call them back.”
“So we’re heading to Switzerland?”
“I guess so. Koen keeps a small private jet, so we’re pretty mobile. You do want to come?”
“I do. Between the dream visits and the real relationship we’d begun, I’m invested in Tamesine’s welfare.”
“You care for her.”
“Yeah. More than I can probably express. So I want to be with you, help in any way I can. I know I don’t have special powers or vampire skills, but sometimes a simple human can do a lot.”
Eillia smiled. “I don’t disagree. Often, it is exactly a human’s simple skills that save the day. In fact, you have an ability none of us have, and that is the dream connection with Tamesine. You can communicate with her and we cannot. Marc, a first blood vampire’s lifeforce is powerful enough we can usually track it. But we cannot track Tamesine’s, which means someone is blocking it, which we doubt. Or she’s blocking it. What you told me earlier, about your dream-walk with her, that she doesn’t want us to rescue her, it tells me that she is blocking her own signal. Once we’re in the air, I would like you to attempt to reach her again and see if you can verify the location we suspect is correct. It’s true she may not know where she is, but perhaps she does. It would be nice to know if we are on the right trail.”
“I’ll do it.”
“Good. Once we’re en route, I will help you go into your sleep with no delay. Do you need anything, Marc?”
Pausing, he looked around the room at the faces watching him and Eillia, then back to her. “I’m good. Let’s just get this going so I can get to her.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Bas said, and lifted his daughter up, handed her to Park, and walked out. He would arrange everything.
Park nodded to Marc. “Come with me and I’ll show you back to your room so you can get ready to go.”
Marc followed her and the little girl from the room.
Koen stood and stretched. “Another flight. Yippee.”
“I need you ready to fight, Koen. You more than anyone are aware how dangerous this man is,” Eillia reminded him.
“I remember. I’m being an ass, I know that. Just, I wish my mate weren’t in South Africa. I miss her in my bed. This is the longest we’ve been apart since we married.”
“I know, dear friend. But Alisa has learned so much from Ahmose’s community. And she’s been such a comfort since Starla became pregnant again.”
“Is Starla still having flashbacks?”
“Some. I hear she’s coping better now that Alisa is there to keep her mind off of things.”
“Alisa needs to get back here and keep my mind off of things.”
“You’re just horny, old man. You know how to take care of that. Hurry to your suite, you still have time. Right now, I need to join Daniel upstairs and make sure I’m ready for this next trip.”
There was little light in the damp room, except when the men came or went to feed him. Frank’s eyes had adjusted so well to the darkness, that when the door opened, it nearly blinded him. He could finally see the corner of the room where buckets lined the wall so he would have a place to piss or shit when he needed to. Since he usually did it in nearly pitch black, sometimes he missed. In the other corner, piles of discarded dinner trays from the tasteless slop they brought along with a plastic cup filled with tepid water lay abandoned in haphazard stacks.
This had been his life for days now. He didn’t understand why. No one spoke to him. Fear and panic had dropped into bored confusion. What the hell was going on?
TWELVE
Waking wasn’t possible. At least, remaining so didn’t seem to be. But Tamesine tried anyway. After innumerable attempts, she struggled once more to try to stand and remain conscious, but then the percussive sounds would announce the serum darts once again and she’d drop, her mind and vision going fuzzy once again. And then she was out. Again.
Each time she was forced back under the serum’s influence, she visited her dreamscape. Except for that one time yesterday, she was alone. Until tonight.
Standing, both legs set hard against the push of the always raging winds, she was watching the sunrise in the dreamscape. She knew why it was there…a sunrise was one of the things vampires missed most, the symbol of a fresh new day. The dream within a dream.
His hand creeped slowly from behind her around her waist. No…lower, across her tummy, his fingers spreading enough to graze beneath the low-slung panties her dream-body wore this time. Desire flamed again, and she wondered if this man would always do that so easily. God, she wanted to see his face, and twirled quickly, her arms sliding up his chest as soon as she faced him.
“You didn’t think I’d go away?” he asked as he lowered his head and began to nip at her neck.
She threw her head back to make sure he had complete access. “No. Not from here, anyway, but I meant it when I told you that you must not try to find me. You did tell Eillia, didn’t you?”
“Mmm,” he moaned against her skin as he continued downward. “But we’re still coming. We’re in Switzerland. Are you?”
He felt her body stiffen.
Tamesine pulled away. “Marc. I am fine, but Frank isn’t. That asshole will kill him and I won’t be responsible for that.”
“You’re not. These crazy people who took you are. Eillia says they’re really dangerous to you.”
“They might be. But he wants me to convert him, so he won’t hurt me. I will get free, but only on my terms. Please.”
“I’ll tell her, but she’s determined.”
Tamesine smiled, her eyes softened. “She is. I love her, and that child she made. They are my heart. Tell her that for me. Now, you must go.”
“We’re coming for you.”
“I told you not to.”
“We’ll find a way. I can’t leave you here, not unless I can protect you.”
Tamesine took his face into her hands. “You have any idea how powerful I am? Did Eillia fill you in at all?”
“I don’t care. I won’t leave you alone here with no one to fight for you.”
“Marc, I’m not your woman.”
“We’re connected. You told me that yourself.”
“Yes, but…”
“No buts. Tam, let me be your hero.”
“I’m not sure anyone has ever said a kinder thing to me.”
Marc reached for Tamesine again, but she faded to black.
He was gone.
Eillia was watching him as she lounged on a chair across from the sofa Marc had fallen asleep upon. She sat up as he woke.
Groaning, Marc pushed upright, rubbing his temple.
“You met her again. Did you tell her?” Eillia asked him.
He paused as he cleared his mind, then nodded.
“I told her. She told me to tell y
ou to stop.”
Smiling, Eillia reached for a glass of wine. “I knew she would. But whatever she thinks she’s trying to do to protect this man, we both know that kidnappers are rarely honorable. And I myself know very well, that there is nothing with the SRS that can be trusted. Especially the psychotic douche that owns it. I can’t wait, I’m sorry.”
“No, I’m with you. I agree. Once we find her, we go in.”
Bas and Koen entered the hotel room they’d booked when they arrived this morning just before sunrise.
“We’re secure,” Bas said as he walked over to the back of the large suite and opened the doors to another room, entered, and closed the doors behind him.
Koen dropped onto a second chair near the sofa.
“Did you make contact?” he asked Marc.
“Yeah. I think she’s here.”
“I do, as well. Bas and I watched the entrance to that closed hotel. An awful lot of armed security for an abandoned building. I’m almost certain it’s Lamont. It looks like a duck, you know?”
Eillia agreed. “All right, then. We’re going to have to make a run at it tonight when we wake. I know it’s a risk, he’s used that fucking serum on us before and it works, but this time, I think we truly have the element of surprise. That’s going to have to work.”
“All right. We go in hard and fast, though. And Eillia, we do what we have to do to get out safely, you understand? It’s us or them here, my friend.”
Marc swung his legs off of the couch and put a hand up. “Wait a minute. I have a better idea. You guys can compel humans to do what you want, right?”
Eillia nodded. “We can.”
“Well, how about if you get me in as security? I’ll have freedom to scope out the place and find out if it’s really this lab you think it is. Plus, I can try to find Tam and at least get a lay of the place. It will be safer for all of you.”
“But not for you. Marc, we won’t be there to protect you if something goes wrong.”
“It won’t. What’s to detect? I’m not vampire, and as far as they’ll know, I’m just another hired gun. I can protect myself against anyone human, and that’s most or all of them, right?”
