by C. L. Quinn
Nothing would stop him from helping this first blood clan recover them.
His clan from Africa, the children of the moon, had only connected with this clan from the European continents about a year ago, and they had formed a close alliance. This clan hadn’t even known that they were the children of the Sun, and while the two clans had been separated by geography and magic for over a thousand years, they all knew each other now as brothers and sisters…and the most powerful beings on Mother Earth.
Destiny had provided Ahmose and a vampire mother from this side of the world the greatest gift this past year as well…a first blood son, so he was particularly sensitive to this situation. He had nearly lost that son before he’d ever known him, and his heart ached for Daniel and Eillia, and Park and Bas for this loss.
As soon as Ahmose and Alisa had arrived through the front door of Koen’s villa, Daniel was waiting and gave him a firm handshake, then came up to Alisa and hugged her. She had tears in her eyes.
“Oh, Daniel, I’m so sorry. What a terrible time for me to be visiting in Africa. God, I wish I’d been here. We’re here to help, if there’s anything we can do.”
Daniel began to tear, as well. “Not yet. But I’m grateful you’re home, because we’ll be going for them soon. Tamesine called. Caedmon was able to connect with her on the spiritual plane and she thinks she can find him. The next time she calls, we’re descending on wherever the kids are.”
“We will get them back, safe and happy. I promise this because it must be so,” Ahmose proclaimed.
He was a man of grand gesture and he meant every word. The first blood village in Zambia had a hierarchy, with Ahmose as their king. The social structure in Europe had no such order, so it was still strange for them to realize Ahmose’s position amongst his people. His people adored him and he returned the sentiment. It was a beautiful, peaceful community surrounded by first blood magics, the village completely untouched by the outside world. Unless one had first blood magics, or a special magical talisman provided by a child of the moon, a person would not even know it existed. It wasn’t just private or secret, it was truly hidden by magic.
Alisa hurried into the kitchen to instruct the staff to prepare food for the hungry group that had arrived from Africa with her and Ahmose.
“Have you talked with Koen?” Daniel asked, coming up behind her.
“I have. He’s so angry, and hurting so much. My mate loves deeper than anyone I have ever known. These children have the most incredible families possible.”
She moved forward to pull him into her arms. “We will bring them home, Daniel, you know that.”
He held on, wishing his wife was here, grateful that Koen’s wife had returned. “We all need to be together right now. We need to be ready.”
“We are. Koen’s jet will leave Switzerland as soon as the sun drops. Daniel, would you please eat something? You need to be your strongest if we have to fight, you know that. So do I.”
Nodding, he joined Chione and Ahmose, who were already seated. Suddenly Ahmose got up and came over to Daniel, leaned over and gave him a long hug.
“My heart beats with yours, brother. If my son were missing, there is nothing I would not do to bring him home. You have the same dedication from me for your missing children.”
Impressed, Daniel nodded, his gaze followed Ahmose as he returned to his table, then he turned to Alisa. “He’s quite a man, isn’t he?”
“I’ll say. Koen’s lucky he’s so cute, or I might...”
“You are eternally in love with that man.”
Alisa sighed. “Eternally and beyond.”
She pointed to Daniel’s plate filled with a variety of food choices. “Eat.”
BACK IN L.A.
Tamesine settled into a hotel near the airport in a secure interior room. After gorging on four different entrees brought by room service, she locked the door and spelled it so that no one would want to enter under any circumstance. After a long, lingering shower, she dropped, exhausted, into the king-sized bed to go into the spirit world and lock down exactly where Caedmon and Cairine were being held.
Lamont didn’t know that her connection could eventually find the child anywhere on Earth. That was too bad for him, because she was coming for those children as soon as possible.
Her breathing even, her eyes closing out the world, Tamesine slipped easily beyond the corporeal and reached past the white room into the spirit world, where she found the life essence of Caedmon waiting for her. He was terrified.
No words were necessary, she wrapped her own life essence around him and assured him that all was well and that she and his parents would be holding him soon.
Her heart seized. The child let her know he’d missed her so much these past months and he didn’t want her to go away again.
“I won’t,” her heart whispered to him, “I promise. We’ll get you and my little Cairine home and I’ll never leave you again.”
The boy’s spirits lifted. He believed in Tamesine and trusted her, which gave her the push to touch the air that circled the globe and let it lead her to the children’s whereabouts. Tethered to her body, her mind roamed, riding on magic and hope, and finally, sometime later, how much she would never know, she found him, taken far away from France, deep below the world he knew, in a small facility buried in the forest in Tasmania. It wasn’t too distant from where Tamesine had lived for most of the last two hundred years of her insanity.
“I see you,” she said, not in words, but mind to mind, spirit to spirit. “Do not be afraid, I will bring your parents and we will come for you as soon as night ascends. We love you both.”
Warmth spread through her and she knew he understood, and so would Cairine. The two children were usually linked, even at home, and certainly were now that their world had been interrupted and they were frightened.
Severing the connection once she assured the children that their family would come for them, Tamesine needed rest now, and came back to herself just long enough to reach for Marc, hoped he might be asleep, but knew he probably wasn’t. She was right, she couldn’t connect to him in a dream, so he must be awake. It was day and that wasn’t surprising under normal circumstances, but she had thought that he might be keeping to a vampire’s schedule if he was working with her family and friends. Perhaps tomorrow.
Now, she needed to be sure everyone knew where to go as soon as it was possible, so she phoned Daniel in France, and Eillia, who was still in Switzerland, and relieved their minds, only slightly, that she knew where the children were and that they were safe.
“Let us meet at Hobart International as soon as possible,” she told them, and then requested they sleep well. Once she ended the calls, it was time for true rest.
Sighing, she rolled over and let herself sleep.
Marc forced himself to relax in his restraints, enough to go into a light sleep. Finally, he felt Tamesine’s presence and the landscape they usually inhabited when they met in their dreams came up, lightning in the distance, brisk breeze, auroral colors slicing the dark sky. He turned when he felt her arrive and grabbed her up into his arms.
She buried her head into his neck, his long hair loose in the dream cascaded over her.
“You smell so good,” she whispered.
“I want to get inside of you,” he told her, his face pressed into her hair too. “But not here. Out there, in the real world. I want you wrapped around me.”
Tamesine pulled back and looked into those gray eyes that she’d fallen in love with.
“I do, too. Marc, I am free now, but I have something I must do on the other side of the world. When I am finished, I plan to do exactly that, pull you deep inside of me and hold you tight. Are you still with Eillia and Koen?”
He hesitated because he didn’t want to endanger her again. Coming for him might put her right back into Lamont’s hands.
“No, but I’m fine. I’m with a friend. We’ve been searching for you.”
“Don’t. You must stay away
from the people who are targeting the vampires. They’re incredibly dangerous and you aren’t equipped to deal with them. I’m sorry you’ve been pulled into such a perilous situation, but if you’re free of them, go back to your apartment and wait for me there.”
“Sure, Tam, if you want me to.”
Tamesine stared at him. He’d agreed too easily.
“Marc, where are you now? Exactly.”
“I told you. A friend of mine and I have been looking for you. Here, in L.A.”
“You would only be in L.A. if you knew that Claude had brought me back to the U.S.”
She pulled out of his arms and took his face in her hands. “Tell me the truth. Are you at Lamont’s lab? Do they have you?”
He looked away.
“Fuck,” she said softly and let him go. “I can’t come for you, Marc, not yet. The children are in danger and I have to find them first.”
“Children?”
“Park and Eillia’s first blood children have been abducted. They’re in Tasmania.”
“God, that asshole needs to die.”
“He will. But you have to be careful. Marc, don’t let Claude hurt you before I can get back. I…”
Tamesine released a slow breath. “I can’t lose you.”
Marc smiled and shook his head. “Don’t you know? You can’t kill an old dog like me. And I have help from another old military dog. I’ll be fine. Go get those kids.”
“Take care, then. I’ll see you soon.”
Tamesine pulled from the dream and tried to go into a deep restful sleep. She didn’t know that tears slid down her cheeks as she lay on the pilled, rough sheets.
Darkness arrived in L.A. Vampire biology woke Tamesine abruptly, the eerie glow from the bedside alarm clock was the only light in the room. The unfamiliar surroundings left Tamesine unsettled for a few moments until she realized where she was, and remembered her imminent mission to rescue the children. She was bound for Tasmania. The first thing she did was reach for her cell phone.
“Park? How are you doing?” she asked as Park answered.
“We’re okay. Eillia and Koen have arranged transport and we’re leaving now for Tasmania in Koen’s jet.”
“I’ll take a private jet out of LAX within half an hour. I’ll have to fly into Melbourne, then on to Hobart. It will take about 24 hours.”
“Yes, we’ll be looking at around the same time out of Zurich. Tamesine, thank you for finding them.”
“They are my world, too, Park, you must know that. I know I still have amends to make for my past, and I still need to earn your trust, but those children are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I’d trade my life for them without hesitation.”
“I know that. Please understand that you mean a great deal to us, too. You’re family. Be careful.”
“You too. I will see you in one day.”
Tamesine dressed, commandeered a car, and was at the airport in record time. Using compulsion, she was on a private plane heading across the ocean shortly after arrival. A box filled with food from a snack bar in the airport waited to provide for her high calorie needs, and to distract her. Vampires hated air travel during daylight because if something went wrong, they didn’t have a lot of options for protection from the ultraviolet threat. Often, like now, they had no choice. They just had to climb into the metal box and hope that the fates were with them.
IN TASMANIA
Hugging each other, Cairine and Caedmon pressed against the wall in a darkened room on a soft bed that smelled bad. Weird, like nothing they’d ever smelled before. Caedmon had reached Tamesine, and they knew their family was coming for them, but they were still scared.
Cairine clutched the little boy tightly, determined that no matter what happened, no one was going to hurt her friend. She knew she was powerful, but she knew she was little, and sometimes she couldn’t do the things she wanted to do. Mommy was teaching her to be careful, and only use the magics when she was there to guide her.
But Mommy wasn’t around now, and these bad men were. They had dark smoke all around their bodies and heads, the way that the people she loved had pretty colors that made her feel good. Only the dark smoke was bad and made her angry. And nothing about that felt good.
Caedmon was calmer than she was. He was a good boy, a very smart boy, and although he was much younger than she was, there were things he could do that she could not. Somehow, she knew that someday they would merge their magics and do special things with them. For now, though, they just had to wait.
Pulling him closer, she wrapped her small arms around him and laid her cheek on top of his head. He was cold, so she looked at the blanket folded up on the bottom of the bed and thought about it. She thought hard, and eventually it moved, just a little.
Caedmon twisted his head up to look at her, then looked at the blanket. He moved his hand closer to her and weaved his fingers through hers. The blanket slid across the bed and came over them to cover both children completely. He smiled.
Hurry, he thought.
IN SOUTHERN FRANCE
Koen hugged Alisa for ten minutes without pulling away, partially because he couldn’t let go, and partially because she couldn’t. When they finally did, he looked into her eyes.
“I missed you. This can’t happen again. Anytime either of us is going to be gone more than three days, the other goes.” Alisa agreed with a nod.
They hadn’t been married long enough yet to consider the honeymoon over, and neither of them expected it ever would be. Every moment together felt like the first and last and most precious moment of their lives.
He swung her into his arms. “We’ll see you guys in about an hour.”
Alisa grinned back at everyone who had just arrived from Zurich, or had been waiting for the arrivals.
“Or two,” she said.
The others took advantage of the time with their mates before they had to take off again.
EIGHTEEN
While he understood, Taggert was disappointed that the vampires weren’t coming to help him rescue Marc.
Fuck it, he thought, I can do this. I’m smarter than this assassin ever was.
But did the motherfucker have vampire skills? If he did, that might swing the advantage in his direction way too much for Taggert to pull off this rescue. But hey, who needed to live to fight another day when there was a worthy battle right here today?
He just had to be clever about it. At this point, he’d lost stealth, since Claude knew he was here. Hopefully, he still had all of the credentials to move about freely in the facility. What really worked in his favor was the fact that Claude had a much bigger concern right now…Lamont, and how pissed he was going to be that Tamesine had escaped. That should keep him busy.
Taggert walked into one of the smaller labs on the bottom floor of the warehouse, one that looked like it was strictly for research, filled with microscopes, computers, centrifuges, and a lot of other equipment he couldn’t identify, along with rows of marked vials that appeared to be filled with blood.
A ginger-haired girl was working at one of the desks.
As he approached her, Taggert flashed his access tags and a big smile. “Hi, I’m head of security in Europe, just arrived here in the U.S. Can you direct me to the main offices? Claude is expecting me.”
The young woman’s eyes traveled from the top of him to the bottom, her cheeks brightened, and she returned his smile with a shy one. She was pretty, but she probably didn’t know it. He knew he had the kind of overt sexuality that women loved, so his presence likely overwhelmed her. When she spoke, he knew that it had.
Stuttering, she stopped speaking, caught her breath, and then slowly, perfectly articulately, she said, “Sure. Of course. He’s on level three just off of the elevators. Go left, and the offices are the second set of doors to the right.”
“Appreciate it, thanks,” he said, and leaned closer. “You smell nice. Like roses.”
Her smile deepened and she pinked up a little more. He�
��d always appreciated his skill with the ladies.
Whistling, he walked out of the room and looked for the stairwell. The elevators were on the left of the stairwell, he noticed, for orientation, but he wasn’t going to take them. They could be a deathtrap if someone was hunting you, and he wasn’t sure someone wasn’t. Plus, they usually had cameras.
Taking the stairs quietly, but two at a time, he was pleased to find that the doors to each floor had windows, and he was able to peek out to see if someone was around. Just as he was ready to open the door to the third floor, he saw Claude moving down the hallway and dropped below the window level. Once he heard the footsteps and voices quieten and disappear, he glanced out again.
Carefully, he pushed the door open. The corridor was empty and there was no sound, so he moved to the double doors the redhead had directed him to, pushed them open, and saw Marc, chained to the wall, his feet barely touching the ground.
“Bastard,” he whispered as he advanced towards him, his head swiveling to make sure there was no guard. Why wasn’t there a guard?
As soon as he arrived in front of Marc, he knew why.
Marc opened his eyes when he sensed someone near, a slow smile spreading when he saw it was Taggert.
“Hey, buddy, I could use a ride out of here,” Marc said.
Taggert shook his head slowly. “Sorry, brother, but for now, you’re trapped. That monster rigged you with an explosive. If I try to get you out of here, you’re losing your head. That metal band around your neck that is attached to the wall has a bomb embedded in it and if I try to move you, it’ll go off. Sorry, Marc, I really need one of your vampires.”
