Kiss of the Vampire

by Terry Spear

  She kissed him back, her fingers clinging to his waist with a death grip.

  “Don’t look now, but I see Vlad,” Ruric warned, “and some of his muscle.”

  Levka hurried the group in the opposite direction, his heart hammering against his ribs.

  “There are seven of them,” Stasio said. “Odds are in our favor just like when we fought the Marcher Barons. Should we stand and fight? I mean, away from where the mortals can see us, but—”

  “No, it’s too risky. Anything can go wrong.” Most of all, Levka feared losing Caitlin. Somewhere, they would go and live in peace. They had to, because this time Levka would not exist without his mate.

  Levka held onto Caitlin’s hand tightly, but when a passenger walked in front of her, he couldn’t pull Caitlin out of the woman’s path quickly enough. Suddenly, Caitlin became visible, and the woman let out a squeak. But everyone was in such a hurry to get to flights no one else seemed to have noticed that Caitlin wasn’t there, then was.

  Pulling Caitlin around the woman who still held her heart and gasped for air, Levka warned Caitlin, “Fledglings can’t go through solid objects when they’re invisible. You’ll have to avoid them. It’s like playing chicken. Your mind tells you that you can’t walk through the object. It takes years before you can retrain your thinking.”

  “Jeez, Levka, I wasn’t trying to walk through that woman. She just suddenly stepped in front of me, and I didn’t have time to dodge her.”

  “Vlad’s seen Caitlin,” Ruric warned.

  “Shouldn’t we make a stand?” Stasio asked again.

  “Quickly, Caitlin, turn invisible,” Levka ordered, dragging her away from Vlad and his goons.

  “In front of…”

  “Do it! And don’t communicate with us or he can track you.”

  “But I can use magic!”

  When she vanished, Levka gathered her into his arms and said to the others, “It’s time to go home.”

  “But the Dallas league…oh, you mean home,” Arman said.

  Levka glanced back to see Vlad and his blood hounds heading straight for them.

  Then he heard a strange rumbling behind him, thought it had to do with the planes, and hurried on his way.

  “Everyone use your vampire speed and find the first flight out of here that’s now boarding passengers.” Levka ground his teeth when he saw Petroski watching the gate where the plane was bound for Orlando.

  No one said a word, though as long as their communication was kept privately between them, Petroski wouldn’t hear them. Even so, Caitlin’s heartbeat quickened, but he heard her mumbling some pretty strange words. A foreign language? Cursing?

  “He can’t see us, can’t hear us,” Levka reassured her. “Just don’t speak.”

  But Petroski did look in their direction. Had he smelled Caitlin’s fragrance? With their heightened sense of smell and the fact Petroski was a trained tracker would be to their disadvantage. He didn’t move from where he stood though. He looked as though he wanted to, as if he tried to, but he stood frozen, his face contorting in anger.

  Vlad and his buddies remained visible, still in hot pursuit, but suddenly, he spied Petroski and stopped at the Orlando terminal. Vlad began talking to Petroski.

  “They must assume we’re going to see Caitlin’s family, Ruric said.

  “My foster parents will worry…"

  “Shhh, Caitlin. We’ll take care of them when we can.”

  Stasio bumped into Levka. “Petroski heard Caitlin. He’s after us again. Well, Vlad and his minions are, too.”

  “I can use my magic again,” Caitlin said. Once more, she began speaking in some foreign tongue.

  “Here’s a flight leaving. Just slip among the passengers. Ruric, get us some boarding passes,” Levka communicated, trying not to sound as panicked as he felt, ignoring Caitlin’s comment.

  “I’m on it.”

  Stasio said, “Petroski and the others seem to be having some kind of problem.”

  “How’s that?” Levka asked, looking back over his shoulder.

  Petroski was wiping at his eyes, not moving an inch, two of Vlad’s henchmen were headed in the wrong direction, and Vlad collided with another of his guys and showed his fangs. What was going on?

  Levka reached the passageway leading to the plane until he sensed Ruric nearby. “Did you get the boarding passes?”

  “First Class for all five of us.”

  They hurried onto the plan, then each took turns going into the airplane’s restrooms, changing into their visible forms, and took their seats in First Class.

  “I slowed them down,” Caitlin said, squeezing Levka’s hand. “But my foster parents will have the police looking for me. They’ll be worried and—”

  “We’ll take—”

  Suddenly, a red-faced, chunky guy in a three-piece suit stopped in front of Ruric’s seat and scowled at him. The businessman held up his boarding pass. “You’re in my seat.”

  Ruric showed him a boarding pass for the same seat. “Airline must have overbooked.”

  “I have to take this flight home.”

  Ruric smiled. “Me, too. It’s a matter of life and death.”

  The man stalked off toward the airline hostess. “Miss! Miss!”

  As soon as he moved away, another gray-suited guy waved a boarding pass in Arman’s face. “I think you have the wrong seat.”

  “Nope. Afraid not.” Arman showed him his boarding pass, then pulled out his medical journal, flipped it open, and ignored the man.

  “Where is this flight bound for?” Stasio asked. “Did anyone notice?”

  The airline hostess asked to see Arman and Ruric’s boarding passes, then left.

  Caitlin rubbed her arms. “I wish we’d just take off.”

  A few minutes later, the stewardess offered free airline tickets to two passengers who would give up their seats to the businessmen.

  A young couple got off.

  The hostess announced, “We have a slight delay, but will be taking off for Dallas in just a few minutes.”

  Ruric, Arman, and Stasio looked at Levka.

  Caitlin groaned.

  Levka shrugged. “They will not expect us to return there.” Grabbing a blanket and pillow for Caitlin, he handed them to her and pulled her close. “So we’ll go to Dallas first, then from there, make our way to Wales.”

  The airplane taxied down the runway, and Levka swore he saw Petroski staring out the observation window. But then again, the way the sun reflected off the expansive glass, maybe not.

  “You should have taken the Dallas league’s offer, Levka,” Petroski communicated for all of them to hear.

  From a greater distance, Vlad shouted, “She’s mine, Levka. You can’t always watch your back. She’ll be mine, soon.”

  Stasio leaned his seat back. “This reminds me of the time we were in England during the war and the league was pissed off at us for wanting to fight the Germans—leave the battles for world domination to the mortals. Stick with your own kind—did we?”

  “Nah,” Ruric said. “What’s life worth living if you don’t find some adventure? What we need is a spaceship outfitted with hyperspeed that can travel the galaxy. Just set it on cruise control, jump through a few wormholes, and we’re on our way.”

  “We should have taken the league’s offer to find the vampire rabble who are causing troubles,” Arman said, his voice resigned.

  Everyone was silent for a moment, then Levka grinned. “We are trouble, my friends. Would we want it any other way?”

  “I love you, Levka,” Caitlin said.

  Levka squeezed her against his chest and kissed her lips. “I will have to teach you to speak privately to me.”

  But for now, he had to figure a way to get around the Dallas/Fort Worth airport without getting caught, find a way to take care of the mess with Caitlin’s foster parents, and then…they’d have it made.

  Arman folded his arms. “Do you think the Welsh league will have forgiven us by now fo
r the trouble we caused the last time we were there?”

  Caitlin’s brows rose.

  Levka kissed the top of her head. “I’m certain between the five of us, somehow, we’ll manage. Don’t we always?”

  “And maybe you can use my magic.” Caitlin smiled at the four vampires, who for the first time looked at her as though they took her seriously, or maybe were just a bit curious as to what she had to say. “I can command the earth, but I have no power over water. Rivers and tidal waves and waterfalls can carve the earth up or carry it away. But I can command the earth and the plants growing in it. Use herbs in potions. And can conjure up some nice little spells.”

  Still no one said a word. She thought they didn’t believe her. She nestled against Levka. “You’ve shown me some of what you can do as vampires. When we’re on the ground again, somewhere that I can use my talents out of sight of others, I’ll show you what I can do. And I’m not a fledging at it at all.”

  “What happened to Vlad and the others back there?” Levka asked.

  “I froze Petroski while he was still in my range. Dust on the floor, the furniture, the walls suddenly gathered together and clouded their visions. The earth trembled under their feet, making them stumble. I slowed them down, at least.”

  “I told you that you should make her yours,” Arman said, with a glint of malice in his eyes.

  Ruric shook his head. “She might be more dangerous than we can handle.” But she could tell he was teasing when he gave her a smile and a wink.

  Stasio frowned. “This reminds me of the witch hunts in England. And here I thought that witches were declared as such because villagers were superstitious or someone needed to serve as a scapegoat.” He smiled. “You are definitely a welcome addition to our little group.”

  Levka didn’t say anything for a while, then Caitlin looked up at him and said, “Well?”

  He kissed her forehead. “A witch, eh? I like a woman who can command the earth, who already has command of my heart. I should have known there was something even more special about you.” He said to his friends, “We will be a force to be reckoned with, if anyone should give us further grief.”

  Gladdened that they still accepted her for what she was, she thought about Alicia and how her foster parents had said she’d have to chaperone her on her vacation this summer in Hawaii. At least she didn’t have to deal with her and her friends ever again.

  Although she wasn’t sure what to expect with her new vampiric condition and that might even be worse.

  Her stomach grumbled in protest. She glanced up at Levka and frowned. “I’m hungry.”

  “Again?” Levka and the others said in unison, looking surprised and a little worried.

  Despite the problem with having a fledging among them, the others vowed to keep Caitlin safe—and well fed. Now, if she could only keep her fangs sheathed as she listened to Levka’s delicious heartbeat until they could figure out a way to safely feed her again before their next big adventure.

  About the Author:

  USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Terry Spear has written over fifty paranormal romance novels and four medieval Highland historical romances. Her first werewolf romance, Heart of the Wolf, was named a 2008 Publishers Weekly's Best Book of the Year, and her subsequent titles have garnered high praise and hit the USA Today bestseller list. A retired officer of the U.S. Army Reserves, Terry lives in Crawford, Texas, where she is working on her next werewolf romance, shapeshifting jaguars, cougar shifters, vampires, hot Highlanders, and having fun with her young adult novels. For more information, please visit www.terryspear.com, or follow her on Twitter, @TerrySpear. She is also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics. And on Wordpress at:

  Terry Spear's Shifters

  http://terryspear.wordpress.com/

  And her Wilde & Woolley Bears, award-winning teddy bears, that have found homes all over the world: www.celticbears.com k12