Scent of Salvation coe-1

by Annie Nicholas

  Susan’s hand landed on his bare shoulder, stroking his skin for a moment before jerking it away as if burned. “Sorry.”

  A residue of her touch still tingled on his flesh. He wasn’t sorry at all.

  “I can’t see in this darkness.” Her fingertips trembled as they brushed the back of his neck.

  He took her slender hand and squeezed. “I see you. I won’t leave you behind.” Her voice sounded steady, yet he could smell her rising anxiety.

  She gave a feeble laugh. “I hate feeling like this. Weak. Helpless.”

  He could relate. He hated feeling that way as well, but he didn’t view her as either. Especially after confronting the Payami alpha as she’d done. No female he knew would have done it. Not many of the males either.

  He returned to his feet and undid his kilt. They’d never find their way out if he remained in civil form. Handing Susan his only piece of clothing, he shifted.

  She ran her hands over the leather, her blinded eyes staring straight ahead. “What’s this?”

  “My kilt.” He sniffed, searching for a hint of fresh air.

  “Are you naked? What the fuck, Sorin?” She clutched the kilt to her chest like a shield.

  He took her hand in his. “It would have ripped while I shifted.”

  With a hesitant finger, she touched one of his claws. “You’re in beast form?”

  “We call it a feral form. My sense of smell is much better like this, and I can defend us if we’re discovered, which is becoming more likely. I hate to admit it but this maze is an excellent defense.”

  “Or a trap.” Her soft whisper sparked an old memory. A young pup frightened of the thunder and his loving mother who eased those fears with a fierce hug. The urge to gather Susan in his arms and reassure her surged through him, but he let the wave crash. Emotional tides needed to be stronger to move him.

  “Keep pace.” He guided her hand to his back where she clung to his fur as he tracked the air for a sign of an exit. Kele would have returned to her room by now and found it empty. Would she raise an alarm? Maybe she’d search the den for Susan first. He doubted the pack would care if a stray left but it might stir them enough to check on him. An escaped alpha would definitely bring out the hunters.

  The scents of shifters didn’t fade as they took several turns within the maze. The Payami were smart. He could have tracked their way out by scent alone if they only used one route, but the scents were well dispersed. That meant hunters roamed the maze on a regular basis to keep from creating a clear scent trail.

  Once more he paused and bent close to the ground, searching for anything that could help. Would it be too much for the divine to toss him a bone? A little aid in an escape would be appreciated.

  Susan clenched his fur, almost pulling it from its roots. “Sorin. I see light.” She pressed against him.

  In one swift motion he rose and slid her behind him. At the end of an adjacent tunnel, a dim light grew brighter. He sniffed in that direction then once more to be sure he smelled it right. A growl rumbled in his chest as he recognized the source, and he grinned. Things were finally going his way. “Vampire.”

  He’d always wondered what Lord Benic would taste like. Striding toward the light, he extended his claws to their fullest length. In hand-to-hand combat, shifter versus vampire, shifter always won. The only reason the vampires had won the war was their advanced weaponry, which killed multiple shifters at a time and from a distance. Benic could be carrying a musket, but Sorin would risk getting shot for just one good bite. Vampire bastards all deserved to die slow, agonizing deaths.

  The shuffle of feet behind him caught his attention. He glanced over his shoulder and met Susan’s wide-eyed gaze. She still clutched his kilt to her chest.

  With a sigh, the fury slipped from his soul. Benic’s death wouldn’t change the past—all shifters would still be under the vampire yoke—yet he could use Benic’s presence to their advantage. Obviously the vampire knew his way around the maze.

  Sorin set his fingertip over Susan’s mouth so she’d stay quiet. It was almost a mistake since he froze at the touch of her soft lips on his flesh. The fur on the nape of his neck rose. When had he last kissed a female?

  He shook himself to wake from his living fantasy. Exhaustion and hunger were playing with his head. He left her to wait by the tunnel’s entrance until the lantern came into his view. With the speed only a few alphas possessed, he grabbed Benic’s wrist and yanked him against the far wall.

  The lantern tumbled to the ground in Benic’s surprise. Pinned to the stone wall, he met Sorin’s gaze with an unnatural calm. “So you escaped. You’re more resourceful than I’d have guessed.” His glare broke from Sorin’s and followed Susan as she gathered the lantern. “Stealing the human was not expected though. What do you want with her?”

  “None of your business.” He squeezed Benic’s throat tighter. Vampires didn’t need to breathe but they all feared decapitation—one of the ways to truly kill them. With his claws extended and buried in Benic’s flesh, it wouldn’t take much force to rip his head from his shoulders. The way the vampire tensed, this thought must have occurred to him as well. “You’re going to show us the way out. Quietly and quickly.”

  Benic’s gaze darted to Susan. “Give her to me and I’ll show you the best route.”

  “She’s not for trade.” Blood oozed from the wounds on Benic’s neck and onto Sorin’s claws. Sorin’s skin crawled at the oily texture. He changed his mind. He didn’t want to bite him after all. “How about I let you live if you help us escape?”

  “This isn’t a negotiation. The Payami will realize you’re gone soon. They won’t treat you so kindly if they catch you again.” Benic grinned, his fangs glinting in the lantern light.

  Sorin resisted the desire to pluck those sharp teeth from Benic’s mouth. His pack’s needs came first, and his pack needed Susan. “She chose to come with me.”

  “Does she know that returning with me to my castle is an option?” Benic now spoke toward Susan. “I can help you return home. Vampire technology is more advanced than shifters’. Come to my castle, and we can work on it together.”

  With a jerk, Sorin twisted to see the confusion on her face.

  Her gaze traveled from him back to Benic. “Sorin’s told me about your advanced weaponry, and I fear it’s nowhere near what I need to build a new machine. I’d have to rebuild hundreds of years of technology before we’d be anywhere close.”

  “We can try.” Benic flinched as Sorin’s claws dug deeper.

  “Enough. She comes home with me.” He glimpsed a shadow of doubt creeping over her face and ground his canines. “Right?” he asked Susan.

  Chapter Nine

  Susan clutched the lantern handle tightly. “I—I don’t know. The only thing I know for certain is I’m not staying with the Payami.” And that she wasn’t staying another minute in the maze. She’d never been afraid of the dark until she discovered monsters truly did exist.

  Sorin loomed well over her head in his feral form. The tips of his ears brushed the tunnel ceilings when he stood straight. At the moment, he leaned forward as he held Benic against the wall with one huge hand. His fur shone silver in the lantern’s soft yellow light. If not for the teeth and claws, he would have been magnificent.

  The vampire struggled in his grasp but didn’t budge the shifter’s arm an inch. It said much for Sorin’s strength, but did little for Susan’s desire to follow him home. A shiver ran up her spine. What if he didn’t keep his word and treated her worse than the Payami? She couldn’t fight him. “Whatever I decide, we need to go. Benic, please, show us the way?”

  His eyebrows rose at her plea. “Very well, but if you choose him I get little out of this deal.”

  A small noise of frustration escaped her. She couldn’t hear any sounds of pursuit yet she knew it wouldn’t be too long before she did. Every second wasted meant a better chance at her being caught once more and possibly turned over to Ahote. “What do you want, then?�
�

  Benic smiled. “Your blood, of course.”

  She covered the V-neck opening of her blouse with Sorin’s leather kilt and swallowed. “Of course.”

  “No.” Sorin shook his head. “I won’t allow you to feed from her.” He twisted his head to meet her stare. “Apisi do not feed vampires. Not willingly.”

  His amber glare pierced her with its intensity, and she gave a small gasp. “But I’m not Apisi.”

  He rolled his eyes, and she barely contained a hysterical giggle at the familiar gesture. Was he claiming her as pack? A day ago that would have meant nothing, but tonight it meant survival.

  Benic cleared his throat. “If you’d ease off my neck a little…” His voice sounded strained, and he cleared his throat again. “So I can speak easier.”

  A growl rolled from Sorin as he set the vampire back on his feet, yet kept a firm grip on him.

  “I never said feed. I simply want a sample of your blood to study.” He pointed to a small satchel hanging from his shoulder. “May I?”

  Sorin nodded.

  Benic opened it and searched inside. He extracted a small glass vial.

  Susan’s gaze traveled from the vampire wearing a chainmail shirt and well-worked leather, and who spoke of studying her blood as if he were a scientist, to Sorin in his feral form, who offered a place in his pack.

  Not long ago she’d had noplace to go in this dimension; now she had too many options. None of that would matter if the Payami caught them in these tunnels. She rolled up her sleeve and offered her arm.

  Sorin shook his head, yet released the vampire.

  Sorrow in the shifter’s eyes made her hesitate and clench her hand. “I’m not feeding him, Sorin, and it will get us out of here. So stop looking at me like that.” He had no right to make her feel guilty, and he didn’t have any claim on her. By pack laws, Ahote had more rights to her, apparently.

  “You will choose to follow him.” Sorin nodded toward Benic before crossing his arms over his wide chest.

  Maybe. She needed to consider her future. Living with a pack of shifters in the wild didn’t hold a strong allure.

  Moving with supernatural speed, Benic grabbed her wrist before she could change her mind. Something sharp stung her fingertip. She yelped and struggled in his grasp, but taking her blood was finished as quickly as it had begun. She hugged her hand to her chest.

  Benic held the vial, with a pointed, needle-like end, filled with her blood, in his hand.

  Susan tried to swallow but the tight constriction in her throat prevented it. “How will you study it?” She forced her arms to relax at her sides. The speed Benic had used to grab her was inhuman, and her brain still skipped in a what-the-fuck mode. What wouldn’t the US Military do to have that kind of speed? It only reinforced her decision to destroy DOUG.

  “I’ll compare it to the others I’ve collected from species all over Eorthe.”

  “You study blood that much?” Susan asked.

  Benic shrugged. “It’s only natural.”

  The muscles in her legs clenched, preparing to sprint. However, she took a deep breath and held his gaze. Fear would only kill her. She didn’t need Kele to tell her about controlling it. On Earth, she’d had to deal with corporate predators who had wanted to consume her soul. This wasn’t much different from Benic’s desires.

  She pointed to the vial. “It will clot.” She watched the ruby liquid roll back and forth. The needle he’d used appeared clean, but that didn’t count for much. Things like HIV and hepatitis B or C couldn’t be seen. If she got ill she was screwed.

  Benic grinned. “You’re familiar with blood.”

  “Like I said, I’m a scientist. I’ve studied biology.” Her theories about dimensional gateways required knowledge of organic material that could travel through the Gate, such as humans. She had needed knowledge on cell function so she wouldn’t turn people inside out.

  “The vial is laced with a serum that keeps it fresh.” Benic capped it with a cork and pressed on her wound with his thumb to stop the bleeding. “If what you tell me is true about your origins, have you given some thought as to where all the other humans are on Eorthe?”

  A shudder traveled through Susan’s body. “I haven’t had time.” Yeah, what had happened to them all? She stared at the predators in front of her. Maybe the humans had been dinner. “What’s your theory?”

  He grimaced. “Nothing yet. Are you sure the portal closed?”

  “No, I’m not sure of anything.” Her heavy heart weighed so much it wouldn’t surprise her if it tore from her chest and landed in her gut. She’d never see home again. All her dreams, her studies and her work were for nothing. She’d wasted her whole life to end up some creature’s plaything until he grew bored and killed her.

  A tender touch on the chin snapped her out of her pity party, and a rough finger turned her until she faced Sorin.

  His ears were fanned out now as he tilted his head. “You have no pack or—or people close by?”

  “No.” She could barely whisper the response through the pain in her throat. Sorin didn’t know her full story, and she lacked the strength to retell it. Not unless she wanted to cry like a babe in front of them. She tore her chin from his grip. “We done? Can we get out of here?”

  Lifting his arm, Benic dangled something white and rectangular from his hand.

  Susan gasped and stepped closer. “My ID badge.”

  He held it in the light so her picture was visible. “I believe your amazing story. I think we could help each other. Once we’ve escaped these tunnels you’ll need to choose to stay with one of us. Give me the light.” He took the lantern from her hand before she could react. “We’ll go in this direction.”

  Sorin blocked his way. “How can I trust you to lead us the right way and not back to the Payami?”

  Susan paused her steps as she unrolled her sleeve and waited for Benic’s answer. She hadn’t thought this through. The vampire could bring them right back to the den instead of the dead volcano’s exit.

  “You can’t.” The vampire shrugged and walked around the massive shifter. “But I want Susan to return with me, and what better opportunity to convince her than now. I don’t want her back in Payami hands any more than you do. If Chaska suspects my interest, she may kill her out of spite.”

  Susan stared at Benic’s retreating back. “Kill me?” That crazy bitch would probably do it. She had to get out of this maze and off Payami land. Quickening her steps, she raced to follow Benic while Sorin brought up the rear.

  “If you’d found the main exit, your escape would have been ended. They post many guards around the cave leading into the mountain.” Benic turned left into a smaller tunnel.

  Sorin snorted. “That explains why there weren’t any guards posted inside the den.” The silver shifter stayed close behind her, almost stepping on her heels. “How do you propose we get by them? I’m weak from hanging on the chains all day. I might be able to take care of three of them.”

  She stumbled, but Sorin caught her by the elbows before she hit the ground. “Watch your step.” He spoke softly and righted her. She’d forgotten about the chains. His arms and shoulders must ache terribly from the abuse, but he didn’t show any signs of discomfort. Here she’d been only worried about her safety. What would they do to him if they were caught again?

  “Thank you.” She continued following the vampire.

  Benic scanned two separate tunnels before choosing the one on the right. “This way. We won’t exit through the guarded entrance. I know of another entrance the Payami have forgotten.” Benic glanced over his shoulder and winked at her. “Sometimes a long lifespan is useful. I’ve outlived anyone who’s known about this passage.”

  Her mind spun. “How old are you?” Were any of the myths about vampires true? Could garlic or wooden stakes work to destroy them? It seemed too easy.

  “I’m over three hundred years old. I remember dealing with your great-great-great grandfather, Sorin. When he first spl
it off from his pack in the far south and brought some of them here to live.”

  The shifter growled. “He had to pay quite a price for that privilege. You asked for three daughters of the pack, isn’t that right?”

  Benic’s steps slowed. “Yes, land can’t be free.” He sent Sorin a hard look. “I’m not a benefactor.”

  “No, you’re not.” Sorin touched her shoulder and slowed his steps to match hers. He leaned by her ear, his breath warming her skin. “Remember that, Susan. Nothing a vampire offers is free.”

  Shots of flaming electricity ran through her arm where he’d laid his hand. She rubbed the area and nodded. She couldn’t trust anyone. Not even Sorin. Her heart cried to believe him, but God, could she be anymore naïve?

  Everyone wanted her for their own agenda. She needed to decide what was best for her. Going with Benic made more sense. He had what this dimension offered as the best technology. If she had even a glimmer of a chance of finding a way home it would be with the vampires.

  The tunnels grew narrower and lower until Sorin stooped to walk on all fours. She leaned against the wall and let him pass. He moved as naturally as he had on two legs. Graceful and deadly all rolled into one. His long arms and torso compensated for the length of his legs as he strode behind Benic.

  He glanced at her over his shoulder. “If you’re tired you can ride on my back.”

  Her jaw went slack. “Uh, okay. I’m fine for now.” His fur had felt silky and thick in her hand when he had led her through the dark. She couldn’t think of a better mattress. With a shake, she cleared her head of images of bare-chested Sorin storming into Kele’s room like her own personal hero, except heroes didn’t really exist. No matter how much she wished.

  Fresh air breezed into the tunnel but the night masked the exit. She squinted to see past the lantern’s light and glimpsed a faint outline of the forest.

  Benic stopped by the cave’s mouth and waited. “From here, we can be at my castle in a few hours.” He offered Susan his hand.