by Mary Hughes
“She needs to be in the hospital!” I got in his face. She’d brushed too near death. “She needs to be under medical supervision.”
“No.” The Viking scooped her into his arms. “She’s full of Nikos’s blood. We can’t be sure what the doctors will find. She and the baby are fine; I hear both heartbeats. No hospital.”
“But—”
“I said no.” Then he took the whole thing out of my hands by disappearing with her in the direction of the cabin.
I ground out a string of curses and started after him.
“Wait.” Twyla’s hand, touching my shoulder, trembled. I turned to see her eyes glistening with tears in the moonlight. “Nikos…he won’t wake up. Can you look at him?”
“Elena should be in a damned hospital.” But I glanced at Nikos’s mountainous body…which didn’t seem quite so mountainous.
Other things were off as well. His eyes looked sunken, his mouth was bracketed by lines and his hair was frosted silver in the moonlight. Apparently the shock and stress were making me see things. “They both need a hospital. Why doesn’t Bo get that?”
“It’s the Big Secret,” she said tiredly. “Human authorities ask too many questions. Could you…could you please take care of Nikos?”
“I can try.” I knelt next to him. Nikos was sheet white. He wasn’t breathing. In fact, he looked dead. I touched his skin. It was cool. “Is this normal for a vampire?”
“I don’t know.” Twyla knelt beside me. “I mean, sometimes he doesn’t breathe. But I’ve never seen him like this before.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Ric.
He shook his head, expression grim. He didn’t know either, which worried me.
“Let’s get him back to the cabin. Maybe we can tell more in better light.” And then I could check on Elena too. She and the baby were still my primary concern.
Ric got the task of lugging Nikos’s heavy body while Twyla and I walked behind him. I chafed to go faster but I could barely see as it was.
The instant we got back to the cabin I ordered, “Put him on the couch. I’ll be back.” I got my kit out of my car, threw open the first bedroom door and walked smack into six plus of angry Viking.
Bo snarled. “She needs rest, not more poking.”
“After I see her.”
“Not. Happening.”
I don’t know what would have happened if Twyla hadn’t shouted, “Strongwell! Get out here this instant and give Nikos blood.”
He didn’t want to go but I could snarl too. “You said she didn’t need a hospital. Prove it. Go help Nikos.”
Bo gave me a final snarl and spun out.
With him out of my hair, I hurried to where Elena rested on the bed. Bo had removed her dirty, torn clothes and dressed her in a man’s white T-shirt. I lifted it gently. He’d washed her too. Her belly wound was clean and closed. In fact, I couldn’t tell where it had been. I took her blood pressure and listened to both her and the baby’s heart. They were strong. I’d barely satisfied myself that she was recovering when Bo appeared, rushed me and my bag out of the bedroom and firmly shut and locked the door. But I’d seen enough to know she and the baby were in good hands.
Twyla was alone in the living room. Next to her on the end table sat a full glass of wine, the wine bottle, an empty glass and the Irish cream.
I went to her and hugged her, and kept hugging until her trembling slowed. When she straightened away, I said, “Where are the guys?”
She blinked glossy eyes. “Ric and Bo did what they could for Nikos. He’s resting. Recovering. I hope.” She took a deep, shuddering breath, which seemed to calm her somewhat. She poured me Irish cream and handed me the glass.
I took the bottle with me when I sat down. “And Ric?”
“He said he was going back to the clearing to look for clues. And to dispose of the rogue vampire.”
I shivered and belted Irish cream without any regard for its price, just because it was booze. “So Nikos is resting. Will he be okay?”
“Yes. I’m pretty sure.” She took another breath. “No. I’m not sure at all. He didn’t wake up, not even after Bo and Ric gave him blood. Neither of them has seen anything like this. And lying there on the couch…he looked frail, Synnove. Almost…old.”
“Oh, hon. Trauma and shock can cause temporary aging and make hair go gray.” Not waking up wasn’t good, though. “What about that Ancient One, Elias? Can’t you ask him? His advice saved Elena.”
“We’re only supposed to call him in emergencies.” She breathed again, heavily, like it took an effort. “But after Ric left, well, I called. I had to. That’s part of the problem.”
I clenched the glass. “Did that asshole brush you off? I’ll kick his testicles into next week if he even dared—”
“Synnove, no.” She choked on something that might have been a horrified laugh. “He said a couple nights buried in the soil would bring Nikos back. The problem is he also said Nikos won’t be the same. He may not ever be the same.” She shuddered.
That was good for another round of hugging. “What does that mean?”
“Even after Nikos wakes, he’ll need a long time to recover.”
“Months?”
“Years.” She blinked. “If he weren’t as old as he is, he’d be permanently dead.”
I nearly didn’t ask the next question. I wanted to ignore what had happened; I wanted it to just go away.
Classic avoidance behavior. I closed my eyes and gathered my strength. I’d been through dozens of crises as a doctor-in-training, but this was personal. We needed to talk this out, both of us, or risk post-traumatic stress disorder.
I opened my eyes, sat back down and cautiously peeled back the lid on the emotional can of worms. “You trust this Elias?” I watched her closely.
Twyla bit her lip. “Mostly. I’ve never met him and he’s secretive as hell, but the guys trust him—Bo and Nikos and the rest. He did give us the information to save Elena’s life.” She met my eyes and hers were as dark and serious as I’d ever seen them. “I’d heard that v-guys could heal humans, even aging. I was thrilled. But the cost… No wonder it’s not something they do casually.”
She drank off her glass. Filled it again.
Yeah, this could turn into PTSD way too easily. Best thing for her was to keep talking, but we needed to start easy. “Look, I need more info. Take me back to the beginning. Why did Ric and Nikos fight?”
She gave me a watery smile. Twyla’s hella smart; she knew what I was doing. Wouldn’t stop it from being effective. She said, “They’re vampires. Highly territorial. Fiercely protective, especially of their humans. Enemies until proven otherwise.”
“Okay, but what was with the googly faces?”
That almost made her smile for real. “The battle mask? When they call on their natures their eyes go red and their fangs elongate. When they fight, their skin additionally hardens and their claws extend. The older they are, the longer the claws, among other things.” She managed a wink.
“You don’t mean…of course you do.” I sighed theatrically, fiercely relieved she was able to tease even a little. “Too much info. I don’t want to know how long Nikos’s ‘claws’ are.” I emphasized the present tense. “So Nikos attacked Ric because he thought he was a threat?”
“Yes. Because he smelled an unknown vampire.”
“I thought we couldn’t use the v-word.”
She set down her glass. “At this point I don’t care. You need to know, without the euphemisms. Just keep your voice down. Bo will scent any eavesdroppers.”
“Bo didn’t smell the eavesdropper in the clearing.”
“He was distracted.”
“Why was Elena alone to be attacked by that rogue vampire in the first place? Where was he?”
“The guys have to recharge their batteries. A couple hours of skin to soil. Elena doesn’t take sitting around too well, so I’d guess she went off exploring.”
Skin to soil, and Bo’s hair and face had been
dirty.
And though Nikos was supposed to be resting, the door to their bedroom was open and he wasn’t on the bed.
I swallowed hard. “You mean like…a burial?”
She’d seen my glance. “They sleep in bedrooms with normal beds, not graves. Recharging is separate from sleeping.”
“Oh. Good deal. And the vampire biting Elena…you called him a rogue? What’s that?”
“Rogues are vampires who drink humans to death.”
“They’re evil?”
“Evil.” She blinked. “I’m so angry. Furious at what happened to Elena. To Nikos.” She curled her arms around herself. “But no, they’re not evil. Most are newbies who don’t know any better, and are too young to control the thirst.”
I got up, put my hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. “Twyla, Nikos will be all right.”
She hesitated, then nodded once. “I know.” She breathed again, a sigh. “I know he will.”
“Believe it. Your belief will help him heal.” Time to inject some normalcy. “Hey, I’m hungry. I’m going to see what’s to eat.” I went to the kitchen. “So when Ric picked me up he really zoomed. Can all vampires run that fast?”
“It’s not exactly running, but yes. They all can go much faster than humans, some as fast as forty to fifty miles an hour, depending on age and training.”
“So they can’t outrun a car?” I rummaged in the cupboards, found boxes of woven whole grain crackers—rosemary and olive oil, and oregano with chive.
“When they’re old enough to mist, they can zap places with that. It’s almost instantaneous but they can only go short distances before collapsing back into their natural form.”
“That explains Bo’s fuzzy act.” I checked the refrigerator, found some tubs of spreadable cheese—Swiss almond and wine-swirled cheddar. “How about cheese and crackers? Wisconsin does good cheese.”
“I suppose.”
That was better than a flat refusal. I put tubs and boxes on a tray and added a couple knives. “Can they do the bat thing as well?”
“Not all of them, at least not right away.” Her eyes followed me as I carried the tray into the living room. “At a thousand years old they can shape shift. Bats, birds, you name it.”
“A thousand years? Holy needleroni, that’s old.”
“Age is a good thing in a vampire.” She watched me open the tub of creamy Swiss. “Makes them stronger and smarter. And bigger.” She tried an eyebrow waggle and almost pulled it off.
“TMI. I don’t need to know how ‘big’ your boy toy is.” I spread the Swiss on a woven cracker and offered it to her.
“I’m not hungry…oh, all right.” She took the cracker and nibbled off a corner. “I meant height and weight. This is good.” She smiled slightly. “We don’t know why, but the older the vampire, the more massive. Unless they get majorly damaged somehow. Hit by lightning or too long in the sun, that sort of thing.” Her smile faded. “That’s why Nikos looked smaller. After.”
“He’ll be all right,” I repeated. Vampire physiology. If not for my need to keep Twyla talking, it would be a fascinating field to discuss.
Twyla blinked. She looked at the cracker in her hand, then me, then put the rest of the cracker in her mouth and chewed, idly dusting her fingers on her pants. “I can almost believe that now.” She washed down the cracker with a sip of wine. Food and talk, the great healers. Thank goodness.
I spread another cracker with cheddar. “Something I don’t understand. If Elena was attacked by a vampire, why did it look like a knife wound? I’d think a claw or fang would tear or puncture.” I bit the cracker in half. Mmm, tangy.
She frowned. “Maybe the rogue didn’t do that. A newbie isn’t savvy enough to carry a knife.” At my raised eyebrow she added, “To destroy a vampire you have to burn him, but to stop him you only have to cut off the head or dig out the heart. Which means a knife, unless you’re the Ancient One, who reportedly has talons like switchblades.”
“And this keeps getting yuckier.” I set aside my half-eaten cracker. “So you’re saying it wasn’t the vampire who knifed Elena?”
Her expression was troubled. “Probably not.”
We were both silent a moment, wondering, if not the rogue, then who. Finally I said, “Three sets of bad guys, then? Elena’s attacker, the vampire and the Peeping Tom?”
“Maybe. That’s what your guy is trying to find out.”
“Ric is not my guy.”
“Deny it if you have to.” Twyla was silent for a long time, sipping wine as food and company seeped through and the shudders ebbed from both of us. Though the shock had gone, something was obviously eating at her.
I waited, heart aching for her, hoping whatever was bothering her worked its way out.
Finally she said, “Everybody’s so big on Happily Ever After. But I’ve only ever wanted Happily For Now. Because you can’t count on HEA, you know?”
“I know your arguments.” We’d discussed this before. “Things happen, like falling out of love or accidents or just plain death.”
“Exactly. No such thing as Happily Ever.” She took a deep breath. “But.”
“But?”
“Elena was dying. She could have died.” Twyla shook her head. “She and Bo have only been married nine months. Only nine months of HEA. But Synnove—” her eyes met mine, “—that’s nine months more than Nikos and I have had, with me insisting on Happily For Now. I’ve been fooling myself.”
“Oh hon, you’re being hard on yourself—”
“No, don’t you see? It could have been me on that forest floor.” She thumped her breastbone. “Even Happily For Now isn’t for sure.”
“Nothing is for sure.”
“One thing is. Real love.” She set down her glass firmly and stood. “There’s only one way to get Happily For Any-Time-At-All. Grab it. Grab real love, right now, and enjoy it for as long as you can.”
Thinking of Ric, I shook my head. “But what is real love?”
She leaned a hand on my chair’s arm. Searched my eyes with hers. “The kind of love that commits itself to forever, and keeps on committing to forever, moment after moment after moment. Whether you and Ric have a shot at that or not, I want it with Nikos.” She stood, a bit unsteadily. “And I’m going to get it.”
I put down my glass, narrowly missing setting it on the table’s edge. When I stood, I swayed too. “You going to make an honest man of him? Er, honest vampire?”
“Damn skippy I am.”
“Well, hell.” I grabbed her in a quick bear hug, blinking suddenly moist eyes. “Only if I get to be maid of honor.”
Her smile was brilliant. “You may have to fight Nixie for that,” she said, referring to her five-foot zilch, hundred pound punk rock musician best friend.
“Bring it,” I said. “I’ll hold her by the forehead and let her swing.”
“She trained with Mr. Miyagi too. And she doesn’t always fight fair, so be careful. She’ll kick you in the nether puffies. Lots of blood down there.”
“Don’t I know it.” We both collapsed in a fit of giggles on the couch.
Which was where Ric found us when he returned half an hour later. We were misty-eyed with wine and Irish cream bottles nearly empty.
I jumped to my feet, wanting to run into his embrace to feel his arms around me and hang on forever.
How could I have become so attached in such a short time?
I probably couldn’t. Even love at first sight takes months of relationship-building to confirm. Needy hormones and danger’s adrenaline rush can mimic love… Still, the simple sight of him made me tingle from my head to my toes. To avoid something neither of us could live down, I only said, “Glad you made it back. Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’ll take some of that wine though.”
I handed him my glass. He poured from Twyla’s bottle, draining it.
Twyla said, “Did you find them?”
“I found the eavesdropper. Caught him, questione
d him and then wiped his mind. Then I called the sheriff’s department and had him carted off to jail.”
“And Elena’s attacker?” I asked.
Ric shook his head. “The tracks were confused. I’ll try again tomorrow, after some rest.”
“Too bad.” Twyla yawned.
But Ric’s eyes silently let me know he hadn’t told the whole truth. I flicked a glance at my bedroom. We needed to talk privately. And maybe more. A delicate shiver woke every cell of my body.
He tipped his head once in agreement. Tossing off his wine, he said, “Synnove, if I can borrow your floor, I’ll go lie down.”
“Sure.” I turned to Twyla. “You should get some rest too.”
“I don’t think I can sleep.” She stifled another yawn.
“I can help,” Ric said.
Twyla shook her head, her eyelids flagging. “I’m immune to mind control.”
“I meant a shoulder rub.”
“Oh.” She yawned so hard she shuddered with it. “Okay.”
Ric stood behind her chair and kneaded her neck and shoulders. Twyla groaned. “I didn’t know I was hurting until you made it stop.”
“Shh. Close your eyes.”
While Ric worked, he exchanged a word-filled gaze with me. She’s exhausted.
She’s worried about Nikos.
He’ll be fine. “Relax, Twyla.” As he deepened his massage, he started humming, a soft, sweet tune, almost a lullaby. He had a lovely rich baritone. She’ll feel better after a good sleep.
Yes. And as Twyla nodded off, I pointed toward her bedroom.
Ric slipped hands under her knees and shoulders, lifted her effortlessly, carried her into her darkened bedroom and laid her gently on the bed.
“Mmm?” She stirred.
“Shh,” he said. “It’s all right. Synnove’s here. Rest now.”
She snuggled into the bed with a sigh. I slipped off her shoes and covered her with a spare blanket.
When she was settled, Ric motioned me out of the room. He followed, flicking off the light and shutting the door behind him.
What he’d done for her was lovely and sweet, and coming on top of the horrors, made me long for some comfort of my own. Yes, I’d declared Ric wasn’t my guy but that seemed hollow and cold when right now all I craved was his solid warmth.
