Nik maneuvered them through the fighting, sometimes stopping abruptly to avoid colliding with a speeding vampire. Blood showered them from all angles as they made their escape, and Samantha thought she might add vomit to the liquids that showered them and pooled along the floor. Fortunately, living with Leisha and Liam had taught her to keep a strong stomach.
Nik only had to stop and fight twice. The first time, a woman was firing something in their direction. Nik pulled Samantha to the floor with him, angling himself on bottom so he took the brunt of their landing. Then he pushed her to the side and practically flew at the guard with the gun. The woman gurgled on her own blood after Nik squeezed her neck until it cracked. Then Nik was at Samantha’s side before the woman had even slid to the floor.
The second happened just before they reached the door with the lighted exit sign above it. A vampire dropped out of nowhere and landed on Samantha, his mouth open and aiming for the spot where her shoulder met her neck. Samantha didn’t even have time to scream before Nik was pulling him off of her. He yanked her attacker back roughly until he was falling. Nik snapped the vampire’s back as he fell, so that the man’s torso bent at a gruesome angle.
Suddenly, Nik stiffened up and a strange metal cylinder punched out of his abdomen, sending a fresh cascade of blood gushing down his pelvis. As he looked down, the head of the cylinder erupted with ten tiny spikes that embedded into his skin.
Samantha gasped when Nik whirled with his leg coming up for an Eagle kick. It knocked a weapon out of the hand of the man who had snuck up behind him. Nik brought the same leg that had kicked out back, hooking the man at the neck with the pit of his knee. Then the vampire squeezed while he dropped his leg down. The move crunched bones together as the man fell to his death. Nik’s back had an open, gaping hole and Samantha could see his spine poking through the side of it.
There was no time to react, even if Samantha had had the presence of mind to do so. But in her drug-addled and hunger-weakened condition, she just stood and stared at Nik’s horrific wound until he seized her hand once again and steered her out the door. Once it clicked shut behind them, Samantha drew in a deep breath. They were in a stairwell with poor lighting, but it felt like clean, fresh air compared to the noisome atmosphere of the corridor behind them.
She started to take the steps that led down, but Nik shook his head. “More are coming from below. I heard them talking about hardware that will probably blow us all to bits.” He pointed with one bloodstained finger. “We go up.”
Nodding, Samantha followed. Nik was moving slow for her benefit, but it was still fast for her. She’d had so little exercise from being locked up, and now it felt as if her legs were going to burn off. They kept going higher and higher. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to make it to the top, but didn’t want to ask Nik to carry her. He was badly injured and she felt uncomfortable asking him for any favors. They finally reached the top just as her legs were starting to go numb. It took Nik four hard kicks before the door burst open and they were on the roof.
Instead of the night air being refreshing, it choked Samantha with acrid smoke. Eyes watering and taking shallow breaths, she followed Nik to the edge, where the smoke was the strongest.
“Wonder if it was the vampires or the humans that lit the building on fire.” Nik murmured to himself.
“You said the humans had explosives, didn’t you?” Samantha’s voice rasped harshly. The lack of oxygen was making her feel lightheaded.
“There were some vibrations I felt while we were moving up here. It might have been a bomb or something.”
“Who cares?” Samantha gestured around them. “How are we going to get out of here?”
Nik narrowed his eyes, peeking through the smoke. “I can’t really see any other buildings to jump to and I don’t know exactly where the ground is.”
Samantha’s brows raised in puzzlement. “So what does that mean?”
Nik didn’t answer. Instead, he cocked his head to the side, then spun around.
Samantha turned as well, and her blood ran cold when she saw a group of vampires standing in front of the door. Ellery and Annette stood in front.
Annette smiled when she noted them. The vampire was just as covered in blood and viscera as Nik. Ellery was clean enough that Samantha could see a few patches of white on the cheap nightgown she wore.
“Well, well,” Annette said as she walked toward them. “What a day this is turning out to be. I got to have a great deal of fun slaughtering those bastards that dared to take me, and now I’m treated with you two. Again.”
Pointing at them, Annette turned to the group of vampires behind her. “We’ll take them with us. Victor will be pleased to know they aren’t lost to us again.”
“Victor didn’t get captured?” asked Nik.
Samantha turned to him with wide eyes. “They’re going to take us and torture us, and that’s the first thing that you ask?”
He shrugged. “I had assumed that all of the vampires had been taken.”
“No, darling.” Ellery approached and linked her arm in Annette’s. “Most of us, yes. But Victor and a small group with him had been traveling when our lair was attacked. We can contact him easily enough once we’re out of here.”
“Enough chit chat.” Annette waved her arm. “Get them and let’s get out of here!”
Nik pulled Samantha behind him as the group came closer. There were about thirty of them. Samantha knew that Nik was a skilled warrior, but didn’t think he could fight them all off—especially not with a gaping hole in his abdomen.
A cracking explosion rocked the building. The roof they were standing on bucked violently, throwing everyone to the ground. Nik hugged Samantha as they fell, so he took the brunt of impact.
Everything was still shaking when the other vampires got up. Three ran toward them and Nik jumped to his feet. He blocked their punches and kicked the first one in the stomach. It was hard enough that the man stumbled back and fell off the edge. The vampire howled when his body fell into the flames.
Nik twisted the neck of the second assailant. Before he could move onto the third one, the vampire jabbed his fingers into the wound on Nik’s back. Samantha grimaced as her friend pressed his lips together over a scream.
Nik spun with his hand up and punched the vampire in the jaw. He then grabbed the man’s hair and forced his head down as Nik’s knee met him in the face.
They both fell when another explosion rocked the building. More vampires were heading toward her and Nik when the glaring lights and roaring sound of a helicopter came over them. Bullets sprayed out from the helicopter, peppering the rooftop all around Annette and Ellery.
“Enough,” Ellery shouted, ignoring the occasional bullet tearing through her. “There’s no time. Let’s leave while we still can.” The woman ran toward the edge as fast she could and then disappeared into the smoky sky.
Annette followed suit and the other vampires went with them.
Nik ran to Samantha and helped her up. He led her to the opposite side of the building.
“We’ll have to jump and just hope that we see the ground before we hit it.”
After mentally tallying how many stairs they’d climbed, Samantha’s stomach dropped. “I can’t jump!” The roof was heating underneath her feet.
Lips twitching, he held his hand out to her. “We’ve done this before. I’ll hold you and keep you safe. I promise.”
She had been carried by Nik when he hopped from rooftop to rooftop, but this was a different scenario. “You don’t actually know if you can keep me safe. Not when you don’t know where you’re landing.” Her soles were getting blistered from the hot floor and she stood on her toes.
The vampire gently put his arms around her back and pulled her into his body. “Trust me.” His breath tickled her ear.
Conceding defeat, she hugged him tightly, bringing her ankle
s up and hooking them behind his back. She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing for the expected wave of nausea—traveling this way always made her sick. If it weren’t for the situation, this close proximity would have felt awkward. But since there was no other way, Samantha allowed herself to take in his unique smell and enjoy the feel of his muscles moving under her as he crouched down, then leaped high.
The flimsy material of her clothes flapped painfully against her skin. The wind was strong, tossing her hair every which way, stinging against her face and neck.
She knew they were well away from the compound because she could suddenly draw a deep, satisfying breath. Her lungs filled with ice cold air. The contrast between the hot smoke and the frigidness made her cough.
Nik’s arms tightened around her. “Try not to move,” he mumbled.
Just as he spoke, Samantha felt them hit something, making them tumble in a corkscrew motion while still in the air. Nik curved his body around her, trying to take blows for himself as they continued to fly into one thing after another. Samantha felt as if they were stuck in a pinball machine, being shot in different directions only to hit something else.
Though the vampire was doing his best to keep Samantha from getting hit directly, every time they crashed into something, it was with bruising force. On the fifth impact, Samantha felt branches scrape over her skin. We’re hitting trees? Another jolt cause her to bite her tongue, warm coppery fluid filling her mouth.
Suddenly, they were no longer ricocheting from one trunk to another, but falling straight down. Snapping twigs and branches echoed loudly as they broke under the weight of Nik and Samantha sliding over them.
They finally landed hard, Samantha on top of Nik. Icy snow exploded around them, cocooning them in white flakes. Samantha wondered dizzily if the cold would help numb the pain shooting throughout her body before she lost consciousness.
24 BC
Chilly saltwater and wind made up Iliana’s existence. It was everywhere; in her eyes and mouth, encompassing her entire body. Waves rolled higher than mountains, splashing water and rain in every direction, plastering her hair over her eyes.
Breathing was difficult, but she had to hang on, had to hope that she and her daughter would make it. Their ship had been sturdy, but not enough to contend with the force of nature that attacked it. When the boat had capsized, Iliana had clutched her baby to her as she’d been pitched overboard. The large ship must have hit something in the deep water, because after several minutes of floundering, Iliana had found a large scrap of wood that she guessed came from the sinking ship. Eagerly, she’d put her daughter onto it and had tried to climb up after her. Unfortunately, every time she’d heaved her body up, the small raft tilted, sliding the baby back into the water. Iliana had settled for keeping her wailing daughter on the wood, one hand on the infant’s stomach to keep her from sliding around, while Iliana’s own legs and torso remained pruning up in the churning saltwater.
Now, all she could do was pray. But who do I pray to? She knew this storm was no mere coincidence. He must have sent it. Which meant that he had found her. She’d hoped he would have stopped after wiping out the village. A sob of despair escaped her, and more water flooded into her lungs.
Her poor daughter was screaming, the wind taking away the sounds as soon as they came out of her mouth. Iliana felt it was a miracle the little bundle had survived this long. She hoped that was a good omen.
Iliana’s hands were beginning to cramp from holding onto the piece of wood, but she couldn’t let go. That would mean death.
Something in the distance caught her eye. Land? It was hard to tell with the ominous clouds covering the sun. The rain and high waves certainly didn’t help, either. Still, she squinted through the rain as a wave took her small raft up to dizzying heights. Either it is land or I hope too much.
After a moment of debate, Iliana reached into the water and awkwardly worked her skirt off. She used the cloth to secure her baby to the raft. That done, she started to kick with more fervor, trying to push the chunk of wood in the direction she hoped would be their salvation.
Swimming in the churning water was exhausting. She couldn’t catch her breath because so much water splashed into her mouth. Though the ocean wasn’t very cold, she shivered uncontrollably, but forced herself to continue. Brushing her matted hair out of her face, she saw that the land suddenly looked closer. With renewed vigor, she paddled toward it. It felt that no matter how hard she kicked, the land was getting no closer.
Shooting pains from Iliana’s right leg told her that the end was near. She’d used her last reserve of strength. Resting her head onto her hands next to her crying child, she knew with absolute certainty that she was going to die. Tears of defeat choked her along with the saltwater. She reached out and pushed the small mop of hair out of her daughter’s face. She despaired at the thought of her child dying without ever having a chance to live.
With that thought in mind, Iliana forced her tears back. Blinking through the wind and water, she vowed, “I might die this day, but hell will have me first before this innocent babe loses her life!” Once again, she pushed the makeshift raft toward land.
Chapter 21
“Rinwa is ignoring her stomach again,” Liam said in his unique accent.
Leisha stayed on the couch as she watched Tafari sigh and walk over to their daughter, who was engrossed in her computer. The big man put his hands under their daughter’s armpits and picked her up as if she were a little girl.
“No,” Rinwa protested. “I was getting somewhere with that hard drive!”
“Later,” Tafari said as he carried her into the small kitchen. “First, you will eat, then sleep for a while.”
Rinwa looked over at Liam, who was seated next to Leisha. “Traitor.”
The boy shrugged. “Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. In this case, our parents are God.”
Rinwa slid her sunglasses down until she unobtrusively glared at her brother. “I’m supposed to be the tyrant in this analogy, then?”
Instead of answering, Liam shrugged again, this time with a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
A chair creaked as Rinwa landed heavily in it. Tafari turned and began reheating the stir-fry left over from the previous day. Leisha noticed that he added more meat and then sliced a few pieces of French bread.
Leisha studied her daughter as the blonde glowered at the table. When she and Tafari had returned from their trip, it was to find Rinwa at the computer, looking skeletal and pale. She’d been so focused on her work that she’d neglected to eat for almost the entire eight days that they’d been gone. She would have died if she had still been mortal. But as an immortal, starvation would not kill her. However, she had been completely weak and could barely walk.
After a few days of nourishing her back to health, Leisha had pulled out the backups she and Tafari had taken from the deserted compound and Rinwa had happily begun working again. Leisha had tried to look at them herself, but she wasn’t that savvy with computers, and neither she nor Tafari wanted Rinwa to get overly distracted again before she was fully recovered.
“I’m glad you’re here to help us keep an eye on her,” Leisha said to her son. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and hugged him from the side. “There’s no way she’ll get as bad as she was.”
Liam tilted his head to look at his mother. “I really did try to help her while you were gone. She just wouldn’t listen to me.” A hint of vulnerability shined in his eyes.
Stroking his hair, Leisha nodded. “I know how stubborn she can be, and you’re only half her size. You’re such an amazing boy.”
Rinwa huffed from the kitchen. “You can’t possibly believe he’s so innocent. My so-called brother attacked me a few times, but finally backed off because he was doing more damage than good.”
Her son looked down. “You’re a good fighter, Rinwa. I cut you more
than I’d intended because you fought so hard and didn’t really give me much of a choice.”
Rinwa opened her mouth for some kind of rebuttal but Tafari interrupted before she could.
“All right, children.” His deep timbre filled the whole apartment. “That is enough. There is no need to bicker about the past. Rinwa should know better about taking care of herself.” He put up a hand before she could snap at him. “But she is under a lot of pressure to find Samantha. So we must do what we can to help her.”
“Why don’t you just spoon feed me while I keep working?” Rinwa said in a biting tone.
In response, Tafari grabbed the fork from her plate, yanked on her hair to pull her head back, and shoved a forkful of fried veggies into her mouth. Rinwa made frustrated sounds in the back of her throat, but didn’t bother to talk past the food in her mouth. Liam’s whole body shook with silent laughter. Leisha pressed her lips together to keep herself from bursting out.
Tafari stood over his daughter to make sure she ate every bite on her plate. Leisha didn’t think he needed to. After Rinwa got her first bite of food, she dug right in and devoured the rest. But she understood that he was still concerned about the girl.
“Okay,” Rinwa stood. “Do you have any objections to me finally getting back to work now, sir?” The scalding heat radiating from her tone could have cooked all the frozen food in the freezer.
“None,” Tafari said, deadpan. “Just be sure to take another break in a few hours.”
Color rose to her cheeks, but the immortal said nothing as she retreated back to her computer.
Leisha patted Liam’s knee affectionately before she stood and walked over to her husband. “Do you think we could have a few moments alone?”
Tafari’s lips quirked up at the corners. “I am certain we are not needed right now.”
Smiling up at him, Leisha led the way down the short hall and to their bedroom. She turned to him as he closed the door. “I know I’ve been drinking a lot of your blood lately, but do you think I could feed from you again tonight?” She found she couldn’t quite meet his gaze as she asked.
Deliverance Page 16
