Assuming Jerry had escaped, and she gave herself no other options, where would he go?
She turned an about face and moved off the porch with a single leap and headed up the trail towards the Tuttle homestead.
Elise was still running full tilt when she entered the yard. Her arms trembled with the effort of holding her daughter for so long.
Latching the gate to the horse paddock, the Major turned in surprise and froze, his light brown eyes flashing to yellow. He stared at the wounded child and the spent vampiress as she stood on shaking legs.
“Where is Jerry Waverly? Is he here?” she asked, voice a faint whisper as her arms sagged.
The Major moved in quickly, lifting the unconscious child out of her arms before she dropped her. He shuffled her high in his arms and she gave a slight whimper. He stared down at her with an odd expression. “No snacking in your sleep, young lady.” He dipped his head towards the barn with a grim look in Elise’s direction as he started walking.
On trembling knees, Elise followed.
Emerald’s breathing was a rattling rasp of expelled air past damaged vocal chords. She’d nearly had her throat torn out. But vampires weren’t human. They were much harder to kill.
Elise was banking on that last bit as she stood with Jerry Waverly and watched her daughter toss and turn in a fitful sleep. Part of it was the fever as her body heated and worked to repair the damage and heal her.
“She’s young and vampire. She should be fine.” Jerry spoke soothingly, staring at the young girl on the cot against the wall as she pulled and tore at the blankets that chased her in her sleep.
Elise nodded grimly. “Emerald would never have made it were it not for her imaginary friend.” She laughed at the irony. “Turns out she wasn’t making that part up. A seven foot tall chameleon. Can you believe it? Never seen anything like it,” she admitted.
“I wonder where he ended up?” Jerry added, looking curious. As a scientist she imagined he would have loved to glimpse the huge Yeti like beast, himself.
She shrugged. “Not sure, we didn’t stop to find out. I almost felt sorry for the guards.”
A sudden movement at the door made them both turn. Sadie and Nicholas stood in the doorway. They looked like they’d been running.
#
Nick and I stared at a startled Jerry Waverly and tried to catch our breath. Standing next to him was a ravaged Elise, her hair a wild tangle about her slim shoulders, eyes haunted and round. Beyond her in a corner lay Emerald, small and forlorn and just visible beneath a mountain of quilts.
We moved further into the room and slammed the door shut behind us. “Can someone care to explain to us what happened?” I turned to Jerry. “Last I knew you were working on an antidote with Kimmy in your lab. We just came from there. Looks like a tornado went through it. We didn’t know if you were dead or alive. This was the only place we could think of to check for answers.”
Jerry scowled. “Yeah, well, we had company in the dead of last night. A gang of vampires, and I don’t mean of the crazed and insane variety. They knew what they were about and they weren’t searching for a meal.”
Kimmy spoke from behind us and we jumped a mile. I turned and glared at her. “Someone sent them to kill Jerry and destroy what was in that basement. They missed Jerry, but the lab is a total loss.”
A shiver of dread went through me. I never wanted to be the one to tell Sirris that someone had killed her father. I turned to look at Elise. There were other mysteries in the room. “And you, weren’t you headed to Wyndoor to enlist the aide of the Demon wolves?”
Elise snorted. “Yeah, well, that went south as you can see. We didn’t make it far when we met up with three crazed vamps. Took us by surprise and almost killed Emerald. Her ‘imaginary’ friend saved us and helped me get Emerald into Drae Hallow and here to Mr. Waverly. We never made it to the Demon wolves.”
I blinked in confusion. Nick stood beside me equally befuddled. “Imaginary who?” he asked before I could.
Elise shook her head. “Never mind, that’s not important.”
I wanted to argue that I thought it was very important as Kimmy came further into the room, carrying a plateful of sandwiches and drinks. I was short on manners at that point and snagged one as she walked by, the ham and cheese on rye buried in my mouth before she could shoot me an evil glance. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten.
Nick was right behind me, along with Jerry and Kimmy herself. Only Elise refrained, her eyes only for her daughter.
A loud drawn-out moan of pain drew our attention and we all turned as Elise gave a frightful cry and rushed to her side, her face drawn and pale with fear.
She reached out and touched her daughter, pulling her fingers back with a hiss of pain. Emerald’s normally pale skin was sweet cherry purple and I waited for the blankets themselves to catch fire.
She darted a frantic look in Jerry’s direction. “Do something!” she begged, “You’re the Doctor.”
Jerry shook his head, eyes wide and helpless. “No, I’m a scientist. Not the same thing at all.”
We all watched as she shook and quivered and cried out, helpless to do anything for several moments, the sandwiches abandoned and forgotten. Were we watching Emerald die?
All at once, the shivering stopped and she gave a gasp so loud it lifted her off the mattress. The red faded and she lay still as death.
“My baby. She’s gone… she’s…” she began on a sob.
“Sleeping,” I interrupted, watching the faint rise and fall of her small chest.
It was true. The fever had broken and Emerald lay quietly sleeping, no longer restless and tossing about.
Elise lay her fingers along the curve of her daughter’s cheek and sighed, several tears escaping where she had held them back.
Jerry Waverly moved closer and froze. He looked up at me in shock. “The wounds at her throat have closed. That’s remarkable… isn’t it?” he looked to Elise for confirmation.
She nodded. “We heal quicker than most, but that’s crazy fast even for a vampire,” she admitted.
I wandered closer myself, Nicholas and Kimmy right on my heels. We stared down at Emerald; her childish face relaxed in slumber. It was true. Though the wound was still angry and swollen, the ragged edges had knit seamlessly. The only evidence was in the red line that connected the rough edges and the gentle swelling beneath the damaged tissues. She was healing faster than anything I’d ever seen.
Jerry took a step back and waved his hands back and forth. “Let’s leave her be and let her sleep. At that rate, she may be as right as rain within a matter of hours…” he trailed off.
“A wound like that? It should have taken a week or more,” Elise admitted, as they moved away from her and towards the middle of the room. Nicholas picked his sandwich back up and started eating again like nothing had happened. I shrugged and snagged a second one.
I glanced up at Jerry. “So, the antidote is gone. Where does that leave us then? I’m assuming that means we have no more vials left of the afflicted blood?”
Jerry suddenly looked sheepish and guilty. “Well, that’s not true. I might have taken a wee sample of Emerald’s blood right when she came in.” He gave Elise, whose eyes had heated at the information, an apologetic look. “We needed to have a sample in case she didn’t make it. I’m sorry, but there are more lives at stake here…” his words dwindled along with her ire. Elise visibly swallowed and looked away.
“As we know, vampires do heal quickly all on their own. Part of their genetic make-up. Despite the poison to their bodies from whatever was in that tainted blood, I believe the affected vampires bodies, given time, would naturally expel the poison and repair most of the damage. The danger would be to the hunger center in the brain. If the damage there is permanent…” He paused for affect, but we all got it. A civilized vampire depended on its ability to control that centers satiety and their response to it. A starving vampire was a menace to everyone.
�
��When I developed the last antidote, I used the blood samples from the AB- bag. What I noted was that the antigens in the rare blood cells drastically increased the rate of repair in the damaged cells, thus decreasing the time required to recover and upping the chance of regaining a healthy hypothalamus.” Jerry sighed. “But it’s all gone and besides, there was still the time issue. The AB- sample was destroyed in the lab.” He slanted a quick glance in my direction and I felt a shiver of realization hit my spine.
Jerry continued, “… and there was still the time issue. The antidote worked, but not fast enough. It drastically reduced the recovery by it still would take several days to reverse the effects entirely. Time we don’t have.
He glanced at Kimmy’s horrified expression apologetically. His eyes moved to Emerald, sleeping quietly in the corner, fall of red gold hair tangled about her face. Elise narrowed her eyes.
“Don’t even think about it…” Elise snarled.
“Elise, what would Emerald want?” I began, catching the thread of awful intentions. I remembered what it felt like to be a guinea pig.
Nobody in the room had missed that Emerald’s unique system had nearly healed completely in a matter of hours.
“I don’t care. She’s a child—” she started.
“—who misses her father,” I finished.
Elise sent me a savage look of dislike before she looked away with a snarl.
“I think we should at least wait until she wakes up and then ask her.” I started.
From the bed came a small weak voice, the words so low they had to strain to hear them. “She’s awake, thank you very much. Who could sleep through that racket? Does anyone have any vegetables? I’m starving.”
#
Jerry took his samples… and along with Kimmy… vanished to the long set of tables at the back of the room to run tests and see if it was workable to create a new antidote with the meager set of equipment they had on hand.
The rest of us took a seat to wait, unsurprised when Lucas Seul and the Major both came in and joined in the makeshift living room. The set of couches bore evidence of the room’s original purpose, the stuffing peeking out from between the long thin slashes that ran along the cushions and arms.
Lucas slanted a look in Nick’s direction as he sat down next to Elise, who stiffened in alarm. They weren’t exactly friends.
“You were out awfully late last night…” Lucas began, speaking to his son.
Nick stared at his father without blinking. “That’s right. All night as a matter of fact, as I’m sure you know,” he continued stubbornly.
I stared at the beginnings of an old-fashioned stare down and rolled my eyes. Idiots surrounded me.
“Nick and I went into Breathless. We hadn’t planned on being that long. I had to clean up the house before mom comes back in a few days. I also had to gather a few more things for our trip into Wyndoor I thought we might need.” I ignored Nick’s glare and went on.
“We were on our way back when we saw something weird and—”
Nick interrupted, “—I’ve got this part. A shrouded figure that didn’t see us, sneaking along the back roads and alleys and moved a little too quick to be human. Made our spidey senses jangle, and so we followed.”
I waited for him to take a breath and then jumped in before he could finish. “The shadow ended up down some deserted street way off the main drag. Whoever it was paused underneath a street lamp. We lost him a short while later, like maybe he’d figured out he was being followed? He took off quick and when we caught up and turned the corner he’d plain vanished. We have no idea where he ended up or what he was up to.”
Lucas looked speculative, “Too bad you didn’t see who it was.”
Nick gave an unamused snort. “That’s just it. We did see his face right before he pulled down a thin veil to conceal his features. It was the Judge, Fino Vas.”
#
The Major looked at the small group in the middle of his ‘secret’ wolf's den. Or at least that had been its intent when he had it constructed. A secret room for werewolf pups as they approached their first and most unpredictable changes. It was sturdy and solid, and it had been a secret. He stared at the six people in the room and sighed.
“Jerry, I think Elise and Emerald should stay here with you until she recovers enough to travel.” He stared hard at Elise. “Please keep this room’s whereabouts a secret!”
She gave him a small smile and a nod of gratitude. “I can do that.”
I tried not to look at Lucas Seul on my left. Instead, I spoke to Jerry and Elise. “While Emerald is recovering and another antidote is hopefully being made, Nicholas and I will head into Wyndoor ourselves and see if we can get help from the Demon wolves. Let’s try to meet up in the woods by the hidden opening to the tunnels leading beneath the castle tomorrow night. Does that suit everyone?” There were several nods of agreement.
“No!” Lucas ground out. Everyone ignored him.
He turned to his son with a groan. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
Nick opened his mouth to say something sarcastic, but the imploring look in his father’s worried eyes checked the impulse. “I’ll be as careful as you, dad,” he finished.
Lucas laughed shortly. “I wish that made me feel better. I’ll do what I can from this end… but there’s your mother…”
“It’s fine. Keep mom safe. I’ll be back before you know I’m gone.”
Lucas gave a quick jerk of his head, his expression troubled. “That had better be a promise you keep.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Something the maid had said in Wyndoor bothered me. I remembered her slight figure, huddled on the floor of the room and holding a small child on her lap. She had said little, her eyes haunted by sights no human nor beast should ever have to witness. But there’d been fire there too, in aging eyes that refused to bow down. She’d mentioned a robed figure, a glimpse she’d caught turning the corner and then gone. The day before the vampires started falling ill and the attacks began.
I shared what I remembered with Nick as we traveled the path towards the far side of Bane lake and the portal into Wyndoor.
He nodded, thoughtful. “Yeah, I remember that. Thought it was just the mumbling of a scared old woman.”
I had too, at the time. “What if it wasn’t? Could it have been Judge Vas, or someone like him?”
“Dad mentioned a faction of rebels that the Vampire Council is dealing with, they call them the Shadow Guild. Some secret organization with an agenda to take control of the human population. The Council has had an eye that way for a while, but they have made little headway. Seems whoever they are, they’re always one step ahead of discovery and they keep their agenda hidden.”
I emerged from the woods a step ahead of Nicholas. “If Fino was involved, that would make sense. He’d know everything that was happening and could protect the group if he were leading it.”
My eyes swept the trail ahead, just back from where the portal emerged on the side of a hill that tumbled straight into Bane Lake. Off to the side and believing it hid them, I picked up the darkened figures of several vamp guards. On patrol I knew and waiting for any sign of Elise or her daughter. But they were safe with Jerry and the Major—for now, at least.
I shot Nicholas a warning glance, but he’d already seen the hidden shadows and nodded my way. We’d be wise to table our conversation for now.
Aloud, he remarked. “Ready to see if we can catch a Weis kit to bring back?” I shot him an incredulous look. The last time we’d been around the Weis cats, they’d tried to eat us. Then I caught the gleam of humor and hid a smile.
“Sure, I was thinking we should aim for two. Set them loose to multiply right here near Bane Lake. I’ve heard they are particularly fond of vampire flesh.” I added for good measure.
We couldn’t see the effect our words had on the hidden guards, but my imagination was going wild with the possibilities.
We neared to within twenty yards of the portal. “Re
ady?” I asked Nick. He nodded and we both broke into a run, our added armor and extra weapons slowing us down some, but we were traveling plenty fast when we jumped off the bank and entered the portal… and landed on the edge of the cliffs on the other side closer to the edge than I found comfortable. I gasped and pushed myself forwards, plowing into Nicholas and sending us both in a mad tumble through the dirt. He slanted me a dark glare as he sat up, pounding at his dust covered breeches and shirt.
“Sorry,” I muttered, not apologetic in the least.
We got to our feet and looked around, catching our bearings and ready to run across the plains.
We’d been lucky before when we came across, able to sprint the open distance before we drew the attention of anything dangerous and on the prowl.
But our luck had apparently run out. I wondered if maybe they’d heard our conversation through the portal. As my vision cleared I took a hasty step back, and then two, until my back was only four feet from the edge of the drop-off behind us. The thing about Weis was not their size, as they weren’t much bigger than a house cat fully grown. But they were cunning, and their deadly force was in their numbers. Weis cats hunted in packs.
“Oh, dang.” Nick whispered, pulling his staff free and putting his back to mine.
Oh dang, was right. I stopped counting past twenty as they closed on us in a perfect half circle, effectively cutting off any escape except straight back and down. I tried to remember how far it was to the bottom of the ravine.
I pulled my bow, energy shivering the length of my arms and sparking off the ends of my fingers as I notched a bolt and tried to pick a target. I had too many choices. I estimated I could take out maybe three if I was lucky before the sheer numbers overwhelmed us both and they took us down. This was a fight we couldn’t hope to win.
Rule 9 Academy Series Boxset: Books 3-5 Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy (Rule 9 Academy Box Sets (3 Book Series) 2) Page 43
