Hot Blooded

by Amanda Carlson

  “You know that’s what necromancers do, right?” I said, giving him a sidelong glance. “They reanimate corpses for a living. To me, that’s a million times worse than a vamp, with all the peeling skin and no eyeballs walking around like Night of the Living Dead.” I’d never actually seen a reanimated corpse, but my vision couldn’t be that far off. We were lucky necromancers were few and far between. My father had told me long ago it was an old magic, seldom used these days. “Vamps just have a different magic than we do. No better, no worse. They’re alive in their own way.”

  Danny ignored both of our comments completely and continued, “Do you think all their plumbing works properly, you know, after they become undead?” Danny leaned forward. “That’d be worse than all the blood guzzling. Not a life without being able to have a good shag.”

  I spotted a good place to turn after we’d gone five miles down the road. “I have no idea if they can have sex, Danny, nor do I care.” I angled the Humvee down a small road, paved this time, more civilized route. “Let’s focus on picking up Ray and figuring out the next plan. You can ask the vamps anything you want later, but when you do, just make sure you watch yourself. Be prepared for them to fly into a rage if you start prying into their personal life. Eamon looks like he’d rather suck you dry than divulge one single detail about himself.” I turned to my brother. “Roll down your window and see if you can scent them.”

  Tyler cracked the window and inhaled as we moved slowly down the road. “They’re out there. I can smell them, but from the moving car I can’t figure out which way the wind is blowing.”

  “That’s good enough for me.” I picked a wide berth on the shoulder and pulled over.

  The second we stepped onto the road, a single shape landed ten feet in front of me. Up this close, the whooshing sounded like straight-line winds whistling through trees.

  “Good trick, flying,” Danny said jovially from behind me. “One of the pros to vampirism in my book.”

  Naomi held on to a limp Ray. He hung loosely from the front like she’d just given him the Heimlich maneuver but he’d choked anyway. I strode forward and she released him without preamble. He toppled onto the road, out cold. “Scaring him seems to have worked,” I said. I knew he was alive because I could hear him breathing. Not that I’d thought she’d killed him, but rapport with the vamps was something I hadn’t expected. Eamon was difficult, but Naomi was almost pleasant.

  “Humans are weak.” Naomi shrugged, a glint of sliver piercing deeply inside her irises, flashing outward in the dark like a spark. “I made sure he was aware of what was happening, and then for good measure, I dropped him.” When I appeared startled, she smiled. “But only for the briefest of moments. In human time it was only a few seconds at most. When I caught him, he had already fainted.” She glanced down at Ray’s lifeless body impassively. “I have no idea why you would go to great lengths for a human such as this. But this one stayed awake longer than most.” There was a hint of grudging respect in her soft, French lilt.

  “Ray is a guinea pig of sorts.” I moved closer to them. “Vamps might have a greater disregard for human life, but my ultimate plan is to try and preserve it when and if I can.” I had to be honest with myself and admit that wanting Ray to live was something I felt deep down, almost like an urge that was out of my control. The Prophecy pinged in my mind for a quick second, but I didn’t have time to analyze my feelings on the matter.

  “Humans are of small consequence to us.” She shrugged her petite shoulders, her long chestnut hair swaying in the night air. The gesture and the breeze made her appear a teensy bit more normal and less supernatural horror. “We have little need to kill them. If we don’t wish it, they would never know we were there. But if an occasional human life gets lost, so be it.”

  Under different circumstances, I might have been tempted to remind Naomi that she’d been human once. But now wasn’t the time, and I knew too many years had passed since she’d been one for it to register with any kind of meaning. Add in the fact I had no idea how I would feel about humans when I was that old and it was almost a moot point. Maybe I’d forget what being human was like so much, they’d barely be a blip on my radar too.

  Ray moaned.

  “Well,” I finally replied. “This one’s life is not up for grabs yet.” I pushed a toe into his thigh. “Hey, Ray, it’s time to wake up.” I wiggled my foot back and forth, shaking him. “Come on. We need to get a move on.”

  His eyes blinked open with a start, his body and fists instantly tensing for a fight.

  I crouched down beside him. “Are you ready to come quietly now? Or do the vamps need to take you on another ride?”

  “Hannon.” His voice came out creaky and raspy, like his throat had been damaged from screaming. “I have no idea how they achieved that, but that was some of the craziest shit I’ve ever seen.”

  “You didn’t answer my question, Ray. Does that mean you’re ready to come without a fuss?” I peered at him closely. I could almost see the cogs rotating in his brain, his logical detective side warring with his whimsical side, likely a side of his brain he hadn’t utilized since he was a child, if that. Children were much more inclined to believe in the unreal, their brains tailored to accept all things. I knew Ray desperately didn’t want to believe in the unexplained, but we were beyond that now. “Your time is up. We can’t keep going like this and you know it. Make up your mind.” I stood. “Are you ready to accept or not?”

  He sat up slowly, glancing around, his gaze landing on Naomi and then back to me. “Fine. I’m coming,” he said, rubbing the road out of his hair. “It feels like my brain is skewered open, but a human being able to fly is no magic trick I’ve ever seen.” He looked at me for a quick second and then dropped his eyes. “But if anyone comes after me, I will not hesitate to fight. Just because you crazies exist, doesn’t mean I’m signing on the dotted line.”

  “Ray,” I hissed on the end of a frustrated breath. “You exhaust me. You can fight all you want, but you’re not going to win. That’s been your biggest obstacle all along—thinking you actually have a chance against us.” I motioned for him to stand. “Once you get that through your impenetrable skull, your brain will thank you for it. And you will indeed sign on the dotted line, either that or you’ll be dead.”

  “A well-fought battle isn’t a loss, Hannon. Only a loser doesn’t try.”

  “Ray, my name is Jessica. No need to refer to me as Hannon anymore.” It seemed another lifetime ago that I’d gone by that name.

  He stood, but Eamon swooshed down in front of the group before he could answer. It was kind of incredible to see him land from full speed. It should have been a train wreck, but instead he looked like an Olympic gymnast sticking a perfect landing. The pavement didn’t even wiggle. It seemed as if the velocity stopped right as his feet came in contact with the ground.

  It was pretty cool. I could grudge him that much.

  “The Goddess is close,” Eamon proclaimed with stuffy arrogance. “I can feel her strength. When she detects us, as she will, she will not stand idly by and let us attack. We must move now.”

  I focused on Naomi, choosing to deal with the more rational of the two. “It will be daybreak soon. Can you travel during daylight hours?” My guess was no, but I had to ask. Maybe she and her brother had gifts I didn’t know about.

  “Non,” Naomi said. Her accent was more pronounced than Eamon’s, plus she used French words, which might be one of the reasons she seemed somewhat more agreeable. “We will sleep during the daylight hours. The oldest of us can tolerate sunlight, because as our bodies age we become stronger, but we are still too young for that.” They had to be well over five hundred years old, judging by the level of power they emitted. The stronger the supe, the more power flowed, manifesting itself like tiny pressure points on the skin. The closer you were to the source, the more it needled you. Rourke’s energy was the strongest I’d ever felt, but his power felt delicious against my skin, like a surge of tingles
flooding my body continuously. The vamps’ energy felt tight and concentrated, built to intimidate. If five hundred was considered young, how old did one need to be to withstand light?

  Instead of asking, I replied, “To keep up the pace, we will continue on during the day. You can catch up to us when you wake.”

  “The mountains you are looking for are a great distance northwest of here.” Naomi moved forward, stopping in front of me. “They border a large body of water, a lake five times the size of all the others surrounding it. The area she resides in is remote; its rocky passes are impregnable to humans without flight. You must drive until the dirt road dead-ends into the west side of lake and wait until nightfall. It will not take us long to find you once we wake. Do not venture any farther than the road if you value your life. The pathway to her lair is littered with lethal obstacles.” She was obviously the tracker, Eamon the sensor. “Selene has protected herself well from harm.”

  “You’ve scouted the entrance already?” I asked, somewhat surprised. I knew the two of them had spent the previous day locating Selene’s trail, or we wouldn’t have had any direction to follow, but pinpointing her fortress so quickly was more than I’d hoped for. “I guess when you can fly, you can cover a lot more ground.”

  Flying was definitely a skill lacked, but having the vamps fly us there would’ve been impossible. We outnumbered them four to two, plus we had all our gear. Even if it had been an option, there was no way on earth any wolf would willingly let a vampire carry them. It wasn’t something I was willing to risk either, even though Naomi appeared to be somewhat trustworthy. There was too much dissention between the Sects, and even though they likely couldn’t kill us outright this time because of the oath their Queen swore to me, there were sneaky ways around that. They could easily have an “accident” and still be within the parameters of the oath. Dropping us or slamming us into the nearest mountain would be the quickest way to try and kill us for good, something I was certain Eamon would love to do. They could also take us anywhere without our consent. It was too risky. Traveling close to the ground was the only way to ensure our survival.

  “Non,” Naomi said. “We did not go to the entrance of her lair. We went only as far as the perimeter. Eamon can sense many different magics, and a fresh imprint of her was all over the mountains. Though Eamon can detect magic is present across her boundary, we will not know what it is until we arrive. There is no doubt that Selene has anticipated your arrival. She is likely taking her time with her prisoner until you arrive. You will be the crudités to her final encore, which will be ending his life.” My wolf snarled and flashed a picture of a bloodied Selene. Yep.

  “There is another reason we did not go closer,” Eamon added. “There is a chance if she senses too much danger she will flee. She will not risk harm, even when she is caught up in her games. She will kill him and disappear if she believes she will be overpowered.”

  “How do you know that?” I asked curiously. “From my experience, her vanity would fool her into thinking she’s infallible to just about anything. She surely wouldn’t think two young vamps and a newborn werewolf and her cohorts would be anything too strenuous to overcome. The thought of us overpowering her would make her laugh.”

  He looked uncomfortable for a moment; then he straightened, donning his usual persnickety face. “We have… dallied before and I understand her ways.”

  Danny coughed. “Dallied? That sounds a bit interesting, mate.” There was humor in his voice. “From what I’ve been told, Selene packs quite a punch in those delicate fingers of hers. Can you attest to that then?”

  “She’s a warrior without rival,” Eamon snapped. “She will strike you down as an afterthought and leave your body to rot if you’re not vigilant.”

  This conversation was going nowhere. I hadn’t expected Eamon to know Selene, which was curious at best. It was useful information to store away for later. From the passion in his voice I could tell it had been a close relationship, and from his pinched expression I knew there were zero odds he would talk about it. I turned toward Naomi for an answer, but she was looking away.

  I faced the group. “We’ll drive the rest of tonight and all day tomorrow. We regroup at the edge of the lake by sunset tomorrow.” I had scanned the maps and if we made good time, that seemed like a doable distance to get to the Rockies. “We can formulate another plan once we get there, depending on what we find.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain.” Danny gave me a mock salute.

  “Hardy-har-har,” I said.

  He winked in response.

  Tyler headed back to the Humvee.

  “Ray,” I said. “Let’s go. It’s time to prove how ready and willing you are.”

  Ray followed, but peered warily back at the two vamps as he trailed after me. He came around the passenger side and yanked open the side door on his own. Finally a step in the right direction. “Hannon,” he grumbled. “What kind of crazy mess are you in? Where exactly are we going?”

  “We’re going up against the nastiest goddess you’ve ever seen. You’d better buckle your seat belt.”

  8

  It took us all day and several failed attempts to find the mysterious dirt road that dead-ended into the lake. It’d been easy to find the lake, which was a gigantic crater fed by a few small glaciers surrounding the area. But every single road leading toward the west side of the lake was impenetrable.

  We finally zeroed in on the least treacherous, most passable road we could find, the one gaining the most altitude according to our state-of-the-art GPS, and followed it to the end.

  It was damn lucky there was no snow on the ground. Even in the gargantuan Humvee, chains wouldn’t have been enough. The ruts we had to maneuver around were five feet deep in places, and a few times we had to move trees out of the road to get by.

  Strength came in handy.

  The road had stopped abruptly at the end of what appeared to be a solid wall of old growth pine forest. The trees towered above us, swaying and rocking in the high altitude. The sun edged toward the horizon, the sky changing to a pale orange above the treetops as we pulled to a stop.

  I was absolutely starving. I’d been a long day with little breaks. “Well, it appears we’ve finally reached the mysterious end of the road.” I killed the ignition. We’d volleyed driving during the day, but I’d taken the wheel when the boys had gotten out to remove obstacles. “I hope this the right road, or we’re pretty much screwed. Getting out of here and recharting our course will take too much time and we’d lose nighttime tracking hours with the vamps.”

  “It has to be the right one.” Tyler opened his door. “This was the only logical choice.”

  “I’m glad you’re so very confident,” I said. “The fourth time must be the charm. Let’s get out and stock the packs with food and water before the vamps arrive; then we can try to check in with Dad on the sat phone.” We were out of range from our minds. Neither of us knew how the brain thing actually worked, but apparently it had a range if we weren’t in our wolf form. The connection to our Alpha in our true form was instant, but neither of us had time to change right now. If the sat phone didn’t work, we’d have to reevaluate.

  I jumped off the running board, went around to the back, and popped open the hatch—meaning I manhandled the heavy door open.

  Tyler strode up beside me. “Packs and supplies are in the green bins.” He reached over and hoisted a huge container out of the back like it weighed nothing and set it on the ground.

  My stomach growled. I slid the cooler into the empty space he’d just created. It was huge and metal, likely industrial-strength U.S. military grade, capable of keeping things cold for a year. I opened the top and glanced inside. It was full of specialized high-protein meals and shakes made especially for our high metabolisms. The meals were settled on a thick bed of dry ice. They spoiled quickly once they were opened, so the ice was necessary, but the food was nasty as hell at any temperature. Through the clear packaging, they resembled lumps of
canned dog food and unfortunately smelled just as bad. I’d sampled them for fun growing up, but back then I hadn’t needed to eat them in order to survive. Now was another story. And since my hunger was insatiable, I had to suck it up. The meals were designed to break down very slowly and curb hunger for a substantial amount of time, but I fished around for a protein shake instead, which was nice and cold because of the dry ice. I’d work my way into the meals.

  I plucked out a shake and popped the lid.

  Danny walked over. “If you don’t fancy the protein mush, I’ve brought along some other samplings.” He reached in and grabbed a large navy duffel, slid it closer, and unzipped the top.

  Inside, filled to the absolute brim, were packages of beef jerky, candy bars, and sunflower seeds.

  “You’ve always been my favorite wolf.” I grabbed a few candy bars and tossed one to Ray, who was rounding the side. “Eat up, Ray. You’re going to need to keep up your strength. We’ve got a lot of hiking to do and some of it will be extremely difficult.”

  He snatched it out of the air. “What kind of a meal is a Milky Way?” He looked down at the candy bar in his hand with confusion. “Aren’t we going to make camp?”

  “This is not a camping trip, Ray,” I said. “We keep moving until we find our destination. As far as the candy bar is concerned, consider yourself lucky I didn’t offer you a dead rabbit to eat raw. The boys can’t shift to hunt, so our meals have to be strategic. A wolf, even in human form, burns up to ten times as many calories as you do just breathing.” I pointed to the cooler. “You’re welcome to eat the mush, but I doubt you’ll be able to keep it down. It’s dense and meant to sit like a rock in your belly. But consider yourself lucky that Danny was thinking like a champ and brought a bagful of goodies, and there are protein shakes in the cooler. You’re not going to starve.”

  Without meeting my eye Ray tore off the candy bar wrapper and took a bite. He chewed for a second and then glanced at me. “You guys turning into animals doesn’t make sense to me,” he grumbled. “If you’ve been running around for eons, why isn’t there any evidence? I’ve been a police officer for eighteen years and there has never been so much as a whisper of a supernatural being. Now that I know, you guys seem to be all over the place. How in the hell do you keep it quiet?”