Blood and Sand

by Elizabeth Hunter

  “I don’t want you to!”

  “I won’t.” He swallowed. “But someone else… someone else could.”

  The heart that had pounded now felt like it would fly out of her chest. “I don’t know!”

  “You have to know.”

  She felt the tears prick the corners of her eyes. “But I don’t.” She blinked them away. “I don’t know, Baojia. How can I know that?”

  He looked away, toward the flurry of action at the mouth of the cave. “I can’t lose you.”

  “Then don’t let them get me.” Forcing a calm face, she took a deep breath and tried to stop the shivers that wanted to take over. “Don’t let them get me, Baojia. Give me that time.”

  He gave her a quick nod, then leaned down, pressing his lips to hers in a toe-curling kiss before he pulled away and put his arm around her, guiding her back to the others.

  The drivers were human. There were two drivers and twelve girls, leading Baojia to speculate that the SUVs carrying the hunters would hold twelve vampires. Good. Twelve was better than sixteen. The drivers forced the crying girls to the center of the crater at gunpoint. Some of them screamed. Some wailed. Others begged. But a few stood stoically, arms crossed as they glared at the humans who backed away and spun out, leaving the girls alone in the middle of the desert night.

  The smell was overwhelming.

  The sweet, heady scent of blood washed up the edge of the crater and down the tunnel, carried on the breeze that was growing ever more laden with moisture as the storm approached. He heard a high, whining sound and turned to see Brigid biting her arm. Carwyn stroked her short cap of hair back, soothing his mate as she forced herself to remain still. Carwyn’s eyes met Baojia’s in the darkness. He glanced at Natalie.

  “They’re going to know.”

  Baojia nodded. There was no question. When the hunt started, the vampires were going to know something was wrong. There was no mistaking the smell of the girls. If anything, they smelled even more appetizing than the ones at Bar El Ruso had.

  “What the hell are they putting in that Elixir?” he muttered, trying not to breathe through his nose.

  “We have to keep at least a few of them there. Taking away the majority of them will still decrease the distractions we have to deal with and probably some of the bloodlust, especially for Brigid, but we have to have some of them there or they’re going to know.”

  Natalie, finally catching on to what they were talking about, butted in. “But those girls are innocent! We have to get them out of there. They’re not bait.”

  Carwyn snorted. “That’s exactly what they are, Nat. And you’ve volunteered to take their place, but you don’t smell like them. We need at least a hint of their scent in order for the hunters not to immediately guess that something is wrong.”

  Brigid forced her head up, blood staining her mouth. “Keep to the plan. Pick a few of tickt the more defiant girls and give them stun guns. Leave them there with Natalie and Ben. It will be enough to draw the vampires without distracting all of us. The rest need to get as far up this tunnel as possible, or they’re just going to throw us off.”

  Baojia nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.” He glanced toward the dark crater. The truck was no more than a retreating rumble in the night. “Let’s start rounding them up. Brigid, pick the girls you want to have stay.”

  She forced a nod and started out of the tunnel, Carwyn close on her heels. Baojia stood and Natalie followed him, dogging his steps.

  “You can’t let them use these girls as bait, Baojia. It’s not fair. They’ve already been—”

  “Abducted. Kidnapped. Poisoned. Probably abused in other ways, too.” He kept walking, watching the girls cry out and run as they saw the shapes in the darkness. But there were two who didn’t run, and he turned toward them. “I realize all that. I’m not even going to mention that you forced me to let you use yourself as bait.”

  “It was my choice!”

  “And it will be theirs, as well.” He approached one girl who looked vaguely familiar. She was staring at him with furious eyes, chin up and mouth screwed into a sneer. “You!” he called in Spanish. “Is your name Carmen?” She looked like the girl who had come to the church. Enough alike to be sisters.

  At the mention of her name, the sneer fell. “Who are you?”

  “We’re friends of Father Andrade’s. And we’re trying to save your life.”

  She shook her head. “Nothing is going to save my life. I saw what happened to Constantina. I know what’s going to happen to me.”

  “Want to give Ivan’s men a surprise?” Baojia grabbed at one of the stun guns on Natalie’s belt and held it out. “You stay, you get a chance to hurt them.”

  Carmen grabbed the gun. “I’ll take it.”

  “And help us round up the girls.”

  She gave him a quick nod and started running toward a group of girls Carwyn was trying to calm. Just then, Tenzin landed on a rock nearby.

  “They’re close. Get these girls in the tunnel.”

  He cursed under his breath. “That wasn’t an hour.”

  “Nope. Looks like someone’s impatient.” She flew off toward Carwyn. Between the two vampires and Carmen, most of the girls headed toward the tunnel, with three others standing with Brigid as she gave them a quick lesson on stun guns, which Ben translated. Baojia turned to Natalie, who had been silent the whole exchange.

  “Time for you to get in position,” he said.

  She nodded, then reached for him. He let her pull his face down, and she kissed him hard as she gripped the hair at his nape. He breathed her in, memorizing her scent and taste, wishing she was a thousand miles away. Finally, she broke the kiss and patted his chest, right over his heart.

  “I love you,” she said. “I’ll see you later.”

  He swallowed, unable to say anything for a second. “Get a… get another stun gun from Brigid. Make sure you have two.”

  She gave him a thumbs-up as she walked away. “I’m on it, George.”

  Fucking hell. If the last time she ever spoke to him was to call him George, he was going to be pissed.

  She and Ben were crouched in the center of the crater, backs to a large sandstone boulder that was ldehelp sheltered by some scrubby trees. The stars had slowly begun to disappear as unexpected clouds rolled in.

  “Clouds.” She turned to Ben. “Clouds are good, right? Clouds mean rain, and Baojia—”

  “Isn’t the only water vampire in the world, unfortunately,” Ben said. “But yes, better he has it as a weapon. We can just hope none of the bad guys are water vamps, too. Of course, it also means that Brigid is going to be screwed.”

  “Shit. I hadn’t thought about that. Fire vampires get doused, huh?”

  “There’s always a trade-off, Natalie.” Ben gave her a crooked grin. “To everything. And why do you call Baojia ‘George?’”

  “Long story.” She glanced to her left and right where the three Mexican girls sat, new Tasers held out in front of them like shields. “Are they ready?”

  Ben shrugged. “Point it this way. Fire it at anything with fangs. Let’s just hope they don’t shoot any of our people. It was the best we could do with the time we had.”

  She took a deep breath. “You been in anything like this before?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “What are our odds?”

  He shrugged. “Tenzin says you should never try to calculate odds in a fight. Just win. That’s all that matters.”

  Natalie let out a slow breath. “Win. Got it.”

  He heard them approaching as they crouched in the tunnel. The vampires must have left the cars at the end of the mining road. He looked at Tenzin, who was closing her eyes and listening intently. After a moment, she looked up, then held up ten fingers, then three.

  Thirteen? So someone wasn’t hunting. Carwyn and Brigid had tunneled around to the other side of the crater to lie in wait so they could attack from front and back. The idea was for Brigid and Carwyn to at
tack from one side as Baojia did from the other, Tenzin taking to the air to catch any stragglers or air vampires who could fly. Also, she said she’d try to pull as much of the storm toward them as possible. Baojia had doubts about how much the small vampire—even as powerful as she was—could manipulate the clouds. Still, the steadily increasing moisture fed his strength. Once the rain was falling, he’d be even stronger.

  He glanced toward the crouched figures at the center of the crater.

  Don’t let them get me. Give me time.

  He’d give her as much time as he could. But he sure as hell hoped that Tenzin held up her end of the bargain if time ran out.

  Shit, shit, shit. Natalie’s heart beat a staccato rhythm. She could hear growls and laughter on the air. They were coming. She crouched as she heard a swooping sound overhead, like a dark bird on the night air. Drops of rain began to fall and she gripped her gun closer. Ben held one weapon in his hands, another was ready at his waist, and still another was strapped to his thigh.

  Natalie said, “You’re kind of frightening for a teenager, you know?”

  Ben only grinned. “Aren’t you glad I’m on your side?”

  She nodded as the growls came closer.

  “Wait, Natalie,” he said in a soothing voice. “Nothing’s going to happen to you.”

  She gave a jerky nod a second before she heard the collision midair. There was a popping sound, then a hoarse scream was cut short. A second later came a quiet thud as a blond ud d a sechead landed only inches from their feet. Its bright blue eyes stared at Natalie as its mouth fell open in an eternal snarl. She slapped a hand over her mouth to hold in the scream, then all hell broke loose.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Baojia saw Tenzin swoop down to intercept the wind vampire who had spotted the humans in the center. The enemy vampire dove for his prey, only to be interrupted by the fearsome woman who grabbed him by the neck and flew him up toward the clouds. With a quick twist, his neck was broken. With a swipe from her ancient scimitar, he was dead. The head fell to the ground as she tossed his body toward Baojia’s hiding place. Just then, dark shapes crested the hill.

  He slunk out of the mouth of the tunnel, drawing his right sword as he crept toward the shadows. The hunters were taking their time, not being quiet. They wanted to elicit fear by toying with what they thought were defenseless humans in the center of the crater. Snarling and laughing as they came closer, none of them noticed the loss of their friend.

  What they did notice was the sudden silence when two of their number fell through the earth. Baojia grinned.

  Playtime was over.

  Three down, ten to go. He raced around the perimeter, arm sweeping out to take the head of one shocked vampire before he was even spotted. A grab of the hair. A quick slice. Another thud. The body slumped to the ground and he tossed the head over his shoulder as the crazed vampires began to realize they had walked into a trap. Their attention immediately diverted from the humans in the center of the circle, all nine vampires suddenly went on alert. One took to the air and was out of his sight. One began to run, only to have his feet sink into the earth as Brigid burst from the ground and used what little time she had to turn the screaming vampire to ash.

  The rain was falling harder. He felt a heavy sheet hit his back and reveled in the feel of it, cool against his skin.

  Baojia took a deep breath and let out an angry roar as every eye turned toward him.

  Two more dead. Only seven now.

  Another headless body thudded to the ground.

  Make that six, plus the driver.

  His first real attack came as he heard Carwyn exclaiming from across the crater and two gunshots fired. The vampire ran toward him, hands out, directing a sheet of water at him as he tried to knock Baojia off his feet. Damn. His breath rushed out. These creatures—high on whatever Ivan had been feeding them—were stronger.

  The drops turned to tiny blades under the other water vampire’s command. Baojia didn’t halt, though he felt his flesh break open in a hundred places from the impact of the driving rain. He ducked to the side to dodge another watery attack before he reached out with his amnis and grabbed the water, turning it on his attacker to slice into his face as the vampire screamed.

  The immortal was dark-haired. Possibly Mexican, but not certainly. Baojia ran at him, letting his enemy get close enough to grab an outstretched arm, drawing him toward his body as Baojia ducked his head, bracing his neck as he rammed his forehead into the vulnerable underside of his opponent’s jaw. The vampire’s head slammed back as Baojia grabbed him by the hair and held, bringing his blade up to sever the spine with one efficient slice. He dropped the body and looked for the next opponent.

  There was a blond vampire trying to run away. Too damn bad. His fangs long and gleaming, Baojia ran after him, jumping over scrub and/p>teoppo ignoring the sting of cactus as he raced to catch him. He caught up with him a few hundred feet from the crater. Not wanting to waste time, Baojia pounced on the other man’s back. A young one, he guessed, from the level of amnis. He was an earth vampire and tried to let the ground swallow him. Baojia was halfway sunk in the ground before a jerk and a swipe ended his enemy’s life.

  Natalie.

  He was too far away from her. He left the body where he’d killed it and raced back. Carwyn was ripping into another vampire only a few feet away as he heard more shots, but not from where Ben was still sitting. Natalie was still crouched next to the boy. Still clutching her stun gun as if her life depended on it, but happily isolated from the bloodshed around her.

  “Who’s shooting?” he yelled.

  Carwyn twisted a scrambling immortal’s head under his arm, reached down to grab at the man’s arm, and pulled, holding him as his neck was detached and the scrambling stopped. Then Carwyn looked over at Baojia and grinned. “That’d be my girl. She does love her weapons. A few shots to incapacitate, then a quick slice to the spine to end things quickly.”

  “How kind.” Baojia tried not to shiver. He’d never liked guns. He glanced at the still-unmolested humans at the center of the fight. “How many left?”

  “Tenzin’s had two or three. I think. I’ve had three. Brigid two. You?”

  “Three.”

  Two more, and where were they? He fell silent. Everything was silent. Then he saw him.

  The vampire had snuck down from the other side of the crater. He’d been able to flee from the initial surprise attack, but instead of running, he’d come back, drawn like an addict to the smell of the girls’ blood. Baojia spread his arms, gathering the driving rain that pelted his back and turning it toward the vampire. Within seconds, a bridge of water formed in the air as he sent a rush of amnis through the element he commanded. The vampire exploded in pain as Baojia’s energy hit, reeling back with bared fangs as Tenzin fell on him and cut off his head, snarling into his face as he still reached for the women.

  “Pathetic,” she muttered as blood dripped down her chin. Then she turned to Baojia. “There’s one I can’t find. I looked in the desert, but I can’t spot him.”

  Baojia frowned as he looked around, then his eyes landed on Carwyn and he yelled, “The ground!”

  A second later, the center of the crater caved in, taking Natalie, Ben, and the women with it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  She ached. Everything hurt. Her head. Her body. She felt as if she’d been run over by a truck. One second she was watching the brutal fight around her as if she was caught in some otherworldly action movie, the next, everything was dark and she heard a scream. Then quiet. Another scream.

  More quiet. There was a scrambling sound as blood and sand filled her mouth. Water fell on her face as she blinked her eyes open and saw him.

  She knew him. Where did she know him from?

  A clanging sound. The casino? Flashing lights and a bitter aftertaste in her mouth.

  Carlos. His name was Carlos and he was Ivan’s right hand.

  Ivan’s right hand who was apparently killi
ng the evidence of his boss’s guilt.

  “Natalie?” She heard Baojia’s voice from above.

  teg the e>No Ben. Where was Ben? The young man had kept her centered and calm as the fight around them had raged.

  “She’s over here, Baojia! I’ve got her.”

  There he was. It made her smile to hear Ben’s voice.

  “Carlos?” she whispered.

  Natalie turned toward a scuffling sound. Carlos was barely visible in the dim light, holding a girl by the hair as she wailed. But within seconds, the girl’s eyes had gone dead, no doubt calmed by the same power all vampires wielded.

  “Put the girl down,” Baojia said. “It’s over.”

  “No,” Carlos said. “It’s not. You have no idea. This has just begun.”

  “Nat,” Ben whispered, “we have to dig you out of here. Just hang on. I’m going to get Carwyn.”

  “Okay.”

  Baojia was yelling at Carlos. “This wasn’t you! You don’t do anything without Ivan’s permission. Put the girl down. There’s no need to kill her.”

  “She’s dead already!” Carlos laughed. “Don’t you realize? You’re saving these girls so they can die anyway. You think he’s going to stop? He’ll just set up somewhere else. Somewhere you don’t know about. He made so much money, Baojia. More than he ever made through the cartel. They came from everywhere to get a taste of these worthless girls.” Carlos’s bitter laugh churned her gut. “He was only doing it here and dumping the bodies on your land to fuck with you.”

  “Why?” Baojia moved farther into the cave. His chest was soaking wet and his pants were, too. His hair dripped around his face, the water pouring over him from the crater above. Natalie could feel it, sloshing around her feet as she lay in a cru

  mbled heap on the dirt floor. “Why was Ivan baiting me?”

  “It wasn’t his idea,” Carlos said in defeat. “It was Rory’s. Rory wanted you gone. As long as you were in San Diego, you could always go back to LA, but if you fucked up something down here? He figured Ernesto would just get rid of you. Everyone knows how you two fight. Rory wanted you out of the way. He found out what Ivan was doing and came to us.”