Ashes to Ashes-Blood Ties 3 (18 page)

This is nice
, he decided. Driving along as though they were on a road trip, not a suicide mission. Teasing each other like old friends. Holding her as she drifted to sleep wearing his T-shirt.

This is too nice
. What the hell was he doing, letting his defenses down so she could wedge herself into his life? What if she got hurt? What if she hurt him?

It was all the time he'd spent listening to Carrie's love woes over Nathan. Somehow, he'd let himself be talked into needing a
relationship
. God, the word used to hold as much appeal for him as
audit
or
classical music
. Now it caused an ache in his chest and a sudden need to touch Bella. It didn't matter how, as long as he could assure himself of her physical presence.

He cleared his throat. "There's some Carol King in the CD case under the seat.
Tapestry
. And if you tell anyone, I won't hesitate to kill you."

Bella laughed again. He heard her shuffling as she looked for the CDs, then the click of the disk as she put it in the portable player. She turned the volume down as "I Feel the Earth Move" started, and she placed her hand on his knee. "I like your chick music."

"With my bare hands," he warned playfully.

Without warning, her fingers dug into his flesh and her body spasmed. Max jerked the wheel and hit the brake, bringing the car to rest on the shoulder of the highway. Damn

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hard to do when it felt as if his knee was caught in a vise. His bones creaked under her hand, and when he got the car into park he tried frantically to dislodge her grip. He'd heard of people in the throes of a serious seizure injuring others. He didn't need to limp through the Midwest. "I warned you to stay away!" The voice that hissed from Bella's mouth dismissed any notion she was having a simple mortal convulsion. Max froze. "I'm… sorry?"

The Oracle crawled Bella's body forward with jerky motions, like a freaky puppet. Max flattened himself against the driver's door, feeling slightly ridiculous for being afraid of Bella.

That feeling fled when she twisted his knee. The bone and cartilage gave way with a sickening crunch, and he screamed. "Every mile you come closer to me, the greater my power over you grows." As if to illustrate the point, Bella's body flew backward, her head striking the passenger window with a sickening thud.

Almost instantly, the Oracle's hold receded. Bella blinked, winced in pain, then wrapped her arms around her middle and cried out in panic. "Did it happen again? Did she do it again?"

Struggling to keep his head straight despite the pain, Max reached for her to offer whatever comfort he could give. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth he would start crying like a baby, from the pain of his knee or the fright that he was once again unable to protect her.

"What did she do to me?" Bella slapped away his hands, her voice escalating in pitch. "Did you see what she did?" Her panic took him aback. "Bella, you're fine."

"I am not fine!" She pounded the dashboard, then raked her hands across her bound hair. Then repeated, more quietly, "I am not fine."

What was he supposed to do? He'd tried to hug her. That hadn't worked. Now she was crying softly and doing a fine job of withdrawing, leaving him in a damned awkward position.

And there was his knee. It was broken, no doubt about it. If Bella went all weepy and catatonic, he wouldn't be able to cart her to safety. Heck, he might not even be able to cart
himself
to safety.

And there was the Oracle's warning. It wasn't a threat he was going to take lightly. A couple months ago, he would have hit the gas and laid on the horn to let the Oracle know they were coming. But with Bella in the car beside him, all he wanted to do was turn and run.
Funny how a person can grow on you
.

"Let's stop for the night. I thought I saw a motel at the last exit. I can turn around up there." He pointed to a gravel access lane across the median. Pure disdain crinkled her brow above tear-filled eyes. "Was your brain damaged? We have gone perhaps two hundred miles tonight."

"I'm not brain damaged. I—" He sighed. "I just don't think it's a good idea to go any farther until we know more about what the Oracle might be up to."

"What?" All the fear fled from her expression. "You are afraid."

"I am
not
afraid." Of course, he would have to end up defending his bravery and probably his masculinity—though she had no room to doubt that—when all he was trying to do was keep her from getting killed. "Listen, my knee is completely shot. You just had a scary experience. Let's find someplace where we can settle in. I'll have to heal for a few days,

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anyway."

"Your blood rations will run out," she argued. "And I will not let you feed from me." He covered his frustration with an explosive laugh. "Oh, like I would want to. I prefer the taste of the human stuff. I've been known to stoop to cow, and I'll have to if I run out. But I've never eaten dog before."

A complete change came over her. The argumentative bitch disappeared, replaced by a mischievous girl. "Yes, you have."

That was all it took—her easy acknowledgment of the dirty, wonderful things they'd done together—and he couldn't be on the defensive anymore. "I don't want to go any farther, because the Oracle threatened you when you were… out."

"What did she say?" Bella's chin jutted bravely, and she looked as if she was forcing herself not to cry again.

There was no point in protecting her from the truth, especially since it was making it so damn hard to actually protect her. "She md she's going to get stronger the closer we come."

"She said that?" Bella shook her head. "That cannot be. I do not remember it."

"Do you remember anything from the last time she possessed you? Do you remember breaking my knee?" He hadn't planned on raising his voice, but he was too angry, too rattled by the whole experience, to keep his cool. "Bella, I was sitting right here." They glared at each other in silence. He desperately wanted her to be the first to speak, but his stubbornness had frayed around the edges where she was concerned. "Listen, we can keep going and get you killed, or we can turn around and take a day or two to figure this out. At least give me the time to heal, so I have a fighting chance if you don't make it."

"Fine. We will stop tonight. But we cannot lose any more time. I do not think I can… " She waved a hand in the air. "I am tired. Speaking nonsense. You are right, we should turn around."

He started the car and pulled back onto the highway, grateful for the sparse traffic. He managed to cross the lanes to the median without having to play Frogger. Once they were headed safely in the opposite direction, he reached over and turned the music back on.
Fucking Carole King
, he thought with a grimace.

They drove in silence for a while, with only
Tapestry
to distract him, until finally, releasing a tired sigh, Bella spoke.

"I saw something." Her shoulders sagged and a few strands of hair fell forward, obscuring her face from his view.

This uncharacteristically timid and bedraggled Bella was becoming far too common. He turned his attention back to the road. "Anything I should know?"

"The Oracle has arrived. She is in a place called Danvers. Have you ever heard of it?"

"Can't say I have. Not to make any prejudgments based on nerdiness, but I bet Nathan has a book with lots of arcane facts about it." Max reached toward the glove compartment, where his cell phone was stored.

Bella jumped, avoiding his hand. "I am sorry. I am still… guarded."

"I understand." But he didn't. He hated the Oracle more than ever, simply for putting this distance between them.

Bella reached into the compartment and retrieved his phone, but she didn't hand it over

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immediately. "There is more."

He didn't know how much more he could take. "Lay it on me."

"She has sent something via courier. A package." She hesitated. "It sounds crazy, but… I believe it could be her heart."

"What?" This just kept getting better and better. Max shifted in his seat, hoping he could use his left foot to push the gas and brake pedals and take the strain off his broken knee.

"Do you know where she sent it?"

Bella waited far too long before answering. When he looked at her, she stared back with hard eyes. "Where do
you
think she sent it?" Max turned back to the road and clenched the steering wheel tighter.

Chapter Ten: Sire

"What? Is she okay?"

I looked up from the incredibly dull book in ray lap—no great sacrifice—at Nathan's startled exclamation. The only time he ever sounded so worried was over something evilforces related, or when we were running low on beer. Now, he stood in the kitchen, phone in hand, frown lines creasing his brow.

He noticed me watching him, and turned his back so I couldn't see his expression. Still, no matter how much he lowered his voice, I could hear him.

"Not off the top of my head, I don't." The disdain in Nathan's voice tipped me off. He was talking to Max. "How should I… I don't know, get an atlas!" I snorted. Nathan turned and gave me a sharp look, but it faded into concern as he listened to Max. "I have no idea what he would want with it. I know what I would do if I had it." I joined him in the kitchen. I didn't know what I could do, other than stand beside him posing wordless questions with facial expressions and hand gestures. But at least I felt like I was doing
something
.

"Well, keep an eye on her. And let me know what you decide." There was a long pause.

"We'll find out. Just stay put. Give yourself time to heal. Let us know if you need any help."

Time to heal?

"What the hell happened?" I demanded when Nathan hung up the phone. He rubbed his eyes. He was just as tired as I was. "The Oracle popped into Bella again. Used her to break Max's knee."