Demonstorm: Heart of a Vampire #6 (6 page)

He jumped onto another building and raced along the edge, spying her running down a long, deserted street.

With a huge leap, he landed in front of her.

She crashed into him, sending them both stumbling. Then, with a scream, she backhanded him.

Pain slashed through his jaw. “Damn hell cat.” Grabbing her arms, he jerked them behind her back.

She kicked and snapped, leaving a few bruises and too many teeth marks.

“Damn it. I don’t know what your problem is, but I don’t want to hurt you.”

She went limp, but he didn’t fall for it this time.

He kept his hold tight on her wrists and arms. “You want to talk about it, or should I just tie you up and haul you home?” He let his voice descend into a full growl.

“I will not be a prisoner again,” she stated, keeping her head bowed, her braids falling forward to hide her face. “Especially not for some half-breed.”

He winced at the disgust in her voice. “I sure as hell don’t want to have to treat you like a prisoner. You agreed you would help my clan if I freed you.”

She growled. “Blackmailed agreements mean nothing.”

Shock coursed through him as her mask slipped and he caught a glimpse of desperate fear mixed with hatred.

“I’m going to let you go. But I expect you to talk to me like an adult, rather than trying to run away again.”

Her lips remained pressed together in a tight, thin line.

“I need your spoken agreement.”

“Fine.”

“And your acknowledgement this isn’t blackmail.”

She craned her neck to pointedly look at his hands clutching her wrists.

“I don’t consider self protection to be a form of blackmail. Would you like to see the bite marks you left?”

She sighed. “Fine. I will talk with you, if that is what you wish.”

He let her go, watching carefully in case she decided to run again anyway. As she patted the bag tied to her belt, the one containing her precious gold box, Sean smiled. Before she could stop him, he grabbed her bag and tucked it under his arm. “Just in case. I figure you won’t take off without this.”

Her eyes flashed with fire. She opened her mouth, snapped it shut. Keeping her arms crossed over her chest, she turned and began to trudge back toward the motel.

After a long moment, he asked, “We should eat while we talk. We both need to keep up our strength.”

“Whatever you wish,” she replied, her jaw clenched tight.

They reached the motel. He grabbed the cooler from the truck, then headed to their room. From the chest, he pulled out a couple of bags of blood.

When she saw them, she stilled, her face blanking once more.

He slowly raised the first bag, popping off the cap, then drank the cool, coppery liquid. As it hit his stomach, energy coursed through him.

She watched him finish two more bags, her face carved from unmoving marble.

As he finished, she frowned and said, “I don’t drink blood. I’m not a vampire.”

“I do. Got a problem with it?”

“I…” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”

She leaned against the wall next to the door, but didn’t yet make a run for it. Her gaze kept straying to the bag he held tight.

He closed the cooler. “The motel owner gave me directions to a couple of nearby restaurants. You in the mood for pizza or burgers?”

“Whatever you wish,” she stated tightly.

His stomach churned. “Look, lady, I’m not planning on chaining you up in my dungeon and using you like Brüs did, all right? I said we wanted your help, and we do. We need it badly. But you won’t be forced, or mistreated.”

She just stared at him, face blank, eyes dark, never-ending pools.

He sighed. “Let’s get some food.”

“As you wish,” was her snarky reply.

He followed her out the door, muttering, “Just don’t start calling me Wesley.”

* * *

The drive was thick with tension. Mayah kept an eye on her bag, but it looked like he wasn’t going to dare let it go until they had their “talk”.

She couldn’t believe he’d caught her. She chalked it up to being in an unfamiliar place, and taking too long to figure out which direction to go.

When he stopped in front of a small restaurant, she got out and followed him inside. The smell of cooking meat filled the air and made her stomach growl.

“Where would you like to sit?” he asked.

She opened her mouth, but snapped it shut when he added, “And don’t give me that ‘whatever I wish’ line. I’m happy to stand here all day until you choose.”

She glanced around the nearly empty place, ready to force him to do just that, but her stomach growled again. With a sigh, she gave in and headed for the nearest booth.

Let him feed her. She’d talk. The bare minimum necessary. Then she’d take her bag and figure out how to get away.

The waitress took their orders, eyes widening in surprise at the amount of food they each requested. After she walked away, Sean pulled out her bag and set it onto the table. He pushed it to the side, but kept it near his hands.

“If you don’t trust me, why did you come with me?” he asked.

She barely contained a snort of ironic amusement. “I’m not stupid. I don’t make a habit of passing up once in a blue moon opportunities, irregardless of who’s doing the offering.”

“Okay, so let’s start there. I got you out, didn’t I?”

Grudgingly, she nodded.

“I didn’t reshackle you, or try to force you to do anything… until you tried running away. Which, I might add, isn’t exactly the safest thing to do right now.”

She stiffened. “I can take care of myself.”

“I don’t doubt that. But you can only fight so many men at a time without being overrun.”

As if she didn’t know that well enough. It had taken most of Brüs’s army to decimate her home and defeat her father’s men—fewer in number, but greater in strength even so.

Twelve demons had descended on her. She’d managed to take out five of them before faltering. Then, it had been easy for Brüs to snap on the hated collar, preventing her from using her magic to get out of his clutches. After he’d brought Cyrus to her, beaten and bloody, and wearing his own set of chains… Well, her choices had jumped from limited to non-existent.

Of their father and other brother, Brüs had refused to comment. And her visions, even after all this time, had never shown her anything about either of them. She had to believe it was only because they were still in the demon realm, rather than this one. She couldn’t stand to think anything else.

“What is it you’re not telling me?” Sean asked, his voice full of sympathetic kindness. “No one in my clan will harm you, or force you to do anything you don’t want. I know words are useless, but they’re the only thing I have right now.”

She met his strange gaze, his eyes ringed with both vampire red and demon black.

A half-breed. One who could turn crazed at any moment.

Those creatures usually went insane amidst a bloodbath of destruction and death by their hundredth year. This man was a hell of a lot older than that, by the bite of power she could feel from him.

If he’d lasted this long without going nuts…

The waitress shoved a plate in front of Sean, another in front of Mayah. “The rest are coming,” she stated, spinning and heading back to the kitchen.

Mayah lifted her burger and took a bite. It was delicious, and sorely needed. While they ate, she turned the problem over in her mind, relentlessly poking at her worries.

And she thought about the note that had been written on Sean’s map. He’d said Jezamine had given it to him, and Mayah believed it, for she’d recognized the old witch’s handwriting.

Written in a looping scrawl, and protected by magic only a demon could see through, the woman’s words were clear in a way, confusing in another.

“If you allow it, Sean can save you. You can save him. Trust is a necessary part of life.”
Jezamine was one of the few she knew she could count on for support. For truth. Always.

Mayah took another large bite.

There was no way in all the hells she could put such trust in this man. This stranger.

But…

Perhaps she could use him, as his clan wanted to use her. Her escape hadn’t been planned out, therefore she’d failed. Maybe she could bargain, convince him to take her closer to her brother.

Not for her freedom.

Never that.

But she could pretend to agree with his clan’s desires.

The waitress set more plates down, covering the table with food. Sean ate as heartily as Mayah.

She continued to think through the ups and downs, as well as pushing away the niggle of distrust. What if he suddenly showed his demon colors and became exactly like Brüs? Or worse.

The more she thought it over, the more it looked like her best—possibly only—hope was to risk it. She didn’t have time to play cat and mouse with both this man and Brüs, not if she wanted her brother to survive. Which meant trusting Jezzie’s words. But could she truly do this?

With a sigh, she pushed the last plate away. She’d try. See how it went. For now. “I’m not going anywhere without freeing my brother from Brüs’s dungeon first.”

Chapter Six

“W
hy didn’t you say something when we were leaving the castle?” Sean demanded, caught off guard by this new complication.

“Because, obviously, he wasn’t kept in the same place.” She looked up at him, her face blank. “That would make it too easy for us to try escaping.”

“Where?” He was starting to think her mask was a defense mechanism. A way to hide her emotions.

“I’m not sure… exactly. Only that it’s north. But my brother’s release is the second condition of my helping your clan.”

“You just escaped from the demon, and now you want to go knocking on the door of his summer house?”

Her lips compressed once more into a thin line. “The only reason Cyrus still lives is to be used as a bargaining chip for my cooperation. If Brüs doesn’t get me back soon, he will kill my brother.”

Sean didn’t even have to think about his answer. “No. Let me take you to my clan. You’ll be safe. I can gather some men and rescue your brother.”

“You seem to think this is a request. I
will
be rescuing my brother, and I will do so now. There is no time to lose. I’m merely giving you the option of coming with me.” Her voice wavered between bravado and a hint of fear that he was about to pounce, tie her up and drag her off to a dungeon.

He stared her down, but she didn’t look away. “You just said you don’t even know where this place is located. How do you expect to find it?”

“May I see my box?” Her tone of voice was pleasant, but her eyes were wary. As if her question was a test of some sort.

He slipped the small gold box from the bag, turning it over in his hands. Only now, looking closer, did he see carvings in the ivory inlay. If he wasn’t mistaken, they were couples in various sexual positions.

Clearing his throat, he handed it to her. He’d never actually intended to force her cooperation with it, only buy some time to talk. She currently seemed amicable to trying to find a compromise with him, but something about her sudden agreeableness struck him wrong. Still, he’d take what he could get until earning her trust. He didn’t figure that would happen any time soon.

Opening the box, she gently pulled out a shiny necklace made of thin strands of gold wrapped around a dozen or so white crystals of different sizes. “Like my gloves, this was a gift from my father. As I told you, it helps me concentrate and direct my visions a little.”

“A little?” He raised a brow.

“Enough.”

Sean snorted. “So you’re going to try to
see
where this brother of yours is. You don’t think Brüs will be waiting?”

“I know he will be.” Her eyes dimmed, voice filling with a deep, sorrowful pain. “But if it was your family, could you just sit back and do nothing?”

He couldn’t. Hadn’t he been forced to watch his mother be beaten and abused for centuries before they’d managed to escape? Then countless more years, always on the run, for fear of being caught and locked back up by the demon sorcerer?

His mother had done everything in her power to keep him safe, and he’d done the same for her.

So, yeah, he knew exactly what Mayah must be feeling. “It will be dangerous. Most likely futile. But I’ll help you.” His family probably wouldn’t like the delay, but they would understand the reason.

Her eyes flashed, something unreadable mixed with surprise at his agreement. She frowned, as if regretting receiving his help. A long moment passed, and he could practically hear her thoughts running in circles.

Then she sighed. “Then I guess I better figure out where Cyrus is being kept.”

Sean ordered a few more meals to go and they returned to the motel.

She stared around the room. “I’m going to take a shower and get cleaned up. I must be able to relax in order to direct my visions.”