Fearless (The Blue Fire Saga) (49 page)

She returned to her pacing.
Slowly, an idea began to take shape in her head. At first, the thought seemed totally impractical
and she was tempted to reject it out of hand
, but
since she was having so little luck with any other ideas,
she
decided to
let the seed grow and take form, waiting to see how it might blossom. As it continued grow more clear and complete, she realized how dangerous such a plan could be. But she could also see that
maybe—just maybe—it
might
actually
work.

She crossed to the window and stopped her pacing, leaning her forehead against the glass and gazing out into the woods that surrounded her home.
A few birds flitted from branch to branch
among the trees
, but otherwise everything was peaceful
and still, exactly the way she liked her life to be. If she decided to
put her plan in
to
motion,
she knew
her life was unlikely to stay that way.

She sighed. Perhaps she should at least find out if the help she would need would be forthcoming. If it wasn’t, then the decision would be made for her.
She almost hoped it came to that.

She grabbed her coat and headed out the door to begin the three mile walk into town. She wished she could fly, but of course she could not. So walking it had to be, until she reached town and could hire a taxi to take her the rest of the way.

41
.
RESTLESS

D
eep in th
e vampire caverns, Kristi
was growing
increasingly uneasy. She did not like the feeling and had no idea where it came from.
The strange sensation
was difficult to describe—it felt almost like someone had attached strings to her body and was gently pulling on them,
making it hard
fo
r her to sit still. What made it
doubly unsettling was tha
t this anxiety
was the complete opposite of how she had felt since her transformation had become complete. Ever s
ince Marcio had turned her and managed to get her acc
epted by the coven, she had been
happy and relaxed. She loved being with Marcio, and her vampire lover seemed to enjoy her company just as much. It had taken her a lit
tle while to get over the
drink
ing
of
human blood to complete her transformation, but all that was behind her now and s
he had no desire at all to taste
any more.

One of the first things she had noticed since becoming a vampire—after the incredible sharpening of her senses—w
as how much patience she now possessed
. She had always been a bit anxious and high-strung, particularly when she was away at school, but since the turning she had enjoyed an incredible sense of calm and peace. She supposed it must have something to do with being immortal. When you had all eternity stretching out before you, being relaxed and patient was certainly a virtue.

So why was she feeling so restless all of a sudden?

Marcio walked over behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them gently.

Kristi sighed. “
Mmmmm
…that feels good.”
She twisted her neck around and smiled at him.

“
You seem troubled,” Marcio said. “
What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure. For some reason, I can’t get comfortable. It’s like there’s something I have to do, but I don’t know what it is.” Kristi turned to face Marcio. “Does that make sense?”

Marcio’s
expression became thoughtful. “Does it feel like something is pulling at you?”

“Yeah,
that’s
exactly
how it feels. How did you know?
” Kristi frowned. “It’s not a need for more blood, is it?”

“No, I do not think so. Blood thirst is unmistakable. You would know it, for certain.”

“Then what is it? You described it
so
well
—l
ike something
is
pulling at me.”

“Something
…or someone,” Marcio said. “I felt something similar the day I found you. I’ve always wondered what guided me to you, out there in the woods.”

“I thought you just stumbled across me.
Like it was fate.”
Kristi grabbed both his hands.
“A wonderful
, beautiful
fate.”

Marcio squeezed her hands gently and smiled. “It was wonderful, yes. But I’m beginning to think it
was something more than fate.”

Kristi pictured the silver-haired woman who had leaned
over her and promised to help—J
enna
,
that was her name. She had asked Kristi if she wanted to die or to become a vampire. Somehow, Jenna must have brought Marcio to the place in the woods were Kristi had lain helpless. Marcio didn’t seem to know that, though. Why not,
she
wondered? She had assumed he knew about the role Jenna had played, or else she would have told him.
Or would she? As soon as she thought about sharing it with him, something inside her told her not to. She didn’t understand it. It was like she was under a spell or something.

She looked up into
Marcio’s
handsome face. He was watching her closely.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

Kristi wanted to tell him exactly what she was thinking, but found she could not.

“I’m not sure,” she said instead. “It’s all very confusing.” That was as close as she could get to telling him the truth.

Suddenly, the feeling of unease that had been creeping over her changed. It grew much stronger and more defined. She knew what she had to do now.

“I need to go out,” she said. “Will you come with me?”

Marcio stared into her eyes for a few seconds.
“Of course.
We cannot go far, though. Otherwise we need permission…and a third to accompany us.”

The coven’s rules permitted its members to leave the caverns if they felt the need, as long as they stayed within a few hundred feet of the entrance. Kristi
wasn’t sure how she knew it,
but she was pretty sure she would not have to go far.
She told Marcio so.

“Let’s go, then,” he said.

He let go of one of Kristi’s hands, but kept hold of the other. Together, they headed for the surface.

42
.
A MEETING

J
enna had the cabdriver drop her off at Gillette Castle, a normal enough destination.
The strange looking
hilltop
castle looked like it had been constructed out of papier-mâché, but was actually made out of
thousands
of stones
gathered from the local hills. It had been built for
an eccentric actor early in the twentieth century and was now the centerpiece of a state park
whose other main attraction was its spectacular views of the Connecticut River
.
The vampire ca
verns were hidden
in the forest a mile or so north
the park
. She would walk the rest of the way.

The air was chill, with the
sun hidden behind a thick
layer of
gray
clouds
that had moved in since the morning
, but the cold seldom bothered her. She sk
irted the edge of the park surrounding
the castle and headed north into the trees.

She had learned th
e location of the vampire lair
the same way she learned many things—by carefully watching the world below her in the guise of an owl. Years ago, she had seen a vampire slay a young man. There was nothing she
could have done to help the man
even if she wanted
to
, but she had followed the vampire through the night, staying high above the tree tops. Her keen eyes and ears had barely been up to task, but she had managed to see him disappear into an opening behind some bushes. She never thought to make use of the knowledge, yet here she was,
picking her way through the barren
woods
towards the vampire den.

She stopped at the edge of a small clearing near the bank of the river and sat down on the smooth, hard surface of a fallen log whose bark had long since rotted away. The vampire caverns were still several hundred feet away, but to go any closer would be
to
invite disaster. Those she needed to speak to would find her here easily enough.

The overcast sky gave her hope the vampires would come whi
le it was still light
. She didn’t relish the thought of dealing with the creatures in the darkness, but if she had to
wait until nightfall, she was determined to do so
.

Kristi and Marci
o
appeared in front of Jenna as if by magic. She
had neither seen nor heard the vampires’
approach until they were mere steps from her.
She was glad to see
they were
holding hands.
It might make her mission easier.
She stood up.

Kristi smiled at her, but Marcio was staring hard at her with a suspicious look in his eyes.

“Hi, Jenna,” Kristi said. “What are you doing here?

“I need to talk to you. How are you feeling?”

Kristi’s smile widened. “I’ve n
ever felt better, thanks to you.
” She snuggled closer to Marcio.
“
And
to
Marcio, of course.”

“Should I
even
ask why Kristi is thanking you?” Marcio asked. His voice had a definite edge to it.