Immortal (16 page)

“Or perhaps not die, not yet. But you will pay for your trick.”

He shifted closer. Inside I winced, since my body couldn't. His breath—dank, unpleasant—reached me as he leaned toward me.

The back seat exploded.

I thought we'd been rear-ended, but the next second I realized we weren't alone in the car. Caeran had come through from the trunk and launched toward the alben.

I cried out in fright, by which I learned I was no longer frozen. I scrambled out of the car, stumbling into the road. Luckily there was no traffic.

The car was jouncing with the struggle going on inside it. A flash of light made me flinch back. The air had that prickly feeling as if lightning was about to strike.

I stepped in front of the car, both to get out of the road and to try to see what was happening through the windshield. Another flash of light was followed by a burst of flame. I shrieked, terrified the Saturn would catch fire and explode. I could see thrashing forms inside, both in the front of the car now.

I wanted to do something to help Caeran but I didn't know how. I took the pepper spray out of my pocket and turned it so I was ready to discharge it. My hands were shaking and my breath was ragged.

Another flash of light, this time accompanied by a dull thud. I could see the alben's white hair; his hood had slipped off. He had Caeran pressed against the passenger door. I moved around to look more closely and through the side window saw his hands around Caeran's throat.

“No!” I yelled.

Fear and caution both left me, replaced by fury. I grabbed the door handle and yanked it open.

Both of them tumbled out. The alben still had hold of Caeran, but his grip had loosened. Caeran broke it with a kick to the alben's gut, and rolled away. I stepped in and emptied my pepper spray at the alben's head.

I'd half feared the spray wouldn't affect him, but his scream of pain was most gratifying. I coughed and stepped back, eyes stinging. Caeran got to his feet and moved to stand over the alben, holding out his hands.

The alben's cries subsided. He went still.

I stared at Caeran, whose hands were glowing. A pale beam of light poured from them down toward the alben. Instead of illuminating him, it pooled over and around him, thick and slow like honey, obscuring him.

After a while, Caeran lowered his hands. The glow remained around the alben briefly, then began to fade.

I stepped up beside Caeran. “Is he dead?”

“No.” He glanced toward a house just down the road, and added in a low voice, “Not here.”

I hadn't noticed the house. I wondered idly if the alben had. They might have gas right there, a can in their garage. Ironic.

I turned to Caeran. He was gazing into the woods, frowning thoughtfully.

“Th-thank you,” I said.

Suddenly I was shaking uncontrollably. Cold, and probably shock.

Caeran drew me into his arms, wrapping me in his warmth. I shuddered with relief, and struggled not to dissolve completely.

“I'm s-so glad you were there! I was so afraid.”

“I am sorry I could not let you know.”

“How did you keep him from sensing you?”

“We have ways of masking our khi.”

I sniffled and looked up at him. “Khi? Is that like chi?”

He nodded. “Same concept.”

“Let me guess. You had it first.”

His smile bloomed, filling my heart. “Yes.”

He smoothed my hair back from my face. I wasn't shaking any more. I held still, hoping for a kiss, but instead he gently let me go and stepped away.

He crouched beside the alben and rolled him over. The alben's face was blotched and red from the pepper spray. Caeran slid an arm under his shoulders.

The alben lunged.

I screamed as the killer sank his teeth into Caeran's shoulder. Furious, I used the only weapon I had—the empty pepper spray can. I bashed it into the alben's head as hard as I could, and raised my arm to hit again.

The alben looked up and snarled at me, blood on his teeth and lips, the whites of his eyes red as well. I flinched back, and the next instant he was gone, sprinting for the woods.

“Oh, God! Caeran!”

He was on his feet before I could try to help him. Blood ran down his shirt. His eyes blazed as he turned toward the woods.

“Caeran!”

“Get in the car and lock the doors.” He took one step forward and vanished.

“CAERAN!”

Gone. Shivering again, I ran to the car. Shoved the passenger door closed and hurried around to the driver's side.

The dome light illuminated the wreckage: the back seat on the passenger side was down; the front seat lay back across it, maybe broken; and everything inside was singed. The stink of burned fabric made me grimace, but I got in and obediently locked up.

I cracked my window to let in some fresh air. I pulled out my cell phone, thinking I should call for help, but there was no coverage in the canyon. I turned it off so the battery wouldn't run down. Having nothing more to do, I broke down in sobs.

I cried out of dread for Caeran, terror of the alben, and frustration. Cried until I was all cried out, then fumbled in the back seat for my box of tissues. The top few were scorched, but I found clean ones beneath them and mopped my face.

I was cold, and automatically tried to start the car so I could run the heater. Reminded of the lack of gas, I shed a few more frustrated tears, then calmed down. If—
when
—Caeran came back, I didn't want him to find me blubbering. Or if the alben showed up, I'd need to defend myself.

I dug my foot-long flashlight from under the driver's seat. It made a good club. I sat with it in my hands, shivering now and then, staring out the window toward the woods.

A few cars drove past. Each time, the sudden brightness of their headlights made me flinch. After what seemed like an hour, I saw movement in the woods. I gripped my flashlight, holding my breath.

The movement resolved into a figure walking toward me. No white hair; it was Caeran. I sighed with relief.

He tried the passenger door. I hastily unlocked it. Caeran opened it and looked in at the seat.

“Here,” I said, leaning across to pull the recline lever. The seat didn't spring back up as it should have, but with Caeran's help I got it upright and it seemed like it would stay. He sat down, pulled the door shut, and sighed wearily.

“Did you … find him?”

“No.” Caeran grimaced. “He is more resilient than I expected.”

Frowning, he turned and peered toward the trunk. I shone the flashlight into it through the opening behind the folded seat. I gasped as I caught sight of something, then realized it was Caeran's pack.

Caeran reached a long arm back to fish the pack out, set it at his feet and faced forward again, then leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He looked tired, and that worried me.

“How's your shoulder?”

He glanced at it, then touched it, smearing blood. It was still oozing. I grabbed a handful of tissues and pressed them to the wound. Caeran took over, and I got another tissue to wipe the blood off his fingers.

“Why didn't it heal?”

Something flicked across his face, an emotion I couldn't read. “It is deep.”

“You should get it looked at.”

He met my gaze, then looked out the windshield. He seemed to be thinking, so I waited. I was happy just to watch him, just to be with him. Finally he sighed and turned his head.

“Will you take me to Madera?”

I hesitated, caught off guard by the request. “Won't the alben follow us?”

“He knows how to get there. He may be on his way already.”

“If course I'll take you, if that's what you want.”

“I think it would be safest for you there, with all of us to protect you.”

My heart skipped. “Don't worry about me.”

“I have no choice.”

A whisper of a smile accompanied his words, and my heart beat even faster. It thrilled me to think that he cared for me, though his determination to leave it at that drove me crazy.

“Caeran …”

I reached out a hand and touched his cheek. So enchanting, so breathtaking. He seemed always to be haunted by sadness, and that made me want to comfort him.

He covered my hand with his own, then gently pulled it away and pressed a kiss into my palm. My whole body approved of that. I swallowed, tingling.

“We need to find fuel, yes?” he said.

“Oh. Yeah. Um, maybe I could ask at that house.”

“I will come with you.”

“You look kind of scary at the moment.”

His eyes hardened. “I will come with you.”

“OK.”

We got out and I locked the car, shoving the keys in my pocket. It was dark now, and getting colder. All I had was my sweater. I shivered.

The lights shining though the windows of the house looked warm and enticing. Aromatic wood smoke added to the impression; cedar, I thought. It made me want to go inside and huddle by the fire.

Caeran stood behind me as I knocked on the door. Living out here, these folks probably didn't get many visitors, and probably liked it that way. There was a long pause, but finally the door opened a crack and an older Hispanic man looked out.

“Hi,” I said. “Sorry to bother you. My car ran out of gas and I was wondering if you happened to have any. We just need enough to get to Pecos.”

He looked from me to Caeran and frowned. “No habla anglais.”

Dammit. He probably did speak English, just didn't want to be bothered with us. I struggled to conjure up my high school Spanish.

“Um … Yo necesidad gasoline … un poco …”

“Funcionamos de la gasolina. Podemos pagarle,” Caeran said over my shoulder. His voice was musical, the words flowing and liquid, almost as beautiful as his own language.

The old man blinked, then his eyes widened as he caught sight of the blood on Caeran's shirt. “¿Esta en apuro?”

“No, señor. Habia una lucha, pero ha hecho.” Caeran dug in his pocket and produced a twenty dollar bill, which he held out to the man. “Para la gasolina.”

The man stared at the money, then called over his shoulder in rapid Spanish. I glanced at Caeran, hoping he'd understood and that the man hadn't been telling his companion to call the cops. He stayed in the doorway, watching us. Somewhere in the house a door slammed.

Guess we weren't going to get invited in to sit by the fire. I pulled the sleeves of my sweater down over my hands. I could understand the man's suspicion. We looked pretty disreputable.

A minute later a teenage boy joined the old man, carrying a gas can that sloshed appealingly. Caeran traded his twenty for it and made a slight bow.

“Muchas gracias, señor.”

The old man watched us away. I glanced at the forest as we returned to the car, but it was too dark for me to see anything. Caeran would know if the alben came back.

I opened the tank, then took the gas can from Caeran. It was only half full; the old man had got the better end of the deal. It was enough to get us to Pecos, though. I sniffed the can to make sure it wasn't water. Coughed on the fumes, and poured most of the gas into the tank.

I knew you were supposed to save a little to prime the engine. The carburetor? Except I wasn't sure how to find the carburetor. I decided to just try starting the car first.

I closed up the can and went to put it in the trunk. Caeran blocked me from touching the car, holding his hand out for the keys. I picked out the Saturn key and gave it to him, then stepped back.

No surprises in the trunk. A cold breeze made me shiver. I put the gas can inside, shut the lid, and took back my keys, anxious to get in the car and get warm.

Caeran peered through his window as I unlocked the doors. No one was hiding in the back seat. We got in and I pumped the gas pedal a few times, then turned the key. The car started.

“Yay!”

I yanked my seat belt across. The sooner we got moving, the sooner the engine would warm up.

Pecos was less than ten miles away. My stomach grumbled as we passed a burger place, but I didn't want to stop the car and risk not being able to start it again. I pulled into the gas station and cheered again, silently this time.

Caeran put a hand on my arm, stopping me from getting out. I waited, watching him. His gaze was distant, as if he was straining to hear something. Finally he let me go and nodded.

“Bathroom break if you need it,” I said. “I'm going to get something to eat and drink, too, unless you'd rather go back for hot food.”

He shook his head. He got out of the car and stood watching as I pumped gas. I used my sleeve to protect myself from the icy pump handle. When I was done, Caeran followed me into the store.