Running in Fear: Ghost Warrior (4 page)

Lissa placed her hand on his arm before he turned to leave, stopping him. “Nikola, you and your men can’t be everywhere. You saved me tonight, in more than one way. Thank you.” She reached up and cupped his cheek. “I’ll go with the women and help prepare the food. Maybe I can lighten Jaycee’s load a little.”

He nodded and turned to leave.
“All you have to do is think of me, Lissa, and I’ll be there for you.”
Nikola whispered inside her head, and she shook her head following the women, as they walked down the long corridor toward the massive kitchen she had visited earlier to get a snack.

An arm wrapped around her waist and Suzanne bumped her hip against hers. “So how are you doing? Dominic told me what happened with Stephen.”

Lissa shrugged her shoulders. “There isn’t much I can do about it now, but I’m sure it will all catch up with me later. Right now, I think I’m numb, with everything going on. Sort of like Jaycee. I know when this is all over all of us are going to need a vacation.” She pushed into the kitchen ahead of everyone else.

Kimberly had her back to them, a hand around a young girl’s neck. The girl’s feet were now a few feet off the ground and she was trying desperately to get free. That’s when Lissa recognized the young girl who had offered herself to be fed from, who had helped her when they had first arrived and had tried to befriend her.

Without another thought the window shattered, English Ivy grew up the walls, vines from the willow tree outside weaved inside and around Kimberley, yanking her away from the small girl she meant to harm. Blood ran down the girl’s neck, and Marsha ran to her, covering the wounds. Suzanne, who was now next to girl, sealed the wounds, and turned her attention towards Lissa.

The room grew quiet, even the girl’s whimpers had calmed. Kimberly kept her mouth shut, as Jaycee moved next to Lissa, and placed her hand into her’s, squeezing it. The Ivy crept further into the room, up the walls, almost covering every inch. Some of the vines from the willow tree tightened around Kimberly’s neck, as Lissa glared at the hateful woman.

“Lissa, you need to stop. You’ll regret killing her.” Jaycee whispered.

“No I won’t. She carries the Bloods’ mark. Look on her inner wrist, Suzanne, and if I’m not mistaken it’s Franco’s mark. If she carries his mark, he’s close. I wouldn’t be surprised if he and his goons were the ones who attacked your friends, Jaycee.” She glanced at Jaycee.

“I’ve learned a few things being their prisoner for so long, and she’s not Castor’s blood mate. I am.”

Jaycee shook her head. “The Bloods might be cruel and dangerous, but they would not be able to sneak up on Jack and Belinda. Their cats alone would be able to smell and sense the enemy if close by.”

She moved closer to where Kimberly was securely attached to the wall, a vine wrapped around each limb and her neck. “How long have you been able to communicate with plants, Lissa?” Jaycee grinned and ran her hand over the vine glancing back at her, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.

Lissa shrugged, the other women went about getting food ready as the plants receded from the room, except for the vines that held Kimberly.

“I noticed little things when I was first turned, but said nothing to anyone. As a child my mother and father would always find me outside either in a tree or walking in our garden. I could talk to them even then, it was as if they understood me and I did them. I guess that is why our garden always did so well.” She smiled, hopping to cheer up Jaycee a little.

“You would be right about the Bloods, if they were human anymore, but most of them are not. The last few weeks I was held in captivity, I noticed things were different.”

Suzanne came up next to them and handed Jaycee her croissant. “Eat, both of you. How different? Where they like us, or shifters like Jaycee and Shelia?” Suzanne munched on her croissant when Dominic, Remi, Nikola and Castor came into the room and stopped. Each man glanced at Kimberly, then at Lissa, since the vines had seemed to migrate from her.

Jaycee nudged her with her elbow. “Go on, ignore them, they can listen. This is important.” She took Lissa’s hand and led her away from Kimberly. Both of them stepping over the vines that were still there, as they moved towards the kitchen table.

Jaycee nodded to the chair next to her and she sat with Suzanne, pulling the chair out at the table. Cecil and the other woman hovered about while Marsha helped the girl up and out of the room.

“At first, I noticed a couple of the Bloods had been turned to vampires, but then some were something altogether different. There was one there, the girls called him…”

“Hombre del Diablo, I remember him…” Suzanne hugged her arms around herself. “That thing was creepy, even for a Blood. All the girls would hold their breath, and pray his attention wouldn’t be on them.”

Lissa nodded, as Dominic picked up Suzanne and sat down on her seat with her on his lap. His arms around her tight…
if only…

Gentle, strong arms, lifted her up startling her out of her thoughts, but all too soon she relaxed. Nikola’s scent drifted to her, relaxing her as nothing ever did. He held her the same way as Dominic now held Suzanne.

“Go on. Parvus Papilio, finish your story.” He rested his chin on top of her head, and she rolled her eyes at Suzanne, who laughed, but all the while she loved his attention.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you did.” His hand slid under her shirt and he cupped her breast.

“Nikola…” Lissa tried to push his hand away, but he kept it there.

Nikola turned her head towards him and lifted her chin to stare into her eyes. “I’m not hurting you am I, Lissa?” she sighed, and gave up. Lissa curled up tighter against his chest while he caressed her breast.

She glanced up at Suzanne. “The girls were lucky, he didn’t touch them. Towards the end, before I could escape, he’d come for me, because he knew my body would heal.” Nikola hissed behind her and grew still, but said nothing more. “He was the one Stephen handed me over to when they drugged me.” Lissa gripped Nikola’s shirt tight, not caring, as she continued her story.

“Three days before the girls got me out of there, he came for me. He had huge chunks of his skin missing on his back and there were also claw marks. They were healed, but healed in a way that the skin just covered over the missing muscle, that should have beneath that area.” Like Suzanne she rubbed her arms, but Nikola brushed her arms away, and held her more tightly rubbing her arms for her.

“That night…Well let’s say he not only took my blood, but part of my hide with him.” She inched out of Nikola’s arms and stood. She lowered the left side of her jeans, where a patch of skin now covered a hollow part of her hip, the size of a half-dollar.

“It seems he also had the taste for flesh. It took Della a good two weeks to heal me after that. That is one of the reasons I needed more blood than usual. It wasn’t just the Calcitonin in my system, but his bite, which had some kind of acid that destroyed the skin around it.” She pulled her jeans back up and sat down on Nikola’s lap, feeling exposed.

Pierre and Adonis moved into the kitchen with the other men. Lissa stiffened in Nikola’s arms, but didn’t move as Castor bent down next to her and cupped her cheek. “You are a very brave woman, Lissa, I’m just sorry…”

Lissa put her finger to his mouth. “We all made mistakes, Castor. Look at Stephen, he was my biggest.”

“Well isn’t that cute. But you’re forgetting something…” Kimberly laughed, spit went flying everywhere. “The Bloods now surround this place, they know all the secrets of the tunnels, too.”

Nikola released his mate, and helped her stand to face Kimberly. “You betrayed the Earth, Kimberly. She wants you back for good.” Lissa whispered and everyone watched as vines, leaves, and thorns covered her body, piercing her eyes, mouth and nose. The vines enclosed her and dragged her now small carcass out the window, back where the vines had come.

“Oh crap…Jaycee…” Lissa turned to see Jaycee grab her mouth and run toward the sink. “Damn, I’m sorry Jaycee, I didn’t know it would get that gory.”

Nikola and Castor moved next to Lissa, and waited as Jaycee puked all that she had eaten. When she was finally done, and had rinsed out her mouth, she turned and smiled. “Honey, that was the best horror/live flick I have ever seen. It’s just too bad my stomach was so queasy. Now, it’s obvious we can’t stay here, and we can’t go back to our home, any ideas?”

Dane handed Jaycee a can of ginger ale from the fridge and moved her toward the kitchen table once more. Granger stopped in front of them and stared at her, then at Castor. “I was talking to Dominic last night, about Rose Island.”

Nikola glanced at Castor who nodded his head. “Yes, that would be the perfect place to set up. It’s completely surrounded by water and it’s big enough to hold all of us. We’ll need to update the main house, but I think it will work.”

Lissa listened for a little while, until she cleared her throat. “Um, excuse me, but we might want to get moving soon.” She nodded toward the windows and Nikola stepped in front of her shoving her behind him, before a large boom shook the house.

“Looks like we have no choice.” Nikola yelled. His warriors suddenly appeared and grabbed the women, and just as suddenly disappeared from the room, taking them to Rose Island. Nikola grabbed onto Castor and Lissa, flashing them to the main building there.

“Take her inside, while I help get the rest of our people here. You’ll find the house is all up to date and stocked.” Nikola glanced down at Lissa and kissed her lips hard.

“Keep inside Lissa and stay with Castor.” He didn’t give her a chance to reply as he flashed back to the mainland leaving them on the porch of the castle like structure. On the last trip back, he hovered over the island, staring down at it in the body of a hawk.

The enemy now controlled all that was once Castor’s family home. The one thing he had never wanted to see again moved around the home, as if guarding it, a legion of half-zombie, half-Vampire men. All far too gone to cure, they all would have to be destroyed.

“How many are there? Do you know how they were infected?”
His queen asked, summoning him to her side.

Nikola hated to make the trip to his homeland away from Lissa, but he knew they would now need more help from his own kind. He bowed to his queen and her mate. “My queen, I have no real idea yet. My mate has told a story of these creatures from over a month ago, in their world. If that is the case, it’s hard telling how many more there are now.”

Queen Isabel paced back and forth. “Then someone from this realm is helping them. There is no other way for that kind of dark magic to be there. I need to talk with my sister Empusa, but for now, take your two old divisions of warriors with you. They are standing by and waiting. Send one team to find out how far this has spread, and have them report back to you as soon as they find anything. We must find the person who did this. We need to know what else he has unleashed upon Earth.”

He nodded and bowed, before exiting the royal chambers and meeting with his best friend, Raymond.

Raymond turned as he entered the large hall, all one hundred men stood at attention waiting for their orders. “I had thought never to fight those things again, but here we are once more, my friend.” Raymond clasped his arm in a warriors greeting and nodded to him. “Were do you want us?”

Nikola stood tall, looking out at his many friends and nodded. “Zancor will take twenty men and start in New York, where my mate first saw the infected one. We need to know how far this has spread and who started it.”

He turned to face Raymond. “Raymond, I want you on Rose Island with me. We are using this island as our stronghold during this fight, so we’ll need the added protection.”

Raymond slapped him on the shoulder. “Say no more, the island will be protected and secured.” They both transported to the island, while the men spread out doing as they were told. He moved inside the large old castle, which now would be their home. Castor, Pierre and Adonis all talked with Remi and the other men, while Lissa and the other woman were nowhere in sight.

“Castor, where is she?” Nikola asked. All talk stopped and their attention turned towards him. He knew half a day had passed since he had left, time was different in the realms, no one ever knew how long they would be gone.

“She’s with the other woman, and I don’t appreciate the attitude, Nikola. You might be my mate, but you do not control me.” Castor declared showing his dominance, but right now was not the time to correct him. Nikola appeared in front of him in an instant, and leaned down.

“You are right. I shouldn’t have snapped, and we will finish this later tonight…” He straightened and glanced around the room.

“But if any of you have any sense, you would have checked, because right now, there is not one female in this house, except for Castor’s servants.”

Dominic, Remi, Dane, Clayton, Tug all stood and glanced at each other. “Our connection to our mates is limited, and that is when Marsha is near to help it. Where are they?” Remi snarled.

Nikola stopped and threw out his powers, and tried to locate his mate, Lissa, but nothing. He glanced at Raymond. “Are the women blocking me, or is it something else?” He asked his friend who leaned back against the door and smiled that is all he needed to know.

“Now isn’t this interesting, your own mate is blocking her presence from you? What did you used to tell Mira and me?” Raymond tapped his finger on his head. “Oh yea, that you wouldn’t let any female control you, that she would listen to everything you told her.” His friend laughed and teased him, when all he wanted to do was throttle him.

“Raymond, you have two minutes to tell me where our females are before I let them…” He nodded to Remi, Dane, Mark, Bo and the other men. “Tear you apart.”

* * * *

“Damn, they know we’re gone. Lissa we don’t have much time before they arrive.” Marsha and Jaycee sighed, and released the spell which had surrounded them.

Lissa sat down next to Marsha on the beach, while Suzanne stared up at the sky. “We’re going to get visitors later tonight. Temmra’s mother is coming, the Queen of the Fae, Isabel, and her sister Goddess Empusa.” Suzanne turned around, staring at them, “It seems we’ll be getting more help, but we still need to inform the humans without scaring them half to death.”

Lissa ran her hand through the sand, watching as the wall of Macrophytes slowly grew thicker and thicker around the island, giving them an extra line of defense. Lissa had known the minute Nikola appeared back on the island, her whole body grew more sensitive to everything when he was around. Even now her nipples grew hard, as they brushed against her shirt.

“I have a friend who is connected to the big wigs in Washington. Leda’s also a reporter. We could bring her here, have her do a series of interviews with us. We could explain and show what we are to the cameras.” She stood and glanced out at the water.

“Leda would love the chance to come here and she knows all about me. Well, so a while back.” The sun disappeared and Lissa glanced up into Nikola’s frowning face.

“You’re not where I advised you to stay.” The men slowly came out of the woods, and surrounded them.

“Well for your information, we wanted to enjoy the sun, and I had work to do, but I sure did take your suggestion to heart, I promise.” Lissa tried to keep from laughing out, but failed when Suzanne busted out laughing with Jaycee, Marsha and Shelly.

“You took his suggestion to heart??? Oh my, that is rich! I’m going to have to use that one next time…” Shelly laughed, but stopped when her mate, Bo, picked her up and swung her up over his shoulder, and slapped her ass.

“I’ll give you something for your heart. Shelly, I just lost my best friend, and I come to find out you’re out here roaming around with our very pregnant sister. I don’t know if I should tan your hide, or just kiss you, I was so scared.”

Lissa sucked in her breath and lowered her gaze. “Bo, it was my idea. I wanted to put an underground wall around the island, and to do that I needed to be out here, near the water. I’m sorry.”

Bo stopped and stared out at the water. “You could have asked us to bring you out here, Lissa. This isn’t a game, friends, family members are dying around us, and you even drag Jaycee out here, when she is soon to have her babies!” Bo snarled, fur replaced skin on his hands, but Shelly jumped out of his arms and snarled.

“Don’t you even yell at her, Bo. She has lost also, or have you forgotten what Stephen did to her family? Jaycee and I both knew what we were doing. We were all protected, thank you!”

Lissa tried to move to Shelly, but Nikola grabbed her, and once more transported them to his home, but this time Pierre, Castor, and Adonis were there in the living room. All three men stood as soon as they appeared.

“I thought it time we discussed a few things.” Nikola walked around her and she could have sworn every cell in her body responded to him. “Since we are at my home, there is no need for your clothes now, is there?”

She sucked in her breath, her clothes disappeared. Lissa quickly covered her breasts with her arms. “Is this a new rule for just me, or are you still pissed, because I didn’t listen to you earlier?”

Lissa shook and not from the cold, she knew Nikola studied her and saw how uncomfortable she was. He held out his hand, a sheer green robe appeared. They would still be able to see her body, but she would be covered.

“When we are alone Lissa, I want to see your lovely body. I don’t want it hidden away in jeans, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks so, am I right gentlemen?”

Nikola held open the robe for her, all three men behind her nodded and watched as she stepped into the robe. Lissa fingered the silky material, inspecting the faint design of wolves and dragons on it. “I’ve never had anything so beautiful.” She smiled and kissed him on his cheek.

“Thank you.” Lissa whispered hugging the robe around her. “No one’s given me a gift before, well not since my parents.” Heat rose in her face, and she knew her white face had a tint of pink, but the room spun for a moment, and she grabbed onto Nikola’s arms.

“Damn talk about a head rush.” Lissa shook her head, trying to shake the uneasiness that rode inside her.

Castor moved in next to them. “When was the last time you fed Lissa? And I don’t mean food?” He placed two fingers below her chin and lifted her head, to stare into her face.

She shrugged. “I’m fine.”

He shook his head and waited not letting her escape his gaze. She sighed. “I don’t remember, maybe yesterday evening.”

“Lissa, you know you need to eat at least once a day. Come feed, I’ve eaten enough today.” Castor pulled off the sweater he wore and she sucked in her breath. His muscles rippled as he moved throwing his sweater onto the counter. “Come here.”

He slid his hand inside her robe and wrapped his arms around her. At five foot four, all of the men were over a foot taller than her. Castor’s sandy blond hair was pulled back in a braid, his body warm, as she ran her hands up his chest. “I’m always cold, but you’re so warm and smell so clean and fresh, like the water.”

She rubbed her cheek against his chest, feeling safe in his arms, like she did with Nikola, almost as if she was home. A small tear slipped down her cheek as she kissed his chest. Lissa licked the skin above his nipple numbing him, before she sunk her fangs into him. His blood was powerful, and refreshed every cell in her body, but Lissa made sure to only take enough to last her. She closed the holes and glanced up into his handsome face. “Thank you.”

“You’re sad, why?” His warm hands rubbed up and down her back, comforting her.

Lissa smiled. “I was remembering my home, before I was changed. You reminded me of a place that meant the world to me.”

He leaned down kissed her lips softly. “Maybe someday you’ll take us all there and show us.”

She shook her head and slipped out of his arms moving to the window, which seemed to give her peace. Lissa looked out at the water and the strange mountains. “Our home was destroyed over sixty years ago when the place burned down. I always believed my folks just didn’t hear anything, which is why they died.”

Pierre moved her hair away from her neck and he nibbled on her neck. “I’m sorry you had to learn about all that now. It always seems life throws the worst at us when we are down already, but know you are not alone, Lissa. All of us are here for you.” He rested his head on her head, his hands inside the robe as he brushed the bottom of her breasts.

“When this is over, you’ll have to come to my parents’ home in Montana. Mom had this huge garden with every type of plant that grows in the region. She said, she wouldn’t bring other plants to the area, that they strangle the native plants. I think you two will get along great. She loves to play in the dirt and every summer you’ll find her out there in the gardens.” Pierre stepped up to her other side.

Lissa smiled and looked up into his gaze. “I would love to meet yours and Adonis’s parents and your mom sounds just like mine was. Thank you.” She kissed his chin and patted his arm. “Now, shouldn’t we be talking about what you four will be doing?”