Storm (Blood Haze: Book Two) A Paranormal Romance (8 page)

door. I had no money and no car, but I had a plan.

I called a taxi from the motel’s office, and when

it arrived, I asked the driver to take me to the

nearest pawnshop.

I pawned my computer for $400. I was

desperately hoping it would be enough to get me

where I was going. I hoped Max would get my

email in time, and I hoped he would get there in

time. All these things I had to hope for, but one

thing I didn’t. I knew Max would know what I

meant with that one word.

My one-way plane ticket cost $275. That left

me enough to take a taxi home. Once there, I

could get my phone so I could contact him, and I

would take Kai’s car so I could meet Max at the

lake.

On the plane trip, my mind was reeling. Kai

would be feeling betrayed and frightened, and

Max would probably be furious. I couldn’t think

about all of that. I tried to push it out of my

mind. All I cared about was making sure Max

was safe.

Hours later, I had a taxi drop me off a block

from my house. I didn’t know if the hunters

might be watching it, because I had no idea if

they knew who I was or where I lived. I surveyed

the house and surrounding neighborhood

carefully before I went home. Nothing seemed

amiss.

I found my phone inside the house, along with

the rest of my things. I grabbed my bags, along

with Kai’s, Will’s, and my mother’s, along with

Kai’s painting, and I squeezed them all into the

truck and backseat of Kai’s car. I located his keys

inside the pocket of his coat where they always

were, and I jumped in his car and sped toward the

lake.

I was about a mile from the old drive-in when

my phone rang. The sudden noise startled me,

and the car lurched. I pulled into a parking lot

and fumbled for my phone, which had fallen into

the floorboard and slid underneath the

passenger’s seat. I got out of the car to stretch my

legs and answered.

“Hello?”

“Alice!” I heard Kai yell. “Where are you?”

“It’s probably best I don’t tell you,” I told him.

“I don’t want to risk any of you getting

involved.”

“Involved in what?” he shouted. “Alice,

please. Tell me where you are so I can come get

you.”

I could hear the dread in his voice.

“It’s fine, Kai,” I said. “I’m fine. Don’t worry

about me.”

“How can I not?” he said, his voice breaking.

“Do you have any idea what I’ve been through?

I’ve been emailing you and calling you all day!”

“I know,” I said meekly. “I’m sorry. I would

have left you a note, but I didn’t want you to try

to follow me.”

“Have you heard from Max?” he asked.

“No, why?”

“Jamie says she hasn’t heard from him all

day,” he replied.

If a freight train had crashed into me at that

exact moment, it wouldn’t have hurt me half as

much. I began trembling so much that my phone

slipped from my hands and bounced on the

pavement. I put my hand over my mouth, fearful

that I might vomit. My knees began to wobble,

and my vision became blurry.

My knees gave out, and I slumped to the

ground. My shaky hands reached for the phone,

and I heard Kai repeatedly calling my name.

Finally, after several fumbled attempts, I

managed to pick up the phone.

“Alice? Are you still there? Alice?” Kai

shouted frantically.

“I… I’m here…” I stammered, barely able to

speak.

“What happened? Are you alright?”

“Kai, I have to go. I love you,” I said, and I

hung up.

With shaking fingers, I dialed Max’s number.

It went straight to voicemail.

“Max?” I began my message. “I have my

phone. Please call me when you get this. I’m so

worried.”

I quickly tossed my phone into the passenger’s

seat, then jumped in and started the engine. The

tires squealed loudly as I tore out of the parking

lot and off toward the drive-in.

My phone rang, and I picked it up and glanced

at the caller ID. It was the same number Kai had

called from. I ignored it. I didn’t have the time to

deal with Kai. My stomach was a twisted,

writhing mess.

I pulled into the drive-in parking lot and

quickly turned the ringer off on my phone. I

shoved it into my pocket. At break neck speed, I

rushed across the parking lot and bounded over a

chain to duck behind the decrepit old movie

screen. I stumbled down the embankment, and

then followed the creek to the clearing in the

woods – to the meadow where Max and I had

shared a very special moment together.

When I entered the meadow, I stopped.

Frantically, my eyes scanned the area, but Max

was nowhere in sight. I was panicking.
Where

could he be?
I thought. Then, out of the corner

of my eye, I thought I saw something glinting in

the distance – off in the trees behind the moss

covered rocks were Max and I had kissed.

As fast as my feet would carry me – which is

quite fast for a vampire – I flew to the spot. As I

neared it, a dark figure stepped out of the

shadows, holding a prisoner. The prisoner was

Max.

The dark figure was taller than Max, at least

six and a half feet tall. He wore a long, black

cloak, and a few strands of long white hair

fluttered out of the hood. His face was mostly

obscured by his cloak, but I could clearly see

pearly white teeth glinting behind a maniacal

grin. He held a shining silver dagger to Max’s

throat.

“Max…” I whispered weakly.

“Run, Alice!” he shouted, and the shrouded

figure pressed the dagger more tightly against his

throat. Max winced as the dagger sliced into the

tender skin of his neck.

“Let him go!” I shouted.

“You must be Alice,” the figure said slowly.

He had a sharp, thick accent, but one I didn’t

recognize.
Romanian, perhaps,
I thought. “I am

Alexi. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“I said let him go!” I repeated, this time more

forcefully.

“Now, now,” Alexi growled. “You aren’t in

the position to be making any demands.”

I noticed a tiny trickle of blood dripping down

Max’s throat, and I gulped. One wrong move and

Alexi might sever Max’s carotid artery. He

would bleed out in seconds, and there would be

nothing I could do.

“You wanted me, right?” I snarled, my fists

and jaw clenching in an attempt to control my

raging emotions. “I’m here. Let him go.”

Max shook his head weakly, his eyes pleaded

with me to run.

“You would give your life for a hunter who

set you up?” Alexi mused.

“That’s not true!” Max shouted.

Alexi stuck the sharp point of the silver

dagger into the skin of Max’s neck I heard Max

suck in air through clenched teeth, fighting the

pain. A very quiet grunt escaped his lips, and I

began to tremble.

“Stop it!” I screamed. “You can do what you

want with me! Just let him go!”

“So quick to protect him,” Alexi chided.

“Can’t you see it was he who led you here? Like

the good hunter, he pretended to be on the run,

made you fear for him, and called you out of

hiding. You felt right into his trap.”

Alexi chuckled darkly.

“I don’t believe you!” I snarled. “And even if

it did, it wouldn’t change the fact that I… that I

care about him.”

“Oh, you
care
about him,” Alexi mocked. “I

see. But you don’t love him. Is that because of

your Kai?”

I faltered. How did he know about Kai? Did

Max tell him? That couldn’t be it. Max wouldn’t

betray me like that. Would he? No. No, I was

sure he wouldn’t. He loved me.

I saw more blood trickling down Max’s neck

from the spot where the tip of the blade pierced

his skin. I had to get him away from Alexi, but

how? What exactly did Alexi want?

“Look, what do you want?” I asked directly.

“I want your whole family,” he said smoothly.

“All of them. Your mother, your brother, and

your beloved Kai. Bring them to me and I will

allow Max to live.”

“What?” I gasped. “You want… you…”

I shook my head slowly, squeezing my eyes

shut.
This can’t be happening
, I thought. This is

not happening.

I gritted my teeth, and my fists were clenched

so tightly I could feel the warm wetness of blood

dripping between my fingertips as my fingernails

dug into my palms. By entire body was shaking,

and my hearing became dulled. I feared I might

faint, but as I opened my eyes, I noticed the entire

world was shrouded in a bloody red haze.

Everything appeared blurry, but somehow I could

perceive everything more clearly than before.

Without thinking, I demanded very slowly,

“Let… him… go…”

Alexi cocked his head slightly to the side, his

teeth glinting from behind his hood. With his

grin, he was accepting my challenge. I saw him

start to press the dagger into Max’s throat, and in

a flash, it seemed as though everything was

moving in super-slow motion.

I, on the other hand, moved like lightning. I

streaked across the distance between Max and

myself, and I instinctively placed my hand against

Alexi’s forehead. His body stiffened, and his

grasp on the dagger loosened. The dagger slowly

began to fall to the ground, and Alexi began to

slump in the same direction.

I grabbed Max’s hand and began to run. In a

split second, we had crossed the entire distance

of the meadow. Just as we reached the edge of

the clearing, where the creek began to wind its

way into the woods, my knees began to buckle. I

heard a deep whooshing sound, and everything

returned to its normal speed. I turned to watch

Alexi fall to the ground in the distance, and

blackness overtook me.

*****

Chapter Six – Haze

When I regained consciousness, I was vaguely

aware of movement. I felt the hum of an engine,

and I realized I was in a car. I looked around, and

as my vision cleared, I could tell I was in the

backseat of Kai’s car. Very slow, I sat up.

“Max?” I mumbled, noticing him in the

driver’s seat.

“Alice! You’re okay!” he gasped.

“Sure,” I said. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’ve been passed out for about two

hours,” he answered.

“Two hours?” I verified. “What happened?”

“I really couldn’t say,” he answered truthfully.

“We’re almost to the airport. We’ll talk about it

on the plane.”

“Plane? Where are we going?”

“Back to your family, of course.”

“Oh, my God. Kai…” I muttered.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my

phone. I had forgotten I turned the ringer off. I

flipped it open, and I saw I had thirty missed calls

and ten new messages. I immediately dialed the

number Kai had called from. He answered on the

first ring.

“Alice?” he asked, his voice frantic with

worry.

“It’s me,” I answered.

“Where have you been? I’ve been calling and

calling! I was so freaked out that Jamie had to

blindfold your mother and brother and bring

them over to our room to keep me from leaving

to find you! What is going on?”

“I’m with Max,” I said quietly.

It was completely silent on the other end of

the line.

“Kai?” I asked, wondering if our call was

disconnected.

“Max,” Kai growled.

“Kai, I…”

“I don’t want to hear it, Alice,” Kai snarled.

“I’ve had it with you. I’m done!”

“Kai!” I shouted. “Wait!”

But it was too late. He’d hung up.

I immediately dialed the phone, and Jamie

picked it up.

“Alice, what did you say to him?” Jamie

asked.

“Why? What’s going on?” I replied anxiously.

“He just threw your brother against the wall

and stormed out! He’s gone!” Jamie shouted.

“What?” I yelled. “He’s gone?”

“No one had time to stop him. Will tried, but

he threw him and just flew out the door. What

did you say to him?”

“I’m with Max,” I explained.

“Oh,” she said. “That would do it.”

“I’m about to board a plane to come back.

Someone has to go find Kai,” I pleaded. “Tell

Will to go look for him.”

“You want me to send Will out?” she

verified. “What if a Viewer…”

“Just do it!” I screamed.

“No!” Jamie screamed at me. “I’m not putting

Will’s life in danger!”

“Will!” I screamed as loudly as I could. “Get

Kai!”

I prayed he had heard me. Vampires have

better hearing than humans, but not by as much

as a lot of people seem to think.

“Will, stop,” Jamie pleaded. “Please don’t go.

Will, please!”

I heard a door slam.

“Now look what you’ve done!” Jamie

shouted. “He’s gone, too!”

I heard the receiver slam down as Jamie hung