Vampire Beach: Legacy (18 page)

‘Bianca’s been acting crazy, but it never occurred to me that she really
was
crazy,’ Jason said, his head spinning. Aunt Bianca was incompatible with the vampires, but now she
was
a vampire. And she was going mad. She had the transformation sickness.

‘Jason’ – Adam’s voice cut through his thoughts – ‘we have to get out of here.’

‘You’re right.’ Jason tried to shake off his worry. ‘I’ll figure out how to deal with this once we’re safely away from the lab.’

Adam pulled the remaining slides from the machine and shoved them in his overstuffed backpack. Sienna typed ‘
DELETE DIAGNOSTIC
’ into the keyboard, then turned off all the machinery.

Adam shut off his flashlight, pulled open the door, and led the way out.

‘There’s a closer exit,’ Sienna whispered. ‘It’s that way.’ She pushed Jason in front of her, and brought up the rear. Jason appreciated her concern – he knew he wasn’t thinking too clearly at the moment. What was going to happen to Aunt Bianca? How was he going to break the news to her?

‘Crap!’ Adam muttered. He held up his hand, signaling for them to stop. ‘Look.’

Jason glanced up – and froze. A camera was mounted on the ceiling, its red light focused like a laser as it swept slowly across the hallway. ‘Two more seconds and it’ll be right on us,’ Jason said. He turned to Adam. ‘Take off your jacket.’

Adam whipped it off and tossed it to Jason. ‘Get close together,’ Jason ordered. Then he flung the camouflage jacket over their heads.

‘Now run!’ Adam cried. Huddled together, they raced for the nearest door. Adam elbowed it open and they all hurried through.

‘Damn! I was so busy thinking about the key codes, I completely forgot about the cameras,’ Sienna cried. ‘Did they see us?’

‘I think Jason got my coat over us in time to block our faces,’ Adam replied. ‘But they definitely saw a bunch of idiots running around under a camouflage jacket.’

‘My father will murder me if I get caught breaking into the Center with a couple of humans,’ Sienna said. ‘This is so far beyond what’s acceptable to the Council.’

‘Are you kidding?’ Adam cried. ‘My father will murder me if I get caught breaking into anything, anywhere, with anyone. He’s a cop! He’s
chief
cop! His son is not, repeat
not
, allowed to commit crimes.’

‘Everybody calm down,’ Jason ordered them. ‘The longer we stay near that camera, the faster they’ll find us.’ He took off down the hall and pushed open the first door he came to, holding it open until Sienna and Adam got inside.

Jason scanned the room. It was another lab, this one without any super-secret vampire machinery. There were windows in the far wall. ‘Quick. Out the window!’

In one fluid motion, Sienna moved across the room and unlocked the window, sliding it open and peering outside. ‘OK, I know where we are,’ she said as the two guys joined her. ‘But the gates are way around the other side of the building. We’ll have to climb the wall and then walk back to the cars once we’re outside.’

‘The wall is covered in ivy,’ Adam said. ‘It shouldn’t be too hard to climb. Unless, you know, there are dogs nipping at our heels – although that might be quite the motivator. How do we know where the guards are?’

‘I think we just have to chance it,’ Jason said. ‘They must’ve seen us on the camera. They’ll be looking in the building first.’

‘Then let’s go.’ Sienna climbed out the window and took off toward the wall.

‘Not fair,’ Adam muttered. ‘She has superhuman speed.’

‘So let’s not hang around,’ Jason said. He swung his legs through the window, jumped down, and sprinted after Sienna. He heard Adam running behind him.

By the time Jason reached the wall, Sienna was halfway up, climbing the vines like a rope. He grabbed onto one of the leafy branches and pulled himself off the ground. Any second he expected to hear the barking of dogs. Or to see a spotlight go on and catch him, like in a prison escape movie.

But suddenly he was at the top of the wall. He straddled it, then reached down a hand and hauled Adam up beside him. ‘I don’t see anyone following us,’ he said.

‘That’s no reason to stay here talking,’ Adam replied. He swung his legs over and climbed down the other side. Jason followed more slowly.

Sienna was waiting at the bottom, her expression serious.

‘What’s wrong?’ Jason asked.

‘I turned my cell back on and there was a message from Belle,’ she said. ‘It’s bad.’

Jason’s throat went dry. Had the security guards called Sienna’s father already? Were they caught after all?

‘It’s about Dani,’ Sienna went on.

‘Dani?’ Jason repeated, surprised. ‘What about her?’

‘She took off with Ryan,’ Sienna said. ‘She told Belle they were going to Le Fleur.’

‘The hotel?’ Adam asked, frowning.

‘What hotel?’ Jason demanded.

‘It’s mostly for honeymooners. It’s a very private inn on the beach,’ Sienna said. ‘That’s the thing. Belle is worried. She thinks Dani and Ryan are so upset about having to break up that they might have gone there to do something drastic.’

‘Drastic like turning Dani into a vampire?’ Jason asked.

Sienna nodded.

‘But they can’t!’ Adam cried. ‘The test showed that Dani is genetically incompatible with the vampire genes. If she undergoes the transformation, she could go insane. She could die!’

‘All true,’ Jason said grimly, already running for his car. ‘But Dani doesn’t know that, does she?’

JASON HEADED FOR
his car at a dead run. He had to get to Dani. Ifhe was too late – if she’d already undergone the transformation . . .

He couldn’t even think about it.

When they got back to where the cars were, Jason didn’t hesitate. He jumped into the Bug and started it up. Adam squeezed himself into the tiny backseat, and Sienna took shotgun. ‘Where is this hotel?’ Jason demanded.

‘It’s just up the coast a few miles,’ Sienna said. ‘Ryan’s family owns it. That must be why they went there.’

Jason hit the gas and screeched out onto the road, heading for Pacific Coast Highway. As he drove, he fished his cell out of the glove compartment where he’d left it when they broke into the lab. He hit speed dial for Dani’s number.

‘
We’re sorry
,’ said an electronic voice. ‘
The wireless customer you have reached is unavailable or has traveled out of range
—’

‘Dammit,’ Jason muttered. He hung up and dialed again.

The same message greeted him.

‘Can’t reach her,’ he told his friends.

‘If she’s really planning to do this, she probably doesn’t want to be reached,’ Adam pointed out.

Jason slammed his fist against the steering wheel. ‘I knew she would do this if she found out about transforming! She doesn’t think before she does things.’

‘You never told her?’ Sienna asked. ‘About your aunt wanting the two of you to become vampires?’

‘No. I wanted to get all the information first,’ Jason said. ‘I wanted to prevent Danielle from doing something like this. I didn’t want her to even know it was possible to turn into a vampire.’

‘Well, if you didn’t tell her, who did?’ Adam asked.

‘Ryan must have,’ Jason said. ‘If he’s done it – if he’s turned her, I’ll kill him.’

‘Slow down,’ Sienna said, putting her hand on his arm. ‘There’s no way Ryan would do this on his own. He would never in a million years try to talk Dani into transforming. None of us would. We all know how dangerous it is.’ She paused, then went on carefully, ‘Do you think it could have been Bianca’s idea?’

‘She told me she wouldn’t say anything to Danielle,’ Jason said, not wanting to believe that his aunt would do such a thing. ‘She promised.’

‘But she’s not herself, Jason,’ Sienna said gently. ‘Bianca has the transformation sickness. We know that now. There’s no telling what she might do.’

Jason whipped the Bug down the ramp onto PCH. He floored it, picking up speed. How long had Dani been gone? How long did it even take to complete the transformation? Was he too late already?

Frantic, he grabbed his cell and dialed again. The same message answered him. He hung up and dialed Aunt Bianca’s number. The phone rang, and then her voicemail picked up. ‘Aunt Bianca!’ Jason yelled into the phone. ‘I need to talk to you! Dani’s in danger. If she transforms, she’ll get sick. You have to help me stop her.’ He hung up. PCH was only two lanes here, with sheer bluffs on one side and a steep drop down to the beach on the other.

‘There!’ Sienna pointed to a sign. ‘That’s our exit. Go slow, the road isn’t paved.’

Jason hit the brakes as he made the turn onto a dark, narrow lane. He wouldn’t have even noticed it was there if Sienna hadn’t told him. The Bug skidded on the loose gravel as they went downhill toward the Pacific.

‘Here.’ Jason shoved his cell at Adam. ‘Keep trying Dani.’ Adam turned on the speaker and hit re-dial, but Dani’s phone didn’t pick up.

‘Doesn’t matter. We’re here,’ Sienna said.

Jason turned the Bug into a small parking lot near a white Cape Cod style inn with an antique gas lamp glowing outside the front door. He shut off the engine, grabbed his cell phone and leaped out of the car, running for the entrance. The lobby was tiny – just a wooden desk and a big fireplace with a couple of overstuffed chairs in front of it.

The woman at the desk jumped when she saw Jason racing in. ‘Can I help you?’ she asked, frowning.

‘Ryan Patrick. Is he here?’ Jason demanded.

‘We need to see him. It’s urgent,’ Sienna explained.

The receptionist checked her computer. ‘Yes, he has cabin six,’ she said. ‘I’ll call over for you.’

‘Never mind,’ Jason said. He was already out the door.

‘I saw a sign for the cabins this way,’ Adam told him. ‘Down the stairs.’

Jason veered to the right and hurried down the steps that led toward the beach. Several private cabins lay spread throughout the dunes, each with a cabin number lit by a tiny lantern. He spotted cabin six right away.

‘Dani!’ Jason yelled, racing toward the cabin. ‘Dani!’ He pounded on the door, but there was no answer. Jason tried the knob. The door swung open, unlocked. The cabin was empty.

A wave of panic washed over him. Where was his sister? What had happened to her?

‘We’ll search the whole place,’ Sienna said, sensing his terror. ‘Don’t worry. We’ll find them. We’ll stop them.’

‘I’ll check the bar,’ Adam called, sprinting back up the steps.

‘I’ll check the hot tub,’ Sienna said, disappearing in the other direction.

Jason wasn’t sure where to check. While he thought about it, he pulled out his cell and hit re-dial.

The phone rang, and then Dani’s voice answered. ‘Jason,’ she hissed, ‘what is going on? You’ve called me about twenty times. This better be an emergency!’

‘Oh, thank God,’ he cried. ‘Are you OK? Where are you?’

‘Jason—’

‘I’m already at the hotel. Now tell me exactly where you are,’ he said sternly.

‘On the beach. Down by the water,’ Danielle answered, confusion in her voice now. ‘What are you—?’

‘Stay there. Don’t do a thing,’ Jason instructed. He hung up and rushed to the stairs that led from the dunes down to the sea. As he reached them, he almost crashed into Adam, who was on his way back from the bar.

‘She’s down on the beach,’ Jason told him. ‘Go get Sienna.’

He kept running, down through the dunes and onto the flat stretch of beach. He dreaded what he might find there. What if Dani had already transformed?

Four tall tiki torches had been set up on the sand near the sea, with a thick blanket spread between them. Jason could see Dani and Ryan sitting there, a bottle of champagne in a bucket and a picnic dinner laid out in front of them.

Dani scrambled to her feet when she saw him. ‘Jason,’ she cried angrily, ‘I can’t believe—’

‘Have you done the transformation yet?’ he demanded.

Both Dani and Ryan just stared at him.

‘Have you?’

‘No,’ Dani said, a tinge of worry creeping into her voice. ‘We’re just having dinner.’

‘Look, Jason . . .’ Ryan began, just as Sienna and Adam raced up.

Danielle gaped at the new arrivals. ‘What on earth—?’

Jason took his sister’s arm and drew her to one side while Sienna and Adam went to talk to Ryan.

‘Let go,’ Dani said, shaking him off. ‘I can’t believe you – barging in on my date! What’s wrong with you?’

‘You’re not supposed to be with Ryan,’ Jason said.

‘You’re not supposed to be with Sienna,’ she pointed out.

‘OK, point taken,’ Jason agreed, running his hand through his hair. ‘You’re OK?’

‘Yes.’ Dani’s voice softened. ‘Why?’

‘Dani, you can’t become a vampire,’ he said. ‘Not ever.’

‘Aunt Bianca said I could,’ she replied. ‘She told me—’

‘I know what she said, but she’s wrong,’ Jason interrupted. ‘She didn’t tell you about the risks, did she? She didn’t tell you about transformation sickness.’

‘No,’ Dani said slowly, suddenly seeming very small and unsure.

Jason took her hand and pulled her down onto the sand, then sat down next to her. ‘Aunt Bianca isn’t really . . . she’s not herself lately,’ he said. ‘She has something the vampires call transformation sickness. It’s what happens to some humans who turn into vampires. The thing is, some humans can’t handle the change, and they die.’

Danielle gasped.

‘Others don’t die, but they get sick,’ Jason continued. ‘Mentally, I mean. They go insane. There’s a test for it, and I took the test tonight. I took a sample of your DNA, and I tested that as well. It said you were incompatible, Dani. Your body couldn’t handle the transformation.’

Dani pulled back, tears in her eyes. ‘You’re lying,’ she said. ‘Aunt Bianca turned into a vampire years ago. Nothing happened to her. She’s not sick.’ But Jason could tell that Dani was already doubtful.

‘Think about it, Dani. Think how weird she’s been acting lately,’ he pressed. ‘And when Tyler was in town, he stole something from the Lafrenières. Now, I’m not saying it was right. Far from it. But Aunt Bianca wanted to have him killed because of it!’