Vampire Forgotten (5 page)

As she babbled, Rhad stood and made his way back to the door.  “I will wait for you downstairs.  We will spend the day together, and when the sun goes down, we will leave.”

Clutching the comforter as if it were a lifeline, Mischa blinked at him. “Leave? Where are we going?” Suspicion crept into her voice.

He laughed, low and deep.  “To find your sister, of course.”

“And you really think it’s going to be that simple?”

Rhad opened the door.  “What does simplicity have to do with anything?”  He closed the door without giving her time to respond. 

 “Why is he being so mysterious?” The words crept out of the darkness.

“Would he not want to know more about this woman he is helping?”

She didn’t like it. In fact, she didn’t like it one bit. Though her grandfather placed a lot of faith in this Rhad Valentine, in truth, she knew little about him. And that made her worry.

“You seem so sure that we can trust him, Grandfather, but how can you be so sure? He is a vampire. Why would he not want to harm Mischa?”

For a long moment silence descended, interspersed with night sounds. “Because she is his viata.”

“Yeah, well, I’m with Mishca on that one. That’s bullshit.”

“Now, now, my dear, you know how I detest such language coming from a lady.”

“Even now?” She frowned. “Grandfather, I’m dead. What are you going to do? Send me to my room?”

“Were you not the one painting a rosy picture of Mr. Valentine to your sister in your many telephone conversations?”

“That was different. I didn’t know everything about him, and look at him. Any woman would gush over him. I didn’t say I no longer thought he was attractive.”

He chuckled and held out his hand. “Come. We must return to the Realm before we are missed.”

“Oh, joy. You don’t know how much I hate this damned part of being dead, pardon the detestable language.” She tossed one last look over her shoulder. “If he hurts her…” Her words were swallowed up by the mist.

“She was supposed to be there.” Hamrick’s teeth ground together as the aging Volkswagen lurched out of the hotel’s parking lot. “She hasn’t even spent one night.”

The guide only lifted his shoulders and shrugged. For the price of 5,000 lei a day, the guy obviously wasn’t in any hurry to locate Mischa. “She has rental car. We track her GPS.”

“What if she didn’t take her car?” Desperation fueled his voice.

“We will find her, Mr. Hamrick. No worry. I am good at my job.”

“You’re just a travel guide not a hunter.”

“True, but you are not first American looking for Romanian bride.” The guide snickered before quickly composing himself. “No need for shame. She misses her family. That is why she returned to Romania without you.”

Hamrick’s hands clenched into fists. If he didn’t need the guy so much, he’d pop him. Common sense managed to prevail, and he let the assumption go. It didn’t matter what some dim-witted tour guide thought about him.

“Man at hotel counter said left with two men last night or perhaps the night before that.”

“And you’re just telling me this now?” His blood pressure spiking, Hamrick tugged at the collar of his shirt to release the tightness.

“Man need to make a living.”

Of course it was about money. Everything was about money. That was what his life was all about.

“Here’s the deal. If we find Mischa Bonovich within the next twelve hours, I’ll triple your daily rate and pay you for a full week. Does that motivate you?”

The man’s teeth flashed in an almost grotesque grin. “Why did you not say it was urgent, Mr. Hamrick?”

Hunger burned within Rhad.  From the short distance which separated him from Mischa, he caught the scent of her blood on the wind, but it did little more than nauseate him.  He needed sustenance but not the kind she could provide. He’d made sure of that shortly after he’d been sired.

He stopped walking and called out to her softly. “Mischa.”

She spun around quickly. In the darkness, her eyes appeared almost luminous and though the moon barely lit the sky, the glow was enough to enhance the beauty of her soft features. “What is it?”

Rhad had to swallow several times to find his voice. “I must leave you for a few moments.” The words came out on a croak.

“We’re in the middle of nowhere!  What do you mean you have to leave me now?”  Her fingers dug into his arm. “It’s growing darker by the minute, and while you may have eyes that glow in the dark, I don’t.  I need you to stay with me.”

“Will you offer me your blood then?” He knew his words would prove the catalyst she needed to release him.

Her hand immediately fell to her side while the other went to her throat as a protective shield.  “Wh-what are you talking about?”          

He took a step toward her, and Mischa stepped backwards so quickly she almost fell.  Rhad’s hand shot out to keep her upright.  “You know what I am.  I will not deny it.   I cannot deny it.  I must leave to feed my hunger.”

Reading the horror on her face, he hesitated. If only he could tell her more about his existence, but perhaps this way was for the best. There were things the living wouldn’t understand. One with a soul as pure as Mischa’s would find it difficult to fathom Rhad’s choices in life.

While his mind raced with the thoughts, Mischa shook his hands away from her arms.  “You’re telling me you’re going to kill someone and then come sauntering back here like nothing has happened?”  She blew her bangs out of her face and circled around him.  “And I’m supposed to be okay with that? No way.  I can’t do that.  I won’t do that.  I’ve got to get out of here.”

Rhad sighed and held out his hand.  Ordinarily, he wouldn’t have used his abilities against her, but he could not allow her to leave by herself.  The night held too many dangers. 

He watched her feet began to move though she struggled against the power propelling her backwards.  When she was close enough, he closed his hands around her shoulders and drew her flush against his body, lowering his lips to her ear.

“Mischa, you will stay here until I return.  You would not want to risk my anger.”

She tried to fight against his hands.  “Let go of me, Rhad.  This isn’t funny.  I don’t like mind games or mind control and…and…it’s ludicrous that you would think I’d stand here while you go pick up an innocent person for a late-night snack.”

He had no more time to try to convince her.  His blood stores were dropping low, and his fangs ached from need.  He released her and took a step backwards.  “You have heard my instruction.  You will not disobey me.”  With a sweep of his hand, he left her, moving through the mountainous woods with inhuman speed.

My apologies, Mischa, but what I do, I do for your own good. Perhaps one day, you will understand my ways…and you will understand me.

Mischa paced a circle around the base of a tree stump several times, her arms folded over her breasts.  How much longer was the vampire going to take?  She could eat a seven course meal in the time it was taking him to find one slow-moving human. 

She shivered at the thought.  While she was standing here waiting for Rhad, some poor, unfortunate soul was giving his life’s blood to sate the monster’s lust.  The knowledge made her stomach lurch in protest, but as much as she wanted to storm off and leave him behind, she’d soon discovered she couldn’t.

Apparently, Rhad’s mind-game had worked, and she couldn’t refuse the hypnotic command. So instead, she remained stuck, circling a tree and waiting for the vampire’s return.

Her eyes searched the darkness, seeking Rhad’s broad shoulders.  She’d barely known the man a day and already she was waiting for him.  She tapped her foot against the frozen Earth and glared into the inky blackness.

“Will you hurry up?” she groused.  “I’m freezing my butt off out here while you’re enjoying a midnight snack.” Her face tipped toward the sky where a lone star winked down at her. “And you, Rianna, once I find you, I’m going to drag your ass back to Boston and chain you to the friggin’ mailbox. You’re never leaving the city again. God knows, I shouldn’t have let you go this time.”

Grumbling below her breath, she wrapped her arms around her waist to ward off the chill and heaped curses on Rhad’s ancestors. He might have to be a vampire, but he didn’t have to be a discourteous one.

A snap of a twig broke the silence before a low, threatening voice followed.  “Oh, look, the little lady is all alone out here.”

Chapter Three

The words sent a spike of fear straight to her heart, but Mischa whirled around, ready to face her opponent.  A black belt in Karate, she knew she could hold her own if necessary, but one look at the creepy face standing in front of her told her this was no ordinary man.

And he didn’t travel alone. Their sallow skin told her all she needed to know. Vampires.  At least five that she could see, probably more she couldn’t. Had they all caught the scent of her blood? 

 Heart racing, Mischa took a backward step.  “Hello, fellas.  Fancy meeting you here.” Would Rhad hear her if she screamed? Her mind whirled with options.

She doubted she could outrun any of them, but perhaps she could talk her way out of this situation. Her father had always told her she could sell sand in the desert.

“I’m just waiting for a friend. He’ll be along any moment.”

The leader of the pack grinned, revealing snowy white fangs.  Her words had little effect on him. “And he left you all alone? What a pity.” There was a general chorus of sympathetic noises behind him. “Perhaps your ‘friend’ isn’t schooled in the ways of the forest.”

Mischa clenched her hands into fists at her sides as the vampire licked his lips.  “Don’t make the mistake of thinking I’m an easy target.”

Three of them moved forward in unison, eyes glittering, saliva dripping from their mouths.  One began to hum a low, hypnotic tune. 

“You will make a fine supper,” another one spoke.        

Mischa struck immediately, delivering a center kick to the leader’s stomach.  He grunted and doubled over, giving her enough time to spin and trade blows with the next in line.  She knew she wouldn’t win in the end, but at least she wouldn’t go down without a fight. 

Fear almost blinding her, she fought with determination, unyielding, relentless. If nothing else, she might make them give up on a supper they had to fight so hard to take. 

“It is useless to fight us.”

Two of the vampires ducked behind her, and Mischa felt the heat of the fetid breaths on the back of her neck while two more approached her from the front.   Though terror clogged her throat, she knew she wouldn’t scream.  She would face death bravely, defiantly even, never admitting defeat.

“Get away from her.” A loud snarl followed the sharp command, and Mischa’s knees went weak.

“It’s about time you got here,” she whispered.

Rhad launched himself into the center of the nest, his fangs glistening in the light of the moon, and with his face contorted, he looked the like the monster Mischa knew him to be.

“You didn’t scream,” he chastised her.

“I was a little busy,” she snapped back.

The vampires rallied together, muscles bunched, grunting and hissing with each step. 

“Just stay back.” Rhad directed the order at her, though he never took his eyes off the approaching pack.

She ignored the command and stood beside him. “I can help.”

Rhad gave another snarl.  “I said stay back.”

“Who do you think was holding them off before you got here?” Mischa launched a kick at one vampire’s shin. 

As the creature screamed in pain, Rhad gave her an assessing look.  “Okay, you can stay, but be careful.”

Now wasn’t really the time to smile at the concern in his voice, but she did anyway.  It shouldn’t matter that Rhad was growing fond of her. 

He fought like a demon, using super-human strength to rend and snap until all five of the vampires lay stacked atop one another like discarded rag dolls.  Breathing hard, he leaned against a tree and watched Mischa.  She sensed his eyes moving in tune with her body.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she finally asked.

“You handled yourself very well.”

“You mean for a woman?”

Rhad grinned.  “That wasn’t what I was implying.”  He jutted his chin toward the pile of limp bodies.  “Those are vampires.”

Mischa dusted the dirt from her jeans and shot him a disbelieving look.  “Really?  No kidding?  I didn’t know.”

Pushing off the tree, he walked toward her.  “Where did you learn to fight like that?”

“I’ve taken Karate classes since I was a kid.  I was lucky enough to know a guy in the neighborhood who taught the stuff.  We traded skills.”

“Where were your parents?”

Mischa adjusted the buttons on her shirt.  “They died when I was young.”