Vampire in Chaos (7 page)

Silence descended.

Jared understood. After all, what could anyone say to that?

T
essa stared at
the retreating figure.

In her mind, Cody murmured.
We don’t have much choice. We need to follow him
.

I know, but I don’t like it.

She stepped in behind Cody as he cautiously followed in the stranger’s tracks.

Who do you think he is?
Tessa whispered.

No idea. I’ve never seen him before.

He looks…old.

Ha, don’t they all?

Yes, but he looks old old, like he has existed for a long time in this desolate space. No fresh air or maybe not even enough sustenance. A meager life. One of lack.

He shot her a sideways look.
You can see that from his energy?

She shook her head and answered him in a low voice, “No. Physically, he’s gaunt, crippled almost.”

“He’s moving damn fast for a cripple.”

“Hmm. That’s not quite what I mean. If he were human I’d say anemic, as if he hadn’t been out in the sun for centuries. But as he’s a vamp, that should be a good thing.”

Cody stopped suddenly.

Tessa bumped into him gently. She reached out to grab his arm, her gaze locked on the energy swirling ahead of her.
He’s being attacked
.

What? Really?
Cody launched himself forward.

Tessa followed. She had no idea who was fighting who.
Careful. The attacker could be David or Dad.

Cody never slowed down. Closer, Tessa could see the energy firing in all directions. She didn’t recognize the new energy. But it was stronger, more powerful than that of the frail old vamp. He was going down…

Or not.

She grinned. Cody had entered the fray, and damn if the attacker wasn’t beating back a hasty retreat. Only Cody wasn’t having any of it. He went after the retreating male as Tessa ran up to the injured vamp, who had collapsed on the floor.

“Easy,” she murmured, trying to stop him from jumping to his feet so fast.

“No time,” he choked. “I’ll heal, just slowly. Come. You must come now.”

He struggled to his feet, pushing away her hands. “We have no time.”

“No time for what,” she cried out softly. “Who are you?”

“One of her protectors.”

Her? Tessa cast a quick searching glance around. Who were they running from? Who were they running to? Off to the left, she watched a spark of light glow then blow up. She called out, “Cody? Is that you?”

“Yeah, the asshole pulled out some kind of weapon. I had to take him out.” He walked toward her, holding some kind of small handheld weapon. Bigger than the spikes they’d been using, but smaller than a flashlight. It didn’t look lethal. “This is the weapon he was holding.”

It looked odd.

“What is that thing?”

“I don’t know. It’s weird.” Almost in front of her, he held it out so she could see the button. “It’s like a UV light and silver combined. Maybe it shoots silver droplets with the initial force of light?” He studied the weapon grimly. “Let’s keep moving. We don’t know how many others are down here.”

She picked up the pace to keep up with the frail vamp, who she’d thought would be too injured to move as fast as he was, but he was scuttling along at a pace she was having trouble matching. Like what the heck?

Her astonishment transmitted to Cody.
I know. He’s really moving. I wonder what the hell is going on down here.

And where is here?
she cried.
It seems like we’ve been moving underground forever. We’ve lost track of Dad’s energy too. And David’s.

Do you think this guy is leading us to a trap?
Cody asked, reaching out and grabbing her arm. She slowed down slightly.

I don’t know.
She hated to lose her father’s energy trail.
I don’t know if my father and brother are prisoners down here or if this guy may have contacted them too,
she said as frustration rolled over her.

A weird birdcall whistled through the blackness. She cocked her head and whispered out loud. “Was that him?”

“I think so. We’ve fallen behind.”

“Crap. How is he moving so fast?”

“No idea. The ceiling is too low for me to fly, so running is my only option.” Cody picked up speed and took off in the direction where they’d last seen the vamp. Tessa shook her head. Like what the heck. She took one leap then another and then a third, catching Cody on the third. She passed him on the fourth.

“Hey, that’s cheating,” he cried out.

“Sucks to be you,” she said, laughing as she lost him in the distance on the fifth. A wall came out of nowhere. “Oh crap!”

In the back of her mind, she could hear Cody sniggering.
Tessa, watch out for that w—

—
all

Just before she hit it sideways.

“Ooomph.” She slid to the floor, Cody’s barely restrained laughter in her ear.

“No time. No time.” The frail vamp shuffled along the wall beside her. “We must go.”

And damn if he didn’t turn and skittle off into the darkness again.

Cody reached down and helped her to her feet. “Are you okay?”

Tessa gave herself a good shake. “I’m fine. Or I will be if we find out what’s going on.”

Still holding hands, Cody tugged her forward. “Let’s go. We can’t lose him.”

And the chase was on.

*

Cody didn’t think
much of this latest development. Or the strange ghost-like vamp. And definitely not that these people knew about Tessa and him.

What the hell was going on?

All he wanted was to get Jewel and David and the rest and get the hell out of here. Get home where they could rest, relax, and be together. He wanted to take Tessa out on Friday. Enjoy an evening just being normal.

“Come on, Cody.” Tessa tugged on his hand. “Cody, are you okay?”

She stood in front of him, a confused look on her face. And he realized that he’d come to a complete stop. Like an idiot. A lovesick idiot.

The light in her eyes warmed and a twinkle lit up the bright depths. He didn’t know if she’d heard him or not. And he no longer cared.

He bent his head and kissed her. The touch of her lips against his was so sweet. So tender. So perfect. He couldn’t resist, he wrapped her up into his embrace and held her tight. Then he deepened the kiss.

“No, no. We don’t have time.” The frail vampire raced toward them.

Cody groaned.
No. No.

Yes,
Tessa whispered.
He’s here. We must go.

Damn it.
Cody loosened his arms and stepped back, already feeling the loss in his heart. The emptiness in his arms.

No. Not in your heart. Not in your head. Not in your arms. I’m always in there.

“Hurry,” the old vamp snapped. “We are late.”

Cody grabbed Tessa’s hand and turned to follow him once again. Their short interlude was already over.

Only for the moment.
And Tessa laughed. The sound was light and airy as it flew through his heart.

She was making him nuts. And he wouldn’t want it any other way.

*

David watched the
knowing smirk cross the big asshole’s face. Crap. Why hadn’t he gone straight to Jewel? They’d obviously tripped over something else going on here. To make matters worse, his own sister was on the way.

David had screwed up big time. He faced the two men. “What do you want with us?”

The first man never even glanced his way, dumping David into the category of ‘can’t be bothered to answer.’ And that pissed David off. “Hey, I’m talking to you.”

The big man suddenly extended his arm and plowed David in the chest. David grunted, falling back a step from the force.

The other man chuckled. “Maybe that will teach you to keep your smart mouth shut.”

David straightened slowly, holding his chest, wondering how the tank had moved so fast. Surely that wasn’t normal. Not that there was anything normal about this scenario.

He looked over at his father. Serus, a bored look on his face, studied their opponents, his arms crossed on his chest as if to say they weren’t anything to worry about. Only David knew he was seething on the inside. He looked so calm. So in control. Almost disinterested. As if these men weren’t worth bothering about.

Too bad David hadn’t thought to emulate his father. Damn, his chest still hurt.

“Now move.”

The two men pointed in the direction of the darker shadows to the left. Serus raised his eyebrows and asked, “Why should I?”

The second man spoke up, “’Cause we’ll kill the pup if you don’t.”

“In which case, I’ll kill you both,” Serus said, his voice so calm, his words spoken as if fact. There was no way the men wouldn’t have believed his threat. The men looked at each other then back at Serus. The first man opened his mouth when there was a shout coming from the opposite direction they were being pushed.

“Bloody hell. It’s Lamar. What’s the idiot up to now? He was supposed to be watching the left gate.”

Left gate? David filed that tidbit away. Good to know there were other exits to this mausoleum.

A third man, much smaller than the first two, arrived, out of breath and panicked. “Degan is dead.”

The two men stared. “What the hell are you talking about? There’s no way. No one could kill him. He’s too big. And he’s too mean.”

“He’s dead. Some punk ass kid managed to get the weapon away from him and turned it on him.”

Serus piped up. “Boy or girl?”

Lamar looked at him briefly and frowned. “Boy. The girl was standing and watching.”

David grinned. Damn good news. That had to be Cody. And Tessa. Some things just never changed.

“I hope to hell you killed them both?”

Lamar shook his head and stepped back. “No. They were with a ghost.”

The two men gasped. “What? Not possible. There aren’t any of those left anymore.”

Lamar shook his head vigorously this time. “There is. I saw him. And man, could he move.”

David had a dozen questions he wanted to ask. A ghost. Like what? And one that could move fast? These men were scared of it. He studied the look on his father’s face. If he’d heard or known about ghosts, he never said a word…except he’d lost the look of casual disinterest. Now his fists were clenched and he was glaring at Lamar like he’d kill him if he got the chance. Because he’d seen Cody and Tessa? Attacked them both perhaps? Or was something else going on here?

Either way, it wasn’t good for any of them.

*