Vampire in Denial (3 page)

Screams split the air.

People scattered. Tessa was shoved to one side as panicked people overran her group.

Chaos ensued. No one knew what had happened or who was after them, so everyone scrambled for cover.

More screams split the air behind them. Streetlights sparked, then went out. Her heart pounding in her chest, Tessa huddled against a huge cement planter full of summer blooms. Jared pressed up beside her. The other three snuggled close behind them. Peering over the top of the cement, Tessa tried to see what the commotion was all about.

They were only fifteen or so feet from the front entrance of the building. The inside lights shone outward, giving an eerie glow to the sidewalk area. People continued to pour out of the movie theater to scatter throughout the several parking lots.

The darkness deepened even as she watched.

What had happened? Oh right. In her panic she'd shifted to her human eyesight. Now she shifted back. And watched in horror as a wave of blackness raced beside them.
Shit.

She ducked.

"What the hell was that?" Jared whispered against Tessa's ear.

"I'm not sure." But a horrible knowing slipped inside her heart. The silent movement, the pervasive fear, the darkness and the little bit she'd seen - vampires. She groaned silently.

Did she know them? What and why were they doing this – besides to scare the crap out of everyone? Just for fun? Because they could? Or was their motivation something more sinister?

A penetrating scream ripped and then shut off in mid-shriek.

She closed her eyes as she finally understood.

They were hunting. For human prey.

And she was here with four human friends. Crap. "We need to get out of here."

Catherine whispered from behind her. "Do you think it's safe to move?"

"No, but we can't stay here. Everyone, follow me." Tessa took a cautious look around for the best route. Using her vampire vision, she searched for others of her kind. There off to the left. Then Tessa needed to go right. Holding her hand up, she counted her fingers down.
Three. Two. One.
She bolted in a straight line to the corner she'd picked out. The panicked footsteps of her friends rushed behind her. They continued moving forward until they were buried in the deepening darkness. Her hand to her chest, Tessa gasped for breath until her racing heart calmed down.

The others crowded around her. She cast a quick glance over them. Everyone had made it. Their white faces glowed in the dark. Fear showed in their eyes. "Okay. Now let's head to the back and out onto Sparks Street."

She led the way. At the rear of the building sat the largest of the mall parking lots. Vehicles tore out of the lots. The night sky lit with headlights drilling through the dark in every direction. Drivers panicked in their efforts to escape. A slightly more controlled chaos reigned now, but not by much.

Catherine slipped her arm through Tessa's. "I want to go home." She looked round nervously. "Were those vampires?"

Zach spat on the ground, his bravado in full view now that the most immediate danger had passed. "Hell, yeah. I saw one of them."

"Did you? I didn't see anything." Not quite the truth, but she hadn't seen anyone closely enough to identify. They just couldn't be anything else. "What did they look like?"

"Black shadows. That's all I could see. Big and black." Zach raised his hand over his head to demonstrate size.

Jared spoke up for the first time. "I saw one of them. I saw his face. God, he looked pretty freaky. He also looked pissed."

"How did you see him and I didn't? We were together the whole time." Tessa couldn't help feeling disgruntled.

Jared reached out a gentle hand to stroke her arm. "When we were running out of the theater. I caught a glimpse of his face as he passed us."

"Would you recognize him?" Tessa asked curiously. She hoped not.

"Oh yeah." Jared nodded confidently. "His face would be easy to spot. Wide and heavyset, very Neanderthal looking."

Shit. Her stomach bottomed out. If the vampire in question understood that he could be identified, then Jared wasn't safe. All vampires knew breaking the treaty was bad business. The Vampire Council wouldn't take this lightly. The Council was very aware of their responsibility to look after humans – the weaker species. Considering how much these vampires were risking, she could only imagine what they'd do to keep their identities hidden.

She and her friends had to get away from here. "Come on, let's move to a better-lit spot."

Staying under the halo of light from street lamps, they passed phones around as everyone called for rides. Except Tessa. She didn't want to talk to her family.

"Tessa, do you want to use my phone?"

"Don't need to. David should be here soon anyway. I'll just wait." She smiled. "Is your mom on the way?"

"Both my parents are coming," Catherine piped up. "Mom's pretty freaked out. They want me to stay here." She spun around as if hoping they'd arrived in the fifteen seconds since she ended the call. "Tessa, are you sure you don't want a lift? My parents aren't going to be happy to leave you here."

"No. If David can't find me when he gets here, it could set off World War III. Don't worry. He's always on time." Now that the immediate panic had died down, a burning pissed-off sensation filled her. Her perfect evening had ended in a disaster.

She almost wanted the attackers to find her. Wouldn't they get a surprise? Except none of her human friends knew anything about her vampire heritage. If they had, they'd have run screaming long before now.

They waited under the bright lights as parents came to collect their kids. Each left in a flood of tears and excitement as the story was repeated over and over again. Finally, Jared and Tessa stood alone. She glanced around. "It's getting late. Are you sure your parents are coming?"

"No. They aren't," he said. "I was hoping everyone would leave so no one would have to know."

"What's up?"

"My family is a little different. And I don't have any parents. I live with my uncle. He figures if I go out alone, then I should be able to get home alone."

"Then you're walking home?" Tessa grinned. Maybe this wasn't such a bad end to her evening, after all.

"Oh, yeah."

"So am I. I lied. My brother isn't coming to get me. Everyone is out for the evening, so no big deal," she said, glancing down the street in the direction of her home. "I'm heading this way. Where are you going?"

"Down a block, then left for another block. Let's go. I'll walk you home first."

"Such a gentlemen." With the moon shining down on the deserted parking lot, the recent harrowing scene seemed like a nightmare they could now laugh about. She linked her arm through his as they walked and talked, tickled at the unexpected bonus end to her evening.

Halfway home, she heard another sound. Remembered fear slammed back into mind. She spun around in time to see a wave of blackness cover her. A blow slammed the side of her head, sending her to the ground. She cried out. "Jared, look out!"

Pain exploded at the side of her head for a second time. The world disappeared briefly as blackness surrounded her. Agony clawed through her brain. Groaning, she tried to straighten, hearing the voices around her.

"What the hell! Why doesn't she stay down?"

Another blow slammed into her, this time catching the arm she'd lifted defensively. Shards of agony slid from her wrist to her elbow. She screamed in a blend of pain and fury. Drawing on her primary heritage, she opened her mouth to scream.

"Shit!"

Just like that the attackers disappeared. She staggered to her feet, moaning at the sledgehammer pounding inside her head. She stood, closed her eyes briefly against the throbbing and waited for the world to stop spinning.

Where was Jared? She opened her eyes and searched everywhere. Jared was gone.

T
essa slammed through her front door, her hand to her chest, screaming, "Mom! Dad! Where are you?"

"Honey, what's the matter?" Her mother met her in the hallway, a dishtowel in her hand. A frown marred her perfect forehead.

Her father came running from the direction of the office. "What's wrong?" He took one look at Tessa and raced over, grabbing her arms. "What happened?"

Tessa gasped for air, tugging her injured arm away to hold it protectively against her chest. Her head boomed from the inside. "We were attacked," she gasped, "by vampires."

"What!" Her parents exchanged shocked glances before turning back to stare at her.

"Are you sure?" barked her father.

Tessa gave him a withering look. "Yeah. I think I know what a vampire is, Dad."

"Tessa, watch your mouth," her mom warned, then glared at her husband.

Taking a deep breath, Tessa tried to calm her frustration. What was it about parents that made them ask a million questions instead of taking action? "Sorry."

"Now tell us what happened. From the beginning," her mom said.

Words tumbled over each other as Tessa related the series of events from the time she and her friends had left the movie theater. She'd only half-finished when her brothers walked in and she had to start at the beginning again.

"It happened just a block from here?" Her dad's frown thundered across his face. "Did they know you were a vampire?"

Thinking back, Tessa couldn't remember the details of her actions. She thought she might have bared her fangs, but her attackers might not have noticed. "Maybe." She explained what had happened at the end. Before she finished speaking her mother rushed over to check her head injury. She'd forgotten that she'd been hurt. Her brothers' faces darkened with fury.

"Forget about me. I'm not the problem here. They took Jared," Tessa cried out.

"Jared. Who's Jared?" Her mother fussed over Tessa's head as if she'd taken a fatal blow, which being part vampire, obviously wasn't likely. Brushing her mother's hands away, Tessa said, "He's one of the people I went to the movie with."

"I thought you went with Catherine?" her father questioned, confusion wrinkling his face.

Frustrated at her family's inability to stay on topic, she snapped, "I did, but Jared was there – Billy and Zack, too."

"Okay, okay. Your father didn't mean to upset you, dear." Her mother's gentle voice barely penetrated the noise the rest of her family made as they discussed the concept of vampires attacking humans.

"Mom, I'm upset because Jared was kidnapped," she yelled into the melee, finally silencing her father and brothers. "Does no one understand me? My friend's been kidnapped."

"Seth, contact the Council. I need to meet with them
now
." Her father spun around to look her in the eye. "Tell me. Did you recognize anyone?"

She shook her head vehemently. "No. It all happened so fast. Once I regained consciousness––"

"What?" he roared. "They knocked you out?" Her father's jaw squared and the look in his eyes promised someone would pay. Good. Her father was one of the oldest of the vampire clan. He didn't forgive or forget easily.

"Just briefly. When I came to, everyone had left."

Seth, being the smart-aleck brother he was, asked, "Then how do you know your friend was kidnapped. Maybe, he just went home?"

Shaking her head, Tessa knew in her heart Jared would never do that. "I'm sure he wouldn't have left me lying on the ground alone like that. He'd have called for help, at the very least."

"I'm sure he would have, honey. You've always been a good judge of character," her mother said.

"True. Except humans are afraid of us, and if your friend had never seen one of us in action before…" Seth shrugged. "Just saying."

"Don't bother saying," snapped Tessa. All of a sudden her stomach felt a little queasy. "Ooops." She raced to the bathroom, her mother following behind her. At the toilet, she dropped to her knees and bent her head over the bowl. "I think I'm going to be sick."

And she was. Crap, what a horrible feeling, not to mention embarrassing. Was her mother digging into her hair again? She slapped her hands away. "Mom, I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Head wounds can be tricky. Nausea and throwing up are early signs of a concussion and other more dire conditions." Her mother handed her a wet washcloth. "Here. Wipe your face."

Tessa sighed and did as ordered. Once a mom, always a mom. Cool water slipped over her sweaty skin and eased the tension in her taunt muscles. Everything ached, and not just from the blow to her head.

"By the way, you really should know by now, that those head injury symptoms really don't apply to vampires," Tessa said and grinned up at her model-perfect mother. What a trial to grow up under the umbrella of a smart beautiful woman who was also stunningly graceful. "You're a great mom, you know that?"