Vampire's Forbidden Territory (Sídhí Summer Camp Series #2) (10 page)

They backed-up against the wall beside a mega-sized stalactite growing from the ceiling running down the wall meeting a massive stalagmite growing from the floor. The white giant shielded their left flank.

The teenagers dumped the remaining mint on the cave floor in a semi-circle surrounding them. Bundles of green lay wilted on the floor. She didn't think the sad looking barrier would be very effective. They quickly finished spreading the plants and not a minute too soon.

The first cave mite rounded the corner, followed by a dozen more of the fast moving creatures. They stopped and clicked their teeth together, obviously excited over their discovery. The sound echoed around the rock strewn room.

Katie calmly watched as the group of mites milled around in a circle. She was a bit apprehensive, but not afraid. That is until she took a closer look at the dark animals knotted together at the other end of the cave.

“They're different,” Katie said, nudging Jared with her elbow when he tried putting his body in front of hers. “Stop that. Look at them, the bodies are more oval and they're furry. Are those eyeballs on the tips of their antennae?” She asked, waving at the two antennae sticking-up a foot in the air.

“Crap, you're right,” Beth said disgustedly, pointing to the group. “Watchers are normally above ground. I thought we'd been awfully lucky not seeing any. Watchers have multi-faceted eyes like a fly, but the eyes aren't on the tip of the antennae. Hundreds of tiny eyes wrap around the upper third of the stalk, nothing can sneak past a watcher's outpost.”

“Then why are they just standing there?” Katie asked, puzzled by the odd behavior.

“Watching,” Brianna said sarcastically.

Beth ignored her friend and studied the black creatures. Her lip curled up. A snarl of frustration seeped through her voice as she stepped past the ring of mint, appearing agitated by the delay. “More than likely, they are waiting for back-up. They look like mites. That deception keeps most predators from attacking them, but watchers aren't aggressive. They'll run if we attack them.”

“Waiting for back-up?” Jared asked, latching on the single phrase that concerned Katie as well.

“Mites,” Brianna said snappishly, hurrying to catch up with Beth as the shorter girl walked toward the chattering watchers. “That many watchers could only mean hundreds of mites. Darn it Bethany Anne, come back here.”

No sooner had the words left the tall blonde's mouth than the top of the far left wall, high above the mirror smooth water, burst like a pink camera flash. Bright color rapidly spread outward as black bodies scrambled out of a dozen holes scattered across the top edge of the cavern. The mites raced down a nearly invisible ramp cut into the high wall.

Both girls jerked to an abrupt halt. Turning, they raced toward Katie and the thin ring of mint.

Katie angled her weapon, such as it was, toward the oncoming hoard of creatures. She didn't think there would be enough mint to go around.

  The first mite jumped off the ledge, screaming a warning cry it dashed forward, reaching the leafy carpet in a burst of speed. Long spiky legs ran through the mint, blistering the black surface on contact. The mite shrieked and hopped up and down like a grasshopper, crashing backward it hopped again and tumbled with a huge splash into the clear water.

Another mite raced forward, hitting the mint. It reared backward on hind legs, shrieking in pain.

Jared stepped forward and shoved his stick against its smooth shell. The mite scurried out of the bed of mint, shoving past its cohorts. The black mite raced toward the watchers.

The nimble watchers scattered, running in a dozen different directions.

The remaining mites didn’t seem to learn from the first mite's painful lesson. They kept coming, but like stacked dominoes their movements became predictable. In waves of three or four they attacked, shrieked as they hit mint then jumped backward, scrambling beyond reach.

The four teenagers allowed the mint on the floor to do most of the hard work, repelling the creatures without getting too near the dangerous stingers. When that didn't work, they shoved mint wrapped sticks against smooth backs or legs.

The ranks of mites grew thinner and Katie grew bolder.

So did her current adversary, a big black mite with a dozen blisters along its legs and back. The mite lunged forward, stabbing at her with its sharp stinger. The dangerous weapon missed her by inches. Skipping backward, she caught the heel of her white tennis shoe in a strand of mint.

She fell backward, crying out in shock, more than pain. Fear crashed through her as the poisonous black tip stabbed at her. She scrambled backward, backpedaling on her hands and butt. The sharp black point stabbed again, missing her by a hair's width, smashing into the stone floor next to her spread fingers. She snatched her hand back, expecting the mite's second stinger to strike her any second.

Without warning, she found herself tackled by a big, warm body. Backward, she slid across the rough stone floor, shoved out of the way by Jared’s lean frame.

Her mate’s hot-pepper candy scent surrounded her. His body covered hers. For a split-instant, his frantic eyes met her eyes, a single moment before his face contorted in pain.

Jared's rescue happened so fast that the attack blurred in Katie's mind, wrapping blood, fear, and pain all in one terrible package.

Jared bellowed in pain.

Blood spilled across the stone floor.

Anger deepened his yell into a roar as the stinger slashed down his right arm, ripping a bloody furrow through thick muscles.

Bright red liquid, splattered across Katie's outstretched legs, feeling warm and wet. The intoxicating scent of Jared’s life blood shot through her vampire’s heart like a sniper’s bullet.

The sharp tip of the mite’s stinger slammed past Jared continuing downward toward Katie's bare thigh. In a flash of stark understanding and fear, she knew she had time to scuttle backward, but the movement would have upset Jared's precarious position on top of her, possibly throwing him under the legs of the mite.

She stiffened, eyes wide in horror, waiting for the horrible pain her twin suffered through.

Jared's left hand shot forward, gripping the sharp appendage. He lurched sideways, dragging the struggling mite away from her. He dodged an attack from the second stinger and slipped in his own blood. He fell, yanking the mite off its feet at the same time.

Katie rolled to her knees, frantically searching for her mint stick. She didn't see it so she scooped up several handfuls of mint. She jumped up and slapped the strands of greenery against the mite's back, but the wretched thing wouldn't stop jabbing its stinger at Jared.

The monster wasn't slowing down, but Jared was. His movements grew sluggish. Slow enough the last spike nearly hit him through the calf.

The creature reared back, dragging Jared toward its chomping mouth.

Katie stepped back, throwing all her strength into a single snapping kick, she hit the creature's right rear leg, smack on the lower bulging joint. Her foot hit with a resounding crack. The joint broke and the creature shrieked and lurched away from them, toward the pool.

The mite took off at a hobbling run, racing after two other mites rushing up the ramp. The creature quickly disappeared into the largest black hole.

_____________

Jared's heart clenched in fear, terror gnawed at him in waves. He shuddered as reality hit him: He had nearly lost her, not once but twice in a single day. He struggled to his knees, desperate to reach his mate.

Katie’s back was toward him, standing with her legs spread ready for another attack. He knew she searched the area for more mites, but the crazy mite they fought must’ve been the last one.

He reached for her, aching to touch her. The tips of his fingers grazed her calf and she jumped away from his touch.

His heart crashed in his chest, shattering in a thousand pieces, knowing his attempt to protect her from the idiot people in Clan Valley had turned around and bit him in the ass. He'd lost the most important, the most precious thing, in his universe, not even his honor meant more to him than she did.

Tears flooded his eyes, blurring his vision. He loved her more than life. He swayed, wondering if he had any chance at salvaging the mess he'd made.

Something heavy smashed into his chest, toppling him over. He crashed to the floor.

“Jared,” Katie said, a warm stream of air tickled his ear as she whispered his name over again. The sound merged a sigh relief and a cry of worry. She clung to him as they lay in an untidy heap on the cold floor.

He blinked, trying to clear his eyes. A single tear slid down his cheek.

Katie kissed the falling drop, not stopping until her kisses reached his mouth. Her lips gently slid across his. She sighed, teasing his lips with her tongue. She seemed to be enjoying the kiss as much as he was. Shuddering, she tightened her hold on him and deepened her kiss. Her emotions slammed into him, whipping around him in a vortex of uncertainty, flashing and growing as her love hammered at him with the finesse of a bowling ball. Her fear and anxiety chomped at the edges.

He groaned, wondering if he would ever understand the dramatic highs and lows of his mate, not that it mattered. He didn't care if he never grew accustomed to her abruptly fluctuating emotions or not. As long as she didn't leave him, he'd accept anything she threw at him.

He wrapped his arms around her, uncaring of the pain tugging at him. He skimmed his hands along her back and legs, making sure that she remained unhurt.

She curled closer and a rumbling sound emerged from his chest as he purred his pleasure. He caressed her smooth thigh, wishing they were anywhere but a damp cave filled with Sídhí creatures.

Suddenly, she hissed and jerked away from him.

The pain of her rejection bloomed through him as he realized her worried reaction had only been an automatic response like that of a dog drooling when presented with a chunk of bloody liver.

_____________

Katie hissed, jerking away from Jared's embrace. What a complete idiot she was. How could she forget so quickly?

Her eyes scanned his face, but stopped there as a horrendous black feeling of rejection and grief slammed into her. The emotions hit her so hard she whimpered and clutched her chest. She lurched forward, cupping his face in her hands. She kissed him resoundingly on the lips.

“Stop that,”
she said in a hiss, but somehow his grief turned blacker, sharper. A feeling of hatred surged around her, but this time she knew nasty feeling wasn't aimed at her. Briefly, she wondered if it ever had been. The harsh emotion was a cloud of self-hatred Jared aimed at himself.

His eyes closed, wrinkles creased his forehead and he very formally said,
“Forgive me, Mia... Katie. If I could keep my pain from you I would, but the thought of losing you is killing me. When you pulled away...”

“I was checking you for injuries,”
she said in exasperation,
“not rejecting you. You are mine. I couldn't reject you if I tried.”

A huge surge of joy filled hope crashed through the lifeBond.

Her head snapped up, clicking her teeth together. She struggled to comprehend the extent of his feelings, but couldn't keep up as his joy and love and hope pulsed through her, merging as they came together completely destroying his despair.

“Most of the time your emotions are so off the charts they drive me nuts,”
Katie said, unable to stop the words. She ground to a halt, praying she hadn't hurt him anymore.

“They do?”
he said, surprised flickered through his dark blue eyes.

“Has mine been doing the same to you?”
she asked, tilting her head to one side watching his smile grow into a relieved grimace.

He nodded, gently curling his fingers around her hand. As if she was spun glass, he carefully rubbed his cheek against the palm of her hand. He looked into her eyes, holding her captive with his intense gaze.

His surface thoughts trickled toward her head, requesting entrance.

She shivered and opened her thoughts.

She didn’t have time to blink, before he wrapped a strong mental shield around the both of them, linking them deeply together.

His thoughts blended together with hers in a soft murmur, something she could listen to or put aside. A constant stream of possible ways to convince her how much he loved her rained through her mind. Worry over McClint house and how to convince her it was for the best, as did a constant stream of worry for her safety against the mites and condemning Alexander for dumping them as bait.

She smiled at him, her heart filling her face with blinding joy.

At her smile, he looked a bit dazed.

She chuckled at his reaction. His response never ceased to amaze her. That he thought she was beautiful was a blessing.

“Of course you're beautiful,”
he said with twitching lips,
“along with stubborn and headstrong and completely wrong about why I want you at McClint House. Ugh! If we'd shared our deeper thoughts sooner all this wouldn't have happened.”

“I don't understand,”
Katie said, swallowing a lump fear as the tightly held worry lodged in her throat. Just because they had their thoughts open to each other didn't mean she caught every single thought, especially Jared's. His mind had too many twists and turns. She simply couldn't keep up with his rapid internal monologue.

He pulled her into the crook of his arms, where he could still look into her face.

She snuggled against his warmth then stopped. She reached for his blood covered arm.
“How bad is it?”

“Not too bad, the stinger went through the top layer of flesh and some muscle. It bled worse than anything.”

She grunted.
“Skin, muscle and no fat?”

Jared's humor flashed across her mind. He kissed her forehead with a gentle touch of his lips.
“Leave it to my mate to knock my ego back a few notches.”

Katie chuckled, snuggling closer to him. The day had been filled with enough ups and downs to last several years, if not a life-time. She wouldn't stay at McClint Institution, but she accepted the fact that, as long as Jared was with her, she was willing to live in the mundane world away from his friends and family. She wouldn't like being shoved into a corner and she refused to curtail her life, but she would never leave him.