Darlings of Darkness: A Vampire Anthology Part 145

Even that kind of life was better than dying like this poor guy beside him. He glanced over at the third man who appeared to be out cold or drugged. He was considerably younger than the dead guy. Mid-thirties maybe? And in good shape. Not fat with a beer gut like Jared's uncle. Good thing. When he woke up, this guy could help him get out of here. Although, if their captors were vampires he knew there'd be no fight. They were stronger and meaner...with inherent skills and strengths that humans lacked.

According to what he knew, vampires and humans had coexisted for a long time. That's what he'd been taught in school. Apparently not everyone had been doing that so peacefully.

He'd heard the rumors the same as everyone. The stories were the stuff of legends. Ancient legends. Some of those older vampires had been set to wipe out humans...or keep them as cattle. He vaguely remembered the name Moltere. He was the bada.s.s behind that mess, according to his history teacher.

Vampires didn't age like humans and centuries-old tales were the norm for such long-lived creatures. Animals. That's what they were. This just proved it.

As the night cooled, Jared fell into an uneasy sleep, caught between a captive and a corpse.

CHAPTER THREE.

Tessa stepped into the parking lot. Instinct took her between a large black SUV and a fancier white version an Escalade.

Recognition slammed into her as she studied the two vehicles. That same familiar feeling surrounded the one for sure. The black vehicle a Nitro, according to the name on the side had been driven by one of the two men who'd attacked her. She strode to the back of it and committed the license plate to memory. She didn't know what could be done with the information, if anything, but had heard from her friends about running plates and such.

Studying the area around her, she saw small groups of people hashing over the same gossip. Nothing had changed. She tried to peer inside the vehicle on the off chance that Jared might be inside. The smoked windows hid everything inside. Even her vampire vision only showed the shadowy seats but not the s.p.a.ces between them. Frustrated, she didn't know what to do.

Surely someone would come back for the vehicles tonight? Then, she could follow them home. She believed Jared had to be stashed close by.

Groaning, she sat down on a cement block in front of the Nitro and buried her head in her arms. Approaching footsteps had her hunkering lower down.

"Come on. Time to leave." The first voice cut through the night air cleanly.

"I'm ready. Where to first?" The second guttural voice hung heavy, thick around her.

"Check on our guests then off to hunt." The first man's voice made Tessa's skin crawl.

The two men laughed and Tessa knew she'd never forget their voices ever. She slid lower behind the block, willing herself invisible.

"What about the female? Do you think we should track her down? Take care of her, too?"

"Nah. Chances are good she was too injured to be of any value. Besides, there was something weird about her, something off. And being female, she's probably ready for Bedlam now." He laughed. "Even if she did see something, who's going to believe her? Vampire uprising? Really."

Tessa shuffled further out of sight. Confronting these two bada.s.ses wasn't part of her plan. Too bad she didn't have someone to go with her when she tracked them. But her friends were limited to a few humans so not what she needed right now. She had to follow these a.s.sholes alone.

The white Escalade fired up, followed by the Nitro. Good to know the men were driving both vehicles. Tessa stayed huddled in a ball below the glare of headlights as first one, then the other reversed and headed out of the lot. She stood up and watched the direction they drove. Left. Away from town.

s.h.i.t.

Why hadn't she learned to glide? Oh right, because everyone had laughed at her so hard, she'd sworn never to try again. d.a.m.n it. She really wished she'd tried harder to learn. That skill would have come in handy right about now.

Her dad was a master glider. He moved so smoothly he floated through the sky. Cody and his father were flyers. Tessa could only manage a weird half-crab, half-jumping movement. She was gawky, looking like she was all limbs with no coordination. Sometimes she could hardly get off the ground. Still, for all her awkward style, she actually ate up a lot of mileage doing it her way.

Taking a running start, she jumped and landed on a fence pole. Not very high, but she hadn't wiped out or hung herself on the barbed wire. She made it to the top of a garage next, landing on all fours, as was her habit. She headed down the street behind the cars. The first vehicle turned left.

Keeping it in sight, by following the dust cloud behind it, she cut across a field, going from fence pole to telephone pole and the odd rooftop again to gain enough height for viewing vantage. Her knees slammed hard on the next rooftop and she d.a.m.n near banged her chin on the roofing tiles as she fell forward. She'd end up covered in bruises if she didn't get the hang of this quickly.

Taking a breather, she studied the area where the vehicles drove. It wasn't exactly the ritzy part of town. More like a middle cla.s.s area. Mostly human residences, not vampire accommodation. Except for one. At the far end.

Frowning, she watched as they drove into the large estate with an oversized mansion surrounded by trees and a black iron fence. The gated entrance closed and locked behind them. The mansion was barely distinguishable among the trees.

With effort, Tessa made it to the top of the neighboring house, groaning at yet another tumbled landing. Why had she worn boots with heels? And why the h.e.l.l hadn't she driven? Oh wait...she didn't have a license yet that's why.

She studied the layout in front of her. With such a large acreage, she couldn't get close enough to see in without actually going right up to the house. She also wouldn't be able to jump. The distance was too far.

Now what? Switching to her vampire vision, she watched as the men exited their vehicles and headed inside. At the back of the main house were several attached outbuildings and sheds. Jared could be in any one of them. And if he were, how would she get him out? This wasn't a one-person job.

She couldn't fly him out. And what if he were injured? Now she was back to the part where she could use a partner in this venture.

A heavy rustling sound filled the air.

Oh, s.h.i.t. Tessa cringed, waiting for her father's icy words to ground her for eternity.

"So, it was you."

Cody. She turned and glared at him, but his grin melted her anger. "Were you following me?"

"Of course. You fooled me once. Only I couldn't leave it alone. When I came back, you were skulking around the parking lot." His grin disappeared. "What are you playing at Tessa? You know what your father and your brothers are going to do to you when they find out, don't you?"

She tilted her chin defiantly. "Yes. My father made it clear what he thinks of me, so I'm not going to worry about his opinion now."

"He didn't mean it, Tessa. Your father takes his responsibilities very seriously."

She gasped. "So you were in the kitchen? I wondered. Not that it matters. He did mean it and more. He's just kept it hidden all these years. Now, he doesn't have to. There's nothing like having the truth out in the open." For all her attempts she couldn't quite keep the hurt and bitterness out of her voice.

At his concerned look, she raised her chin. She meant it. "Besides I'm not doing anything wrong," she said defiantly.

He glanced around. "What are you doing?"

"They drove in there." She motioned toward the mansion with her arm. "Both of the vampires that attacked me went into that house."

Stunned, he could only look from the mansion, to her and back again. "You found them? And tracked them here? Wait, I thought you couldn't recognize them?"

"I didn't think I could, but I 'smelled' them or something. I don't know what it was, but they were familiar. I searched the parking lot and felt that same thing, so I sat down and waited until someone arrived."

"Jesus, Tessa. Alone? Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?"

"Of course I do. I might be different, but I'm not stupid, Cody. They kidnapped my friend. Was I just supposed to sit by while everyone else makes a decision on his fate and most likely end up with no decision at that? Like h.e.l.l."

"Don't let your mom catch you saying that word," he warned jokingly.

His attempt to lighten the mood didn't work. She shot him a withering look.

"After tonight, do you really think swearing is something I need to be worried about?" She couldn't hold back a bitter laugh. "I've broken so many rules, one more won't make a difference."

She felt, more than saw, the waves of concern flowing off her brother's best friend. That was nice for a change, but it wouldn't help Jared.

"Look. You need to go home. Or something." She waved him off. "I don't know. Go do whatever vampires do at night."

At his incredulous look, she frowned. "What?"

"You can't just send me packing. I'm not going anywhere?" His wings tucked in and back, falling into place so smoothly they hardly showed. She'd always wanted wings. They either showed up at p.u.b.erty or they didn't. In her case they didn't. Her mother didn't have them either, but her grandfather did. Such were the genetics of a vampire at least vampires as they were today. Only a few carried the pure genes, like Cody's family. Everyone else was a blend of dominant vampire strains. Then there was Tessa, the oddity.

"You need to go back, Tessa."

"Too bad. I'm not leaving until I know if Jared is here."

He waved his arm in the direction of the house. "What? Do you think you can just waltz through the place and call out his name? If these are vampires, they've risked a lot to take your friend. They aren't going to care about a stupid girl who gets in their way." He ran his fingers through his tight jet black curls. "Look, I know you want to find him. Let's go tell your dad. He'll know what to do."

"No. He won't, because he won't believe me." She held out her hands. "I smelled them...or something. I don't quite understand that myself, but I did it. My father's not going to understand that I know what I'm talking about. Now if it had been you, then he'd marshal an army to support your cause. Not me. Not the damaged one." She smiled, bitterly. "He's more liable to pat me on my head and tell Mom to give me something so I sleep well tonight."

"Which doesn't change the fact that you can't walk into this scenario alone. That's nuts." He fisted his hands on his hips and glared at her.

She gave him a fat smile. "Except...I'm no longer alone."

The alarmed look he gave her make her chuckle. "What's the matter, Cody? Not ready to test your mettle against a full-on adult vampire yet?"

"Oh no you don't. I'm not falling for that ego trick. I don't know who you think you've tracked down in this house, but if this is an old vampire holding, then chances are you're looking at the home of one of the Council families, and that's suicidal."

She pursed her lips. That would make sense. Also helped to explain their brazen behavior. They didn't think they'd be caught, and if they were, they weren't afraid of the consequences. Figures.

And just like that, she'd had enough. "Look. You have a great future ahead of you. Don't mess it up. Go home. Forget you saw me. You won't get into trouble if you don't know anything." She surveyed the yard in front of her. "Me? Well, we know how little my future is going to matter to anyone. Jared, however, he deserves a future. And not as a vampire's pet," she finished bitterly. With that she jumped.

"Tessa," Cody hissed into the darkness.

Tessa ignored him. She had other things to worry about. Two other things. Both black and male and mean, standing guard and now growling at her.

s.h.i.t.

Dogs.

She jumped again and landed on one of the sheds. Out of biting range. The dogs barked and howled. If they brought someone out to check on the noise and found her...well, suffice it to say that wouldn't be pretty. Flexing her nails, she grinned in satisfaction as they grew several inches longer. Gazing at them critically, she realized the red color did look like blood. Good, because right about now she was looking to shed some.

Wings blocked the moon as Cody swooped down to the dogs' level. Within seconds the dogs lay on the ground. s.h.i.t. "What did you do to them?" She jumped down beside him and stared down at the poor things in horror. "Did you kill them?"

"They're just sleeping." He glanced over at the dark house. "I couldn't take the chance they'd alert anyone."

Cody and Tessa waited to see if any lights came on. The place remained in darkness. The a.s.sholes had probably gone to feed hopefully not on Jared. She shivered.

Jared jolted awake at the sound of heavy footsteps upstairs. They were back. Expecting to hear their boots on the stairs, he shrank lower against the wall. Cold settled deep inside his bones. He'd never felt anything like this. He waited, his empty stomach all but cramping in fear. No one came. He badly needed a drink and to take a leak. The other man slept on. Jared found himself wishing they'd drugged him, too. He didn't want to remember this ordeal.

Another weird sound. Dogs. Great. Even if he could escape his chains, he'd have to deal with the guard dogs. As he leaned his head back against the stone wall, hopelessness washed over him.

Another commotion sounded outside. He sat upright. Was that a voice? It almost sounded like Tessa. Impossible. His hearing was playing tricks on him.

Exhaustion sat at the edge of his mind. He wanted to sleep, to get away from this reality. Only he didn't dare. He might never wake up.

Most of his body had gone numb from sitting on the hard surface, and the rest of him ached. His jeans and T-shirt offered little protection against the cold night air. He glanced at the corpse chained to his other side and shuddered. If he lived through this, he'd have a h.e.l.l of tale to tell his kids. He thought about that for a moment, then realized that if he lived through this, there's no way he'd ever tell his kids.

They'd never sleep again.

CHAPTER FOUR.

Tessa hunkered down low to the ground, hidden behind the long line of poplars edging the property as Cody went in for a closer look. She'd protested being left behind until Cody pulled the Mom card on her that he'd never be able to explain to her mom why he'd let her accompany him. She couldn't argue with that.

The longer she'd studied the house, the stronger her sense of knowing grew. Jared was somewhere on the property. She looked around and decided to check out the sheds and outbuilding while she waited for Cody to return.

She slipped inside the first outbuilding. Empty. She circled it anyway and looked for stairs, hidden doors or rooms. Then she moved on to the next building. This one appeared to be a storage unit. Boxes and containers filled every square inch, or so it appeared. She studied the level of dust and the jammed boxes. Everything appeared deserted. Forgotten. She couldn't sense anything bigger than a mouse.

Back out in the night, the dogs still slept and Cody had yet to return. What if he couldn't?

No, Cody had some serious skills at least according to David. It would take a lot for someone to get the drop on him.

"Psst."

He just didn't have much cla.s.s. Sighing humorously, Tessa watched Cody land in front of her. His graceful controlled landing made her instantly jealous.

"There's no sign of anything unusual going on."

"No, of course not. Why would there be? It's not like they're going to advertise that they've kidnapped humans." She studied the huge stone mansion. "The captives are most likely downstairs," she said slowly, eyeing the foundation, the lowest level.

"Whoa. You're not going into the house. If you're determined to take this further, we go back to our parents and let them go to the Council. The elders will determine the best course of action."

Tessa stared at him in disbelief. Everything about the night had taken on a surreal appearance. She was at the right location, where Jared was being held, with someone who could actually help her and he wanted to go for their parents? No knight riding to the rescue here.

Then he'd been raised by the old belief that vampires don't go against vampires without just cause. She didn't think she could come up with enough evidence to prove her case.

She snagged his arm, willing him to listen. "At the least we have to find out if Jared is here."

"No. No way." He pulled away and turned, prepared to leave.