Family Blood Ties: Vampire in Crisis Part 5

Nothing. It's not like that. I can open her memories when I need to but her energy, or maybe Hortran's, has somehow enhanced my own energy reading abilities.

Cody kept an eye on Tessa, hating the suspicious nature that made him second guess her actions, but he couldn't help but wonder if Tessa was Tessa or if that b.i.t.c.h had done something to her. Then again, a couple of weeks ago the s.h.i.t Tessa was doing before the Deanna scenario was way out there too.

Still, in those couple of weeks, he couldn't remember one time when she'd snapped at him.

She stood in front of him, her profile clear and crisp and...beautiful. She was stronger, more capable, and more beautiful than ever and he'd never been so concerned.

"I'm fine, you know," she said in a low voice.

"Are you? You've never used that tone of voice on anyone before."

She winced ever so slightly. If he hadn't been looking at her, he'd have missed it. As it was, he was glad to see it.

"I'm stressed," she said in a low voice. "I guess I'm not quite the same. Things don't look the same, they don't feel the same. My system has been placed under a huge load. It feels heavier when I take a step. It's harder to judge distances when I reach out and my voice..." she shrugged. "It doesn't modulate as easy as before."

He watched her, hearing the tunes of the old Tessa woven into the fabric of her voice. It was her. Just a Tessa that had once again been asked to do so much without any preparation and training, and like the same Tessa she was doing the best she could.

Instantly he felt ashamed. Who was he to criticize her? She'd been through so much. If she wanted to snap at him, she had every right to.

No, I don't. I don't want to ever have that right. I'm also so very tired and yet energized as if my system hasn't adjusted to the changes so different parts of me are running at different speeds.

That sounds horrible.

She laughed. It's definitely odd.

He slid an arm across her shoulders and tugged her up close.

She nestled in. He smiled. She was still his Tessa.

The rest? Well, he'd find out as time went along. As long as she was still here with him in heart and mind, he'd learn to deal with the rest.

Yes, you will, she said inside his mind. You won't get rid of me that easily.

He smiled. Now that was his Tessa.

Serus said, "See? What did I tell you?" He laughed at the look of amazement on his son's face. David stood at his side, studying his find in silence. He'd led them to the back of the room where Goran had been attacked and where he'd found this gem.

Goran's reaction was much stronger. "What the h.e.l.l is this?"

"I'm thinking it's a way in and out of this place that most people don't know about." Serus almost rubbed his hands together with glee. "Of course I don't know if the thing works or not."

He studied the big old metal elevator and the ancient panel that held the b.u.t.ton to summon it to their floor. The whole thing was hidden inside a cupboard. Maybe a closet was a better description, but it was d.a.m.n small and only held this big elevator. He couldn't resist. He reached out and pushed the b.u.t.ton.

Instantly the double doors opened.

"Ah h.e.l.l," Goran said, raising a hand to rub the top of his chin. "Did we let someone in on this floor without even knowing it? Is that how the guys who just attacked me got in?"

"It's possible, isn't it, Dad?" David stepped into the elevator and looked at the floors available. "It goes right to the roof. From the lower garage to the roof. One of the few elevators that gives the riders full access to the hospital."

"And hidden like it is, we'd have never known. The new arrivals could have mingled with the ones we released, and who'd be the wiser? The only vamps here were ones on our team or ones we rescued. We'd have a.s.sumed that every vamp we saw would be one of ours."

"You mean the only ones that we knew about. This changes everything."

"And what do we do about it now?"

"Set up a guard to keep an eye on the place."

"Sure, but we don't want anyone to know we found it, so whoever is guarding it has to do it in such a way as to not raise suspicions."

"Ha. Put them in a bed in the room outside the closet here and make it look like they are in a bad way and might not make it," Goran suggested. "Then someone won't care if they are seen or not."

"Or they might be tempted to take the guard out permanently."

"And won't they get a surprise."

The three men looked at each other, big grins on their faces. "Let's do it."

Rhia waited for Wendy and Sian to leave the room. They were both exhausted and needed to lie down. She was exhausted too but couldn't possibly sleep. Her mind churned with the events of the last few days. Her husband and their shaky mindspeak connection, her youngest son who she'd not seen since waking from her drugged stupor, her daughter who'd grown up while she wasn't looking, and then there was her firstborn and the reason she was going to work now. She had supposedly sent him off somewhere. It was the where that really bothered her. That she could have done such a thing in the first place was horrific. To think she'd done something to help those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds at the blood farm was something else again.

She had to get Seth back. The longer he was with them, the more entrenched into their way of life he'd become. She refused to believe that her son had willingly joined that group. He'd been raised right. He knew exactly where the family stood on such a major issue, and he'd been right there with them. That meant, like her, he'd been under the influence of their brainwashing and drugs.

She was the only one straddling the line between that experience and the one she should be experiencing. She was the only one that could understand what he was going through. She had to help him. Failure was not an option.

And that meant finding out what she'd done to him.

The only way she'd come up with so far was dangerous.

And so far from 'right' that she knew no one else would help her. But as she couldn't remember what she'd done while under the influence of the drugs, there was only one way to return to the state where she could access the memories.

Therefore, she had to get hold of the drugs and take a small dose hopefully putting her half in and half out of the state that she could remember what she needed to remember in order to save Seth.

And hope the others around her would understand.

But she doubted it.

Rhia? Serus snapped inside her mind. I can hear you worrying. Don't do anything dangerous. There is always another way.

No, she whispered. There isn't.

And she gently closed the door between her and her best friend and first and only love.

She'd never felt so alone. But it was the only way to right the wrongs she'd committed.

Jared stopped at the front entrance way to the school, Chelsea at his side. The parking lot was full of cars. There wasn't a soul around.

She continued to walk past him, lost in thought. Several steps on, she turned and looked back at him. "Are you coming?"

He really didn't want to be here. Finally, he nodded and said, "Yeah, it just feels...odd to be here."

"If you didn't skip as much, it wouldn't." She laughed. "Come on, we're late enough already."

He didn't think such a thing was possible, but he did want to finish his year and get out of here for good. He joined her at the bottom of the front steps. "I'll see you after last cla.s.s then?"

"Absolutely." At the top of the stairs, she opened the front doors and entered. He stepped in behind her. She walked straight down the hallway, calling back, "Find me if Taz gets back to you with news."

"Will do." He stood and watched her walk away. She was nice. Friendly and caring but not flirty. He liked that. In fact, he liked her.

With a happy smile, he turned to the left hallway and headed to his cla.s.s. He should be just in time for his lab.

The bell rang as he walked, confirming his a.s.sumption. Now if only the day would go by fast. He pulled out his phone to check if there was a message from Taz. None. And neither was there anything from anyone else.

d.a.m.n.

Ian woke with a start. He froze in place, listening for something off. Something that would tell him where he was and what was going on. Something had changed in his world, but he didn't know what. And he was so d.a.m.n tired he knew he was in a dangerous state. Anyone could have snuck up on him.

Looking around, he recognized one of the Council Hall rooms. He should be safe here.

Then again...none of them were safe anymore.

A movement rustled beside him. His breath caught in the back of his throat. He slowly turned his head.

Wendy lay curled up at his side. Sound asleep. Astonished, he could only watch in wonder as she snuffled, a tiny endearing sound that made his heart ache.

When had she returned to bed? They'd spent several hours together earlier then Sian had knocked, asking for a few moments of Wendy's time, and he'd fallen asleep while they spoke at the doorway. From the dark shadows under her eyes, he suspected she hadn't had much rest. Then again, given the time that he could see on the opposite wall, it was daylight and well past her bedtime.

They were safe and survived some horrific times already; that they were here together right now was precious. He slid down and wrapped his arms around her. She snuggled in close.

He closed his eyes and fell back asleep.

Jewel opened her eyes, gasped, and slammed them closed. Same bed. Same room. Same place. But what place?

She held still, waiting for the horrible memories to drain away. She'd slept, but not well. She knew she was alone in the bed as she could feel the edge on both sides. So a cot then. And d.a.m.n if that didn't remind her of the hospital room she'd been in. But David had found her and rescued her. Brought her back to Council Hall. She should still be there. She opened her eyes enough to peek under her lashes. It looked like a hospital room, but the Council Hall had similar rooms. She'd seen them years ago and often wondered why they'd be needed when vamps could heal themselves, but she'd been chastised for questioning the wisdom of the elders.

Now she hoped it was the same room. She didn't want to be anywhere else. She rolled over slowly as if still asleep and peered out.

She was alone.

Thank heavens for that.

The room, small and spa.r.s.ely furnished, was barely big enough for her needs. Not that she planned on staying. On a small table to side sat a pile of folded clothes. Her own clothes, now washed and dried and ready for her.

She sat up slowly, aware of a booming headache going on at the base of her skull. She had no idea why but had to consider an injury or worse, drugs.

She shoved back the sheet and swung her legs off the bed.

"Whoa," she whispered as the room spun. When gravity rea.s.serted itself, she slid to the floor and used the bed for support.

Why was she so weak? Then again, when had she fed last? Surely her body just needed sustenance. She walked slowly over to the small room at the side, relieved to find a bathroom. There were also toiletries. A further search found a small shower.

She smiled. Wouldn't that feel perfect right now? Her smile fell away. Except she was weak. She didn't want to fall and have to call for help to get out.

But the hot water would feel so good on her aching muscles. She studied the shower and realized that there were bars and supports as if intended for patients or the elderly. She couldn't think of one vamp that had ever been so weak as to need such things, but it made her feel better to think she might not be alone.

There were towels in a cupboard in the bedroom. She grabbed three. Was she the only female to use so many? She had one to stand on, one to wrap up her wet hair, and one to dry off with. She shrugged. So what? There were obviously laundry facilities here.

Standing under the hot water, she let the heat soak through her wings. They'd been so useless for weeks it almost felt normal to not move them, but she wanted that sense of freedom back. She needed it. If she'd had the full use of her wings a long time ago, she imagined she'd have been able to get herself out of trouble before this. Now with more drugs...

Tears clogged her eyes and throat at the fear that was sitting just inside. Always there, warring with hope that her wings would heal again. She hated being injured. Always had. But this was different. A break she could watch heal. A scratch or bruise took minutes to return to normal. Drugs though, they wrecked her body and played with her mind. She didn't even want to think about what they did to her emotions. She wished David had stayed with her. She really didn't want to be alone now.

Through the misery in her mind, she thought she heard a voice calling. She froze, staring at the door. Had she locked it?

She could feel herself readying for a fight to come. Pretty pathetic. A young sick female standing soaking wet and nude what was she going to do, throw water in their eyes?

Then her heart gasping in shock all the while her mind struggled to believe she felt her wings unfurl. And d.a.m.n if one, at her instinctive command, didn't wrap around to hide her slender form.

Chapter 4.

Tessa walked back along the hallway, a quiet audience behind her. She had no idea how the black energy was being transferred amongst the young men she'd saved. If she couldn't figure it out soon, the system could be repeated. She'd quickly lose control of who was on which side.

She spun around and looked back at the open window. There was a pooling of mixed energy sitting right there. Made sense. Anyone who needed a breath of fresh air would have been tempted to stand there.

Had the men been on the other side waiting for an unsuspecting dupe? If so, how had they administered the drugs? The canisters they'd held? If their canisters could be retrieved, the contents could be checked. She studied the turbulent mix of energies and realized the darkness, the original darkness, was thin and light and surrounded a much wider area than she'd suspected. From the looks of things, it had been turned into a deadly gas and sprayed on or around the men as they stood there much like perfume would have been.

The men likely never knew anything was wrong. An odd smell perhaps, but likely nothing more than that. So how many had been affected and how could she tell for sure?

Plus she needed to save the two affected men. If she could.

And why administer the drugs this way? Or was the enemy trying new methods to regain control of the hospital? Still, this would be an incredibly slow method. Just one or two men at a time. "Of course," she muttered, her gaze going to the large group still following her. "As a core sample, it's a h.e.l.l of a way to figure out whether this form of administration was effective or not."

"Administration of what?" Cody asked beside her.