was bound to lose. A vampire healed mainly in sleep. Now that his hunger was sated, his body demanded rest. He shifted his stance and listened again to the sounds of the night. Footsteps whispered, drawing ever closer.
He gripped the stakes tighter and switched to his vampire vision. The shadows retreated, and three fiery figures came into view. The fledglings, moving in fast.
Sweat rolled down his face. Under normal circumstances, these three would be little more than nuisances easily swatted away. But given his current condition, the pendulum had certainly swung their way.
Two went high, one went low. He stabbed wildly, striking one in the stomach rather than the heart. The fledgling screamed in agony, his flesh smoking where it touched the wood. White ash was best, but any wood was dangerous to vampires as young as these.
One tore into his good arm, the second into his leg. He kicked it away, almost unbalancing in the process, then thrust his arm backwards, smacking the fledgling feeding on it against the fence. It did little more than ripple the chain links. It certainly didn't dislodge the fledgling. Pain became a wall threatening to topple him. He hissed, flipped the stake, and thrust it into the youngster's chin and up, through flesh and bone and brain. The fledgling was dead before he fell.
Which still left two others. He grabbed the hair of one and flung him away, but the second grabbed his broken arm and twisted it. White-hot lances of fire flashed through his brain, and a scream was ripped from his throat. He dropped to his knees, unable to stand, unable to do anything. Barely even conscious.
The fledgling's touch disappeared. This is it, he thought. This is the end. Nikki's image swam through his mind, and a bitter taste invaded his mouth. After three hundred years of emptiness, fate could have allowed him a little more time for happiness…
No attack came. Through the haze of agony he thought he heard the sound of fighting, but it might have just been the roaring in his ears. He stayed on his knees for what seemed like hours, fighting unconsciousness and waiting for death.
Hands touched him. Hands that were warm and smelled vaguely of cinnamon and vanilla. Wishful thinking, surely. With the link out of action and his psychic gifts blocked by drugs, she had no way of finding him so quickly.
'Michael?' Her voice was soft, edgy, as if she were crying. 'Can you hear me?'
God, was there a sweeter sound on this Earth? He wanted to wake up to those tones for the rest of his days…
'You have to stay with me,' she pleaded. 'I'm here alone, and you're too heavy to lift.'
'Why?' His voice came out little more than a hoarse whisper, and even the effort of that one word had his head swimming.
Her laugh had a brittle sound to it. 'Always questioning my decisions, even at a time like this.'
It wasn't his intention to question her actions. He'd just wanted to know where Jake was. He couldn't force his eyes open, but he reached out, running his fingers down her cheek. It was as wet as his.
She leaned into his touch for a second, then her lips pressed into his palm. 'No time for details,' she continued softly. Power surged, and the chains rattled as they dropped from his wrists. 'We have to get you somewhere safe. You ready to move?'
He wouldn't be ready to move for at least several hours. But he couldn't stay here, either. Farmer would find him all too easily.
Might even be searching for him now. He would have felt the fledglings die.
'Not… hotel,' he said. It was the second place Farmer would come looking for him.
'No.' She shifted, her arm slipping under his. 'Ready?'
He nodded. There was little else he could do. She counted to three then thrust upwards. He helped the best he could, but the pain became a wall of agony that rushed through his body. His breath left in a hiss of air, and sweat rolled down his spine and legs. More drips ran past his fingers. Or maybe that was blood. The fledglings had torn into his battered flesh, so anything was possible.
'The limo isn't far away. You think you can walk?'
What other choice did he have? She couldn't carry him kinetically—it would drain her energy to a point where she'd be defenseless should Farmer attack. She shifted her grip, her shoulder sliding under his good arm. Together, they stumbled forward.
But her version of not very far away and his seemed to be vastly different. They'd barely moved ten feet, and the night was little more than a dizzy blur. His breath was a desperate gasp of air and his muscles were liquid heat, barely able to support his weight. If it wasn't for Nikki, he would have fallen.
Her breathing was as sharp as his, and the smell of her sweat and fear stung the night air. He wanted to comfort her, to tell her he'd be all right after an hour or so of sleep. But the words stuck in his mouth, refusing to pass his battered lips. Footsteps hurriedly approached, then another set of hands grabbed him, carefully easing him into the car.
'You'll have to take him to the hospital, Miss.'
The voice was male, one he didn't recognize.
'No. It's not safe there for him at the moment.'
'But his arm will need attention, and he's lost a lot of blood—' 'I'm a nurse.' Her voice held a steely determination, indicating she was barely controlling her anger. 'I can take care of him. Please, just get us to the boat as quickly as you can.'
The driver's grunt wasn't exactly a sound of agreement. A door slammed shut, then Nikki's scent surround him. He breathed deeply the sweet smell and allowed himself to relax a little. The need to sleep was almost overwhelming, but he refused to give in to it just yet. A moist cloth touched his face, gently wiping the muck and blood away. He forced open his good eye.
Her amber eyes were bright with tears. 'You're a goddamn mess.'
He would have smiled if it didn't hurt so much. 'Yeah.' Even that one word hurt, but he couldn't leave it there when there were questions that had to be answered. 'Jake?'
Tears washed her amber eyes, trickled down her cheeks. He raised a hand, thumbing them gently away.
Something bad had obviously happened in his absence—though surely not to Jake. She'd be in a worse state than this if it was.
She dunked the cloth into water and gently wiped his mouth. 'Mary's dead.' Her voice was flat, but the drugs blocking his psychic abilities had to be fading because her pain was a tide of agony that overwhelmed anything he was feeling.
He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. She buried her face against his chest, her tears searing his skin. He held her while she sobbed, offering her no words of comfort simply because there were none that could ever erase such pain. Only time could dim it.
After a few minutes, he croaked, 'How?'
She sniffed and pulled away from his touch. 'He snatched her from the airport. I guess we have to be thankful it was relatively quick. He cut out her tongue so she couldn't scream, then he drank her dry.'
She hesitated, swallowing heavily. 'Jake's with the police at the moment. He'll meet us at the boat when he can.'
'Why… boat?'
She shrugged. 'It belongs to a friend of Jake's. And we knew we couldn't risk leaving either of you at the hotel.'
He nodded. If Farmer hadn't already discovered his escape, he soon would. And the hotel was the first place he'd look. Unless, of course, he'd reached out to Nikki. He might even now be tracking their movements. 'The charm?'
'Arrived earlier this evening.' She shoved up her sleeve, revealing the coin-entwined rope charm. 'When I'm wearing it, Farmer has no sense of me.'
He frowned. 'How do you know?'
She hesitated, her gaze suddenly evasive. 'Long story. I'll tell you when you regain some strength.'
'Nikki—' She placed a gentle finger against his bruised lips. 'Now is not the time for arguments or lectures.
Besides, we're here.'
