Cold Blooded

“Where?” I asked, immediately at attention, scanning the trees. The moon was out, but it was cloudy, which made it harder to see.

“It looked like two people, but then they were gone before I could see what they were doing.”

I squinted. “I don’t see anything.”

“The only reason I haven’t sped off in the other direction is because they weren’t focused on us, and it could’ve been two humans.”

“If they were humans, we’d still see them bumbling around.” I leaned forward in my seat, still searching.

“Maybe they were apparitions.”

I raised my eyebrows, turning to him. “Are you talking about ghosts? I’ve never seen one, but that seems highly unlikely. You know, all we need to do is open a window and scent the area.” I was sick of this hermetically sealed car. It was time to make a break. “We’re getting out anyway. Let’s see who’s here and then we can decide what to do.”

“Let me straighten the wheels out first,” Rourke answered, resigned.

The hairs on my arms started to rise to attention. “Hurry,” I said. “I’m starting to feel something.” Otherness was seeping through the witch’s spell on the car. Every supernatural had the ability to detect the other. I had no idea how it worked, I was just happy it did.

“I can feel it, too, but it’s muddled in here.”

“I’m cracking the window,” I said as Rourke put the car into park. “You ready?”

He’d angled us into a semisheltered place on the side of the road. “Fine, but I’m keeping my foot on the gas pedal, so don’t get any ideas about leaving until we find out what’s going—”

My window went down less than a centimeter and I knew who was out there and so did Rourke.

I flung my door open before anything else could register.

“Naomi! We’re here!” I yelled as I ran headlong into the forest.

6

I slowed to a jog, turning my head from side to side trying to search for Naomi’s scent trail.

“Jesus Christ, you can’t keep doing that,” Rourke growled, running up alongside me. “In the future, I’m going to have to shackle you to my wrist with some spelled handcuffs.”

My wolf barked at the word “handcuffs,” but I was too preoccupied. I stopped and inhaled as I spun in a slow circle. “Why isn’t she here?” Then I picked up a new scent. It was familiar, yet changed. I grabbed on to Rourke’s sleeve. “Do you smell that?” I started running again. “Naomi!” I called. “Where are you?”

Rourke moved behind me, keeping pace with me easily. “He smells pissed off.”

“I know.” Ray’s signature had changed, but he still smelled like his usual malice. But I guess that was to be expected. At least we knew he had survived the transformation. Ray was going to be angry whether he lived or died. He always smelled pissed off. Now he just smelled like a pissed-off vampire.

We both jogged farther into the forest, into thicker tree cover, our noses finally leading us in the right direction. We covered a mile in a few minutes, running parallel to the river, heading toward the sulfur. Their scents were stronger here, even though the sulfur was doing its best to interfere.

“There’s a break in the trees.” Rourke pointed. “Let me go first.”

“Let’s go together.” I slowed next to him. “I’m not breakable china.”

Rourke snorted as his hand shot around my wrist, bringing us to a stop. “Just be prepared for the worst. He smells lethal.”

I tried to steel myself. Get ready, I told my wolf. This is going to be ugly. “If Naomi was forced to bring him here early, there must have been major complications. It’s lucky we arrived when we did.”

“There’s a possibility something went wrong with the transformation process,” Rourke said.

I didn’t want to think about that.

I was ultimately responsible. I’d made a split-second decision to let Naomi try to save Ray’s life. My logic had been if Ray didn’t want to be a vampire, we could end his life again. But this way he had a choice. In the end, I felt I owed him something. For all his orneriness, he had begun to accept us, to understand there was something different in the world. He had tried to help me and had his throat torn out for his efforts.

I hoped I’d made the right choice.

Rourke and I crept through a natural parting in the trees and entered a small clearing right by the stream’s edge.

“Ma Reine, it’s good to see you again,” Naomi said as she moved forward. “I’m sorry I could not come out to meet you. I could not leave him alone, even for a minute.”

I was shocked by her appearance.

But I was even more shocked by the scene in front of me.

Chains rattled as an angry voice ripped through the air. “Nice of you to join the party, Hannon. Glad you could finally pencil us in. Do you like what you see?” His irises shot silver one beat before a blanket of cruel black cascaded over them completely, leaving no white. He looked feral. “This is your fault,” he accused. “You did this to me.”

“Ray,” I whispered.

“No, not Ray anymore.” He hissed, his fangs snapping down sharply, distorting his sneer. “Was this your plan all along? To make me into a freak? You wanted me to sign up for your cult from the very beginning. But then on the road you made me start to trust you. Hell, I even helped you. And this is my reward? I’m going to eat your intestines once I’m free. Do you hear me?” He raged against his chains, which were wrapped tightly around his chest. They held, but just barely. “I’ve got nothing better to do than hunt you down, Hannon. For a goddamn eternity!”

“I am sorry,” Naomi said, her head bowed, her hands crossed in front of her. “He has been … difficult to control.”

“I thought newborn vamps were fledglings? Shouldn’t he be concerned about where his next meal is coming from instead of exacting his vengeance on me?” Rourke paced over to the tree where Ray was chained. “I was under the impression new vampires were incoherent in the beginning.”

“He did not go through any of the normal stages.” Naomi shook her head, her soft French lilt barely above a whisper. “I do not understand it. He awoke in a rage. I was able to find these chains, but he breaks them often. He is weak, because he has refused to feed, and he cannot fly, so I am able to catch him when he … flees. But it has taken its toll. I had no choice but to come here. I had hoped you would come early, because I could not risk bringing him into a populated city to find you.”