Chapter Nine
Susan clutched the lantern handle tightly. “I—I don’t know. The only thing I know for certain is I’m not staying with the Payami.” And that she wasn’t staying another minute in the maze. She’d never been afraid of the dark until she discovered monsters truly did exist.
Sorin loomed well over her head in his feral form. The tips of his ears brushed the tunnel ceilings when he stood straight. At the moment, he leaned forward as he held Benic against the wall with one huge hand. His fur shone silver in the lantern’s soft yellow light. If not for the teeth and claws, he would have been magnificent.
The vampire struggled in his grasp but didn’t budge the shifter’s arm an inch. It said much for Sorin’s strength, but did little for Susan’s desire to follow him home. A shiver ran up her spine. What if he didn’t keep his word and treated her worse than the Payami? She couldn’t fight him. “Whatever I decide, we need to go. Benic, please, show us the way?”
His eyebrows rose at her plea. “Very well, but if you choose him I get little out of this deal.”
A small noise of frustration escaped her. She couldn’t hear any sounds of pursuit yet she knew it wouldn’t be too long before she did. Every second wasted meant a better chance at her being caught once more and possibly turned over to Ahote. “What do you want, then?”
Benic smiled. “Your blood, of course.”
She covered the V-neck opening of her blouse with Sorin’s leather kilt and swallowed. “Of course.”
“No.” Sorin shook his head. “I won’t allow you to feed from her.” He twisted his head to meet her stare. “Apisi do not feed vampires. Not willingly.”
His amber glare pierced her with its intensity, and she gave a small gasp. “But I’m not Apisi.”
He rolled his eyes, and she barely contained a hysterical giggle at the familiar gesture. Was he claiming her as pack? A day ago that would have meant nothing, but tonight it meant survival.
Benic cleared his throat. “If you’d ease off my neck a little…” His voice sounded strained, and he cleared his throat again. “So I can speak easier.”
A growl rolled from Sorin as he set the vampire back on his feet, yet kept a firm grip on him.
“I never said feed. I simply want a sample of your blood to study.” He pointed to a small satchel hanging from his shoulder. “May I?”
Sorin nodded.
Benic opened it and searched inside. He extracted a small glass vial.
Susan’s gaze traveled from the vampire wearing a chainmail shirt and well-worked leather, and who spoke of studying her blood as if he were a scientist, to Sorin in his feral form, who offered a place in his pack.
Not long ago she’d had noplace to go in this dimension; now she had too many options. None of that would matter if the Payami caught them in these tunnels. She rolled up her sleeve and offered her arm.
Sorin shook his head, yet released the vampire.
Sorrow in the shifter’s eyes made her hesitate and clench her hand. “I’m not feeding him, Sorin, and it will get us out of here. So stop looking at me like that.” He had no right to make her feel guilty, and he didn’t have any claim on her. By pack laws, Ahote had more rights to her, apparently.
“You will choose to follow him.” Sorin nodded toward Benic before crossing his arms over his wide chest.
Maybe. She needed to consider her future. Living with a pack of shifters in the wild didn’t hold a strong allure.
Moving with supernatural speed, Benic grabbed her wrist before she could change her mind. Something sharp stung her fingertip. She yelped and struggled in his grasp, but taking her blood was finished as quickly as it had begun. She hugged her hand to her chest.
Benic held the vial, with a pointed, needle-like end, filled with her blood, in his hand.
Susan tried to swallow but the tight constriction in her throat prevented it. “How will you study it?” She forced her arms to relax at her sides. The speed Benic had used to grab her was inhuman, and her brain still skipped in a what-the-fuck mode. What wouldn’t the US Military do to have that kind of speed? It only reinforced her decision to destroy DOUG.
“I’ll compare it to the others I’ve collected from species all over Eorthe.”
“You study blood that much?” Susan asked.
Benic shrugged. “It’s only natural.”
The muscles in her legs clenched, preparing to sprint. However, she took a deep breath and held his gaze. Fear would only kill her. She didn’t need Kele to tell her about controlling it. On Earth, she’d had to deal with corporate predators who had wanted to consume her soul. This wasn’t much different from Benic’s desires.
She pointed to the vial. “It will clot.” She watched the ruby liquid roll back and forth. The needle he’d used appeared clean, but that didn’t count for much. Things like HIV and hepatitis B or C couldn’t be seen. If she got ill she was screwed.
Benic grinned. “You’re familiar with blood.”
“Like I said, I’m a scientist. I’ve studied biology.” Her theories about dimensional gateways required knowledge of organic material that could travel through the Gate, such as humans. She had needed knowledge on cell function so she wouldn’t turn people inside out.
“The vial is laced with a serum that keeps it fresh.” Benic capped it with a cork and pressed on her wound with his thumb to stop the bleeding. “If what you tell me is true about your origins, have you given some thought as to where all the other humans are on Eorthe?”
A shudder traveled through Susan’s body. “I haven’t had time.” Yeah, what had happened to them all? She stared at the predators in front of her. Maybe the humans had been dinner. “What’s your theory?”
He grimaced. “Nothing yet. Are you sure the portal closed?”
“No, I’m not sure of anything.” Her heavy heart weighed so much it wouldn’t surprise her if it tore from her chest and landed in her gut. She’d never see home again. All her dreams, her studies and her work were for nothing. She’d wasted her whole life to end up some creature’s plaything until he grew bored and killed her.
A tender touch on the chin snapped her out of her pity party, and a rough finger turned her until she faced Sorin.
His ears were fanned out now as he tilted his head. “You have no pack or—or people close by?”
“No.” She could barely whisper the response through the pain in her throat. Sorin didn’t know her full story, and she lacked the strength to retell it. Not unless she wanted to cry like a babe in front of them. She tore her chin from his grip. “We done? Can we get out of here?”
Lifting his arm, Benic dangled something white and rectangular from his hand.
Susan gasped and stepped closer. “My ID badge.”
He held it in the light so her picture was visible. “I believe your amazing story. I think we could help each other. Once we’ve escaped these tunnels you’ll need to choose to stay with one of us. Give me the light.” He took the lantern from her hand before she could react. “We’ll go in this direction.”
Sorin blocked his way. “How can I trust you to lead us the right way and not back to the Payami?”
Susan paused her steps as she unrolled her sleeve and waited for Benic’s answer. She hadn’t thought this through. The vampire could bring them right back to the den instead of the dead volcano’s exit.
“You can’t.” The vampire shrugged and walked around the massive shifter. “But I want Susan to return with me, and what better opportunity to convince her than now. I don’t want her back in Payami hands any more than you do. If Chaska suspects my interest, she may kill her out of spite.”
Susan stared at Benic’s retreating back. “Kill me?” That crazy bitch would probably do it. She had to get out of this maze and off Payami land. Quickening her steps, she raced to follow Benic while Sorin brought up the rear.
“If you’d found the main exit, your escape would have been ended. They post many guards around the cave leading into the mountain.” Benic turned left into a smaller tunnel.
Sorin snorted. “That explains why there weren’t any guards posted inside the den.” The silver shifter stayed close behind her, almost stepping on her heels. “How do you propose we get by them? I’m weak from hanging on the chains all day. I might be able to take care of three of them.”
She stumbled, but Sorin caught her by the elbows before she hit the ground. “Watch your step.” He spoke softly and righted her. She’d forgotten about the chains. His arms and shoulders must ache terribly from the abuse, but he didn’t show any signs of discomfort. Here she’d been only worried about her safety. What would they do to him if they were caught again?
“Thank you.” She continued following the vampire.
Benic scanned two separate tunnels before choosing the one on the right. “This way. We won’t exit through the guarded entrance. I know of another entrance the Payami have forgotten.” Benic glanced over his shoulder and winked at her. “Sometimes a long lifespan is useful. I’ve outlived anyone who’s known about this passage.”
Her mind spun. “How old are you?” Were any of the myths about vampires true? Could garlic or wooden stakes work to destroy them? It seemed too easy.
“I’m over three hundred years old. I remember dealing with your great-great-great grandfather, Sorin. When he first split off from his pack in the far south and brought some of them here to live.”
The shifter growled. “He had to pay quite a price for that privilege. You asked for three daughters of the pack, isn’t that right?”
Benic’s steps slowed. “Yes, land can’t be free.” He sent Sorin a hard look. “I’m not a benefactor.”
“No, you’re not.” Sorin touched her shoulder and slowed his steps to match hers. He leaned by her ear, his breath warming her skin. “Remember that, Susan. Nothing a vampire offers is free.”
Shots of flaming electricity ran through her arm where he’d laid his hand. She rubbed the area and nodded. She couldn’t trust anyone. Not even Sorin. Her heart cried to believe him, but God, could she be anymore naïve?
Everyone wanted her for their own agenda. She needed to decide what was best for her. Going with Benic made more sense. He had what this dimension offered as the best technology. If she had even a glimmer of a chance of finding a way home it would be with the vampires.
The tunnels grew narrower and lower until Sorin stooped to walk on all fours. She leaned against the wall and let him pass. He moved as naturally as he had on two legs. Graceful and deadly all rolled into one. His long arms and torso compensated for the length of his legs as he strode behind Benic.
He glanced at her over his shoulder. “If you’re tired you can ride on my back.”
Her jaw went slack. “Uh, okay. I’m fine for now.” His fur had felt silky and thick in her hand when he had led her through the dark. She couldn’t think of a better mattress. With a shake, she cleared her head of images of bare-chested Sorin storming into Kele’s room like her own personal hero, except heroes didn’t really exist. No matter how much she wished.
Fresh air breezed into the tunnel but the night masked the exit. She squinted to see past the lantern’s light and glimpsed a faint outline of the forest.
Benic stopped by the cave’s mouth and waited. “From here, we can be at my castle in a few hours.” He offered Susan his hand.
“It would be quicker if you traversed Temple lands to get through the forest.” Sorin returned to his feet and sniffed the night air. “We’re close. I can smell Inali’s boundary markings.”
Susan stared at Benic’s hand, still not sure what to do. Heart and brain warred with each other. The vampire gave off such strong predator vibes. Each time she met his gaze, she saw herself on the menu. How long before a vial of blood wasn’t enough? Sorin had told her not to trust him.
Susan had to agree. As an employee of Technocon, she’d met enough sleazebags to smell one a mile away. Benic reeked. He might come across all smiles and pleasantries, but underneath he calculated every move around him. Besides, who the hell asks to feed from a stranger? Her blood could poison him. Maybe she should have let him bite her…but that could be even worse. Then every vampire would want her destroyed.
Shit.
She bumped against something solid and jumped. Twisting, she met Sorin’s gaze. Unconsciously, she’d eased up next to him. Her body kept trying to tell her something but she repeatedly turned a deaf ear to it. Maybe she should take a shifter’s approach and listen to her instincts instead of her brain.
The shifter stepped around her, placing himself between her and Benic. His ears went back, and the fur on his shoulders rose once more. With a quick, one-two jab of his fists, Sorin punched Benic in the head.
On wobbly legs, Benic retreated. The lantern slipped from his fingers, and the flame extinguished. “Wha…” His mouth went slack, and he slid to the ground, limp.
She tried to shove the immobile shifter aside but had a better chance at moving a mountain. “Sorin! What are you doing?” Just a second ago she’d been about to agree to go with him and then he—he went feral on her.
Not answering, he picked her up under one arm like a sack of potatoes and carried her deeper into the dark woods.
She kicked and wiggled. “Let me go.”
“No.” He kept marching—as if she weighed nothing—over logs, across a stream and up a hill. Of all the pig-headed males, she’d almost picked him.
She poked him in the side, meeting iron-hard muscles, and twisted her knuckle into an awkward position. “Ouch. Are you planning to carry me all the way home?”
“Yes.”
The Temple’s silhouette came into view. A faint blue halo sent shadows flickering between the trees.
Sorin slowed until he stopped. “What magic is this?” Setting her down, he continued to stare at the Temple in awe. “Is that—”
As soon as her feet touched the ground, she geared her ass into full throttle and ran her little heart out. She’d know that shade of blue anywhere. She’d spent months staring at it. The gateway. It shouldn’t be open, but she didn’t give a shit. She’d take her chances and dive through if it was truly there. God, please let it really be open and not some dream. She tore over the uneven ground and through the dark at a suicidal pace.
Silence chased her through the night. She glanced back but didn’t see Sorin. Her heart bronco’d. He must be circling around, hiding in the trees.
The forest was his friend.
Not slowing, she raced past the Temple and turned the corner. The Gate shone a couple feet off the ground, except it flickered. She’d never seen it do that in her lab, but she didn’t have time to give a fuck. Theories and safety be damned. She was going home, grabbing a huge burger to-go and watching shitty TV all night.
With her momentum, she leaped toward the Gate.
A force, akin to a truck, struck her from the left side, and she crashed into the forest floor with enough power to knock the wind out of her. As she sucked in air, the Gate flickered a few feet away then vanished.
Sorin crawled into her line of sight. “I can’t let you go. Not yet.”
Tears blurred her vision, and she rolled onto her back. Her gasping breath masked the sob that escaped her aching chest. “Why?” The question wavered in the night air. “I want to go home, Sorin.”
He lay next to her on the damp ground. “I need your help.”
She rolled her head to gaze at his face. His ears drooped while he stared at the dead leaves they lay upon.
Her chest wanted to cave in with the strain of not crying. She sat up with his help and tried to breathe. “That might have been my last chance to go home.” Twisting around, she pressed her hands against his upper body and shoved.
He didn’t budge, and her hands slipped off his silken fur.
She tumbled into his arms and lay limp. “I don’t want to be here. You’ve ruined my life.”
A warm, moist tongue licked across her forehead and she froze. Sorin continued this odd act a few more licks. If he’d wanted to quiet her, it had worked. “It’s not my intention to ruin anything. But if I have to sacrifice your happiness to save those of my pack then I will, even though it tears me apart to cause you such pain.” He rose to his feet and gathered her limp body in his arms with a grunt.
She remained silent, watching the night swallow the Temple as Sorin marched away. Rubbing her cheek on his fur, she tried to find what little comfort she could. “Where are we going?”
“I’m taking you to your new home.”