Max

From behind them, the skittering of rocks across rocks resonated through the cave. Max kept his breathing and steps as quiet as possible while they felt their way steadily on through the darkness blanketing them. They’d caught up with the girl. The only reason he knew that was because he’d felt the brush of her breasts against his arm when she’d stepped into him a few hundred feet back.

No light pierced this deep into the caves, and to start a torch may be guaranteed death, but to continue blindly feeling their way along could also get them killed or, at the very least, lost. His heart pounded in his chest as he tried not to think about the possibility there might be a sudden drop off somewhere ahead. The cool rocks were rough beneath his fingers as he felt along their surface. He edged his foot cautiously forward as he felt ahead of him in the hopes he would feel a drop off before plummeting to his death.

Sweat beaded his brow, but he kept himself outwardly as composed as possible. Years of training had taught him that remaining calm was the only way to survive, while inwardly he fought the instinct to run. Death lay in running blindly ahead.

The girl’s small hand touched his forearm when she leaned into him. The warmth of her breath tickled his ear and neck when she spoke, “This way.”

She gave a subtle tug on his hand. He grasped hold of Daniel on his right before seizing Timber before him. It was only their shallow breaths and their body heat that let him know where they were.

They followed his movement down a side tunnel. After a hundred feet, Max couldn’t walk straight anymore and had to turn sideways in order to continue. Never one for claustrophobia, he couldn’t help but feel a little squished as the jagged rocks scraped against his chest and back. He had no idea how Timber was making it through this crevice without becoming wedged between the walls, but the heat of his friend’s arm remained against his side. Daniel brought up the rear of the pack.

Not being able to see the rock brushing against his nose only made him want to run more. The blood rushed through his ears as he strained to hear anything of their hunters over his heartbeat, but the cave they’d left behind remained undisturbed.

Then, the walls gave way and a rush of cool, fresh air wafted around him. Max inhaled a gulping breath when he was able to walk straight again. Specks of light filtered through here and there, illuminating the walls around him and the woman before him.

Tipping his head back, he realized they had left the caves behind and were now in a hollow beneath the earth. Massive tree roots intertwined through the ground above them, holding the trees up despite the lack of dirt beneath them, but it was only a matter of time before nature took over and the trees lost their battle for life.

Glancing behind him, he strained to hear any sign of pursuit, but slipping into that narrow passageway seemed to have thrown the vamps off their trail. The girl continued onward, leading them further beneath more tree roots until they arrived at a rounded hollow created by water that had worn away the dirt over the years. It only went three feet beneath the earth before dead-ending.

She crept to the end and turned to settle in the shadows. Max frowned as he searched their surroundings. He ran his hands over the cool dirt, inhaling its rich scent as he sought some other way out, but he found nothing within the roots and earth surrounding him.

Kneeling beside the girl, he hissed in her ear, “It’s a dead end.”

In the light filtering through the roots, her cerulean blue eyes stood out starkly against her pale skin and black hair. “I know,” she whispered.

“Why would you bring us into a dead end?” he demanded as Timber and Daniel crept closer.

“Because the cave dead-ends too, or at least the direction we were going dead-ends,” she replied. “At least here we will hear and see them coming. We will be able to attack them before they can enter here and we can climb out through the roots if we must. Besides, the chances of them finding the crevice to lead them here are slim to none. I’ve hidden here before.”

Max’s teeth ground together. If she was telling the truth, she’d been right to bring them here. If? He saw no reason why she would lie to him, but he hadn’t lived this long by not being cautious.

Daniel stepped forward and craned his neck to peer up at the thick roots twining down from above. “We can make it through them if we must,” he agreed. “Timber, come with me. We’ll listen for the vampires if they come this way. Max stay here and watch above.”

Daniel and Timber cautiously crept back across the cavern beneath the roots and to the jagged crevice in the wall. They took a position along the sides of the rock walls to wait for any possible attack.

“What are you doing here?” the girl inquired, drawing Max’s attention back to her.

She’d pulled her legs up against her chest and hugged them to her slim frame. He guessed her to be no more than five feet tall. She was delicate looking with her slender hands, a ski-slope nose, and pouty lips. When she turned to face him completely, he saw a scar running down the right side of her face, but he couldn’t see the extent of it through the dark.

“We are meeting with some friends,” he replied. “What are you doing here?”

She shrugged and rested her chin on her knees. “I live here.”

“In this cave?”

“Sometimes. Sometimes I live in the forest.”

“Who do you live with?”

“Friends.”

Her words made him take a closer look at her. She knew the caves well. She was elusive and had been nearly silent when she’d run at them from the woods. “You were a rebel,” he guessed.

“Aren’t we all a little bit of a rebel?”

He couldn’t stop himself from smiling at her. “Some are. Some are simply surviving.”

“And which are you?” she inquired.

“I’ve rebelled every step of the way.”

“There’s something coming again with the vampires. Something’s not right. That’s why they chased me in here. They’re hunting humans again.”

“I know. We’re preparing for it.”

Her head tilted as she studied him, seeming to try to decide if she could trust him or not. He glanced toward Daniel, knowing that he could gain the woman’s trust by revealing who Daniel was, but he wasn’t certain if he could trust her with the knowledge yet. She had been fleeing from the vamps, but he wasn’t taking any chances with his best friend’s life.

“Have you been to one of the new locations?” she inquired nonchalantly.

Max’s eyes slid back to her. “Yes. Have you?”

Her eyes ran over him again. “Perhaps.”

Smart, cautious girl.

“Then you will know how much airier they are than these caves,” he replied. Her lips clamped together. Max watched her closely but no emotion played over her pretty, dirt-streaked face.

“Very airy,” she said and turned away from him.

Were they both playing with each other, or had she really not been to one of the safe houses?

Before he could try and figure out the answer to that question, the earth around them began to shake. Bits of dirt and debris rained down from above. Darkness and moonlight flickered through the holes in the roots when figures moved over them from above. The jingle of saddles drifted through the air as horse’s hooves thudded over the ground.

Max snatched hold of the girl’s arm, holding her back when she craned her head to peer up. She shot him an irritated look and tried to jerk her arm free, but he kept hold of her. He couldn’t take the risk of her accidentally giving away their location. Beneath his hand, her wiry muscles bunched and flexed, but she remained unmoving.

He held his breath as more dirt fell through the holes and the ground around them vibrated with every step the horse’s took. Across the way, Daniel and Timber flattened themselves against the rock wall and watched as shadows danced over the holes in the trees above them.

Then, light slid back through the holes as the horses rode on. “The vampires after you, were they on horseback?” Max inquired of the girl when he was certain it was safe to talk again.

“No,” she whispered.

He looked across the way to Timber and Daniel. They wouldn’t be able to move on now, not until they had an idea of where the vamps who had chased them in here were.

“There have been a lot of vampires in this area recently. Far more than usual,” she said.

Max looked back to her. “Do you know why?”

“No.”

They were close to the cave where they had left Jack and Braith. Had the vampires realized Braith was somewhere in the area and were searching for him? The possibility chilled him. They had to get out of here and get to Jack as soon as they could—if it wasn’t already too late for Jack, Braith, and Hannah.

***

Jack

Jack let the blood from the coyote he’d caught drip into Braith’s mouth, which he’d propped open for this purpose. To him, it was such a morbid thing to do, yet everyday he caught more animals and brought them to his brother. He was feeding him more than Braith would have required if he were still alive, but he figured it took a lot to come back from the dead.

He had to leave the caves to hunt the animals now as the ones within had either already been captured or they’d fled. He hated going above and taking the risk of exposing them, but there was no other choice.

As he fed Braith the blood, he studied his brother. Despite the passing of time, Braith looked no different than he had over a week ago. His body wasn’t decomposing as their father’s had, or as any other normal vampire would be by now. His skin was still as pale as snow and his lips colorless, but they were the same hue they’d been when he’d first died. Jack didn’t know if Braith’s eyes were still cloudy; he’d finally gotten them to stay closed. He couldn’t bring himself to look into their unseeing depths anymore.

Maybe this lack of decomposition would happen with every vampire who died and was given blood afterward, but he doubted it. This was something more than normal; he just wasn’t sure what yet, and he refused to get his hopes up.

Jack didn’t like doing this, but he wouldn’t stop until he knew for certain if Braith would rise again or not. Draining the last drop from the animal, he rose back to his feet.

Hannah watched him as he walked across the cavern and into one of the tunnels. She remained behind when he opened the gate and returned to the surface with the animal carcass. Running through the woods, he traveled a mile before discarding the remains. His gaze lifted to the sky and the fading stars as the night crept toward dawn. The fresh air felt good against his skin, but he couldn’t remain here.

Turning away, he sped back to the dank tunnels and plunged inside, eager to return to Hannah and assure himself she was safe. If he never set foot in a cave again for the rest of his life when this was over, he would be perfectly content with that. He’d done fine amongst these caves when he’d been a renegade from his father’s rule. Now, he despised every dark turn, mineral scent, and rock in the damn thing.

He opened the gate again and closed it behind him before rejoining Hannah in the main cavern. As the days wore on, her skin became paler, more like the ivory complexion it had been when he’d first met her, and less of the golden hue it had become since she’d started venturing into the sun.

She’d also taken to staying further and further away from Braith’s body. She didn’t complain about their conditions or their current situation, but he could tell that it wore on her. He’d promised her a better life, and so far, he was failing her. She’d been kept away from the sun that would destroy her without his blood for most of her life. She’d finally found a measure of freedom, and now she was being locked away again.

Walking across the cavern, he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her into his arms. She kissed his neck as he carried her up the rocks to one of the tunnels above. “We’ll leave here soon,” he promised her.

“Will we be able to?” she asked. “We can’t leave Braith here, and it seems nothing is safe anymore.”

“Nothing is right now, but it will be again,” he promised.

She rested her hand against his cheek. He found himself mesmerized by her jade eyes as she studied him. “If it’s not, I want you to know these months with you have been the best of my life.”

“There will be many more,” he grated through his teeth, refusing to think of the possibility that there may not be much time left for them.

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “There will be.”

He placed her on the thick furs and blankets he’d set out as bedding for them. Kicking off his shoes, he crawled onto the furs to join her. He’d gotten little sleep over the past week and would get little again now, but she had to rest and she was unable to do so without him beside her.

Running his hands over her back, he massaged the tight muscles he uncovered there until he worked them loose and she released a blissful sigh. Jack brushed her silken hair back from her neck to expose the bite marks he’d left on her this morning. A thrill of possession went through him as he pulled her closer against his chest.

She was settling against him when he heard the faintest click from one of the tunnels below. He rolled Hannah to the side before leaping to his feet. Snatching two of the stakes from the supply he kept stashed near their bedding, he hurried to the end of the tunnel and looked out on the cavern below him. From here he couldn’t see Braith’s body, but he had a good view of the rest of the cavern. Nothing moved and the only sound he heard was the crackling fire on the torch he’d left below.

“Stay here,” he said to Hannah sharply when she came up behind him.

“Jack…”

He didn’t wait to hear what she had to say as he rested his hand on the rock closest to him and leapt over it. He scurried over and around the rocks as he made his way steadily downward, his gaze constantly darting over the cave around him while he listened for another sound. Moving around another set of rocks, he spotted Braith where he had left him.

Another sound brought his attention to the tunnel beyond Braith, the one he had just used to return to the caves. Something clicked before scraping across rock. Jack’s lips skimmed back to reveal his fangs as he made his way toward the tunnel.

His gaze went to where Hannah was making her way toward him. He held his hand up and shook his head at her. Stay, he mouthed and she glared at him.

Poking his head around the corner and into the tunnel, he listened for more noise. Nothing sounded within the shadows, but he could feel something in the darkness, waiting for him. He glanced back at Hannah to make sure she remained a safe distance from the tunnel.

He wouldn’t allow anything to happen to her. He didn’t care who, or how many beings he had to destroy to keep her safe, he would do it. Ducking around the corner, he steadily crept toward the closed gate. Little light penetrated this area, but he didn’t return for the torch, it would only give him away to whoever remained hidden beyond the gate.

Had he missed something when he’d gone above again? Had there been a spy somewhere that he hadn’t seen or scented? It would be possible if they were good and stayed downwind of him, but he’d been so careful with every move he’d made in and out of these caves.

Jack reached the bend in the tunnel. Pressing his back against the wall, he slid down until he was sitting on his haunches. Another click caused him to freeze as he strained to hear anything more.

Have the others returned? Even as he thought it, he knew they hadn’t. They would have opened the gate and come in.

No, it was not his friends in the shadows beyond, hunting them.

He poked his head around the corner, careful to expose as little of himself as he could to any arrows that might come his way.

He froze, and his hands tightened on the stakes when he saw what waited for him there.