Chapter 3
David held my hand as the plane took off and I tried to control my nervous twitching. I wasn’t sure if it was my first plane trip or his fingers intertwined with mine that was making me so nervous. Clay was across the aisle, and I sat between them, thinking I was less likely to panic if I wasn’t in a window seat. In my pocket was my emergency medicine cabinet, but I clung to David and focused on the pressure of his hand, while Clay distracted me from the shaking and bouncing with his easy conversation.
Even with their support, and a few trips to the lavatory to splash cold water on my face and practice my shielding, I was still a wobbly mess when we deplaned. I had to fight the urge to kiss the dirty concrete when my feet hit the ground. I felt for the pill in my pocket, grateful that I’d managed not to use it. It had been so long since I’d had to take anything for my anxiety and I was starting to think I might finally have the tools not to need them anymore.
We passed a trash bin on the way to the luggage carousels, and I dropped the pill inside of it. A wave of panic swept over me, but quickly passed, and when I caught up to the guys and our luggage, I was still smiling. Clayton got the keys to the rental car and before I knew it we were heading down a palm tree lined drive. We came to a large iron gate that closed in the exclusive resort we’d saved, begged, and borrowed to be able to afford.
David showed the guard our reservations and he opened the gates. The excitement in the Jeep was palpable. It only increased when the first hit of salty ocean air filled my lungs, and I was sure the bikinis that the guys found themselves surrounded by didn’t hurt their mood at all. We had a suite; the guys in one room on two queens, me in the lock off on a king. I teased them about the advantages of being the only girl, and they came back with a refusal to let me lock the door.
I laughed, but secretly I was happy it meant that neither of them would be bringing anyone back to their room; I was okay with that. David was the first in his swimsuit and he ordered me downstairs as soon as I had put my things away. Clayton paused in my doorway on his way out, his ultra-pale Irish skin making me smile.
“Hey, good job on that plane ride, miss anxiety,” he teased. “Proud of you.” I blushed as my grin split my face. I had ridden on an airplane, and done it without any medicine. I was in a new state, in a strange room, without an adult in sight to run to if things went south. My heart pounded and my hands shook as I pulled out the swimsuit that I had let Simi talk me into buying. It was the tiniest thing I’d ever seen, the hot pink fabric shaping to my chest in triangles so small I looked like I had a chest.
The bottoms weren’t much better so I wrapped my sarong around my hips and paced my room for ten minutes before working up the courage to go down to the pool with the guys. I put on the large brimmed hat I’d bought on impulse and left the room. Down the wide marble stairs at the salt water infinity pool I knew I’d find the guys, flirting with girls who thought they had money.
I saw them before they saw me, but David’s eyes followed me as I rounded the pool and sat down next to them. The look of sheer shock that flitted across his face thrilled me, but the one that followed made me grateful I was already sitting. His brown eyes went almost black as they filled with something I’d never seen from any man before. It was dark and possessive and so utterly masculine that my throat closed off and my face and neck crimsoned.
“Woah, Caroline,” Clayton blurted. “Like, damn, girl!” He gave a low whistle and I laughed and shook my head.
“I can always count on you to make me feel less nervous, Clay,” I laughed. “Thank God you’re here. I’d probably be depressed otherwise, when I got home and no one noticed me.” He arched his eyebrows at me.
“Fat chance, honey. Don’t worry, we won’t let anybody carry you off to be their sex slave.” I gasped and stammered.
“I’m going for a swim. You guys are really something else.” I poked Clayton in the ribs as I passed him, then handed him my hat as an afterthought. “You better have put on sunscreen, or the hunters are going to think we brought home our very own sun-roasted vampire by the time we leave.” David chuckled and tossed Clay the sun block that had been laying on the table between the chaise lounges. Clay complained that he had no one to apply it, but just as I held out my hand for the tube of lotion, David stepped between us.
I couldn’t see David’s face, but Clay’s went pale, then sunburn red, in an instant. His jaw clenched and his hands fisted at his sides, but like a flash, it was over, and I was left wondering if I’d imagined it. I would’ve written off his sudden change of mood if the guys hadn’t been clashing more frequently than I’d noticed before. I took David by the hand and pulled him to the side of the pool.
“Whatever is going on between you guys, you need to get it figured out, David,” I cautioned him. “Clayton and I are your friends. Don’t push us away.”
“Clayton and I, huh? It used to be you and me then him, remember?”
“Not likely I’d forget, David. But, I made room for him, even though it made me jealous sometimes.” He scoffed. “No, really,” I continued, “You guys can talk about stuff and have things in common that make me feel left out. Whatever you think he’s done, or said, let it go. He’s your friend. He’d kill for you, dumbass.”
David rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. He nodded and waved to get Clay’s attention. I should’ve known that he was up to no good, because he agreed so quickly. But, it was still a complete shock when the ground disappeared from under my feet. I hit the water with a shriek and surfaced to the sight of both guys clutching their sides, laughing. I sank to the bottom and launched myself straight up like I was roof running, and grabbed David’s shoulder and Clay’s shorts. Their faces changed from mocking to shock as I pulled them into the water on top of me, submerging us all.
When we had recovered, we hung on the edge of the pool near the snack bar. It wasn’t long before we found another girl to make us a foursome and played chicken in the middle of the pool. I sat on David’s shoulders, and the redhead on Clay’s. Despite being in the water, it wasn’t long before I was completely parched, and asked David if he’d come with me to get drinks.
“Clay actually offered to buy this round,” David replied.
“True story, Caroline, let me grab my wallet.” Clay came back with his wallet and my hat and we walked to the bar. I listened while Clay pointed out the tropical flora that the resort had put in, which didn’t belong in the area. He was well-versed in herbology. I’d never thought of how that information could matter outside of the all-important salves that hunters used to prevent vampires from using glamor and clouding their minds. I was impressed and told him so, and laughed as he blushed.
“It’s just me, Clay, I can admit to you that you’re good at stuff,” I teased. He smiled, but didn’t say anything in response. He bought fruity drinks for me and the redhead, Tracy, and beers for himself and David. It seemed that whatever had gone on between the guys had passed, and I tried to let go of the sensation that there was another shoe about to drop.
Tracy was with her older siblings and their families. She was happy to tag along with us to avoid becoming the nanny to her nieces and nephews. I was grateful for one more reason to avoid mentioning hunter-things and to just relax. Clayton was like a puppy, serving her hand and foot and buying her lunch, plus all her drinks. She kept watching David, but I chalked it up to his unidentified talent and ignored it. After all, he was almost as generous with me as Clay was with his new friend.
We agreed to meet up with Tracy for a late supper and dancing at the club on the resort. We went to our rooms to relax, check in with our respective responsible parental-types, and wash off the salt. The sun was already low in the sky when we walked down to the garden to meet Tracy. I felt a chill down my spine that had nothing to do with the temperature, and everything to do with the recognition that when that golden orb disappeared, the monsters would come out to play. I’d been at the Venatores school for so long, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d stopped to enjoy a sunset, instead of fearing them.
I’d felt confident in my little black dress, until we met up with Tracy and another girl she’d brought with her. Both were dressed to the nines, more skin showing than covered. I felt frumpy in my short black strappy dress and sandals. Tracy still had eyes for David, and I suppressed my usual twinge of jealousy and irritation when she brushed up against him and batted her eyelashes. I was sure David would never hurt Clay by encouraging her, and she would be gone in a day or two anyway.
The restaurant was busy, so we were encouraged to sit at the bar while we waited. We filed into the narrow bar area, with me on one side of David; Tracy on the other, and Clay sandwiched between the two girls. On another day, I would’ve made a joke about how lucky they both were. Her persistent attention toward David and her inattention to Clay were getting under my skin.
When I saw her hand on David’s thigh, my kettle reached the boiling point!! I felt hot rage rise in me like steam, ready to pour out of my mouth if I didn’t keep it closed. I grabbed David’s arm and forced him to turn towards me, making her hand fall away.
“What the hell are you doing, David?” I hissed at him, trying to keep my voice low enough to avoid a scene. “You know Clay likes her! You know that you can have any girl you want! Why can’t you just once, just one damn time, tell someone ‘no’, and have a little integrity?”
“Seriously? You’re going to do this here?” He jerked his arm out of my grasp.
“I’m not doing anything. I’m asking you not to do this to your friend.” I looked at him, but hardly recognized the petulant, selfish boy in front of me.
“Okay, you want me to say ‘no’. I get it,” he paused and glanced over his shoulder at Tracy, then faced me and looked me in the eyes. “No, Caroline. You need to let me go and understand that you and I aren’t here for a romantic getaway. Go find yourself a nice guy, no one is stopping you.” I felt cold. The color drained from my face and I felt lightheaded. I imagined knocking him from his barstool with a stiff right to his jaw, but instead, took a deep breath.
“I hope she’s worth it, David,” I murmured, leaning in so he could hear me. “I can’t help but wonder what you’re going to do when you get home, without the friends you left with. Are you sure that her attention, her liking you, is really worth losing the two people who always have your back?” I slid off the barstool and stormed away without waiting for a response. I was too angry and hurt to pay attention to the niggling fear that still sat between my shoulder blades.
Unfortunately, as every hunter worth their salt knows, anger is a great way to lose focus. It’s the one emotion that causes more stupid choices and deaths to our kind than any other outside factor. But I wasn’t a hunter yet. I rushed headlong through the garden of tropical flowers, trying to find the shortest path to my room.
I strayed from the path and almost instantly stepped on a loose stone that kicked my already injured knee out at a bad angle. I cried out in pain and fell hard, sitting in the dirt, in the dark. I cursed David and my knee and the stupid idea to take a vacation in the first place.
“What a great first day of vacation,” I said aloud to myself.
“Are you talking to me?” replied a thickly accented voice far too close behind me. I whipped my head around, but could only see the silhouettes of flowers and palm trees on a canvas of shadows. My pulse sped up and I swallowed past a lump in my throat. “No, sorry, I was talking to myself. I tripped. Have a good night!” I called out lamely. The darkness shifted when I looked back over my shoulder. My stomach clenched and heaved. Something was there that didn’t want to be seen.
“You shouldn’t be out here in the dark alone. Let me walk you to your hotel.” The voice was closer, but no matter where I looked, no one was there. Fear crept up my spine as psychic power poured over me. This wasn’t like Lady Borgia’s power, that I felt inside my head. The power I felt now made me blind to whatever it was I felt breathing on my face.
“I am a student of the Venatores Lamiae. You will hear from them, if you touch me,” I gasped.
“Venatores,” the voice in the darkness scoffed. “What use do they have for pretty, tiny creatures like you?”
There was a whoosh of air and a disembodied hand grabbed my throat, squeezing tightly enough that I could choke out raspy whispers, but not scream for help. An earthy smell of sweat and mold and decay filled my nose and I struggled harder, to no avail.
The monster held my throat and pinned me to his chest, his clawed hand over my heart, as though we were lovers. I trembled and he sighed, his foul breath moving my hair. In my last conscious moment I felt his papery, dry lips on my temple. Sheer terror swept through my mind as I threw up my psychic shields, my last defense against the evil that overcame me.