Night's Master

“No way.”



Cagin looked at me. “You staying or going?” he asked impatiently.



“Staying.”



For once, Rafe didn't waste time arguing with me.



“Be careful, you two,” Cagin said. Opening the door, he glanced up and down the hall before leaving the lab. The shifters moved out behind him, followed by the Vampires and the two men.



“What are we going to do?” I asked.



“Look for the formula to that damn serum.”



“Do you think it's here?”



“I don't know.” He checked the drawers to make sure nothing had been left behind. “Come on, let's check the rest of the building.”



I followed Rafe down the hallway. He stopped at each room along the way to peer inside. Most of them were empty; two contained cots, no doubt for the guards. A third was the room where I had been held. The last room was an office.



Rafe went inside, and I closed the door behind us. Several large metal filing cabinets lined one wall. They were locked, but that was no problem for Rafe. I stood lookout while he went through the drawers, pulling out the files that looked promising.



He had scanned a dozen or so when he said, “Got it!”



“Someone's coming.”



Folding the file in half, he shoved it under his shirt, closed the drawer of the cabinet, then grabbed me by the hand. “Shh, not a word.”



Pearl's voice. The sound of footsteps coming closer.



My heart was pounding a mile a minute when Pearl opened the door and stepped inside. To my amazement, she walked right by us as though we weren't there.



She rummaged around in the file cabinet a moment, muttered an oath that sounded even worse coming from a grandmother, and hurried out of the room.



“Come on,” Rafe said, “let's get out of here.”



“Why didn't she see us? Never mind, don't tell me. A little Vampire magic?”



“Right, let's go.”



I stayed close behind Rafe as he searched for the nearest exit. Twice, he stopped as men in white lab coats appeared in the hallway. Both times, the men walked past us as if we weren't there. A handy trick, I thought, surprised they couldn't hear my heart pounding.



We finally found a door that led outside.



“Where are we?” I asked.



Rafe shook his head. “Beats the hell out of me. Come on.”



We walked away from the lab until we came to a block wall that must have been twelve feet high.



“Now what?” I asked.



Before Rafe could answer, the wail of a siren split the air.



“Looks like they've discovered our absence,” Rafe said. He held out his hand. “Here, get on my back.”



“What?”



“Do it.”



Muttering, “This is a heck of a time for games,” I took his hand and he swung me around until I was riding piggyback. I choked back a shriek as he vaulted effortlessly over the wall.



He landed softly on the other side. I slid off his back, then fell into his arms when he turned around.



“You okay?” he asked.



“I guess so. I wish they'd turn that siren off. I feel like we're breaking out of prison.”



His teeth flashed in a smile. “Don't think we aren't.”



“Do you have any idea where we are?”



He glanced around, then lifted his head and sniffed the air. “We're in Clear Glen,” he said, “about fifty miles from home.”



I groaned. Fifty miles! Did he expect us to walk? I gasped in surprise when he lifted me off my feet and settled me on one hip, the way a mother might carry a child.



“What are you doing?”



“Going home the fastest way I know how.”



The next thing I knew, he was running, or maybe flying, through the night, so fast that, to my mortal eyes, the world was nothing but a blur.



In less time than it takes to tell, we were at Rafe's house.



My admiration for Vampire powers was growing by leaps and bounds.



“No one's here,” I said, and then realized that, unless Cagin and the others could fly, they couldn't possibly have arrived before we did. “What are we going to do now?”



“Destroy those vials,” Rafe said, “and hope that no one else knows how to make the damn stuff.”



“Do you think that's what Pearl was looking for in the office? The formula?”



“I don't know.” He removed the file from inside his shirt and tossed it on the coffee table. “I'm hoping they were too paranoid to give anyone else a copy.”



“Why didn't it kill Susie? It killed the other two.”



“I don't know. Maybe it doesn't have the same effect on males and females. Maybe it affected her differently because she hasn't been a Werewolf very long.” He ran his hands up and down my arms. “How do you feel?”



“I don't know. All right, I guess.” I stared at the raw, angry-looking skin on his face and neck. It must have hurt like the very devil. “What about you?”



“Same as always.” His gaze met mine. “Were you hoping it would make me mortal again?”



“I thought about it,” I admitted, “but I love you just the way you are.” I touched his cheek with my fingertips. “Does it hurt terribly?”



“More than you can imagine, but it'll heal.”



“How long will it take?”



“A few days, a week, maybe longer.” He took my hand in his and kissed my palm. “Stop worrying about me.”



“Somebody has to. How long do you think it will take for Cagin and the others to get here?”



“An hour or so. What do you say we wash away the stink of that place and change clothes?”



“I'd like that.”



Moments later, we were in Rafe's shower. For a few blessed minutes, as he washed me and I washed him, I forgot all about Pearl and Edna, until I washed Rafe's face. He flinched at my touch.



“Sorry. Would it help if you…you know?”



He nodded, his gaze intent upon my face.



“Do it, then,” I said, and tilted my head back, offering him my throat.



Murmuring my name, he bent his head over my neck. It was a remarkably erotic sensation, standing in his arms with the water sluicing over us while he drank from me.



He took only a little, then released me.



“That can't be enough,” I said.



“It will do, for now. I don't want to weaken you too much after what you've been through.”



“What about you? The silver restraints, the drug…how were you able to draw on your powers so quickly?”



“The silver has no after-effects. As for whatever drug they used, it wasn't long-lasting.”



“Neither was the serum,” I muttered, “unless it killed you.” Except for its lethal affect on the two Werewolves, the serum was a failure. Would Pearl and Edna try again? Would the Supernatural creatures give them a chance?



Rafe caressed my cheek with the back of his hand, and then he lifted his head, his nostrils flaring. “We'd best get dressed. They're almost here.”



Since I didn't have a change of clothes, I put on one of Rafe's T-shirts over my bra and panties, then slipped into his robe, belting it tightly at my waist.



He put on a T-shirt and a pair of sweats.



Five minutes later, there was a knock at the door.



“That'll be Cagin and the others,” Rafe said, and went to let them in.



The two humans came in first. They set the boxes on the coffee table, then stood there, silent and unmoving. It took me a minute to realize they were under some sort of spell.



Rafe frowned when the two Vampires entered his house. I wondered if he was annoyed because they hadn't asked permission, and then wondered why they hadn't. Perhaps the Undead only needed an invitation into the homes of the living.



Jennifer and the other male shape-shifter followed them. She looked at me, her eyes widening with recognition. “I know you,” she said. “The bookstore…”



I nodded.



Cagin came in last, carrying Susie in his arms. He sat on the sofa, cradling her against his chest. No one else sat down.



“Now what?” the male Vampire asked. He was a nice-looking kid, no more than twenty-two or twenty-three, with fine blond hair and sleepy blue eyes.



“How do you feel?” Rafe asked.



“Weak,” the male said, looking confused. “And hungry.”



Rafe's eyes narrowed. “Hungry? For what?”



“A chili dog and a Coke,” he said, and then frowned.



“What about you?” Rafe asked the female. She was a pretty little thing, with curly black hair and heavily-lashed brown eyes. She couldn't have been more than twenty or twenty-one at the most.



“I feel empty inside,” she said. “Just…empty.” She took hold of the male's hand. “Jimmy, I want to go home.”



Rafe regarded the two of them a moment. “How long have you two been Vampires?”



“Only a few weeks,” Jimmy said. “Gina was turned on our honeymoon. I asked her to bring me across the next night.”



Rafe grunted softly. “I don't think you're Vampires any longer.”



“Really?” Jimmy asked, his eyes wide. “You mean it worked?”



The girl smiled as if they had just won the lottery. “Human again!” She threw her arms around her husband.



He picked her up and swung her around in a circle, then drew her close to his side. They stood there, beaming at each other, no longer aware of the rest of us. So young, I thought, and so much in love.



Rafe turned toward the shape-shifters. “What are your names?”



“I'm Jennifer,” the girl said. “Jennifer Westover.”



“Gary Linden,” the man replied.



“How did the formula affect the two of you?” Rafe asked.



“It hurt and it made me a little dizzy,” Jennifer said, and Linden nodded in agreement.



“What about you?” Rafe asked, speaking to Cagin.