Blood Born (41 page)

Useful information was scattered within the rambling, like rubies hidden in a pile of worthless stones. Names, numbers, places … She knew when those meaningful tidbits came, because she felt a surge of energy in Luca. One name in particular—Jonas—gave him a heavy jolt.

The day dragged. Ahron would occasionally look at her and smile, but it wasn’t a friendly grin. It was more of a “Hello, dinner,” expression of pleasure, as if he were sitting there wondering how she’d taste. Chloe knew hours had passed because she was so hungry her stomach had begun to growl. She placed her hand over her stomach and pressed down in an effort to still the protest. She didn’t think Ahron needed to be reminded of hunger in any way.

The strange creature eventually seemed to forget that he had guests. He left his chair, sat before his computer, turned it on and, talking to himself as if he were alone, began to write his blog.

Luca took Chloe’s arm and led her toward the door. “I’d hoped to be able to leave you here while I—”

“No,” she snapped before he had a chance to finish. “You can’t leave me here.”

“No, I can’t. Ahron seems to be aligned in some way with the rebels.”

“That, and given half a chance he’d
eat
me.”

Luca looked as if he wanted to smile, but this was not funny. His humor didn’t last long. “I don’t know of a safe place to leave you while I hunt the rebels. Ahron mentioned Jonas, and, unfortunately, Jonas is the most talented of all the trackers.” He shoved his hand through his hair. “I’ve worked with Jonas. I can’t believe he’d go over to the rebels, that isn’t his style, but I have to accept what Ahron said.”

She didn’t like it. At all. So, what else was new? She didn’t want to be involved in this vampire, warrior, human war, with the humans getting the raw end of the deal. But she was here, smack-dab in the middle of it all. There was only one solution, one logical choice.

“Take me with you.”

It was fully dark when they drove away from Ahron’s hideout. Chloe had never been so glad to escape from anyone, or anything, in her life. That’s what leaving Ahron behind felt like: blessed escape. Luca didn’t say much as he drove directly to the closest airport, parked in long-term parking, then rented a minivan, which was all the rental company had available for last-minute pickup. Though Luca was definitely not a minivan guy, he didn’t complain. He handed over his fake ID and took possession of the vehicle, loaded their luggage into the back, then took the fastest route to the interstate.

“Can’t you be tracked by your credit card?” she asked. She was so tired she felt punch drunk.

He glanced at her and smiled, but there was no real humor on his face. Talking to Ahron had not put Luca in a good mood. “You’re assuming the Council or anyone else knows all my identities.”

All?
“How many do you have?”

“More than enough.”

“If no one remembers you after you’re out of sight, then why bother to have so many …”

“Just a precaution,” he said absently. “These days you can’t sneeze without a driver’s license. Having several IDs
simply makes things … easier. In case we’re spotted, we’ll switch cars as often as we change hotel rooms, from here on out.”

They drove back into D.C., traffic picking up as they neared the center of the city. Luca seemed to know where he was going. If he had a specific destination in mind thanks to something Ahron had said, or his own abilities, he didn’t say so. She didn’t ask. They were both quiet.

The clock on the dashboard read three-twenty when Luca drove into an exclusive neighborhood, where the houses were huge and set very far apart. Chloe stared out of the passenger window, on alert and also entranced. Good thing they weren’t driving her car; it would stick out like a sore thumb here. The minivan wasn’t a lot better, but at least it didn’t chug and shudder and make weird noises. These were estates, with gated drives and security cameras and enough lights to illuminate a small city. Her high school hadn’t been as big as some of these houses.

“Somehow I expected Sorin and his buds would be in a warehouse like Ahron’s, with no windows, no lights, maybe a few chains for their prisoners.” Their food. Yuck. But then again, she’d been food for Luca several times now, and she not only hadn’t minded, she’d enjoyed it. Maybe chains weren’t always required.

As they drove past one estate with a perfectly manicured and massive lawn, a three-story redbrick mansion at the end of a long drive and a couple of very impressive cars near the front entrance, a sharp, raw sensation ran through her veins and she knew that was it. Her entire body shuddered, and she couldn’t catch her breath. Luca had picked up on some energy, and she was feeling the backlash. The minivan slowed, then he steadily drove past.

“He’s in there, isn’t he?” she asked.

“Yes. How did you know?”

“I felt it. I felt your reaction to it. It’s brighter than the others, too,” she said, “and the sight of it makes me feel cold to the bone. Basically, I just know.”

“You’re right,” he said, not sounding all that happy about the news.

“It’s the bonding thing, I guess. You recognize the place, so I do, too,” she said, her eyes on the tall, wrought-iron gates. They were standing open, maybe because vampires came and went with regularity, maybe because they weren’t at all afraid of intruders. Any robber who tried to hit that house would be in for a big surprise.

Luca rubbed his face, looking perturbed. “The bonding links us, so, yes, you’d know if I’m upset or happy or horny. It shouldn’t let you
see
energy.”

“Well, it does.” Her voice was a little sharp. If he didn’t have an explanation, she sure as hell didn’t.

Luca kept driving, because, hello, to stop directly in front of a vampire hideout and walk up to the front door wouldn’t be smart. He parked a half mile or so away, on a side street where the homes were slightly smaller and less impressive, though still amazing. After a moment, he got out of the minivan.

“Are you nuts?” she asked as he closed his door. A little spying from the car she could agree to, but anything more at this point was crazy. Luca didn’t say anything, just circled the van and opened her door like a gentleman—or a madman, because she wasn’t going anywhere. She gave him a stubborn look and stayed where she was. “I thought we were just scouting things out, getting the lay of the land. We can’t just walk in and start introducing ourselves!”

“I need to see more, and you know damn well I can’t leave you here alone.” He offered his steady hand to her.

After a moment’s hesitation, she unlatched her seat belt and took the offered hand. “Crap,” she muttered. “I’ll have you know I’m not entirely happy about this.”

“I realize that.” Of course he did.

“Shouldn’t I have a weapon or something?”

“You have me.”

Well, that was the truth.

“I meant like a gun, maybe.”

“Tonight is just for recon. When we attack, I’ll see that you’re properly armed.”

Attack? They were going to attack? Chloe gulped. She was in this of her own free will, as far as she knew, and still the thought of attacking a house full of vampires gave her pause. She was determined, not stupid.

They walked down the sidewalk, which was deserted at this time of morning. There were hours to go until sunrise. The humans in the neighborhood should all be asleep, while the vampires were at their peak. Did the people around here realize, at a gut-instinct level, that there were some among them who were different? Not just different, but dangerous? Man, she’d love to be a fly on the wall at their homeowner association meetings.

Luca walked fast, but not so fast that she couldn’t keep up. She could tell his mind was elsewhere, just as she could feel the energy emanating off of him, almost as if he were buzzing with power. She was a little surprised he didn’t glow in the dark—like Ahron’s eyes. Instinctively, she shuddered at the memory. Was she ever going to get that face out of her head?

“Why are you here?” she asked, her voice soft out of respect for the night.

“Because I refuse to sit back and wait for Sorin to attack again.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” Luca was many things; dense wasn’t one of them. “My reasons
are pretty simple. They want me dead, and they’re threatening my world and everyone in it. But you … why?”

He sighed. “A victory for the vampires would be the beginning of a war that would never end. Humans don’t break easily, not even when fighting means death. If vampires come out into the open more humans will be turned, but a lot more will die. It’ll be a blood bath, literally. The result isn’t good for anyone, vampire or human. And if too many humans die, well, it’s stupid to kill off your food source.”

She scowled; it really pissed her off to be referred to as a
food source
. “So choosing to help me was a purely logical decision.”

He paused, then said, “Not purely logical. Don’t talk anymore; we’re getting too close to the house.”

They were still over a block away. She started to argue that no one at the house could possibly hear them, but she caught herself in time. These were vampires they were trying to sneak up on; they had super sight, super hearing, super speed—hell, super everything. Nothing got past Luca, she knew that much. She nodded, saving her other questions for later.

Walking in complete silence at such an early hour of the morning gave Chloe a decidedly creepy sensation. Once, just a few days ago, she’d enjoyed her quiet walks home from the Metro, in the early hours. Since Enoch’s attack, she definitely worried about things that went bump in the night. Something rustled in the bushes to their left, and she moved closer to Luca. He didn’t seem concerned, so she assumed it was a cat or something; she didn’t care, so long as it was a night creature that didn’t want to kill her and suck out all her blood. Or was that backward? Maybe they sucked out all the blood first and
then
killed.

With every step they took, she felt an increased anxiety,
an instinctive warning to turn and run. Instead she took Luca’s hand. He wrapped his fingers around her hand, holding her close. The heat and strength of his grip offered comfort, and safety.

They were still well away from the mansion when he stopped, studying, listening. From here they couldn’t see anything of the house except a piece of the roof. Tall, old trees surrounded the house on all sides, shielding it, protecting it from prying eyes. That might have been one of the reasons this particular house had been selected.

Tugging on her hand, Luca led her to a wrought-iron gate leading to the house next door to the mansion. The gate was locked, but he waved his hand and the gate popped open. Just like that.

She’d have to tell him later that he’d make a great thief, if he wanted to change careers. That thought made her wonder about what sorts of jobs he’d held in the past however long he’d been alive. For all she knew he’d been a thief at one time or another. The possibilities were truly endless. When they were safely away from here, she was going to find out how old he was; no more running from it. Yes, she might feel completely inadequate after she found out, but knowing was better than guessing.

It was dark in the neighbor’s garden—or what had once been a garden. The land was untended, littered with dry, dead plants and tall grass. Did being so close to the vampires next door cause the vegetation to wither, or were the neighbors just too cheap to hire a gardener? This was a bad location for a garden, even Chloe knew that. The surrounding tall trees would block the sun. And why hadn’t the neighborhood association done something about this neglected lawn?

The house was dark; either everyone there was asleep, or else they’d bolted long ago, listening to their instincts to get far, far away.

Luca released her hand. She missed the touch but kept quiet. He moved silently toward the well-lit house on the other side of the tall wrought-iron fence. How close did he intend to get? What could the two of them do against an unknown number of vampires?

He moved into the shadows, and she lost sight of him. She stood there, abruptly terrified, then she felt him reach for her with his mind and she knew what to do. Closing her eyes, she focused on him and could feel him plainly, see him as well as if he were standing beside her. He wasn’t that far away, anyway. He was beside the fence; he’d stopped, too, and now that she was okay he closed his eyes, took a slow, even breath, and went entirely still.

Chloe hugged her arms, finding the warm night suddenly chilly. If she moved closer to Luca she’d make all kinds of noise; being around him made her feel clumsy, all because she was human. She also knew she needed to stop thinking, because her mental chatter might distract him.

She calmed herself, blanking her mind, leaving only a small thread of connection so he’d know she was all right. She couldn’t have said how she knew to do that, she just did it. As she did, her senses seemed to open up more, the night becoming full of noises she had never heard before. She felt something inside her go still and quiet, and in that quiet screamed the voice from her dreams:

“Run!”

The warning was too late. She knew it, felt them coming, and instead of running, which would have separated her from Luca, she leapt toward him, closing the distance between them faster than she’d thought possible. With the suddenness that still surprised her, even though it shouldn’t have, three vampires seemed to lunge out of the sky to surround her and Luca; the
fence was behind them, the three vampires—two men and a very tall woman—in front of them. They had nowhere to go. At least, Chloe didn’t. Luca could fly, she thought. He could get out of here. He was a blood born, he was probably faster and stronger than these three.
“Go,”
she whispered to him in her mind. She didn’t know if the bond between them extended to actual words, so she wished him gone as hard as she could wish. He would fight for her, one against three, and he’d be killed—all for nothing, because then they’d kill her, too. Better that Luca lived, than that neither of them did.