Immortal Moon (3 page)

I opened my mouth, but before I could speak,
or even figure out what I was going to say, he hissed in my ear,
“Shh. They won’t be able to see us, just be quiet.”

I clamped my mouth shut, and then followed
suit with my eyes, since all I could see was a black shirt covered
chest. It was a struggle to keep my breath steady and quiet. I was
winded from the run, and there was little air under the cloak. With
each breath, I inhaled the scent of the man pressed against me. The
air grew hotter and thicker by the moment, or maybe it was just my
blood. My pulse raced and my skin tingled in ways that had nothing
to do with the dangerous thugs pursuing me, and everything to do
with the dangerous man protecting me.

Heavy thudding sounded on the stairs.

“Where did she go?” a gruff voice shouted
just a few feet behind Jarrett.

The breath caught in my throat. They were
ten or so feet away from us. How could they not see us? My body
stiffened, waiting, expecting one of them to spy us. Clenching my
fists, I prepared for battle. I wasn’t afraid of them with Jarrett
there to have my back. One against three was suicide, but two
against three, especially when one of the two was a bad-ass
vampire, were more even odds. Except, I was exhausted and wasn’t
sure just how long I would last. The only thing in my favor was
that the sailor I had beaten earlier had to be as tired and achy as
I was.

When the next shout came, it wasn’t to
reveal our poor hiding skills.

“Come on,” one of the sailors called from a
little farther away. “I think she went into that building. Stupid
little bitch.”

Jarrett’s arms tightened around me, holding
me still when I would have stepped around him to show that
meat-head what a stupid little bitch could do when she was pissed
off. Running footsteps sounded then faded away.

Jarrett stepped back. “They’re gone. We
should get out of here in case they decide to double back.”

I tried to ignore the fact that I suddenly
felt cold and bereft without his arms around me, despite the warmth
of the day. “What are you doing here? How did you know I was in
trouble? Why didn’t they see us?” The questions came out in rapid
fire succession, not giving him time to answer.

He laughed. “I’ll answer your twenty
questions as I walk you home.”

Bristling, my independent streak reared its
ugly head, but I tamped it down. I was tempted to tell him I was
capable of taking care of myself, but the truth was, it would be
wise to have the backup just in case the three thugs were smarter
than I thought. Besides, spending a few minutes with Jarrett
Campbell would be no hardship. My eyes scraped over his tall,
muscular frame. Heat suffused my body as the memory of the last
time I’d been caught between that body and a wall flitted through
my mind. I shook my head slightly to clear it.

“We should get going, then.” I hurried up
the narrow path between a red brick building and the concrete wall
of the bridge ramp with Jarrett on my heels. When we reached the
next street over, Jarrett grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him
as he surveyed the street. We were only a few feet away from the
second entrance to the slum building the sailors had gone into. If
they came out now, we would be in plain sight. But they were
nowhere to be seen. They were either searching the upper floors or
had been chased out the other side.

“Looks like the coast is clear. I don’t want
to take any chances, though. Let’s get out of here.” Before he
finished the sentence, Jarrett’s hand slid down my arm to capture
my hand. He started across the street, pulling me behind him. We
quickly weaved in and out of the traffic of rickshaws and ox-carts.
On the other side of the street, our pace didn’t slow until we slid
into an alleyway, putting an entire building between us and the
line of sight of anyone near the bridge.

“So, why did those guys want to rip your
head off? I’m guessing it had something to do with street
fighting,” he said casually, once we’d settled into a slow,
comfortable pace, our joined hands swinging between us.

“Of course not,” I said with mock indigence.
“It was a reputable fight house.”

Jarrett let out a low, throaty laugh that
sent shivers of awareness vibrating through me. “Of course it was.
I thought you promised Fiona you would stop fighting.”

“I promise her that on a weekly basis,
neither of us really expects me to live up to it,” I told him,
turning my face up and giving him what I hoped was my most devilish
grin. “Besides, what I promised was to stop fighting guys juiced up
on shifter blood. Though, really, that guy was so blundering and
graceless, I don’t think a blast of manic super strength would have
helped him win. It would have just made him more of an asshole
about losing.”

Jarrett laughed again, grinning down at me
from beneath the wide brim of his hat. “Considering he and his
buddies are currently hunting you with murder on their minds, I
don’t think he needed any help in the asshole department.”

“True enough.”

I turned down a darker, narrower alley,
pulling Jarrett with me via our still joined hands. We weren’t far
from the pub I called home, but this way would take longer to get
there. Instead of taking the direct route and going a couple of
blocks up then a couple more over on the main thoroughfares, we
would have to weave through alleys and walkways created by the
rough-built shacks that filled the spaces between older buildings,
turning what had once been streets and parking lots into homes for
poor, mainly norm, families.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Jarrett
asked.

“I’ve been roaming these streets since I was
a kid. I know my way around.”

“Okay,” he said simply, following me as we
walked single-file between two buildings.

The narrow walkway opened to a wider street
lined by small, single story dwellings that had been built during
the cataclysm. They were now home to the poorest of Nash City’s
citizens. The residents of the Slums were generally norms or mages
with very little magical abilities. They were the lowest class,
people who couldn’t perform magic and had to take the least paying,
most menial jobs. As a norm, if it weren’t for Pinky and my
permanent job at the pub, I would probably live in a tiny shack
somewhere, if I’d even survived to adulthood.

I quickly pushed all thoughts of my
childhood and lack of paranormal abilities out of my head and
focused on the man that was once again walking by my side. “Okay,
it’s my turn to ask questions.”

He gave my hand a little squeeze. “Go ahead,
I’m an open book.”

Ha! That was a crock. The tall, sexy vampire
was a walking enigma. About six months ago, we’d spent a couple of
weeks together in close proximity. He’d been acting as my bodyguard
while he and my sister worked a case. My family had been potential
targets. We’d had several long talks, as well as other intimate
communications, yet I barely knew him beyond a few random facts.
Even if I had a hundred years, I didn’t think I’d uncover all there
was to know about Jarrett Campbell. I would just have to do with
the most pressing questions. “How did you come to be under that
bridge exactly when I needed you?”

“I’m Batman,” he said in a deep, husky
whisper.

“You’re a what-man?”

He laughed that sexy laugh that made my
whole body go tingly. “Sorry, bad pre-cataclysm joke. I was down by
the docks. I’d just gotten to town and was stepping off the boat
when I heard shouting. I looked up and saw fiery hair, and since I
haven’t seen anyone else with that particular shade of red, I
guessed it was you. You didn’t seem to want to talk to those fine
gentlemen, so I figured you would take the first exit you could off
the bridge. I run faster than you, so there I was, just in time to
save the damsel in distress.”

He flashed a wide, boyish grin.

Rolling my eyes, I pretended to ignore the
remark. I would have said something snippy about not needing to be
saved, but I kinda had. “And how come they didn’t see us?”

“It’s my super power. I told you I was
Batman. Well, technically Batman didn’t have any super powers. He
was just a rich guy with lots of gadgets. So I guess I’m
Superman.”

I stopped in the middle of the street, our
joined hands pulling him to a stop as well. I couldn’t help the
baffled laughter that rolled out of me. “What in the crap are you
talking about? Do you have some sort of Vampire dementia? You’ve
probably been out in the sun too long.”

“Are you telling me Pinky never told you
stories about superheroes? I mean, sure, there haven’t been any
comic books around for a couple hundred years, but I would have
thought Pinky would have been a fan since he was a teenager when
the best comics were created. Not to mention the amazing movies.”
He flashed me a genuinely puzzled look. “Captain America,
Spiderman, Guardians of the Galaxy. He never told you about
those?”

I shook my head, still laughing at his look
of indignation. “Sorry, no. As kids, my sisters and I spent a lot
of time at the City Library. Carly is like our honorary aunt. She
watched us while Pinky slept mornings after working all night. I’ve
read a lot of books, but I’ve never heard of comic books or super
heroes.”

He gave a long, put-upon sigh as we started
walking again. “That is truly tragic. I can’t even begin to try and
educate you on the wonders you have missed.”

“Well, then I guess you’ll just have to tell
me the real reason those thugs couldn’t see us.”

“If I must,” he said in mock defeat. “It
really is my power though. I can bend light energy around me—and
one or two additional people if we are close and touching—to appear
invisible for a short time.”

He dropped my hand, the air shimmered around
him, and he faded from sight.

“Wow, that’s a pretty cool power to have,” I
said, rubbing my hand that now felt cold without his touch.

He faded back into view. “Yeah, it can come
in handy.”

A thought popped into my head as we started
walking again. “That’s why you aren’t rushing to get out of the
sun. I wondered why you never seemed very concerned about the
sunlight. I thought maybe you just didn’t have the same allergy as
other vampires.”

“No, I have the allergy, or at least I think
I do. It took me a while to realize it, but along with the light
bending, I have this natural energy force field around me. I don’t
have to consciously think about it like I do for invisibility, it’s
just there.”

“Were you a mage before you were changed?” I
was genuinely curious about Jarrett and hoped he wouldn’t think I
was being rude.

“Nope. Not even a little. I had no idea
magic, vampires, or any of that existed. I spent my life in the
sun, though, and I think that is part of why my powers manifested
the way they did.”

I nodded. I knew that even norms usually
developed some sort of magical abilities when they became vampires.
The ability to manipulate energy came from brain’s activity level.
Norms used around 10-15% usually. Level one mages registered at
least 25% brain activity. The N-V virus that caused vampirism often
activated more areas in the victim’s brain, giving norms some
magical abilities and increasing those of a mage. Though there
wasn’t any real proof of why different abilities manifested in
different people, it was speculated that it had to do with the
brain areas that were active. In a class at the Academy, I remember
reading that some mage scientist put forth that the powers a person
would have after being infected with N-V virus could be loosely
predicted by their personality and natural abilities.

That made me curious about why Jarrett had
spent so much time in the sun before he was made, but before I
could ask, he stopped walking. I realized we were standing in the
alley behind the pub, right in front of the back door.

“Here you are, home. Safe and sound.”

“So I am,” I said, trying not to show my
disappointment at not getting to ask the questions bustling around
in my brain. “I’d offer you a drink as payment for helping me
escape those thugs, but it’s already after noon and I need to get
some sleep if I’m going to be worth anything at work tonight. Rain
check?”

“I’m not sure how long I’ll be in the city.
I probably won’t be able to cash in a rain check.”

“Oh,” I said, trying harder this time not to
show my disappointment that I wouldn’t get to see him again any
time soon.

I reached for the door handle, determined to
make a graceful exit, when he took a step closer to me. Before I
could process what was happening, he had one hand wrapped in my
hair, gently pulling my head back, and the other around my waist,
pulling me tight against him.

“I’ll take my reward now,” he said, a
fraction of a second before his mouth came down on mine. The kiss
started hot and quickly proceeded to scorching as I automatically
opened to him and kissed him back with a hunger I hadn’t known
existed. He tasted so exotic, yet achingly familiar. The alley
melted away as hot tremors slid through me. There was something
about this man that decimated my brain and made me abandon what
little sense of propriety I had to start with. Just as I was
sinking into the kiss, my hands grasping at his shoulders like a
life raft, he pulled away from me.

When I looked up at him, I could see the
fire in his eyes. He was as turned on as I was, I knew it. But then
he popped out his cocky, boyish grin and said, “Sweet dreams,
Ginger. Later.”

Before I could speak or throw a rock at him,
he was at the end of the block and disappeared around a corner. I
leaned against the door, silently cursing Jarrett, and wondering if
my jelly legs would make it upstairs to my bed.