Running in Fear: Ghost Warrior (2 page)

Nikola glared down at the top of Lissa’s head and transported her back to her bedroom. “You will stay inside now.” He spoke while he listened to his warriors, who spoke to him telepathically. Each warrior kept him informed of any activity around the compound. All was quiet, but soon an attack would come. All of a sudden, Nikola found his ass hitting the ground hard. He stared up at a very furious female.

“First, you do not tell me what the hell to do! Second, how dare you bring me here without making sure Jaycee was protected first? Suzanne and Jaycee should be your primary concerns, not me.” Lissa threw her notebook and pen onto the bed and turned once more to glare at him. “I know you meant well Nikola, but I insist you protect those who are more important than I am, right now. The fate of our world rests with them, not with me.”

Her bedroom door opened and Suzanne peaked in, Dominic’s head right above hers. “Can I come in?”

“You mean can we come in?” Dominic corrected her, as Suzanne rolled her eyes and walked in.

“This is supposed to be a girl meeting, you know. A little gossip here and there, stuff like that, and Dominic you just don’t have the body parts to qualify as a female.” Suzanne winked at Lissa, and turned back to her mate.

“Now, I’m sure Temmra would be happy to change that if you really want, but I kind of like your man parts.” She slid one of her hands down his stomach, to his thigh, where he grabbed her hand, and put it behind her holding it there.

“You can just tell Temmra to leave my body parts alone, and Suzanne I expect you to call me as soon as you are done. You’re still exhausted from earlier.” Dominic wrapped his arms around Suzanne, leaning her back, trapping her and giving her a kiss that Lissa could have sworn gave off smoke. He brought her back up and released her, smiling as Suzanne grabbed onto his arm to steady herself.

After she got her focus back, she slapped his arm. “You did that on purpose!”

He turned and left as Shelly, Marsha, Jaycee, Tonya and Cecil all came in, wearing their PJs. Remi followed.

Lissa sat down on the bed and watched as Jaycee stood at its end. She glared at Remi. “Out, all of you, we have girl things to discuss, and right now you are not invited.”

She grabbed onto Remi’s arm and stared up at him. “Remi, you damn well better keep your promise.” Her last words were a whisper, but he had heard them as he made his way to the hallway, where all the men now stood.

The door slammed, and locked without anyone touching it. The small table near the bed became a large table which was filled with food and drinks. Nikola watched the women, as they moved around the room unaware of him until Suzanne glanced over to where he stood invisible against the wall. He had hoped Lissa and the others would have forgotten he was there, but his luck ran out.

“You will have to do better than that Nikola, now out.” Suzanne pointed to the door, a small puff of smoke came out with her words, and he grinned nodding to her.

“I just wanted to make sure everyone is alright.” Nikola allowed his physical form to appear, and every woman there frowned.

The older woman, Marsha walked around him and studied him. “You will lead them. You might want to inform your queen that you will be staying here, that you will not be able to serve her anymore.” The woman talked in circles, as she stared at him.

Nikola shook his head and walked around the women. He made his way to the door. “I have no idea what you are talking about, and I will not inform my queen of anything. I’m here on assignment, and that is it.”

He reached for the door, but a strong need to be home came upon him. One minute, he was thinking about the men in the hallway, waiting for their woman, and the next he was in his living quarters.

Nikola looked out at the rolling green grass of his homeland, the large window that was the showcase of his apartment-like living quarters. Nikola had very few personal possessions. A few pictures of his family, but that was about all. He jumped, when a small hand touched his shoulder.

Natural reflexes kicked in, and he swung the person to the floor, a knife to their throat until he realized who he had in his grasp. “Queen Isabel, please forgive me.” He slowly helped her stand, the knife disappeared, and she laughed.

“There is nothing to apologize for -- you are a trained warrior, and I’m in your home.” She moved to the large window and stared out of it. “The witch woman, Marsha, was right. You will not be serving me anymore, my friend.” Isabel glanced at him over her shoulder.

“It’s time for your life to begin anew, and it seems it’s going to start on Earth. I just have one piece of advice for you; give your new mate time to adjust, Nikola. This woman is a moth and she is waiting to fly. If you and your other mates push her too hard, she’ll fly away, never to return.” His queen spoke in riddles, and he frowned.

At seven feet tall, Nikola stared down at his queen, who was about two feet smaller than him. She laughed, and turned completely around to hug him.

“We have been friends for a long time Nikola, and you have been by my side for over two hundred years. It’s time for you to have your own life, a woman to warm your bed, and your heart. Now, I would like your recommendation for your replacement. After all, it took me twenty years to find you.” Isabel smiled up at him. “I do expect you to bring your mate around when you are able.” She sighed, and he knew she was remembering their time together.

He lifted her chin up, and brushed her hair back. “I don’t know how it’s possible for you, or this witch, to know my mate when I don’t even know, but I trust you Isabel. As far as my recommendation, let me think on it. There is no hurry.” Nikola kissed her lips softly. “Hendricks, is a very lucky man.”

“Yes I am.” Hendricks stepped into the room, as the last word left his mouth, and held out his hand to her. “Are you ready?”

Isabel, took her mate’s hand, and grinned at him, as she went into Hendrick’s arms. “Go find your mate, Nikola, but…” She glanced behind her at him, her eyes sad. “She’s going to need all of you Nikola. You will be her anchor, don’t back down. She’ll need a strong hand, and a patient one.” Both of them disappeared from his living room, leaving him confused, and for the first time in years, uncertain.

The only female that… Lissa. “Oh hell!” He flashed back to the mansion and walked the distance to her room, as he tried to make sense of everything. In the hallway, lined up against the wall, or standing about, were the men of these few women.

“It’s pretty sad…” Dominic nodded to the men. “Isn’t it?” As he came up next to Nikola and glanced around them. “Every man here is a dominate man, an alpha, and wouldn’t hesitate to kill anything that would harm what was theirs. But yet, when you see something like this, you wonder who is really in control.”

“Hmph, I know for a fact that Jaycee has me wrapped around her pinky finger.” Remi laughed, and stepped up on his other side, slapping him on the back. “Welcome to the ring of the unknown. The only thing we are certain of, is our mates, and when we find them.”

Dominic held out his hand to him and he shook it. “And so we follow the most precious thing in our lives, making sure nothing happens to her, because if one scratch, one tear, or one unhappy thought descends on her, you want to tear the world apart to change it, to make her smile once again.”

The door opened and one by one the women slowly came out. Suzanne’s gaze never left Dominic’s and made her way straight to him, Jaycee to Remi. “We would sell our souls, relive our nightmares, or give up our lives, so you may lead, and protect the innocent, from those that would destroy their chance at happiness.” Suzanne whispered and kissed Dominic’s chest.

Jaycee cupped Remi’s cheek. “You are the men of the future, our leaders, our masters, the ones who will guide the future generations, teach them how to survive in this new world evolving around us. Our children would have no chance at life if you were not here, we are only the vessels to your souls, we cradle and love them like we would our own children.”

Tears slid down her cheeks as Jaycee rested her head on Remi’s chest. “We have six hours to rest Remi, before they will try to break into the house, and Remi…” She glanced up at him almost as if lost. “Someone inside will let them in.” Jaycee wrapped her arms around him as best she could with the girth in front of her hindering her, but she was still squeezing tight. “We’re going to lose someone, Remi. We don’t know who and we can’t stop them.”

The hallway was quiet. All eyes were on Suzanne who shook her head. “Temmra can’t stop this, and she’ll be unable to help as well.”

Nikola looked across the hall to Lissa. She leaned against the door in a tee-shirt, a single tear slipped down her cheek, and he could have sworn his heart stopped.

“No!” He whispered unaware he said it out loud. A small hand touched his arm, he glanced down to Jaycee. She shook her head. “No, it will not be her. We don’t know who, but we do know, it isn’t one of us. I hate only being able to see part of things.” Once more she glanced up at Remi, then at Dane when he moved behind her. “Marsha is still trying to remove the spell, so our connection can be one hundred percent again. I feel as if part of me is missing when I can’t connect with you guys.”

He needed to see Lissa again, but her door was shut and she was gone. “Go talk to her Nikola, tonight no one should be alone.” Suzanne tried to get closer to Dominic’s body.

“Let’s get you to bed.” Dominic swung her up into his arms and nodded to Nikola. “Suzanne is right, don’t waste time, go talk to her, and hold her tonight.”

Suzanne frowned and glanced down. “I got the impression something was scaring her, and she wanted us all to leave her room. Even Temmra couldn’t figure out what was wrong, Lissa has a way to block us. It’s different; I’ve never seen it before.”

Nikola gritted his teeth and nodded. “I’ll see what is wrong, don’t worry so much.” He turned away from them and made his way to her room. The thought of something scaring her or hurting her, made his gut tighten, and his vision blurred for a moment as he reached for her door.

Now, of all times his body informed him that he was close to his other half. His mouth was dry, his hands trembled, and his cock throbbed, leaking the clear fluid that would bind his mate to him. Her life span would match his, even though it would not make a difference to a vampire, new powers would be bestowed upon her, and once taken, Lissa would not be able to distance herself from him, without feeling some kind of effect on her body.

* * * *

Lissa shook and reached for the handcuffs, tucked under her pillow. Her knees gave out and Lissa plopped down onto the bed. Tears rolled down her face as she flung the cuffs across the room furious that she hadn’t recognized the signs before now. Now she knew that her brother, Stephen, had been the one who had delivered her to the Bloods, and had raped her all those years ago, before he handed her over to the them.

The hurt was so deep and intense that she was in her on world. Lissa didn’t hear the door open and close behind her. She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them as she rocked on the bed. “I’m so fucking blind. It all makes sense. Why didn’t I listen? How they got in the house, who drugged me, and who…” She ground her teeth together and held on tight to herself. A shadow fell upon her when she glanced up.

Nikola knelt down, wiped her tears and slowly unclenched her hands which were in balls, her nails digging into her skin. “What’s wrong, Parvus Papilio?” Slowly, he picked her up, sat down on her bed, his back against the headboard with her on his lap. Once more, a small current moved through her as he held her and licked the small amount of blood from her palm. Nikola waited for her to speak.

She opened her mouth to ask him why he was there, but didn’t get a word out.

The bedroom door banged open with such a force that it split in two. Stephen stood there breathing heavy, a knife in his hand. His eyes flashed a dark red and his fangs grew larger than normal, almost to the bottom of his chin.

Lissa didn’t take her eyes off of Stephen, as she carefully rose off the bed, and Nikola’s lap. She would take care of Nikola after she dealt with Stephen. Anger so strong surged through her, giving her the strength to move. “So, you’ve decided to make your self known. Why Stephen? I thought of you as my brother. We grew up together. What would your mother say? Or was she part of your little game?” Lissa shouted.

She reached behind her on the small table, where she had set her weapons, but Nikola moved next to her and wrapped his arm around her waist. He blocked her throwing arm. “What are you talking about?” He nodded to Stephen. “And what is happening to him?”

There was no time, Lissa whirled around, and grabbed the knives as Stephen jumped onto the bed with a snarl. “He’s on a drug called Xenical. To humans it is a weight loss drug.” Lissa moved away from Nikola to the end of the bed, two of her longest knives in her hands. “To the vampire, it feels close to that of feeding, an ultimate high, but also a deadly one. It also transforms the one taking it into a pre-historic caveman, with fangs and all.” Her gaze met Nikola’s for a second, a tear slipped down her cheek.

Stephen snarled, he raised his arm, the knife ripped into the beautiful canopy above his head. “You don’t need to talk to that fag. Wasn’t twenty years enough to teach you a lesson? You’re mine Lissa, even your mother and father saw the light in the end, or should I say right before their watery grave.” Stephen cackled like a hen, and it sent a chill down her spine.

Everything inside her stilled, his words sank in as she lifted her gaze, and focused on the mad man in front of her. That is when everything fell into place. Her so called-cancer, her folks timely deaths, even her change, had all been orchestrated by Stephen. Lissa’s legs gave out, but she didn’t hit the floor. Nikola was there in an instant, his arm around her, and he held her close.

She looked up into the madman’s face. “I didn’t have cancer did I? You made sure your mom changed me. You killed my parents.” Lissa whispered, as Nikola sat her down on the chair against the far wall, and he slowly turned towards Stephen. Her gaze slid up Nikola’s tall form. He twisted his neck to the left and she heard his neck crack, his once straight hair down his back now back was now in a ponytail, and he moved with grace as he swung his long sword in his right hand in the air, waiting for the right moment.