Vampire Apocalypse #2 Cataylst (6 page)

“Did Kahli have any kind of friendship with
Will Tatum?” the question was simple, direct. That worked best with
fragile minded humans. The King had enough blood to compel her for
weeks, but even as he asked, he could feel the power draining from
him. The King knew he would need that power to find the wild
girl—Kahli. She’d killed two guards and taken off on a snow mobile
with a vampire in tow and Will chasing after her. Or accompanying
her. He needed to know which one.

For the longest time, he was certain of the
boy, but when he saw the expression in his eyes, when Will took
off, running after the wild girl, he wasn’t so sure. Fear flashed
in the young Will’s eyes, but fear of what? That was what he needed
to know. His gut told him that Will saw the drained bodies behind
him—that he saw the blood spilled on the floor. The boy knew of his
power, of his ways for a long time, but he’d never reacted like
that before. Every year the King had his way with a few of the
girl’s in the Queen’s court. He did as he pleased, unknown to the
Queen, and he drank directly from them. It made him stronger and
stronger until it was difficult to hide his power. The King’s lust
for blood grew as his power increased. More bodies were required to
sate his thirst, but when he tasted Kahli that changed.

After a moment, Cassie blinked. Her voice was
soft and lacking any inflection, “No. He was her Handler. He took
her blood. She didn’t like it.” Cassie fought the urge to delve
deeper into her memories.

The King walked in front of the chair and
leaned close to Cassie’s face. The pale girl didn’t move. He
breathed in her face, “Does she have feelings for him?”

Before she could stop the words, they fell
from her lips, “Yes, as her Handler.”

The King looked puzzled, “Explain.”

Cassie could feel the words being pulled from
her. “Sometimes a Handler can arouse his charge. Kahli was upset by
it.”

“She’s attracted to him.” He said, and turned
to look at the fire, stroking his chin. “Interesting. Very
interesting. This is Will Tatum, correct? The same boy she stabbed?
The same boy who was charged to make her presentable to the
Queen?”

Cassie fought the urge to nod, but her head
moved without her consent. Cassie’s eyes fixated on the flickering
flames. She wanted to say something to contradict Kahli’s secret,
but she couldn’t. Not while the King had her under his thrall.

The King circled the chair and bent at the
waist looking into her eyes. “One last question, Cassandra. Did she
act on these feelings?”

“No,” she said flatly. Her tongue twisted
around the word, unable to hold it back, but she kept from saying
more, from offering that she didn’t know. Somewhere in the back of
her mind, she suspected that something happened between them. The
way Will and Kahli acted around each other wasn’t one-sided. Will
was always sweet, but he didn’t look at anyone else the way he
looked at Kahli. Cassie never spoke these words to her friend and
she wouldn’t speak them now to the King. They hadn’t formed into
full thoughts yet, just prickling premonitions at the back of her
mind.

Disappointment shot through the King. “Damn
it,” he swore, turning from her. Staring out the window, the King’s
eyes raked over the frozen landscape below. The information that he
gleaned was useful, but only if he captured one of them. If that
stubborn girl had feelings for Will, the King would certainly use
it. The question that still hung in the air was whether or not Will
returned those feelings. That boy was difficult to read.

“Go,” the King said, dismissing Cassie
without a backward glance. “Return to your bed and do not discuss
this with anyone.”

Cassie’s body stood and before she could
blink, her feet started moving, and took her out the door. Cassie
was aware of her bare feet on the plush carpet and of her hand
gripping the brass door knob, twisting it closed in her palm. When
she turned to walk back to bed, Cole bounded up beside her.

He grabbed his sister’s shoulders and turned
her toward him, “Thank God! Are you all right?” He looked her over,
Cole’s anxious eyes meeting hers. “Cassie, what’d he do to
you?”

Cassie seemed like she was in a daze. Her
feet continued to move as she spoke lethargically, “The King
compelled me to speak about Kahli.”

“What?” Cole asked, astounded.

But, before he could say anything, she droned
on, “He wanted to know about her relationship with Will. I told him
and he sent me to my bed, forbidding me to speak of it after I
reached my room.”

Cole grabbed her arm to stop her feet.
Turning toward her brother, she looked into his face but the haze
didn’t lift. She couldn’t think. The worry on his face didn’t
penetrate the King’s command, it didn’t stop her feet from
continuing down the hallway, even though a look like that from Cole
normally would have captured her full attention.

“What’d you tell him?”

Cassie pulled free and started walking to her
room again, winding through the halls, she answered Cole’s
questions, until he knew what was said and what was asked. Finally
he stopped his sister again, before she walked into the maiden’s
wing, “Did he drink from you? Or Kahli?”

Cassie’s eyes were blank. She nodded, “He
drank from someone, but it wasn’t me. He was covered in blood, too
much blood to survive a feeding like that.”

Cole swallowed hard, as his sister pulled out
of his grip and disappeared behind the doors. The guards were
absent. Cole didn’t realize it until he was standing alone in the
hall. Cole glanced back and forth knowing he’d be reprimanded for
being there so late if he was spotted. Something was wrong. Where
were the guards? In all the time he’d been here, Cole had never
seen them abandon their post.

Something bad was going on. That much he
knew, and Cole would do everything he could to find out what.

CHAPTER 9

Kahli clung tightly to Will as they moved
over the frozen ground on the back of the battered bike. Snowflakes
made it nearly impossible to see, but they also covered their
tracks. A storm had passed through while they were in the cave.
Will steered them toward the nearest safe house. He asked Kahli for
directions, but she couldn’t always tell exactly where they were.
Will kept going, urging the bike forward. Somehow he knew where the
safe house was located, which meant he was either a hell of a
guesser or he’d been there before.

When they dismounted and dragged the bike
inside, Kahli unwrapped a scarf from her frozen face. “So,” she
asked, as she cranked on the generator in the darkness, “How long
were you following me?”

Will stood behind her motionless. Her hair
fell across her shoulders in soft, flame-red waves. Thinking about
it, he said, “Is there an answer I can give you that won’t piss you
off?”

The lights made a buzzing sound before they
finally turned on. The darkness flickered like an old movie, until
the bulbs blazed bright. Kahli turned toward Will with her hands on
her hips, lips pursed. She didn’t like the idea that someone had
been following her and she didn’t realize it. How long had Will
been there? How many times did he save her? His appearance at the
Empire Safe House wasn’t a coincidence. She knew that now, but why
was he following her? Why did he help her? It wasn’t until she saw
him, talked to him, and fought next to him that he trapped her.
And sold her
, she thought. What the hell was he doing? Why
let her go every other time and capture her then?

They were hidden in a safe house that was
only a hundred miles, possibly less, from the palace. It was a
crazy location that no one ever used. It was too close to vamp
central. That meant there were still supplies left.

“Probably not,” she gave a weak lopsided grin
and took a deep breath. Her hands slid off her hips, “I just don’t
know what to make of you. Sometimes you seem like a good guy, but
other times you seem like
them
. I just wish I knew.” Maybe
she shouldn’t have said that out loud. It sounded more like a
confession than a wish. Her voice sounded flat, like he’d
disappointed her.

Will watched her intently, he was always
watching her. “What difference does it make?” he finally asked.

“I can’t tell which side you’re on,” she
confessed. Turning toward him, her emerald eyes met his and then
glanced away. She pushed her long hair out of her face as she
spoke, “That makes me insane for taking you here, but it appears
you’ve already been here.” Kahli fell silent, her thoughts swirling
in her mind until she latched onto the one that was bothering her
the most. “You’re playing both sides, aren’t you? From day one, I
didn’t know what to make of you. You saved me from one wolf and
threw me to another. Then, the stuff at the palace and with the
King,” her hand drifted to her throat, pressing on the thin white
scar that was still on her neck. Calling it “stuff” and not naming
what the King had wanted to do to her made it more bearable. Kahli
sucked in a deep breath and glanced at him.

“There are things I can’t say,” Will’s voice
was soft, apologetic. His blue eyes held hers for a moment and he
breathed, “I wish I could.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I can’t explain it to you,” he said,
stepping nearer to her. Will looked down at her beautiful face,
wishing he could say more, but it wasn’t possible.

“Can’t or won’t?” She held his gaze,
searching for the lie. Kahli had to know the truth, she had to know
who he was fighting for, but the blood runes hid that from her.

“Can’t.” Will brushed his hand along her
cheek. Kahli’s heartbeat increased at his touch, the breath she was
about to take remained locked behind her lips. “I wish I could, but
there are measures that prevent certain things.”

Kahli wanted to close her eyes and lean into
his hand, but her mind fought her body. His replies were always
masked and this one was very convenient. Will didn’t seem like he
was lying, but she’d seen him with the vamps. He was one of them.
The vampires were as certain of Will as she was, and yet here he
was with her. There was a small voice in the back of her mind
suggesting that his true name might not even be real. There was no
way to know unless she gave it to someone who could use it against
him. Kahli sighed and pulled away.

Will’s gaze followed her across the room, but
he didn’t move. He didn’t offer explanation or apology, even though
Kahli wanted both.

Finally, Will asked, “What was this place?”
His blue eyes lifted upward, taking in the tall metal ceiling above
him. They’d entered through the side of a hill covered in snow and
ice. There was a crack, like the ice had snapped centuries ago. It
was large enough to walk through. They followed the crack inside
the hill, which took them to a door. The metal building was inside,
buried beneath the snow.

Kahli glanced at him as she crossed the room.
“I think it was a tornado shelter. Most of the safe houses were
fallout shelters of some sort. You know, most have typical concrete
walls and metal furniture—very homey.”

Nothing was warm in this room. No place felt
like home. It would be nice to stop running and stay somewhere, but
that was a life Kahli couldn’t even fathom. It was also a life that
Will offered, if they managed to assassinate the King and Queen.
Kahli fished out a few silver packets from the pantry. “Would you
like freeze-dried packet A or this delicious looking packet with a
C?”

“Is C for cookie?” Will asked.

“Or cat,” Kahli replied, glancing between him
and the packets of food.

Walking toward her, Will took the A packet
and flipped it over in his hands. There were no other markings.
“Seriously, what’s the difference?”

Kahli shrugged, “Well, that one is way more
disgusting than this one. Good luck with that.” She turned and
grabbed a bottle of water and swallowed the food without chewing.
Will watched her, still holding his packet in his palms. Kahli
glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, “What?”

He shook his head, “Nothing. It’s just—” What
was he supposed to say? Sorry I left you alone for so long that you
no longer chew your food? Part of her was wild and always would be.
Kahli was part wolf and would destroy anything that threatened her.
From the look in her eye, he knew that she wasn’t sure of him. Will
wondered if he’d go to sleep one night and awake with a knife in
his neck. She had no reason to trust him. Offering what he did was
too little, too late. She’d been through too much and when Kahli
eventually found out the rest of his deplorable past… his heart
sank. That day would suck. She’d blame him. He knew she would.

Kahli arched an eyebrow at him and chugged
another gulp of water. “You’re having a conversation in your head
again, aren’t you?”

Will smiled, “Not really. The other voices
aren’t chiming in this time. Just the shrilly old man that keeps
telling me to kiss you.” Will laughed and pulled out a metal chair
from the table. Kahli was sitting on the tabletop, her legs
dangling off the side. “He seems to think getting punched in the
head would be very exciting.”

She choked, laugher bubbling up from her
belly. Kahli leaned over and punched him on the arm lightly. “How
was it for you?” she laughed.

Will looked at her. For once, she seemed
happy. It wouldn’t last long, and for that he was sorry, but it was
the way things were. There wasn’t much that could be changed, until
Kahli realized what she had to do. The question was, would she do
it? Will leaned forward and ran his fingers through his hair,
breathing deeply. He placed his foil packet on the table,
untouched.

Kahli poked the freeze-dried food. “Coward,”
she goaded.

Will glanced up at her, “No, Bane. And, since
I don’t have to eat as much as you, I’m not going to.”

“Well, then, stuff it in your pocket or
something. It’s already been a day since we left the palace. And
you haven’t eaten anything. Plus you nearly died. I would have
thought you’d be hungry by now.”