Awake at Dawn (40 page)

An old, weird vampire like Miranda’s enemy Tabitha had described.

Kylie’s gut had tried to tell her not to ignore it. She hoped this didn’t turn out to be her fatal and final flaw.

“You were watching me.”

“You have keen instincts.” He stepped closer, frighteningly closer. His eyes were cold and gray. Dead gray. “Do you purposely keep your mind closed?” he asked.

She wondered how much she should tell him, or if she should tell him anything at all. Then again, if he thought she was blocking him on purpose, he might get angry. And she had to remember not to lie.

“I don’t know how to open up.”

The sound of metal scraping concrete rang out. Kylie looked behind the old man to a door being pushed open. Her heart stopped and her throat ached as she remembered the newcomer’s hand cutting off her airway.

“I told you to wait,” the old man scolded.

“But, Gramps, I’m just eager to see my new bride.” The rogue moved closer.

Bride?
Kylie yanked at the chains, repulsed by the idea of being his bride.

“Leave now!” the old man roared. His voice might be rusty and worn, but his tone demanded obedience. Frightening obedience.

The rogue stopped two feet from her. His auburn hair wasn’t soaked in blood this time, but she could still see it in her mind. She knew the 336/375

minute she looked into his cold, gray eyes, he was the same vampire who’d slipped into her dressing room—and the one who’d crashed through her windshield. “She’s so pretty. Don’t keep her from me too long.”

He shot off. The sound of the iron door slamming shut echoed throughout the room.

Kylie glared at the old man. “He murdered two young girls.”

“Yes.” He hung his head as if ashamed. “My grandson made many mistakes. But he will grow wiser.”

“The Vampire Council was supposed to…” Kylie remembered something Della had said about the Council, namely that they were all old, and just like that, she knew. “You are part of the Council. You lied to them.”

He looked up. “I did not lie. I said I would deal with this. You are part of my plan.”

“He kidnapped me.” Could she shame the old man into letting her go?

“On my orders.”

So much for that hope.

He moved closer. A sense of power moved with him. “In my day, when our young men acted out, only one thing could tame them. A woman strong enough, pretty enough, to give them a reason to settle down.”

“He can’t be saved.” Her pulse raced as the old man inched closer.

“He’s wild now, but you fascinate him. Do you have any idea how many hours he spent in those woods by your camp, risking being caught, and for nothing more than a chance to see you?” She shivered with disgust, knowing it had been him all those times.

“I was curious about who had stolen my grandson’s heart and I followed him. Once I saw you, I could understand what drove him. You are very fascinating.” He leaned down, his face inches from hers. His breath came against her cheek and she felt sick that they shared the same 337/375

airspace. “What are you, Kylie Galen? Do you even know? Is there vampire in your blood?”

“He’s a murderer. I would rather die than let him lay a finger on me.” His right eyebrow arched. “Death is always an option. Not one I recommend, though.”

The panic started to claw anew in her chest.

“I saw you drink the blood.” His cold touch on her arm made her skin crawl. “But you are still warm. I saw the strange wolf befriend you, but you did not turn on the day of the moon. Normally, I would seek a vampire as his mate, but you … my grandson is right. You are special.” She pulled again at her chains. “Let me go.”

“You seek a family, Kylie Galen. We shall be that to you. You will bear me great-grandchildren, and with my genes and yours, they will be even more powerful. And you will teach my grandson to be a man.”

“Not happening,” Kylie sneered.

“We will convince you.”

“I’m not easily convinced. And if your grandson isn’t a man, maybe it’s because he’s lacked a role model.”

The old man’s eyes tightened. “I will tolerate much, but I demand your respect.”

“You have to earn respect.” It was her mom’s favorite saying, and it never rang so true as it did now.

He shook his head. “In our world, respect is won by the person who has more power. Right now, my dear child, I hold all the power.” He disappeared. Vanished. Kylie didn’t even see him turn into a blur.

What was he? She remembered Tabitha, the witch who Miranda caught snooping around the cabin, saying he was more than vampire, and Kylie feared the girl was right.

He might have power, Kylie thought, but she still didn’t respect him.

And by God, she wouldn’t bear his great-grandchildren either.

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She yanked at her chains again, sought the strength within herself to get free. The strength didn’t come. She considered screaming but something inside her said it would be a waste of energy. She needed to think. She needed to use her brain to get out of this.

She called out for Daniel. He was a no-show. Would the death angels or whatever it was at the falls come to her aid?

She closed her eyes and asked for help. Begged, actually. The thought of being touched by the rogue meant she wasn’t above begging.

In the deep corners of her mind, a voice whispered, “You have the power within you.”

“Please, that sounds like an old
Star Wars
movie!” When only silence answered, she continued, “This isn’t any time for self-discovery.” She yanked again at the chains, thinking the power she had was to break loose. She struggled until she felt her wrists and ankles bruise. “He wants me to bear his great-grandchildren. I could use some help here!” Trying to remember to breathe, she considered what power the death angels meant. She was a ghost whisperer, she could run fast, and occa-sionally found unknown strength to toss werewolves long distances. And she had special hearing that came and went. There was also a possibility that she could heal—she hoped so for Sara’s sake—and she could dreamscape.

I can dreamscape!
Wasn’t that as good as a cell phone? If she could get Lucas, Lucas could get Burnett. Burnett would get her out of this. He would. He’d bring the whole FRU down on this old dude’s ass.

* * *

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“You came.” Lucas sat up on a king-size bed. He wore a sexy smile and no shirt. Not that now was the time to notice such things.

“The rogue has me. Get Burnett.” She spoke quickly, afraid she’d wake up.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“Where are you?”

“Don’t know. A tunnel. There’s a lot of concrete. Iron doors, too.” He looked at her in panic. “I have to know where you are.”

“I was unconscious when they brought me here.”

“They?”

“The rogue’s grandfather. He’s one of the Vampire Council.” Lucas pushed both hands through his dark hair. “Listen, Kylie. The way dreamscaping works, you can fly. You’re going to have to fly back to your body, but slowly. Look down and see landmarks. Then come back and tell me where you are. I have to know where you are or I can’t help you.”

“What if I can’t come back? What if I wake up and can’t tell you?” The panic made her feel heavy and it sounded in her voice. She didn’t want to leave Lucas. Although she knew it was a dream, she felt safer here.

“You can do this, Kylie. Go!” He waved her away. “Hurry.” Kylie did what Lucas told her to do. She started flying back. Too fast.

She concentrated until she found how to reduce her speed. Then she looked down. She saw a skyline. Houston skyline. She dropped lower until she saw a large building, the Toyota Center, she recognized it. Then she remembered her father had taken her downtown into the Houston tunnels.

Flying through the tunnel, unstopped by the walls, Kylie didn’t slow down until she saw herself. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Seeing oneself slumped over in a chair, chained like a scene in a horror movie, 340/375

freaked her out. She heard a noise. The iron door began to open. She felt herself falling into her body.

“No!” She had to get back to Lucas. She had to give him directions on how to find her.

Fighting the pull to move back into her body, Kylie swung around and flew back the way she’d come. The speed prevented her from breathing.

Someone called her name. Not Lucas. It was the old vampire.

The clouds were thick. Wasn’t Lucas just through the layer of fog? She felt herself being yanked back. She was about to wake up. “Lucas, I’m in the Houston Tunnel System. Under the Toyota building. Can you hear me?”

“What are you doing?” the dark, rusty voice growled.

Kylie jerked her eyes open. The old vampire stared at her. She remembered she couldn’t lie. “Dreaming.”

“What kind of dream? I felt the energy.”

“A disturbing one. I … used to have night terrors when I was younger.” No lie there.

He appeared resigned to believe her, but remained suspicious. Was there something for him to be suspicious about? Had Lucas heard her?

“I have some old friends interested in meeting you. For your own well-being, I hope you will be on your best behavior.”

“Who are they? And why do they want to meet me?”

“I think, Kylie Galen, that you are even more special than you know.”

“How am I special?”

He didn’t answer. “If you can tell me that you will not try to escape, I will release the chains.”

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The thought of having the heavy metal bracelets removed sounded like heaven. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but they would have been a lie.

“We both know that if there is a way to escape I will take it. Your job is to make sure there isn’t a way.”

He laughed. “I appreciate your honesty.”

“Enough to unchain me?”

“Not that much,” he said.

She met his aged gray eyes. “I see no way to escape the room. Unless you believe I have the power to overtake you when the door is open. And since I can’t break these chains, are you saying that your powers are weaker than this metal?”

He studied her. “You are very intelligent, my child. Dare I worry that you are as cunning as you are smart?”

“If I was that smart and cunning, would I be here?”

“Let’s compromise.” He closed his eyes and the metal bracelets around her arms and one from one ankle disappeared. Her right ankle was now attached to a long heavy chain.

Shocked at his ability, she stared at him. “What are you?” He smiled. “See, I am already winning your respect.”

“You misread curiosity for respect,” she countered.

His eyes tightened, but a slight smile crept from behind his anger.

“What are you?” she asked again.

He folded his aged arms over his chest. “What’s wrong, dear? Are the similarities frightening?” With that, he disappeared into the thin, cold air.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she yelled, and stood to see how far she could get with the chain attached to her ankle.

No nearly far enough.

* * *

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Kylie tried to fall back asleep, to get back to Lucas, but she couldn’t. She could only hope her message had gotten through and that he’d already phoned Burnett and they were on the way here now. How long would it take?

What if they didn’t come? What if her message never got through? She attempted to pull the chain free, but her strength wasn’t there. What was it with her strength? Why did it come and go?

Kylie started pacing, dragging the chain as she went. She couldn’t reach the thick door, though it wouldn’t have mattered if she had. When the vampire had disappeared, so had the doorknob. Opening it would have been impossible. Still she paced and tried to come up with a way out, with or without any help from Burnett. She glanced back at the door with its missing knob. What the hell was he? And what had he meant by that whole similarity crap?

The chain clattered against the concrete floor. She remembered she hadn’t phoned her mom before she left Sara’s house and she hoped like heck that she wasn’t worried. Turning again, pacing toward the right wall this time, Kylie was surprised to hear voices. Was the old man back with his friends? She stopped moving and listened.

It wasn’t the old dude’s voice, but that of the rogue. Oh, great, was he planning on visiting again? Her body tensed and she looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon. Before her gaze swept the room, she heard the rogue’s voice clearer.

“Who are you and what are doing snooping around here?”
Where were the voices coming from? She hesitated and moved closer to the wall. Suddenly, a loud thump sounded as if something heavy had been tossed across the room.

Or someone?

Her heart stopped. She moved even closer to the wall trying to see if the voices were coming from behind the wall. Another clatter echoed and she felt almost certain that it was.

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“You will tell me!”
the rogue hissed.

Fear filled her gut. Who was the rogue talking to? Was it … was it someone who’d come looking for her? Her thoughts and heart shot to Lucas.

“Unchain me and fight like a man!”
Lucas’s voice roared.

Her chest swelled with regret. She’d gone to him for help and …

“Why? You would only fight like the dog you are.”
A loud thud followed, and Kylie knew Lucas had taken a blow.

Her muscles tightened. A surge of energy shot through her. She grabbed the chain with one hand and yanked it out of the concrete. Then, turning to the wall, she charged at it with her shoulder. Only a flicker of a second before she hit did she consider how it might hurt.

Oddly, she felt nothing. Chucks of concrete fell around her. She knocked the big pieces from her face and then, realizing she stood on the other side of the room, she stared through the cloud of dust. Lucas lay on his side, still chained to a chair, much like the one she’d been in moments earlier. She saw his face, a bloody mess, and his eyes were closed as if he was unconscious.