Claiming Emerald (4 page)

She shrugged at Rory and Salt and then pulled her hood tight to her face. Not feeling the cold and ending up with her skin all snow burned were two different matters. Rory put his arm to her shoulder. “Maybe you shouldn’t go. I’m worried about what Mia said.”

Mia was standing quietly and listening. Em bent down to her. “Is it better if I don’t go?”

“They won’t find them if you don’t go. If you wait, they will be gone.”

“Then I guess we had better get going.” Em grinned sweetly and Rory scowled at her.

“I don’t like this, Em. If we are not the only ones looking for the windmills, then we may run into competition. If they won’t be there if we wait, then it means we need to bring them back now.” Rory turned his smile toward Adrial and Holden. “I think this needs to be an all hands expedition. We will figure out how to get them back when we get there.”

Holden nodded. “Let me go find Jace.” He flashed down the hall and was back a few minutes later. He and Jace were fully clothed and they handed Adrial his scarf and hat. It was extra protection on top of what he already had on. “I guess I’m ready. Let’s go get some chains and go find some windmills.”

They headed together toward the storage shed. The snow had dwindled down to an occasional flurry, but the door was piled with snow. Salt went back to find a shovel and dug the shed out. As Adrial had predicted, there were long strands of steel chain and also steel cable that were stored neatly upon one of the shelves. Each vampire took some and wrapped it around their bodies to make it easier to carry. Once they were set, it was Rory who took the lead. He leapt over the fence and flashed out into the night with Em, Salt, and the three others on his heels. They kept up top speed, running on top of the snow rather than having to trudge through it. Em kept her mind on the task, using her inner sense to feel if they were going in the right. Rory was taking them too far to the right and she pushed herself, sprinting past him and changing the lead to herself. Em continued forward until they came upon what had once been a large factory. The edges of the walls were jutting out of the snow, corrugated steel sheets. Salt almost toppled into her as she stopped. Rory skidded to a stop a few feet away and she suddenly realized that the other three vampires were still a distance behind them.

“Will these work as sleds?”

“Grab an end, Salt. Let’s see how big these are.”

Salt walked the one hundred or so feet to the opposite end of the building. Em stayed in the middle and between the three of them, they hauled the large sheet of outer wall to the surface. Adrial caught up to them. “Nice find. We just need something to prop one end up so the blades can hang off.”

Em pointed to another piece just peeking through the snow. “What if we grab another wall and fold it or roll it. Would it be big enough?”

“Probably.”

Rory, Salt, and Adrial dragged the other piece to the surface. Salt and Em took one side and Rory and Adrial took the opposite corners. Holden and Jace got in the middle and between the six of them, they folded the wall in half.

“We can make modifications when we get where we are going.” They used a few lines of cable to anchor the two pieces of metal together. They then hooked the chains to the edge and went back to running, their sled in tow. A short while later, the tips of a windmill came into view. They all headed toward it, using their hands to clear away the snow. Adrial frowned. “Okay, so the pieces are here, but the units were obviously taken down by the sonic. I guess we start digging.”

“Not necessary, sweets.”

Em dragged the piece of steel cable off her neck. She walked a distance into the open space and laid it to the surface of the snow. “Oh, shit,” muttered Rory. “I know what she is going to do. Stand back and expect to get blasted with snow.”

Em began to turn, the cable becoming airborne as she gained speed. It was like a turbo fan, and Em dropped the steel lower and lower, sending the snow in a whiteout into the sky. When she stopped, the entire area around her was cleared of snow. Em staggered back and dropped to her ass. Rory was at her side a second later. “Oh, shit, I’m dizzy.”

Salt released a sigh that made his entire body sag with relief. “You’re dizzy?”

She nodded and then closed her eyes. “Really dizzy.”

“She’ll be fine.” Rory went to look at the closest windmill tower. Em made no attempt to stand. She dropped onto her back, rolling to her side. Her idea had worked perfectly, but she didn’t know that she could feel so dramatically ill in a dead body. Her head was reeling, the stomach which she no longer had feeling queasy.

Salt knelt beside her and pushed back her hair. “Are you okay?”

“I feel sick. Vampires don’t get sick.”

“You obviously do.”

“Go help the others. I’ll be okay.”

Salt nodded and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Stay until you feel better.”

“I will.” Em smacked her lips. She felt as if she was going to vomit but had no reason to feel that way. She had established long ago that she no longer had a gag reflex. She rolled onto her side and curled into herself, unable to tolerate even having her eyes open.

* * * *

Rory walked over and lifted Em in his arms. She did not respond, not even to roll to her back. With a flip of his hands, he got her into a more comfortable position and carried her over to the waiting sled. What the hell had happened to her while she was spinning? He had been sure that she would get up from the ground and begin to help. Em hadn’t and worse, he hadn’t noticed because he was busy trying to uproot towers that were frozen to the ground. Why was she out cold? Why wasn’t she responding? She wasn’t dead, but something had obviously happened.

Rory stopped at the end of the huge pile of six windmill parts. They had all been placed on the sled, but he had no idea if it was even going to move.

Salt hurried up to him and frowned. “Is she okay?”

“I don’t know. She’s unconscious. What did she say to you earlier?”

“She said that she felt sick, but she would be fine. What do you mean she is unconscious?”

“What do you think I mean? I just picked her up and flipped her to her back and she didn’t respond.”

Salt glared at him. Rory had no idea what was wrong with Em and he couldn’t tell Salt anything. They needed to get back to the fortress and underground before the sun came up. They had already stayed too long. Rory laid Em on the sled. “We can’t wait any longer.”

“I know.” Rory and Salt walked around to lift two of the five chains they had attached to the steel panels.

“Mush!” yelled Rory, half as a joke and half just to get things moving. He put worry over Em to the back of his mind. If they didn’t get back, then all six of them would be dead.

They began to walk and then picked up the pace. The sled moved slowly at first, but as they gained speed it seemed to rise higher and higher to the surface, cutting down the drag. They ran, racing the sun to get back before it bloomed on the horizon.

Rory dropped his chain and ran around to grab Em’s body. It was gone. He looked at the sky, feeling the first tingle of warning sunrise. He had about thirty seconds to get inside before the sun began to burn his skin. He looked back over the path they had just come, but saw nothing. Rory did the only thing he could. He leapt the fence and flashed into the building. Slamming the door, he leaned back against it and slid to the top stair. Salt was already down in the main room, but his eyes were locked on Rory. He flashed up the stairs. “Where’s Em?” he demanded.

“I don’t know.”

He tried to push around Rory, to get the door open. Rory stopped him. “You can’t go out, the sun is up.”

“I know that. What do you mean you don’t know where Em is?”

“She wasn’t on the sled where I put her. I have to think that she fell or rolled off.”

“So she’s out there exposed to the sun?”

Rory nodded slowly. He pushed himself to his feet and with a tight arm around Salt’s shoulder began to walk back toward their room. Salt struggled in his grasp, but Rory was stronger. He pushed Salt into the room and slammed the door. Rory wiped at the blood read tears that were dripping down his cheeks.

Russell was lying on the bed with only a light blanket over his body. “Where’s Em?”

Salt dropped onto the sofa, burying his face in his palms. “We don’t know. Something happened earlier. She was spinning to clear the snow and it made her dizzy. We didn’t realize how sick she was until we went to get her. She was out cold. I put her on the sled with the windmill parts because I couldn’t pull and carry her, too. When we got back, she was gone.” Russell burst from the bed. He began to change, morphing into a snow leopard with long, thick fur. Rory turned and opened the door for him and a moment later, Russell was gone. Rory dropped down beside Salt. “He will find her.”

“What good will it do? If she was unconscious when the sun came up, she’s already dead.”

Rory’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I know.” This was his fault. He should have paid more attention when she said that she was sick. He should have stopped her from going. There were other options than windmills. The home he once lived in had only been heated with a fire and a wood burning stove. He and his wife Rebecca had lived through many very comfortable winters without solar heat or windmill power. It was not worth Em’s life to have the luxury of energy. Nothing was worth Em’s life.

Salt was staring at him and he didn’t have the energy to deal with the younger man’s grief. Without a word, Rory got up and walked across the room. He was weary beyond belief and wanted only to sleep to escape the pain. His grief for his late wife and daughter had been overwhelming and had lasted for years. What he now felt for Em was worse. It was consuming him like the sun itself. If she were dead, Rory had nothing left to live for.

* * * *

Russell wanted to run like the wind in search of Em. He knew that it was a bad idea. He could not scent Em out. She had no scent. He jogged at a medium pace, using only his eyes as he searched the flattened path that led out into the whiteness. The sun had come up, bright and blinding, the reflection of the snow hurting his eyes. It seemed as though everything had been buried. Some of the trees that had survived the sonic bomb were topping the snow, but all the smaller ones were nearly invisible. It seemed that nature directly around the fortress had recovered more quickly in the past five years.

Russell’s ears perked to the sound of moaning. It was still in the distance, but he picked up his pace to a slow run. Ahead in the snow, he spotted an area that looked melted and in the center was a charred area. Russell stopped. The scent of burning flesh was light, but it was present. He glanced around, but saw nothing. Russell morphed into something resembling a yeti. There was no proof that such a creature had actually existed, but he had seen enough supposed photos of them to become one. It gave him the height of a man while still retaining fur to protect him from the cold.

In the snow bank to his left, Russell saw an indentation. There was a distinct concave in the surface that made it seem as if the snow in that area had sunken. He began to dig the snow away between himself and the concave. He was hesitant to get too close because if Em was inside then she was already lacking in protection from the sun. For him to open her igloo to the direct light would make matters worse. “Em?” he asked as he got closer to the slightly charred entrance.

“Ah…”

“Shit!” She was under the snow and she was still alive. That was a good thing. Russell could leave her there until night fell, but if she was in bad enough shape that she couldn’t talk, she might die before then. “Hold tight. Don’t you dare die on me. I’ll be back in a few minutes and I’m gonna get you out.”

Em didn’t reply as he shifted into a cheetah and headed back to the fortress at full speed. He skidded to a stop outside the door and shifted back into a man to get it open. Ignoring the stares of those present in the main hall, Russell marched down the hall into Joel’s old room. He tore the black quilt off the bed and walked back out. Striding naked into the kitchen with only the blanket to cover his cock, Russell dug threw one of the drawers. He pulled out a handful of metal skewers and a large cleaver that was used for cutting fresh meat. He turned his back to those present and laid the quilt out, folding it into a long strip. Beginning at one end, he placed the skewers and the cleaver in the fabric and then rolled it tightly. Russell lifted his makeshift pact and turned around. “Do we have anything you could use to tie this around my body if I shift back into a cheetah?”

Kay nodded and went into a drawer, taking out a roll of what looked like old clothes line. “Would this work?”

“Yes, it will be fine. Just don’t tie it tight enough to cut off my air please.”

“Is this about Em? Everyone knows that she didn’t come back last night.”

Russell nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.” Without further comment, he shifted back into a cheetah.

Kay picked up the pack and put it on his back. He felt her wrap it a few times with the line around his body before she tied a knot in it. She put the end before Russell’s face. “If you hold the end, then when you get there, you can pull it and the knot will come out, just don’t tug on it until then.”

Russell nodded and took the end gently in his teeth. The pack felt odd upon his back, but he tried to ignore it as he walked through the main chamber and up the stairs. Kay followed him and opened the door. “Be safe, Russell. I hope you can bring her back.”

He hoped so also. Russell sprinted out the door, heading for where he had discovered Em. Halfway there, the pack shifted to the side. It forced him to slow his run, but he still made it back in good time. As Kay had told him, he tugged on the rope and the entire thing slid from his back. Russell changed back into a yeti.

Judging as best he could where her body was located, Russell draped the quilt over the snow. He began at the right of her, first chopping the ice that had formed on the top with the cleaver and then digging it back with his hands. He created a path around her, allowing the blanket to drop down into the hole as he worked. His plan was to completely encase her with the black fabric before he tried to move in to where her body was. Em made no sound, and as he finished off the back path, he wondered if she were still alive.