Seizing Darkness (Fur, Fangs, and Fairies) (11 page)

“Yes. That should do,” Dante said.

I could feel the vehicle slowing. We must be getting close, I thought.

“Gregory, Madon, thank you for your help,” Radek said.

“I’ll stay here and do a little weeding. I found out tonight who has betrayed me,” Gregory said in a dark voice. The car came to a complete stop.

“Very well. Go in peace,” Dante said. “We’ll talk later.”

Gregory disappeared.

“Go Dante; I can handle this. Madon, you take off as well. I’ll call you with information later,” Radek said.

My eyes opened a small amount. I could see Radek putting a hand on his brother’s shoulder. Dante looked down at me, his eyes still rimmed in red, then slipped out of the vehicle and disappeared into the night.

I felt Radek slide from beneath me and out the door. Then I was in his arms again. I wanted to stay right there. I buried my head in his shoulder as he carried me into the house. He set me on the couch. I couldn’t tell him not to go, my voice wasn’t working yet. I grabbed his arm as he moved to stand, my eyes still closed.

His hand covered mine and gently lifted it from his arm. “I’ll be right back; just hang tight for a moment,” he whispered.

Radek took the stairs two at a time. I concentrated on breathing while he was gone. I heard him drop a couple of heavy bags on the floor when he returned. Dante came in right then. I still didn’t open my eyes. I just laid there.

“How is she?” Dante asked.

“I’m not sure if she is conscious or not, but she doesn’t seem
to be in any pain at the moment,” Radek spoke in a quiet, calm voice.

“That’s good. We should get moving – are you all ready? Gregory has agreed to wait to take action against his people until we can figure some things out. He is going to be keeping an eye on them for now. He’s beyond furious.” Dante was speaking in quiet tones as well.

“You weren’t gone that long.”

“I’ve fed; don’t worry your furry head about that.
  You need to relax – she’ll be okay. Have you called Father yet?” I’d never heard him call Val ‘father’ before. It seemed strange coming from him.

“No, we can call him on the way,” Radek said as he lifted me in his arms and carried me out the door.

 “Well I’m just going to crawl in the back and sleep, then,” Dante said.

I heard the back of the Hummer open and shut. I took a chance and peeked up at Radek. He was shaking his head at his brother. Then he carefully put me in the back seat. He left and I heard the back open and close again as he put things in. I felt a blanket being placed over me. Radek’s hand lifted my head and a pillow was slipped beneath. I felt his hand brush the hair from my cheek. Then his lips were on my forehead. It was a brief kiss
, but it warmed me clear to my toes. The door was closed and another opened. The engine purred to life.

“Just hang tight, Nat. I’ll get you far away from that soon-to-be permanently dead vampire. Sometimes I really hate bloodsuckers,” Radek said.

 “I can still hear you,” Dante’s voice came from the back of the vehicle.

“I’m going to call Father now and tell him we saved your bloodsucking butt,” Radek said, and dialed as Dante was calling him interesting names in several languages.

I would have smiled, but it hurt too much. I was going to have to remember a few of them.

“Well, I guess you retrieved Dante then?” I could hear Val’s voice through the phone. He had obviously heard Dante’s rant as well.

“Yes, but another problem has presented itself.” Radek went on to explain as best he could what had happened.

Dante was already dead to the world and regaining his strength, so he wouldn’t be able to help explain until the sun went down that evening.

“I’m coming out there. I’ll be there tonight,” was Val’s answer. Then he hung up.

“Well, that’s that then. Father is coming here and I’m in trouble again.” Radek sounded tired.

“Great, then we can be reamed out in person,” I managed to get out of my scratchy throat.

 
“Back to the land of the living, are you?” There was relief in his voice.

“My head is killing me. Do you have any water?” I asked as I tried to sit up and groaned.

“If you reach into the back next to Dante there’s a cooler with water in it.”

I smiled, then groaned. “Don’t make me laugh. That hurts. I see you packed everything. Clothes, food, water, mostly dead vampire…” I couldn’t help but laugh at my own stupid joke.

Radek laughed too. “I’m glad you’re back to joking around. You scared a few years off my life. Will you toss some water up here as well? We have about another two hours or so until we get there.”

“And exactly where are we going?” I asked as I tossed a couple of bottles to the front. I guzzled half of my bottle and lay back down.

“South of Ocean Shores. We have a house near the coast,” Radek responded between swallows.

“I haven’t been to the beach yet. It’s winter though,” I said. I wasn’t quite making sense yet.

“You should go back to sleep.”

“What happened to me?” I asked. “It was so strange – one moment I was fine; the next, the pain was indescribable.”

“You’ll have to ask Dante when he gets up. It has something to do with a vampire.” Radek’s voice dropped a little when he said vampire.

“I knew I didn’t like vampires,” I said under my breath. I must not have said it softly enough because Radek laughed. “Doesn’t it bother you that you have a corpse in your trunk?” I asked, referring to Dante. During the day
, vampires took on corpse-like attributes.

“Not in the slightest,” Radek said with a laugh.

“What happened to Gregory and Madon?” I asked, rubbing my hand down my face. My whole body hurt.

“They’re staying back and watching things while we figure everything out. You should rest and stop with all the questions.” He was irritated
, but I didn’t think it was at me.

 
“That’s my evil plot to annoy you to death with questions,” I said dryly. “Why’s Val coming?”

“Mostly because he’s worried. Also to tan my hide for letting something happen to you and Dante.”

“Oh stop being such a pain in the ass, Dek. You know he doesn’t blame you. In fact, you had nothing to do with what happened to me. Unless you’re secretly a vampire as well as a weretiger, which I know is impossible. I don’t know how I know that, but if I try to remember, my head hurts worse. So I try not to think about my past. What’s happening to me?” I said. I turned onto my back, putting my hands behind my head. I was trying to will the lingering pain away. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.

“It’ll be okay, Nat,” he whispered hoarsely.

“I think I’ll sleep now.” I yawned and let myself drift off to sleep.

Chapter Eleven

I woke as the vehicle came to a stop and the motor was turned off. I laid there blinking for a few moments until I heard the door by my head open and Radek’s face appeared.

“Morning,” he said with that killer smile.

“It’s afternoon. What took so long? I thought you said it would only be a couple of hours.” I was grumpy, hungry, and disoriented, but the pain in my head was gone. I sat up.

“Yes, it is afternoon. I stopped for fuel, food and took a couple of rest stops, if you must know.”

“Are you really going to mess with me when I’m in this condition?”

“You would do the same and you know it,” he said and laughed when I stuck my tongue out at him. “That’s a very ladylike gesture. I have one question for you. Is that a threat or a promise?”

 “Only in your dreams, furball. Now get out of my way. I want a hot shower and food before I deal with you. You better make me coffee and it better be fully caffeinated.”

“Oh really, you’re going to deal with me?” he said, his eyes sparkling with humor and something else.

It was that something else which had my fur standing on end. I didn’t know whether to be scared, excited or just plain confused. I narrowed my eyes at him as I got out of the car. I started to stumble and put a hand on his arm to keep me from falling.

Our eyes met. There was an animal-like hunger in his eyes. I took a deep breath. The smell of the nearby ocean mixed with his scent sent shivers down my spine. I knew that if I didn’t step away from him, he would kiss me. He was giving me the option, and I took the out. Too much was happening too quickly. I stepped back and my head started to spin. I stood still and closed my eyes. It took a moment, but the dizziness soon subsided. I was stepping away when he grabbed my arm, stopping me.

“Why?” he asked in a low voice. His eyes were searching my face for an answer.

I knew he was wondering why I’d pulled away. Had I hurt him somehow? I could hear it in his voice. I looked him in the eyes. “I can’t right now. Just not right now. Please.” I implored him with my eyes to understand.

He nodded his understanding. “Go inside. I’ll bring your things in.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but I didn’t know what to say so I just turned around and went into the house. The stairs inside the house led to three bedrooms. The back one had blackout curtains covering the windows. No light entered that room. Dante could have that one, I decided. The other two rooms each had one large bed. They looked the same, so I took the one closest to the bathroom.

 “Are you settling in?” Radek said, silently coming up behind me and making me jump.

I just glared at him.

“I’m going to crash for a few hours. If you need anything, just come and get me. There should be enough food for you until I get up. You can walk down to the water, but don’t stray too far. Keep your phone on you. We should be safe enough here for now. Is there anything I can do for you before I go to sleep?”

“I think I’m good.”

“See you in a few hours,” he said, his eyes studying me again.

I knew what he wanted, but I didn’t think it would be a good idea. For one, I barely knew him. Second, I had no memory of my past. Any kind of relationship right now would be a bad idea. I’d avoided men this past year, but it looked like that wasn’t going to be possible anymore. I just didn’t know what to do about it.

He finally broke away, entering his room, but leaving the door open. Joining him was very tempting. I turned and went back into my room, knowing that I was running away. Glancing out the window, I noticed it was raining. That was the norm for the Washington coast in the middle of winter. It was bitterly cold outside, too. Almost cold enough to snow.

I rummaged through my bags until I found the winter jacket that I’d bought only the day before yesterday.
Was it really only two days ago?
I pondered. So much had happened in the last few days. I put on the jacket and found my boots, replacing my shoes with them.

Then I followed my nose to the water – it was at least two miles through the trees. By the time I got there
, I was starting to relax. The headache was long forgotten. I was thinking of Radek. He was growing on me. I remembered the feeling of sleeping in his arms yesterday. I had felt so safe and secure.

What was I going to do about it? I really wanted to talk to Val about it, but did I dare? After all, this was his son I was thinking about. I was drained. Ice cold rain was disguising my tears as they ran down my cheeks. Ignoring the fact that my pants were getting wet, I sat on a pile of drift
wood. I wanted to hear Val’s voice. He was like a father to me. I grabbed my phone and dialed before I could talk myself out of it.

“Yes?” came his voice over the phone.

That did it. All my emotions and thoughts came gushing out. I was crying in his ear. He just listened to me patiently. I was soaked, but I didn’t care. I finally stopped, my breath still shuddery from the tears.

“I am glad to hear that you are doing okay,” he said with humor in his voice.

“This isn’t a joking matter, Val.” I almost pouted.

“Well, I’m definitely not giving you advice on the matter. I think you only want to hear that everything is going to be okay. I can assure you that everything is all right and this will pass. Just hang in there.”

How did he always know just what to say to me? I could feel the effect that his words had. I was breathing easier. He was right; I really just wanted someone to listen and not have an opinion. “Thanks, Val.”

“Any
time. I should be there later tonight. Just try not to strangle Radek until I get there. Or anything else for that matter,” he said with a laugh.

“He’s sleeping, so I think I can manage not to do that for now.” I laughed too. It felt good, cleansing.

“Good. Now get out of the rain and get dried off. Maybe make some hot cocoa or something.”

“Okay. See you soon,” I said and hung up, knowing he wouldn’t mind. He had a thing about saying goodbye. I needed to ask why one of these days.

I made my way back to the house. Radek was still sleeping. I could hear his deep breathing. It wasn’t dark yet, so Dante wouldn’t be up either. So I went and showered, made a sandwich, heated some water for hot cocoa and found a movie to watch.

* * *

“Natalya,” Dante said, approaching me and making me jump.

“You’re up already,” I said, turning around.

“Come take a walk with me. We need to speak alone,” he said mysteriously.

Why did vampires have to act like everything was long, drawn out and dramatic?

I went and retrieved my coat as I followed him out the door. It had stopped raining. As we made our way through the woods, I was wondering what Dante would have to say to me that he didn’t want Radek to hear.

“This is far enough,” he said, coming to a stop.

I glanced down at his hand on my arm, but he didn’t remove it. He looked thoughtful, like he was trying to decide something. It was a moment before he said, “I know why you can’t remember your past. I need you to hear me out and not interrupt.”

“Okay,” I said cautiously, wondering where he was going with this.

“Sometime in your past, a vampire seized control of your mind. It can only work on a creature of your power if allowed to happen, or it could’ve happened when you were a cub. It takes a very powerful vampire to do this, and it’s forbidden.”

“The details are really unimportant at the moment. The important thing is that I may know of a way to reverse it. It would be extremely dangerous and could mean both our deaths. I don’t think it will come to that
, but death is a possibility. I’ll need your consent, of course. I’m guessing that you’d walked away from the vampire last year when we found you. I believe that now he’s found you again. That’s what happened to you last night.”

I took a moment to think about all that he had said. It made sense to me, but there were a few things I wanted to clarify. I vaguely remembered him and Radek talking last night about it.

“So there’s a vampire out there that thinks he can control me? Why can’t he just find me like we found you with Gregory?” I asked.

“He can’t find you like that. It’s different. Gregory was made into a vampire by me, so we have a different type of connection. I’m not really sure of all the ins and outs of it. Anyway, if what I have planned works, it may break his hold on you.” His gaze was searching mine. Studying me, he waited for me to say something.

“What does this plan of yours involve?” I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like the answer.

I could see his hesitation. “I’ll save the details until Val gets here. What you need to know is that I will be entering your mind and we’re going to work through it together. Here’s the catch though. I’ve heard of the process, but haven’t seen it done, let alone done it myself. I know it’ll
be dangerous for both of us. You’ll know every memory of mine and I’ll know every memory of yours.”

I processed this information for a minute or two before I said anything. “Okay. So you want to get into my head and see if you can help me past this thing. In the process, you’ll be able to see everything I’ve done or thought and I’ll be able to see the same for you.” That didn’t sound all that pleasant. I knew there were going to be things I didn’t want to know about Dante, especially if it involved drinking blood. I may kill things once in a while when I turn furry, but drinking blood was another thing all together. And I was sure there were things in my past that I didn’t want him privy to, either.

“Yes,” Dante said simply.

“If this works, this vampire won’t have any control over me anymore?” I asked.

“That is correct.”

“We’ll know all of each other’s secrets,” I said, still weighing how badly I wanted the vampire out of my head and replaced with another one.

“That’s how it works. If we do this, I want to make an agreement with you. I won’t share anything you don’t want me to, and you do the same.”

He was going to be risking just as much as me and he didn’t have to. That humbled me a little. If he was willing to do this then so was I. “I can live with that.”

“The reason that I didn’t want to discuss this with the others around is your feelings for Radek. What are they?”

I was a
little taken back by this. “Um… I really don’t know. I just met him. Besides, we work together. I don’t want to make it a problem either.”

“I know he has feelings for you. He won’t like that I’ve been running around in your mind,” he said with an amused smile.

“All right, I get what you’re saying,” I replied. He was telling me that we were going to have to tread carefully so we didn’t hurt Radek.

“I’ll need to be at full strength to pull this off, so we’ll not start until dusk tomorrow. The effects should wear off with time, but for a while our minds will be connected. I’m not sure how long it’ll last. Unless you decide to share this with Radek, I ask that you keep this part secret. It’ll be better for everyone if they don’t know the full extent of what’s going on,” Dante said.

“I can see your point, and I agree.” I paused then said, “So we’re really going to be in each other’s heads for a while?”

He nodded and I didn’t miss the grimace.

I knew what he needed. I looked him in the eye and kept my voice even, pushing away all the thoughts running through my head. “I can live with that if it means getting this other vamp out of my head.” I knew he wouldn’t hurt me if he could help it. I’d worked with him for the past year. I knew he was a good man, vampire, whatever.

“Better the devil you know, then,” Dante said with a smile.

How he had picked up on my thoughts, I didn’t know. I needed to get used to it though.

“We should head back. I believe Val is
here.” Dante walked back toward the house in silence. I had to jog to keep up with him. I was thinking about what we were about to do.

Radek met us at the door with barely contained hostility. “Where have you two been?”

“Calm down, Dek,” Dante laughed. “I needed to discuss something with her and have her permission before I told the rest of you. I see Val has arrived – that’s perfect.” He ignored his brother’s answering growl and pushed past him into the house.

“Seriously Dek, what’s your problem?” I asked, getting right up in his face. Well, as close as my five feet six inches could get to his six foot three.

“I just don’t like you going off by yourself with him.”

“Excuse me. How the hell is it any of your business anyway? And he’s your freaking brother. You have no say in who I hang out with. Just get over yourself and out of my way.” I was angry now.

It was a good thing that Val came over to break it up. “If you two wouldn’t mind coming inside, we have business to discuss.”

I shoved
Radek out of the way and went inside. I heard Val’s comment even though it wasn’t directed at me.

“You might want to handle things with her a bit more tactfully, son. Telling her what she can and can’t do will only make her angry,” Val said softly.