Vampire Food 08: He Smelled Like Peach Pie (21 page)

“What the hell does that mean?”

“You are obviously miffed, and I’m asking you not to be.”

Shanagar grunted, rolling his eyes at her. Men were so fucking childish sometimes. They were all mad at her and she was stuck in the middle. “Well?”

“I think we will find what we are looking for among them. If it is safe to land, I can’t say.”

Em was losing her cool with the entire situation. She veered the helicopter to the ground, seeing a smooth patch of forest that would be easy to land in. She shut the machine down and was about to throw the door open when Russell stopped her. “Calm down. What’s eating you?”

“Life.”

Russell slid up between the seats, taking her hands. “Stop letting it. You can’t change things and right now you have bigger problems to deal with then making everyone happy. Let Shanagar take the lead.”

Shanagar didn’t wait for her to make that decision as he got out of the helicopter. He strode across the open field as if he owned it and stopped before the man who stood at the head of the crowd. Russell handed her sword to her. “Keep your mind on what we are doing, not on Mia or Rory or Shanagar.”

“I know, Russell. I’m just lost in my own life.”

“I know. I see it. You will find a way as you always do. He may be the king in name, but you are the queen and you deserve that title.”

“The queen is a slut.”

Russell chuckled. “I find the word nympho more appetizing. Remember you are insulting the hell out of my eternal mate with that comment.”

Em couldn’t help but laugh. Russell had a way of cheering her up even when all the odds were against it. “Let’s go find out what is going on.” Em slid out with Russell on her heels. The king and her bull were standing shoulder to shoulder, the conversation being made with angry undertones. Em wanted to hear what they were saying, but she couldn’t quite make out the words. Before she could get close enough, Rory turned and stormed back to the helicopter. She wanted to ask him what was wrong, but his mind was too distracted to get a response.

Russell put a hand to her shoulder, holding her back as they watched to see what Shanagar was going to do. “I’m wondering if that was a Rory problem, a vampire problem, or something else.”

“I don’t know.”

“I guess you are looking for me?” asked Becka from their right. Both she and Russell spun to the sound of her voice.

Becka stood with a group of others, all of them armed with swords and shields. Em assessed them cautiously. “I have a question for you, Becka. What did you hope to accomplish by killing a bunch of young people?”

“I killed a bunch of young vampires, no big loss. There were too many of them in the caves anyway.”

Becka’s comment infuriated her, but she held her composure. “You also killed some of your own breed. Are you aware that you killed head alpha Parente?”

Em saw the others in her group suddenly turn their attention to Becka. Most of them appeared horrified. “Parente wanted a life where all breeds could live equally. That has never happened and it never will. It was a stupid dream from a man who had outlived his time.”

“I suppose that I have outlived my time?” asked Russell. “I have the same dream. I have seen too many die and there was no need for it. We went after the caves to promote freedom and life for all. Have you lost that vision, Becka?”

“I went after the caves to get rid of all those old, corrupt vampires. Now is the age of the real creatures of nature and we should rule.”

Shanagar walked up beside Em. “I told you that equality could never happen because there are always those who seek more than what is rightfully theirs. Did I not?”

“Yes, and I disagree with you. Basic equality where everyone has the same chance in life is not an unreasonable dream.”

He put his arm around her shoulder. “The only thing that we can accomplish by seeking revenge this night is death. We are too far outnumbered and in all honesty, I don’t feel right taking my own people to war just to get revenge on the three rebels that are left alive. They are not worth it, Em.”

Em glanced around and saw that there were probably seventy or eighty people standing at the tree line. They were all armed and most of them carried thick shields. Shanagar was right. “I will never forget what you did, Becka. It was a cowardly act of a woman who is lacking in compassion. If you ever come near my caves, I will kill you. I promise you that.”

“I know that you will try.”

“You can bet your life on it.” Em didn’t want to walk away. She had once been able to turn into a tornado with a sword, but she was no longer able to do that. Spinning made her extremely ill. It had something to do with the sun almost killing her, but it was not something that could be changed. She had no choice but to retreat, or risk all of their lives. She allowed Shanagar to lead her back to the helicopter. Em climbed into the seat and ground her teeth in anger.

Russell stroked her shoulder. “I know you want revenge, but we can’t do it now. There are too many of them. You can declare war, and get more of the young people in the caves killed trying to fight your battle, but is it worth it, Em?”

Of course it wasn’t worth it. Years of human history had proven that war wasn’t a good course of action. It was a war that had brought the human race to the brink of destruction. Em started the helicopter. She could feel that the sunrise would be arriving soon and they didn’t have time to fly back across country. “We need to find a safe place to land and hold up during the sun.”

Russell nodded. “They will think that we headed back in the direction of the caves. If they decide to hunt us that will be the way they go. I think we should fly farther south.”

“I agree with him,” said Shanagar.

She glanced down at the fuel cell indicator. It was a little below half charge. They needed to land in a place with full sun to recharge the collection grids for the flight home. Otherwise, it was all systems go. “Then south we fly.” Em took off into the night, watching as Rory rose beside her. She used the compass to head south, flying until they were well down into Florida. Em spun the helicopter so it was facing inland and landed on a wide stretch of road with swampy areas to either side. It was open and there would be little chance of being ambushed from the sides unless their attackers were birds. Em removed her sword and gave Russell her seat. He would sleep up front and could keep an eye on things. If they were attacked during the day, there wasn’t much they could do about it. There were no buildings left and even if they found one, there was no way to know if it was safe to enter. They were better off in the open, on this deserted stretch of land that had once been a highway.

Russell gave her a soft kiss. “Go get some sleep. You look weary.”

“I feel weary. I love you.”

“I love you also. That is the problem, you are very easy to love.”

Em smiled. Love was not supposed to be a problem, it was supposed to be a solution. It was supposed to bring you happiness and make life better. “I guess.” She grabbed one of the sun blankets from the storage bag and wrapped herself in it, taking a seat on the bench. Shanagar sat beside her, dragging her into his lap as he sat back against the wall. He tugged the blanket from her and laid it over them both. He added a second one and then pulled it up over his head.

“What did they say, Shanagar?”

“They respected who I was and that was the only reason that they didn’t attack us.”

“Why did Rory storm away? He won’t talk to me.”

“I told him to go back to the helicopter and wait for you to take off. He didn’t like that much, but I was only trying to protect him. If he opened his mouth, they were going to kill him despite my presence. This group has no love for vampires and Becka has made it worse.”

Em nodded. She could only imagine how mad Rory was if Shanagar had ordered him around. She needed to talk to him and calm things down, but if he wouldn’t reply to her mental push, her hands were tied. “I guess we should get some sleep.” Em curled into his chest and he stroked her hair. Shanagar said nothing further and Em was slightly curious about what he was thinking. She was also tired and not sure that she wanted to know. Closing her eyes, she turned off the thoughts in her brain and drifted into sunrise sleep.

* * * *

Mia sat bolt upright, grabbing for Rory. “Get up!” She turned and shook Salt with the same desperation.

Rory glared at her. “What’s the problem, Mia?”

“You need to get up, something is happening and…I don’t know. I just feel it.”

Rory glanced out the window of the helicopter. The sun was down, but there was no sign of trouble outside the window. He sighed and got up, walking to the front to slide open the door. It had been a bad sleep on an uncomfortable, barely padded bench and Mia had made it worse by almost pushing him on the floor. She had been extremely restless and had kept both of them awake.

Rory heard something, but he couldn’t quite identify it. He spun on the seat and slid to the ground, gazing up and down the road. There was no sign of anyone as if they were being attacked. What he was hearing was an odd gurgling sound coming from the opposite side of the road. Whatever was making the sound was blocked by the helicopter that Em had been flying.

Walking quickly, he crossed the highway. The passenger’s door on the helicopter was open and Russell was still sleeping in the driver’s seat. He glanced inside and spotted Shanagar on the back bench. What a cocky smug, son a bitch he was. Of course Em liked him. Shanagar had an extremely commanding personality, just like Rory.

Rory supposed that Shanagar was probably right in telling him to return to the helicopter. Rory had heard the lead shifter make a comment about respecting Shanagar, but Rory didn’t have their respect. To them, he was simply a vampire who wasn’t welcome on their turf.

He walked to the edge of the road, wondering where the hell Em had gotten to. Why would she go for a walk on her own? That was a stupid question. She was upset, and he hadn’t helped anything by blocking her out.

There was a pier to his left, a small area that looked as if it had once been a place to launch boats. The sound was growing dimmer, but it was also accompanied by the splash of water as if something was thrashing close to the surface. Rory suddenly had an idea of what he was hearing. He raced down to the boat launch and looked over the rocky edge.

Two alligators were fighting to tug apart a body that was just under the surface. “Fuck, Shanagar!” Rory screamed, knowing that he was the best person to call. Rory leapt onto one of the huge alligators and tried to pry its jaws from Em’s body. She was unconscious, her flesh looking like ground meat. One of her arms had been torn off and her opposite leg had been badly bitten.

Rory punched and kicked at the creature beneath him, but with the hard slatted skin, it was doing no good. Shanagar leapt over his head as the alligator beneath Rory released its hold on Em’s side and began to roll in the water. Rory held on, grabbing the underside of the creature’s snout as he wrapped his legs around the beast’s body. Rory pulled back on the head, farther and farther, rendering the animal somewhat helpless. It was trying to get in into the deeper water at the center of the canal, but Rory could not allow that. He now needed to get off the creature without getting eaten himself.

Sliding his hands upward on the beast’s face, he held its jaws tight. There had long ago been a show about alligators on television and he had seen it on a few occasions. If he remembered correctly, an alligator could bite down with substantial force, but he had no power when it came to lifting upward with his top jaw. Rory held the mouth shut, as he released his legs from around the creature’s stomach. Using his legs, Rory kicked in a flash, turning the beast as if with a rudder and swimming it toward shore. When he got close enough to stand, Rory walked up the ramp, dragging the beast with him. He looked over at Shanagar and saw that the larger man had the alligator on its back and he had ripped the stomach open. Rory didn’t intend to kill the beast, he just wanted to get it away from Em.

Shanagar removed her arm from the beast’s stomach and Rory grimaced. Again he had thought that Shanagar was being senselessly cruel. Again, he was wrong. He pushed the alligator away from Em’s body and lifted Em from the water, carrying what was left of her to the shore. As soon as Shanagar was out of the water, Rory turned and released the alligator. It hissed at him, but then simply thrashed its tail, swimming away.

Rory went after Shanagar. He found that he had laid Em on the pavement. Rory knelt down beside him. “Oh fuck.”

“Yeah, no kidding. I’m glad that she is a vampire, because otherwise, she wouldn’t have a chance. At least she hasn’t given up and died yet. Most people, even vampires, don’t possess that strong a will to live. ”

“Em has lived through many things that would have killed most. I have to admit though that this is by far the most gruesome thing that has happened to her.” Russell examined her quickly. “Actually, considering what happened, other than her arm and the numerous bites, she isn’t in that bad a shape. At least she is unconscious. That’s a good thing.”

“That is probably a necessary thing because she may not have enough fluid left in her body to support her brain.”

Rory nodded in agreement. He lifted her amputated arm and shoved the bone back into the empty socket in her shoulder. He pushed what little connecting skin was left up over the muscle and then used a blade to slice his own hand. Rory dripped his blood over the new connection, giving the flesh new energy to rebuild her. “Care to help me?”