He reached for her, the connection strong, and found he was already too late. She had inadvertently strayed almost straight into the hands of one of Costin Popescu's lesser vampires.
Teagan. Hear me.
He burst into the open. The sun had just set and darkness had not taken over, but he could see the thick, dense fog. It was oily and sticky to the touch. It carried the taint of evil. His heart thudded in his chest and he tasted terror in his mouth.
Teagan, answer me now. He pushed command into his voice.
He felt her then, a small stirring, tentative, following the thread of the path he created between them. She was afraid. She felt the danger surrounding her.
Andre? There was a tremor in her voice.
I am coming to you. He tamped down his fear for her--fear that he would be too late. Just as he'd been so many years ago. He had many memories, but over the centuries they had faded until he had nearly forgotten them. But not the one he wanted to forget. The one that haunted him every rising.
I don't know if you're real.
Her breathy little voice tugged at his heartstrings. She was frightened, and he detested that she was. Even more, he detested that she had reason to be.
Look around you, sivamet.
The fog is close. Teagan's voice wavered as if she was going to lose it but then she continued. Something's in it. It touched my skin and felt wrong. It felt evil. Where it touched my hand burns. I down-climbed and I'm just under the roof which gives me a little shelter but I can feel the fog reaching for me.
He cursed silently in his ancient language. She was definitely in the path of a vampire's trap. If the fog had touched her skin, the vampire sitting in the middle of that web had just felt the tug on one of his lures and he would be creeping out to find out what kind of prey he had snagged.
I'm sorry, I know I sound a little hysterical, but I don't want whatever is in the fog to get me.
She thought he didn't believe her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her close. Protect her. But right at this moment, he needed to push those thoughts away and make certain he could protect her.
I need to see around you. Keep your eyes open. I am in your mind and I can see through your eyes. You have to do this, Teagan. You have to be brave and allow me to guide you through this.
He felt her take a breath. Felt her release it.
Okay, but if I'm crazy like my grandmother and you're just a figment of my imagination, I'm going to be really angry with you.
That nearly broke him. He wouldn't lose her. He couldn't. Not to a vampire. Not to anything. She was full of life. Strong. And she had a sense of humor that got to him every time.
Andre knew he was close to her, but close wasn't good enough, not now that he knew the vampire was also targeting her position. He slipped further into Teagan, using their strong connection, gaining her vision. He felt her first reaction, a revulsion of feeling his presence so strong in her mind.
Her terror mounted. Whatever was coming for her was close and she didn't know what to do, whether to push off the rock and chance landing wrong, stay where she was and let the fog reach her, or try to down climb to get a little closer to the ground before letting go. Having made it over the roof, she at least had a shot at not hurting herself when she jumped.
No. Do not do anything yet. Do not move.
She clung to the side of a boulder feeling vulnerable and exposed. Her body trembled. She wasn't certain if he was real or part of a hallucination, yet she remained as calm as possible, even though sharing her mind with him totally freaked her out. He wasn't altogether certain what the term freaked out meant, but he assumed it wasn't good.
The fog is almost on me.
Now there was panic creeping in. He felt it in her and realized the emotion was coming from him as well. He forced himself to shed all emotion. He couldn't afford to think of her alone and vulnerable.
Look around you. I need to use your vision. Let me see exactly where you are in relationship to the fog.
He pushed into her mind, connecting to the pathways of her vision. At once he could see her predicament. The dense, unnatural fog was creeping toward her. She either had to allow it to envelop her or she had to let herself fall from the boulder.
Keep looking at the fog.
His tone left no room for argument. His tone, his power, every bit of ancient warrior and primitive predator was in his voice. He stared into the fog, using Teagan's eyes. Even as he streaked through the darkening sky toward her, he narrowed in on the vampire making his way toward Teagan.
A fierce wind hit the fog, rushing through the dense, sticky trap to disperse it. At the same time, clouds burst open to dump rain on the vampire's web in order to neutralize the acid hidden within the mist. A bolt of light shot into the mass of fog, lighting up the sky, illuminating the interior of the fog.
Like a deadly spider, the vampire was exposed, crawling cautiously toward the boulder and his prey. The bolt nearly pierced him, forcing him to spring sideways, screaming at the intense light hitting him. For a moment he was completely visible.
Teagan screamed and closed her eyes to block out the sight of the monster. His mouth was wide open in a hideous shriek, revealing his sharpened, stained teeth. His eyes glowed red and burned with a fierce need to rend and kill. He had hair, but it was dirty and hung in mats.
"This isn't real. This isn't real," she chanted.
Open your eyes, Andre commanded. Relentless. Implacable. Forcing his will on her when it was the last thing he ever wanted.
The vampire shrieked again, and this time Andre heard the piercing cry of triumph. The lightning hadn't struck him, hadn't even slowed him down. He wanted his prize, the rich, fear-based adrenaline-spiked blood in the human. It would give him a rush, give him more power for the battle he knew was coming.
Open your eyes, Andre hissed a second time.
She obeyed. I have to let go. The boulder is slick now, making it harder to hold on to. The fog is coming. I have to jump.
Not yet, he cautioned. He saw the fall in her mind. She'd fallen many times bouldering and she knew what she was doing. He could help, floating her to the earth. Wait until I tell you. I am close by. He is dropping out of the sky toward you. Wait.
He felt her need to close her eyes, but he refused to allow it. He needed to see what was happening. He smelled the vampire now and felt the taint of evil in the air. He detested that smell and he knew, no matter how long he lived, he would never forget it. Just like the memory of his youth, that smell was locked into his mind for all time.
Do not take your eyes off of him.
More than anything else she wanted to look away, to jump and try to run, but Andre held her locked there, refusing to allow her to give in to her fears. He refused to allow himself to feel her terror, but he couldn't drown out the hammering of her heart, and he knew that sound drew the vampire like a beacon.
Breathe, slow your heart, sivamet. Do not give him the satisfaction of hearing or feeling your fear.
He didn't want her to shut down on him. He should have known she wouldn't. She stared up at the rapidly descending monster.
Now.
Andre didn't need to tell her twice. Looking down, Teagan made a visual with her landing zone then lowered her body as far as she could off the holds she was on. She let go with a small push off the slab and lifted her arms above her head to keep from hitting the rock as she fell straight down. She'd come off boulders before and she knew to keep her feet flat so there was less chance of twisting or breaking an ankle. She focused on relaxing, on keeping her body straight, and on softening her knees for impact. She fell like a cat, experienced, as if falling from this height toward the hard earth without a crash pad was the most natural thing in the world.
She expected to hit fairly hard. The fall was a good distance and she knew without the crash pad, most likely it would jar like a son of a bitch and she'd fall back on her butt. Two feet from the ground, she actually seemed to decelerate, as if
time had slowed down and with it her. When her feet touched the ground, it was truly the softest landing she'd ever had.
"What the hell?" Teagan whispered, earning her another mouth washing from Grandma Trixie. "What the hell is going on." If she was getting her mouth washed out with soap, it might as well be for a good reason.
Already she was on the ground, pulling off her climbing shoes and wiggling her toes to make certain she could run again. Grabbing her hiking boots and socks, she dragged them on as fast as she could.
The monster in the fog dove at her from above, his eyes burning right through her, streaking like a comet from outer space. She sat there, frozen for a moment while the thing just got bigger and scarier. Long, bony arms reached for her. Each hand had long, talonlike fingernails. They looked more like blades than fingernails and she was certain each was razor-sharp.
"This isn't real. This is an illusion. This isn't real. This is an illusion." She chanted the mantra over and over.
"You will give yourself willingly to me," the thing snarled, exposing his fangs as he pushed his will at her.
Her body jerked, notes in her head jarring and crashing, so far out of tune the sound hurt her ears. She didn't take her eyes from the face. He was muttering something and he looked triumphant. She realized he believed she wasn't moving because he'd forced a compulsion on her. She did hear a buzzing along with the jarring notes, but her mind refused to tune itself to the jangled tone. The sound made her stomach heave and bile rose in her throat.
"Uh. No. Not in your wildest dreams, you freak," she snapped. "Illusion or not, I'm outta here."
Her heart pounded louder, hammering in her chest, and she forced air through her lungs, remembering at the last moment what Andre had said about not giving the creature the satisfaction of hearing her fear. Andre wasn't real either, damn it. She was just losing her mind. The tea had mushrooms in it. Something. Right? There was no stilling her pounding heart.
The hell with that, Andre. You aren't here. I'm scared and there's no way to control it. Still, she didn't move.
I am with you.
How could he sound so arrogant? So confident? How could his voice resonate with her body so that every single cell reached for him? And where exactly was he? Invisible? Because she sure as hell didn't see him. Real or not, if this thing wasn't a vampire, she didn't know what it was. She was in desperate need of her grandmother's vampire-hunting kit.
The undead's burning eyes widened and his mouth stretched in glee as he reached with his bony hands. She rolled fast, away from the rock, toward the narrow trail. One fingernail sliced open her shoulder, ripping right through the material of her shirt. It burned like nothing she'd ever experienced before. She had presence of mind to snag her climbing shoes as she rolled and then she was up on her feet and running.
"This isn't happening. There's no such thing as vampires. There's really no such thing. I'm freaking out, having delusions!" she shouted as she kept running. "They aren't real. My grandmother's nuts and I'm nuts, too. None of this is real."
Something streaked above her head. She felt a terrible wind nearly blowing her off her feet as it passed, and then she heard the vampire shriek. She halted abruptly, spinning around, her heart in her throat. Andre was in front of the vampire, his solid body between her and the terrible creature. His fist appeared to be inside the undead. Black blood ran in streams down the monster's chest. He spit venomous acid at Andre. Teagan knew it was acid because it burned Andre's skin.
"Oh my God. Oh my God." She wanted to cover her eyes and ears and drown out the horrible creature's screams.
The vampire raked viciously at Andre's face, tearing long, deep furrows in the skin, opening the wounds so that his blood flowed freely. She gasped as the creature drove his teeth into Andre's throat--or rather tried to do so. Andre, with his fist and now part of his arm buried in the vampire's chest, turned his body slightly so the teeth sank into his shoulder.
The vampire tore out a chunk and, to Teagan's horror, began gulping at the blood. She couldn't run. Real or not, she couldn't leave Andre to face such a terrible thing. She had no garlic, she didn't have a stake or holy water, none of the things in her grandmother's kit. She looked around and found a rock, one that would fit her hand, her only weapon. Maybe if she bashed the vampire over the head, it would give Andre time to sharpen a stick so he could drive it through the heart of the beast. If her grandmother actually wanted to hunt and kill one of these things, she really was nuts.
Teagan caught up the rock and took two steps toward the two men. Andre was covered in his own bright red blood as well as black blood from the vampire. Everywhere the vampire's blood touched him, it burned his skin. Worse, it burned through his skin. Teagan didn't see how he could stand the pain.
Andre didn't move. Didn't defend himself from the raking nails or the savage teeth. He began to pull his arm back. There was a sickening sucking sound. The vampire screamed horribly, the sound nearly bursting her eardrums. She saw his hand rear back, his terrible, bony fingers curl into a fist, and he drove it straight into Andre, right beneath his heart. She cried out and ran toward them.
Stay back.
Andre's voice was absolutely devoid of all feeling. There was no pain, no fear, only a cold order.
Teagan skidded to a halt. There was no question of leaving. Andre's body was shredded by teeth and talons. Up close she could see the vampire had buried his hand in Andre's chest, and Andre was withdrawing his own arm from inside the monster's chest.
This was a scene straight from a horror movie--and she hated horror movies. Seriously, under any other circumstances she would have thrown up. There was no time for that sort of thing, even if the bile was right there in her throat. She had the rock, and Andre was being ripped to pieces.
He's killing you. I'll just bash him with this rock. I don't have good aim and if I throw it, it might hit you. That was strictly the truth and she tried to convey it to him with her voice, but even mind-to-mind--especially mind-to-mind--her voice was all wobbly and she sounded like a girlie-girl ready to cry. She wasn't ready to cry. She was ready to run. If that thing tore at her face and neck and gulped her blood like it was doing to Andre, she'd just keel over and faint or something.
Teagan took a firmer grip on the rock and stepped closer. The moment she did, Andre yanked his arm. The sucking sound was horrendous. Disgusting. Bile rose into her mouth, and the vampire shrieked loud enough to wake the dead. Rocks began rolling down the cliff face above them.
She couldn't move, her gaze on Andre's hand as he withdrew it from the vampire's chest. His fist was closed tight, his arm and hand covered in black blood. Everywhere the blood touched him--which was pretty much everywhere--his skin was burned. In some places, particularly his hand and upper arm, the burn was all the way to the bone. She gagged and pressed her hand to her mouth, unable to pull her horrified gaze from Andre's closed fist.
The vampire withdrew his hand from Andre's chest and rich, red blood poured down Andre's clothes. The creature seemed captivated by the flow of blood, unable to look away from it even as he reached, with a torn cry, for Andre's closed fist.
Andre opened his hand and tossed the prize away from him. Teagan saw it was a heart, blackened and shriveled. It rolled away from the vampire and Andre.
Stay back. Well back.
It was her only warning and the tone of voice Andre used had her scurrying back several feet. The movement immediately garnered her the monster's attention. He leapt past Andre and straight at her.
"I'll kill her if you don't give it back to me," the vampire snarled.
Teagan stepped into him as he reached for her, sweeping with one foot to take his legs. As the monster went down, she slammed the rock against his temple and leapt back, running toward Andre, with a vague thought of protecting him.
Teagan.
Andre simply said her name softly. In that voice. The voice that could move mountains or just plain send shivers over her body. His tone sounded just a litt
le exasperated this time, but she couldn't imagine why when she'd just knocked the crazy monster to the ground. She heard a sound and glanced behind her.
Her heart went into double time, thudding now. The vampire was already on its feet. So much for rocks and martial arts.
Andre held out his hand to her. The good one. The one not covered in black acidy goo.
She hurried to his side. "We need a stake. Do you have a knife?" She tore off her shirt and ripped the hem while he ignored her, doing something else with his hands.
The vampire roared and ran toward the heart on the ground. The heart actually rolled toward the creature. The entire thing was just plain wrong. She kept tearing at her shirt, telling herself none of it was real.
A bolt of lightning slammed down, hitting the blackened heart, incinerating it completely. The spear of white-hot energy leapt from the heart to the vampire. He disappeared in the bright glow, completely disintegrating to become a fine ash.
Andre had shoved her body behind his to protect her, but he hadn't moved a muscle. The lightning strike didn't seem to affect either Andre or her. Andre did the craziest thing and actually stuck his arms and upper body in the white, glowing light. The moment he stood straight, she shoved the torn shirt into the hole on his chest.
"We've got to get you to a hospital. I can heal things, but this is really bad and you're losing way too much blood."
His hand slid up her back to the nape of her neck and then into her hair. His fist closed around the thick ponytail of braids. "Would you like to tell me what you were doing?"
His tone gave her pause. He spoke slowly. Distinctly. Enunciating each word as if he was biting them out between his teeth.
She looked up at his face streaked with blood because she had no choice. He tilted her head back, forcing her gaze upward. She had presence of mind to keep pressure on the wound in his chest. He looked terrible. He had four long, very deep grooves in his face, and his shoulder was a hideous mess. Part of his chest was streaked with deep furrows and then there was the hole the size of the vampire's fist.
He should have been on the ground. She expected him to topple over any moment. Her legs were shaking and she was ready to fall to the ground in a girlie faint, but she had to take care of him. He didn't seem to understand that he was wounded. In shock maybe. That had to be it.