New Blood (The Blood Saga Book 2) (7 page)

“Does she know anything, Damien?”
Jezabell asked, trying to come across as casual, but failing horribly.

“If she knew, do you think she
would have been so calm?” I turned my head to glare at the beautiful young creature
whose only response was to sigh. “She doesn’t know. I was careful to keep her
distracted from thinking about it.”

“Oh, we noticed.” She smiled coyly
while shooting me a look that was unexpectedly sinister.

Hendrick grunted again irritably
from his place in the far back. Trying to hide the smirk, I glanced back at
Hendrick. The hummer was big sure. Really big actually, but still not quite big
enough for Hendrick. Plus he hated riding in the back. As I did, he preferred
driving.

Phoenix snickered lightly from his
place in the back seat as Lara reached over and pat Hendrick’s thigh
consolingly. “Explain to me again why we could only take one vehicle?” he
grumbled.

“Last I checked, Vampires weren’t
supposed to be claustrophobic,” Phoenix remarked, inciting Hendrick to reach
and flick him hard in the shoulder.

“I’m not claustrophobic! Just ready
to get out and run. That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?” Hendrick retorted with a
snarl, the tension obviously getting to him. It was easy to understand.

Aside from Lianna he was the
youngest of us all. Not to mention as good of a man as he could be, he could
also be twice as unstable. But he was without a doubt the best tracker any of
us had ever met. So yes, that was exactly why he was there.

“Don’t worry, Hendrick, soon you
can start running,” Jezabell remarked casually, though I could see the strain
in her eyes as well as read it in her thoughts.

Nothing had seemed quite right
about the entire plan. It wasn’t just leaving Lianna, though that was vastly a
large part of it for me. Any time away from her was nearly intolerable. More
than that, it was strangely painful.

She eased a part of my soul I had
not realized was so horrendously strained. Now I couldn’t stand to be away from
her. And she thought herself pathetic. Shaking my head, I shook my head. Even
still there was more to it than that.

Was it their tension getting to me?
Was it Lianna being left alone so soon? Was something else wrong that I’d yet
to fathom?

“You’re certain Liahm was talking
about
the
Nekayla?” Phoenix questioned right on cue.

“Who else could he have been
talking about?” I grimaced at hearing the name aloud. “The Descendant mentioned
a woman called Kayla in the area. Nekayla can easily come across as human when
she needs to. She certainly has the power. Then Liahm said
her
name. Who
else if not the sisters would go to such extent?”

“Just seems they would be more
efficient. Things have been a touch messy thus far. Have they not?” Phoenix’s
voice was emotionless as ever.

“They don’t like to get their hands
dirty. We all know that… It’s possible they simply underestimated the situation.
Or overestimated their crew,” Jezabell rose to my defense but it only sparked
my anger more.

“Now Anna is a situation?” Jezabell
glowered at me but no one spoke of Lianna or Nekayla directly again.

Hendrick snarled low. “Dead blood
up ahead.” If I could smell blood like a shark, what the hell was Hendrick?
Another minute we could all smell it, too.

Human blood. Potent human blood and
lots of it. Dragons were such messy creatures. The smell made my head spin
feverishly.

Breathing in deeply, I closed my
eyes. The last I had tasted fresh human blood was from Anna. It had been
amazing even if it had done a number on me. I didn’t consider her poisonous.
Lianna was more like a really powerful drug. An addicting, albeit dangerous one
at that.

Strangely, since she’d turned, her
blood had become even more intoxicating. And incredibly powerful. Drinking from
her had completely cured me from the effects of the bloodstone, the venom, and
whatever had happened to me from drinking from her before turning.

“Yes, we’re almost there now… If
the Dragon was at fault for these deaths then we’ll know. They always leave a
trail and this one is injured. With any luck we will be on him before sundown,
and this will be over quickly,” Jezabell spoke as she floored it up the steep
path of the mountain. She thought it that simple. Hunt the dragon down and kill
it.

The White Mountain national forest
had been reported in papers across the east coast to have fallen victim to a
slew of vicious bear attacks in the area. However, what the humans called a
bear was actually something far more deadly.

The Dragon that had escaped the
night Lianna died was feeding. He was wounded, and ill from Lianna’s blood. He
would have to feed a lot to recover. Dragons, even Crossbreeds do not just
drink blood. They eat their prey alive.

When creatures of the night fall
ill, we feed. And Dragons feed more than most. Unfortunately, word of the bear
attacks had persuaded human hunters to flood the area in search of the vicious
bear. This apparently had ended in a lot more death for the human race.

Jezabell was still driving but the
Hummer wasn’t fast enough to placate neither Hendrick nor I. We both pushed our
doors open simultaneously, (back hatch for Hendrick) barely avoiding the trees
as we jumped from the vehicle and took off running on foot.

The Hummer screeched to a stop in
the mud dead in the center of the trail. “Phoenix go!” Without responding, he
was gone.

As the door closed, I turned to
head up the stairs to change and pull my hair down. He’d have to rip the dress
off another day. I’d wear it again if for no other reason. What I had in mind
for the day required much less attire. Finding an entire rack of bathing suits
made me nearly giddy but there were only a few I would ever be caught dead
wearing.

Get it? Caught dead.

Summer was halfway over and I hadn’t
been swimming once. Despite my lifelong pale skin, I loved the water.

There was a lake or something
nearby. I had been able to smell the water when I went out with Damien.

It was early in the day and I was
wearing a black bikini covered by jeans and a tank top. Barefoot as I ran, I
discovered I rather liked the feel of the earth under my bare feet.

Hearing the recoil of the
frightened animals thrilled me. Unlike most humans who seemed to take a liking
to some Vampires, animals usually knew when a stronger predator was amongst
them. Humans were often weak with stupidity or too arrogant for them to be
afraid. Was it not a basic belief that they were at the top of the food chain?

My mind took its well-needed leave
of absence. I let my instincts take me over. My entire purpose for the day was
this freedom.

Following the smell of water all
the way to the Taughannock falls, I was not aware when I left the protected
lands of the estate.

Stupid, stupid child…

Stripping down to my bikini, I hung
the clothes off a tree limb. Climbing the cliff rocks alongside the falls I was
faster than a mountain lion despite trying to take my time and enjoy each
second.

Leaping from rock to rock, I let
myself dangle from my fingertips just to feel the sheer velocity of my
strength. Easily lifting my body from rock to rock, I climbed like a spider.

For a Vampire every second could be
accounted for in some magnificent experience. Standing at the edge of the
water, wading in slowly, I let my hands rest at the surface feeling the rushing
current glide around me. Unable to move my statuesque figure.

Slowly walking to the very edge of
the fall, the water flowed furiously around me. I only moved by my will. No one
and nothing else could push me. Mother Nature herself I thought could not sway
me. Not now, maybe not ever again.

Such horrid arrogance…

My hands rose up into the air. My
head hung back. Eyes closing slowly as I listened to the rushing water flood
the world around me. My immediate world anyway.

Leisurely I fell. I made it the
greatest attempt to fall as slowly as I could. Falling with the weight of the
water as if I were no more than one single microscopic drop of water
intermingled with the billions of others that surrounded me.

Drown me as it tried- I knew I was
stronger than this earthly force. Swimming under water for hours simply because
I could, only coming up inside the water fall, I allowed the force to flow down
on me as if it were no more than a nice shower.

At long last I decided it was
plenty time to make my way out of the water. I had no clue what time it was.
Nor did I care. The sun had set. I was not Anna. I was something much different.

Swimming up to the surface at last,
the water leaving my ears unleashed the world of sound on me again. The
crickets even the frogs and the snake slithering through the grass looking for
its next meal.

Was I like the snake? Would I spend
the rest of my days looking for my next meal? Perhaps.

Emerging from the water, I heard a
shuffling. Rocks and grass crunching into the ground. Two sets of boots hiking
through the rocks and moss, close to the edge of my pool. Mindless breathy
chatter in rich male baritone. Such a beautiful melody.

My blood began to swim through me
like the rapid current as it began to boil. Cautiously, every one of my senses
scanned the area. For what danger though? I was the predator now. The men eyed
me as I made my slow emerge. The most persuading of all smiles soft on my full
crimson lips.

One of them looked slightly
concerned to see a woman out by herself as dusk settled upon us. The other just
looked anxious. There was no stopping what was to come now. The sound of their
beating hearts filled my ears. They smelled musky, but one was sweeter.
Mmm
.
Both would satisfy the burning need that overwhelmed me.

The anxious one arched a brow as he
observed me. His lips curled into a cocky grin as he nudged his friend with an
elbow.

The other stopped when his friend
did, and with a groan of annoyance pulled out his canteen lifting it to his dry
lips, taking a deep drink. As he drank I  watched the muscles in his neck. The
veins rippled and pulsed as he quenched his thirst, absorbing my full
concentration.

Yes, that’s what I needed. I needed
to quench my thirst. Taking another step I paused again, my head tilted
slightly to the side. Wet tangled strands clung and fell over my shoulders with
a few over my cheeks and eyes.

“Hey, sweetheart,” the anxious one
spoke. “What are you doing out here alone? Getting kinda late. You must be cold.”
He chuckled vivaciously. He had no idea how cold I was. My smile sweetened as I
looked to him, watching them both more keenly now.

Rolling his eyes, the friend
sighed, mumbling under his breath, “Let it go, man. You don’t have a chance.”

My head cocked to the side from his
comment and kept my pretty smile soft on my lips.
No. He doesn’t have a
chance.

The friend eyed me more carefully
now as he re-secured his canteen. Though his mind told him it was impossible,
the look in his eyes registered danger. I could smell just the faintest hint of
fear.

“What’s the matter, honey? You don’t
need to be afraid of us,” his voice was cocky, lit with arrogant laughter.

My laugh was soft. If they’d had
keen ears they would have heard the melodic echo that caused the animals in the
near woods to slither, crawl and run away.

“I’m not afraid.”
But you should
be.

The anxious one spoke again as
something caught his friend’s attention. He watched me carefully now. “Are you
all alone out here?”

The anxious man was large. Firm
build. An athlete? Maybe he was just obsessed with himself. I hoped so.

“Yes.”

Pulling his pack off, the friend
grumbled, disapproving. Laying it on the ground, he plopped down on top of it
as a makeshift chair.

Folding his arms over his chest, he
watched with very mild amusement. More annoyance than anything though. He didn’t
want to be here, but he didn’t get in the way of his friend either.

How kind of him. How grateful I was
to him. I would not let him suffer. The younger anxious one practically trotted
down the slope to the water’s edge as I emerged from my pool to the rocky
beach.

His hand reached for mine as I
reached the shore line. My hand extended to his slowly as if cautious or
nervous. I just didn’t need him screaming.

Sliding my wet fingers carefully
into his large masculine hand I realized how incredibly warm he was. How
different it was to touch this man over another of my kind. Our skin is cold
and hard. Our hearts do not beat, and so the movement of our blood is very slow
usually, only moving at all from the blood that fuels our lives.

Crimson life pulsed beneath his
flesh much more rapid than my own. It felt amazing. Electrifying me in the most
serene manner. It was so contradicting in all ways. The most painful form of
pleasure there ever was. I stepped out of the water onto the rocky shore closer
to him. I was entranced.

“We have a camp not far from here.
We can get a fire going in no time. Come on.” Mr. Anxious pulled me dangerously
closer. His arm wrapped around my shoulders. “Well hell. You’re freezing, baby.
But don’t worry I’ll warm you up.”

The other one looked uneasy. His
gaze on me became unsteady. The arrogant one kissed my fingers. His eyes locked
on mine without sway. I could feel the throb of his pulse in his fingertips as
he brought my hand to his mouth.

The heat of his lips I could
compare to a burning sun. My fingers played with his so carefully, gliding a
single digit along the thick vein on top of his hand. Holding back a frenzied
dark laugh, I disguised it as a flustered giggle.

“Brian,” his friend spoke as he
watched me intently though he seemed more confused now. “Brian. Not this one.
Not tonight. We need to go.”

Brian sneered as he spoke to his friend
but kept his eyes on me, “Why the hell not?”

“This is a bad idea. We need to go.”
He stumbled back as he stood. The musky smell of fear wafted through the air.
It had grown stronger, pungent, delicious.

Brian grinned slow and wide as he
stared at only me. “No. It’s a great idea. Don’t worry about him, honey. Mike
here is kinda uptight is all.” Brian winked as he kissed my fingers.

“For tonight you mean? Whatever,
man. I’m outa this one.” Standing up he turned his back to us, bending down to
pick up his pack and re-strapping it to his shoulders.

The anxious one dropped my hand to
turn to his friend with a grumble and shrug. He started to speak, obviously
annoyed, “Mike-” Sadly though at that time his speech became instantly
impaired. My left hand caught his throat, jerking his neck to the right. My
body slammed into his. He felt so fragile and meek in my arms.

Power is an intoxicating thing no
matter who you are. Or what as it would seem.

Later I was probably going to
regret not letting his friend go. But he had seen me so there was no option I
would justify to myself.

With my hand crushing around his
throat I wrapped around him. My right arm held tight around his torso while my
nails dug into his back lustfully. Burying into his throat, my nose nuzzled for
just an instant into that thick throbbing muscle of the jugular as I savored my
sweet serenity.

Slowly and carefully, my teeth
scratched the surface of his salty dirty flesh. It was the most delicious flavor
my tongue had ever encountered. At least until my fangs ripped through the
concealing flesh, deep into the muscle, filling my mouth with my salvation.
Human blood. It was nothing like when Damien had bitten me when I was mortal.
Without control my fangs ripped and shredded through his skin viciously.

Mike jolted, spinning around to see
what was happening when he heard his friend’s strangled vocals. As he started
to stumble back, his jaw hung slack, eyes wide in horror. His feet faltered and
he nearly fell down the slight incline.

That good man would lose his life.
It was lost from his friend’s stupidity to begin with. Such a pity. Perhaps it
was nature’s way though. Or maybe it was just where their map led. A dead end.
Was that all I was now for all things living? A dead end to life by ways of
death and blood brought on by animalistic predatory needs for survival.

My right hand clutched to the back
of Brian’s broad shoulder as I held him tight against me. I felt a bone
somewhere in his body crack from the pressure. As he tried to fight me futilely
his body was only tense for a few seconds. As the blood loss and shock took
over, his knees gave out. Another few seconds and he would be dead.

As I continued to draw slow deep
full drinks out from the primary veins, I could hear the race of his heart
begin to struggle and come to a slow. It was the most savagely beautiful music
playing to my ears alone.

Mike lunged from the slope in a
well-aimed dive to grapple me. His body slammed into mine, his arms grabbing
for my shoulders to throw me to the ground. For him it would be as if he ran
into a brick wall. No appeal. No falter to my frame at all.

In my own time I released his
friend who collapsed to the ground at my feet. He fell as if he was no more
than a heavy sack of potatoes. From the sound of his heartbeat, it maybe had
two or three more pumps before he would be completely lost. Despite Mike’s
attack, I stopped and waited to listen. Ba-dump ba-dump … ba-dump thump thump….
Then nothing. It was over.

When the second passed my hand shot
back out, grabbing Mike’s throat. One snap. His pain was over. I promised
myself he would not suffer.