A Destined Death (24 page)

“Awake? Yes, I snuck into the guest bathroom about ten minutes ago. By the way, thanks so much for picking me up at the airport last night. It was real nice of you to invite me out for a visit.”

I smiled, grateful for her explanation. “No problem.”

“So we’re going shooting?” Candy asked, sizing Tommy up from head to toe.

“Yes, ma’am. Have you ever shot before?” He smiled excitedly at her like she was a brand new BB gun.

She smirked before she spoke offhandedly, “A time or two. What are we shooting?”

“Just bottles. I got a month’s worth of my dad’s favorite pastime in the back.” He nodded toward the bed of his truck.

“What’s the rest for?” I asked, peeking inside at the supplies.

“You’ll see…if you’re not busy, that is.”

“No, Tommy, we’re not busy. I could use some time outdoors right now.”

“Is that all right with you, Miss Candy?”

“Sure,” she drawled dryly, clearly not impressed by the honor of having a Miss used before her name. She jumped into the truck first and formed a protective buffer between the driver and me.

Tommy seemed to take that as a sign that she was warming up to him. “Where are you from, Candy?”

“The city.”

“Which one?”

“I’m from Portland originally. That’s where I met Elizabeth. Now I live in Seattle,” she said confidently, again proving how competent she was at covering all the bases.

The gravel roads went on endlessly as Tommy skillfully navigated his way through God’s country. When he turned onto a minimum maintenance road that looked worse than my driveway, I had to ask, “How far are we going?”

“It’s just up ahead. My dad owns a little lot by the lake.”

“Like a cabin?” Candy brightened.

Tommy chuckled. “Not exactly.”

When the lake came into view, there was no cabin or shack, just an empty plot by the lake, inhibited by snakes, gophers, and probably a hundred other unsuspecting creatures. He stopped away from lake and unloaded the barrels of bottles, two folding chairs, a 4x4, and a tarp before he parked. He pulled off a cooler, some chunks of wood, and a blanket that he spread out on the beach.

“Ladies,” he offered, extending an arm toward the blanket. “Please make yourselves at home while I set up.”

I thanked him and lay across the blanket. When he walked far enough away, I turned to Candy. “Thank you for saving my life. I should have told you that right away. I’m sorry.”

Candy lay down beside me and nodded proudly.

“Tell me what happened that day in the bakery. I’m not even sure, it all happened so fast. And that guy, Johnny, said he missed your taste. How did you get away from him before?”

She leaned in close to me and lowered her voice. “When Johnny caught me three years ago, he almost killed me. At the last second, he stopped, and I don’t know why but he let me live. That’s against the vampire code, you know. It was a dangerous thing for him to do, and he knew there could be consequences.”

I raised my eyebrows. “What do you mean, consequences?”

“Like I said the other day, vampires can freely feed off those who have been bitten without consequences because we already know they exist. But I was a fresh mark that he created. If I would have tried to expose vampires, he and I both would have been killed.”

“What do you mean? By who?”

“The Elders,” she said with a solemn expression.

“Elders?” I repeated. “You mean there’s a group of old vampires that keep the secret? How do they know if someone’s going to tell?”

“I don’t know. Maybe they have a crystal ball or something. Anyway, I knew the police couldn’t help me, and I’m smart enough not to get myself locked up in a mental institution.” She shrugged. “But after that, vampires started hunting me every night, and I stayed in a church for weeks to keep myself safe. That’s when Mil…Draven stepped in. Apparently, he’d already been studying me, thinking I would make a great servant. He saved me. I’m safe in his home.”

“But what did you do in that bakery? Where did the smoke come from, and why did you shoot them? You must have known it wouldn’t hurt them for long.”

Candy exerted another proud smile. “Draven taught me that. The smoke is a concoction he invented himself over the years. It paralyzes them for five minutes. I keep several in my purse at all times. The bullets are laced with nicotine which affects their sense of smell. The process Draven designed himself, allows ten full minutes for us to get safely away.”

“He designed it?”

Candy giggled, putting a hand over her mouth. “He even made me practice on him.”

“Wow.” I felt totally astounded by all the precautions Draven had taken and everything he’d gone through to keep me safe. When he first said he’d put a plan in place, I had no idea how much planning was actually involved. The thought made me love him even more and only proved how important it would be for me to stay alive.

Candy reached across the blanket to grab a chunk of worn red glass off the beach. “I’m just glad Johnny had turquoise eyes,” she said offhandedly.

The oddity of the comment pulled my attention. “What do you mean?”

“If a vampire has turquoise eyes, it means they possess good and evil qualities.” She held up the red piece of glass. “If they’d been red, I’d be dead for sure.”

I shivered at the reminder of the hundreds of red eyes in Paris, but sat up and managed a smile when Tommy walked toward us.

“Are ya’all done with the girl talk now? Is it safe to come back?”

“All done,” Candy piped up.

He shot me a “did she say anything about me” look. “Good. Are you ready to learn how to shoot?”

“Sure,” Candy said.

Tommy had set up the folding chairs on either side of the 4x4 to hold it off the ground. On top of the board, he’d lined beer bottles across the top. “Okay, we got twenty to start with. I’ll grab the guns.”

Four shots rang out before he made it to the truck. He turned as Candy blew on the tip of her own pistol. She’d broken every fifth bottle.

“Nice!” he exclaimed. “Can you do that too, Elizabeth?”

I frowned.

“She’ll be able to by the time we’re done. Won’t she, Tommy?”

“Sure will, Candy,” he said to the co-conspirator.

Both stood there, holding out guns for me to take. I cringed, wondering if Draven would save me from this if I called him. “I…I think I should just watch for a bit,” I suggested, pulling my legs to my chest.

“You’re right,” Candy agreed. “You should know the basics about guns first.”

Candy spent a long time explaining the gun, the safety, and how to aim. When that didn’t work to ease my tension, she simply offered a serious reminder: “It could save your life one day, and we both know how important that is.”

I finally agreed, but the cold steel felt like a demon in my hands. After missing the first ten times, I relaxed a little, realizing that I wasn’t going to hurt anything anyway. Candy and Tommy both worked with me and showed me how to steady myself. By the time the last bottle shattered, I felt moderately comfortable with the gun and could hit surprisingly well even with a bandaged hand.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“No,” I admitted. “It was kind of fun once I got going.”

“See,” Candy said.

Tommy picked up the tarp with all the broken glass on it and dumped it into the garbage cans before he reloaded the items into the truck. When he finished, he hauled the bundles of wood closer to the water and carefully propped them against each other. They lit up beautifully after a few tries.

“What are we doing now?” I asked.

“Bonfire,” he said. He dragged the cooler over to the blanket and tried to get a seat in between us but Candy quickly moved to my side and offered him the next seat over. I thought I saw him blush before he reached into the ice and handed us each a soda.

As the sun went down on the other side of lake, it cast a yellow glow across everyone’s face. No one spoke. Tommy stared at Candy, Candy stared at me, and I watched the sun set.

“You are going to make the most beautiful bride, Elizabeth.”

“Bride? Hot damn, Elizabeth, you’re getting married?”

Candy gasped, her eyes wide as if panic-stricken. “He didn’t know?”

“It’s all right,” I assured her. “I just didn’t have a chance to tell him yet.”

“Congratulations! When’s the big day?” Tommy jumped up to shake my hand but Candy’s horrified expression didn’t fade.

Her head hung low when she walked off to sit alone on the tailgate of the truck.

“I’m not sure yet. Candy came down to help me with the details. She’s amazing, and she’s a wonderful friend. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her,” I said loud enough for her to hear. I kept spewing compliments until her face finally lightened, and she smiled.

After dark, Tommy loaded up the rest of the supplies and put the fire out. We rode in silence across the bumpy path, and as soon as we returned to the house, I ran to the porch swing, grateful to be out of the rough riding vehicle.

Tommy stopped Candy before she made it out of the truck. I had seen it coming. I knew he would ask the young, beautiful girl out, and I prayed she wouldn’t hurt his feelings too badly. To my surprise, they both smiled when they reached me. Candy sat down beside me, and Tommy said he had to run but thanked us both for the wonderful day.

“What was that all about?”

“He wanted a picture of me to show to his friends, and then he asked my permission to say we’re dating.”

I raised an eyebrow. “He didn’t ask you out?”

“No, apparently he doesn’t want a woman who can outshoot him. He said it would be too dangerous.” She laughed. “Besides, I would have told him no, anyway. You deserve a virgin’s blood, Milady.”

I looked away.
That
was a conversation I wasn’t ready to have.

Candy slipped into the house and returned with a soda and a first aid kit. “Here,” she said, handing me the cold drink. “I need to change your bandage.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong tonight,” I offered as she cared for my hand, “and I appreciate everything you do for me.”

Candy smiled but didn’t look up. “Thank you, Milady.”

“Eliza…beth?”
Draven’s voice sounded strained.

I froze immediately.
Draven! What’s wrong?

“I found him but we’re weak.”
He tried to laugh but it came out as a wet cough.
“We’ll be there soon.”

I nervously paced the porch while time crushed down on me. I knew Draven could teleport to the house in seconds, not minutes. Not minutes! After an excruciating ten minutes ticked by, two large vampires finally appeared in front of the steps, falling down as they hit with some unseen impact.

“Draven!” I screamed. Candy and I both ran to help them to their feet but I screamed again when I saw the blood and the holes through their tattered brown suits. I yanked the hair off my neck. “Drink, now!”

Armando looked at me and then at Candy’s neck, weakly rubbing it with his hand. “May I?”

I looked at Candy to make sure she didn’t mind. She looked at me to make sure it was all right. “Of course,” I finally said.

Returning my attention to Draven, I pulled his head into my neck. It only took seconds before his instinct took over, and I moaned with pleasure. I heard the metal chunks rain out of their bodies as the two thirsty vampires fed.

Armando laid Candy’s limp body on the ground when he finished with her. “Oh, she
is
sweet. Nothing but the best for Elizabeth, I see. Just as it should be. Nice to finally meet you again, Elizabeth. My name is Armando.”

When Draven released me, he looked drunk and happy but I stared at Candy’s lifeless body, feeling alarmed. In an exasperated tone, I asked, “Is she all right?”

“Fainted, I’m afraid. I’ll tend to her after I’ve introduced myself properly, I promise.” Holding out his hand, he looked strong, fresh, and devilishly similar to Draven. His hair was longer and straighter but I saw the resemblance in their features.