Dalton, Tymber - Love and Brimstone [Brimstone Vampires 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) (40 page)

In her mind she heard a chuckle, knew it wasn’t her. There was nothing at all funny about this mess she was in.

Add losing my mind and gaining a disembodied voice to the list. Why the hell not? Check.

She’d reached the far side of the back basin area, just past Vixen Geyser. She could backtrack and take the cut-through trail, see Steamboat, then reach out to Matthias and let him stop worrying.

Taz stopped for a break. There were less people now, except for the two men she kept noticing behind her. They didn’t look dressed for a hike. They looked like foreign tourists.

* * * *

“How far?” Matthias moaned from the backseat. He was still in pain but at least coherent.

Albert checked the map. “Just ahead.”

Matthias nodded and pulled his hands from his face. His eyes looked horribly bloodshot, tears of pain streaming down his cheeks. She’d nailed him good. “Okay. When we get there, we’ve got to split up.”

“There’s the entrance.” Albert pointed, and Robertson braked hard, sliding around the corner, narrowly missing an RV in the process.

“Don’t stop. Circle the lot and see if the car’s here,” Matthias ordered.

They found the other Land Rover at the far end. Matthias stumbled from the backseat, the sword in hand. “Let’s go. Do we have a map?” She was here. He could feel her, he just couldn’t reach her.

Or reach out to her.

Fortunately, that late in the day the tourists were starting to thin out. The men found the box of trail guides and grabbed two without paying, barely breaking stride as they hit the museum.

Robertson found a volunteer and didn’t bother talking. He touched her shoulder and caught her eye. She looked at him, woozy, and he bolted toward Porcelain Basin. “She saw her go this way.”

Matthias stopped at the top of the descent and closed his eyes, almost afraid to reach out. He sensed Taz’s presence. She was here, or had been not too long before. He raced down the steps, trying to find her, and sent the guards to cover the other part of the trail while Robertson and Albert pounded down the path after Matthias.

* * * *

Taz decided to cut her hike short. She felt bad about scaring Matthias, even worse about possibly hurting him. The sooner she got back, apologized, told the truth about what happened, and made amends with Matthias and Rafe, the sooner she could put it behind her.

And yes, she admitted she needed Matthias’ help. Obviously she wasn’t able to control herself—yet. Matthias was right. She was acting like a spoiled child. She needed to put on her big-girl panties and stop fighting the men. They were only trying to help her. They were right, and she was wrong.

God, she
hated
admitting that.

She turned back toward the shortcut, not paying attention to the two men until she was past them, smiling at them in passing. Something strange about them tickled her mind.

Taz consulted the guide. The path would take her past Corporal and Veteran Geysers, and Cistern Spring, before she hit Steamboat Geyser. She started to put the guide away when she got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Forcing herself not to run, she tried to look around without being obvious, even though her heart trip-hammered in her chest.

The two men had doubled back, following her.

The voice in her head chimed in with its opinion.
“
Taz baby, beat feet. Get the fuck out of here!”

I should tell Matthias where I am.
She lifted the barrier in her mind a little.

* * * *

Matthias tried to locate her as he thundered down the trail past Ledge Geyser. The trail split ahead—where was she? The others were on his heels, and when he felt Taz in his mind, he slid to a stop, the others nearly running into him.

“Wait.” Matthias spun around, looking. He could see through her eyes. She wasn’t on this path. He ripped the map from Albert’s hands. “She’s on the other—”

Through her mind he saw the two men following her and realized who they were. “No!” he screamed, and pushed past Albert and Robertson, running back the way they came.

* * * *

The taller one nervously looked at his partner. The shorter one reached into his pocket. Taz sensed rather than saw this and broke into a run. This was a damn good time to chuck her pride.

“Matthias!”

She realized what it was about them. They had the same smell as Babson, the same smell as someone at the meeting that morning, but it was hard to tell at first because with the geysers and hot springs, they blended right in. She didn’t know if she could outrun them and decided she might have to stand and fight. Would they be susceptible to her powers?

* * * *

“Matthias!”

He pushed himself harder.
“
Taz, I’m here! Run!”

He raced through the museum, pushing past people and down the trail on the other side. Now he knew where she was heading and could meet her.

“Taz, run!”

Albert and Robertson followed close on his heels, both feeling through Matthias what was happening, not wasting breath on words. They followed him down the path toward Steamboat Geyser.

* * * *

Taz heard Matthias close by and pushed herself.

Then she stumbled.

Every horror movie she ever saw flashed through her mind. She knew she couldn’t outrun them, so she took a deep breath and turned. Reaching out with her mind, she saw into their thoughts, knew what happened.

The shorter demon panicked, knowing they couldn’t take her in a fair fight. He raised the gun and fired. She heard the noise, and by the time it registered he’d shot her, the bullet plunged into her chest.

It knocked the breath out of her. Everything moved in slow motion, and she screamed Matthias’ name again.

The demons closed the distance, oblivious to the dozen or so tourists who’d turned at the sound of the shot. The taller one nervously approached her splayed body, watched her gasp for air.

“Shit, man. What do we do now? She’s not dead.”

The short one raised the gun. “What the hell do you think?”

Chapter Thirty-One

Her scream hit Matthias so hard it knocked him down. Then he heard the shot.

“Go!” he yelled, “Run!”

Albert and Robertson raced past him, and he scrambled to his feet. “Hold on, Taz,” he moaned, in agony with her, “I’m coming!”

Albert rounded the corner first and screamed. The demon looked up as he fired again and missed, the shot kicking up a cloud of dust to her right. The guards, now catching up from behind, tackled the two
daemon pulverem
and disarmed them. Matthias stumbled down the path and tossed the sword to Robertson, who quickly dispatched the demons.

Matthias fell to his knees beside Taz and pulled her into his lap.

She couldn’t talk, every breath a struggle. The chest wound bubbled, sucking, and her eyes rolled in her head. He was losing her, felt her slipping from his mind.

“Hang on, Taz. Please, hang on.” Matthias tore at his wrist with his teeth, forcing the ragged and bloody wound against her lips. It couldn’t be too late.
Please, God, it can’t be too late!

Robertson and Albert dropped to their knees beside them, helpless.

Her eyes closed. She wasn’t latching on.

“Come on, Taz, please,” Matthias begged. “You have to drink, you can’t leave me.”

She didn’t move.

* * * *

From somewhere in the dark room in her mind, Taz thought she heard Matthias’ cries, pleading with her, begging. She was so tired, hurt so bad. She could just close her eyes and rest, and then it would feel better.

She looked around and saw a new door in her mental room, one she hadn’t pictured before. From around its edges seeped a beautiful soft, bluish glow. She reached for it. Through it, she instinctively knew, was a calm, soothing peace.

“Taz, please! Drink!”
Matthias cried in her mind.

She wasn’t thirsty. She was tired, and she hurt.

If she went through the door, she could rest. It wouldn’t hurt anymore. Her hand touched the doorknob and found it cool, comforting.

Then she tasted something warm and sweet. Blood.

Matthias’ blood.

She thought she heard a voice and looked around. In the distant corner of the room, a shadowy figure emerged. It didn’t scare her. It actually filled her with peace, like a lost, familiar friend.

“Taz baby, sweetheart, don’t leave him. Please. Don’t open that door. You need to drink. You have to drink. For both of us…”

* * * *

The bodyguards tried to keep people back. Matthias sobbed, begging, pleading, pressing his wrist against Taz’s mouth, rocking her. “Taz, Anastazia, don’t leave me, you can’t leave me.”

She took a long, ragged breath and lay still in his arms.

“Matthias,” Albert said quietly, “it’s over. She’s gone.”

“No!” He tore at his wrist again, drawing more blood, and pressed it against her lips. “No! I won’t let her go!”

Robertson fought his own despair, knew Matthias was on the verge of losing his mind. He started to reach out to Matthias when he saw Taz’s lip twitch.

Matthias looked, dropping his forehead to hers. “Drink, you have to drink, you have to. Please, don’t leave me, don’t leave me, you can’t leave me. I love you.”

They watched her lips move, and Matthias squeezed his arm with his other hand, trying to force more blood into her mouth. “That’s it, you can do it, Taz, you can do it.”

* * * *

It
was
blood! She looked around, knowing she had to find the source. She backed away from the door, and it disappeared.

She heard Matthias’ voice in her mind, stronger, pleading. “
Drink, you have to drink, you have to.”

She turned to look for the figure and—

Her eyes flew open as she gasped for air. It hurt like hell, her lungs on fire, every breath an excruciating effort. Suddenly, her mouth was full of Matthias’ blood, and she was so thirsty, thirstier than she’d ever been in her life.

Albert and Robertson grabbed each other. They watched Taz working at Matthias’ wrist, and he rocked her, encouraging, begging. She managed to bring a hand to his and press his wrist against her mouth, her fingers clutching at him.

“That’s it,” Matthias sobbed. “You can do it.”

Her eyes closed again, and she sank her teeth into his flesh, moaning in pain. He closed his eyes and didn’t care if she stopped in time or not. She was taking him, she would be okay, she would heal.

He tried to hold on to consciousness, but he heard Albert and Robertson’s voices spinning down behind him as the world went grey then black. Before he lost consciousness he heard her voice in his mind.

“Matthias.”

* * * *

Matthias’ limp body was sprawled on the trail. Taz tried to sit up, disoriented, shaky. Robertson pulled her into his lap while Albert tended Matthias.