Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (185 page)

After another ten minutes, she
glanced back, surprised to see that not only was the house long
gone, but so was town. They'd covered miles already. The air had
chilled, too. Her jumping style had changed as well. Without
realizing it, Tessa had started to copy yet another smooth move of
her father's. He touched a bough, then slipped off to the next
tree, landing and gathering energy, without expending energy from a
full stop.

She couldn't ignore a sense of pride
at his moves – or with her ability to keep up with him. She might
not have his skills, gracefulness, or experience. However, she was
making up for all three with sheer guts and determination. Her crab
walk had developed to something that was similar to her father’s
moves but with a style all her own. That had to count for
something.

CHAPTER
ELEVEN

Tessa had to admit that once again
she'd misjudged her abilities. Fatigue made her legs shake and her
landings were no longer graceful. More like firewood hitting
cement.

"Come on over here. We’ll take a
quick break."

She couldn’t hide the relief on her
face when she landed beside her dad. "How much further?"

"Not. The house should be in the next
half mile. I just want to make sure you understand that things
could get dicey, depending on what we find when we get
there."

"I didn't choose it, Dad, but once
trouble came calling––"

"Don’t think that I don't appreciate
the determination and sheer guts you’ve shown. I just wish the
reason was different."

"I do, too. Now shouldn't we finish
this last half mile?"

He just stared at her and shook his
head.

"What? You don't want Mom to beat us,
do you?"

"Hell, no. She'd never let me live it
down."

Tessa grinned. The competitiveness
between her parents had provided many funny moments over the
years.

"Then lead off."

He glared at her and took off in a
smooth glide.

Alone, she allowed herself a moment
of weakness. Just one. Then, digging deep, she followed at a slower
pace. They reached their destination short moments after. She
landed on the roof of a huge house that sat in complete darkness,
hidden by large trees. Sunlight would have a hard time reaching
this place.

What a perfect vampire house. Many of
her vampire relatives had similar places on the edge of town, only
not as imposing or as large.

"Quite the place." Tessa couldn't
help admiring the sheer size of the mansion.

"Yeah. It's been in Moltere's family
forever. I can't sense him here at all."

"Did he live alone? Have a family?"
Tessa asked.

"He lost his partner over a century
ago. To my knowledge he never did find another one. As for
children…there were some. I can't say I remember the details.
Suppose I should have kept track. ‘Understand thy enemy’ and all
that. We all just tried to forget that he'd even
existed."

"Until now." Tessa walked the large
roof looking for vehicles, or any sign of occupants. "I'm not sure
anyone is here at all. Could Cody be anywhere else?"

"Possibly." Serus walked to the one
end and stared off in the distance. "Those headlights should be
your mother’s."

"So, we did beat them."

"Of course." The two exchanged
smirks. Triumphant partners.

Tessa's frown dropped away. There'd
been no triumph for Jared yet. Or Cody. And Cody was here because
he had helped her, believed in her when no one else did. She walked
to the edge of the roof and looked down. "So now what? Go in
through the front door?"

"How else?"

Tessa pointed. "Through the decks,
maybe. An element of surprise, just in case."

He joined her at the edge, glanced at
the deck she'd pointed out and nodded in surprise. "Not
bad."

They landed softly and tried the
glass knobs on the French doors. Both opened easily.

"Guess no one’s worried about
intruders, huh?" Tessa peered inside.

"They’re open because who is there
for Moltere to be concerned about? He’s the one that used to cause
all the trouble."

Serus had walked through what
appeared to be an office and out into the main upstairs hallway
while he spoke. Tessa followed, awestruck at the grandest house
she’d ever been in. "Wow," she whispered at the size of oil
paintings covering the large walls. The ceilings were vaulted and
covered in fancy scrolls.

The upper hallway was edged by a
beautiful railing. When she looked over it, she could see all the
way down. Magnificent, yet a little cold. The house was so vast it
should have been filled with kids and staff. Laughter and
conversation should echo throughout – instead, it felt empty.
Unloved.

Her father walked the upstairs
hallway and opened four doors, checking for signs of life in each
room. Nothing. She waited for him to join her. "Down a
level?"

"Yes. I’d like to be on the main
floor before the rest of the family gets here."

"Right."

They moved like clockwork going from
floor to floor, checking every room. Nothing. At the main floor
there was a huge entranceway. Footprints in the dust shone in the
moonlight. Tessa pointed them out. "Cody's energy is on those. So
they are here somewhere."

"Let’s go." Leading the way into the
kitchen, they checked every door and room they passed. Nothing. At
the kitchen, there were many confusing footprints. Tessa pointed to
one door on the side. "That probably leads to the
basement."

"And the last place we have to
check."

Tessa moved toward the door. "I don’t
think we should both go down. Remember last time?" She turned the
knob. "It’s locked."

"That’s likely where they’ll be
then."

She tested the knob. "We need to open
this. But quietly in case anyone is here." She turned to face him.
"Can I have your credit card? I want to try and use it to unlock
the door."

"What? Why?"

The look he shot her would have been
priceless under different circumstances. Most vampires had picked
up the human monetary system, as it was simple and effective. Now
that so many vampires had turned to business, it was also
convenient. He pulled out his wallet and handed her his Gold Visa.
She sighed, turning it over in her hand. Too bad they weren’t
shopping. She could do some serious damage to this card.

She’d never tried this trick herself,
but had overheard David telling Cody how to do it.

Bright lights swept through the
living room and hallway.

Tessa froze.

"That’ll be your mom. I’ll go get
her. When this is all over, we’re going to have a talk about you
and locks, young lady."

"No problem. As long as David is part
of the conversation."

Tessa
bent over the lock. What had he said? Something about slipping the
card between the door and wall, turn the handle ever so slightly
and…
snick
, the
door opened.

"Wow, wow and triple wow," she
whispered. Pocketing the precious card, she pulled the door open
and flicked the light switch. She stared down at the incredibly
long narrow staircase. She could hear her parents talking as they
approached.

"Where’s Tessa?" her mom
demanded.

"She’s trying to pick the lock on the
basement door."

"She’s what?" Tessa cringed at the
outrage in her mother’s voice. "How could she possible know such a
thing?"

"Oh, we’ll find out; don’t you
worry."

"Like I'm going to wait for that,"
Tessa muttered. As her parents rounded the corner, Tessa stormed
down the stairs. The stairs that went on forever.

"Hey, wait up." David raced down
behind her. "What’s the panic?"

She didn’t bother turning around.
"Them. Always thinking I’m a baby."

"Huh, I think you blew that out of
the water a day ago when you insisted on going after your
friend."

"What?" Tessa paused at a landing and
waited for him to catch up with her. She couldn’t see anything
below her but more stairs. "They always act like I don’t know
anything."

"I’m sure most parents would think
their kids don’t know how to pick a lock." He paused to catch his
breath. "By the way, how did you learn to do that?"

She smirked. "I overheard you and
Cody talking about it." She raced off down the stairs. "These steps
need to end soon. We have to be hundreds of feet under the ground."
She finally came to the last stair. "Any news from
Cody?"

"No. I haven’t heard back from any
texts I sent. Either he can’t or… he can’t."

"If he’s here, we’ll find him. And if
he's not here, we'll still find him…but somewhere else."

David jumped the last couple of
stairs to land beside her. "This place looks empty."

"Empty doesn’t mean empty anymore."
She quickly filled him in on the floor from the other house that
had dropped away and the stone wall that had lifted and let the
water rush in. "I’m certainly learning that vampires are a devious
lot."

"How do you think we stayed at the
top of the food chain for so long?"

"Great." She grimaced. "Let’s check
this level out."

Ten minutes later, they’d circled
once, looking for obvious rooms, hallways, any way forward.
Nothing.

"They’re not here."

"Maybe and maybe not." Tessa focused,
or maybe defocused was a better way to describe the blending of her
two types of visions, to discern the energy patterns on the floor.
Five minutes of searching high and low and …nothing. "You're right.
There's nothing here."

"Let’s go tell Mom and
Dad."

Tessa looked up the long set of
stairs and sighed. "I’m going to jump it if it’s all right with
you."

"Go for it. I’ll run."

Tessa snorted. "Now that sounds like
work." She took a jump and then another and another, going up more
steps each time. She stopped on the landing where she’d waited for
David earlier. She was gathering her energy for the next jump when
something caught her eye. She spun around then crouched at the
bottom of the back wall.

Energy. Pale, misty energy slunk
around the bottom edge. From that position, she searched the stairs
in both directions. Cody's energy had gone this far, but no
further. "Someone was here."

David raced up to her. "What did you
find?"

"Cody stopped here. There's another
energy mixed with his. Probably Jewel's."

"Here? Then where is he?"

Tessa ran her hands over the stone
walls, searching for that telltale crevasse. Yes. The door ran the
full length of the landing. "There’s a door here."

"What? Where?"

She grabbed David’s hand and showed
him the cracks delineating the break in the stone pattern.
"Somehow, this must move."

"You think Cody is behind
it?"

"Someone is – or was, at
least."

"Let’s get it open then."

They bent their heads, searching for
any mechanism to trigger the opening.

"David? Tessa?" her father’s voice
called down the long stairwell.

Tessa lifted her head. "Dad, we’re
down here on the landing. Looks like another hidden
door."

"We’re coming down."

"No, don’t do that. If we’re all
stuck down here we won’t be able to get out."

"Your
mother is going to stay up here." A heavy
whoosh
and Serus landed beside them.
"So what did you find?" he asked.

Tessa frowned. "Not sure. The energy
is sitting down at the crack. We found a break in the walls as if
for a door, but again, no visible latch to open it."

***

Cody sat with his head bent over his
knees. He hated any sensation of weakness – he was male after all.
His dad said it was from all the growth spurts and getting his
wings. He’d told Cody that his strength would come back bigger,
better and stronger. He hoped so. Felt like he sucked at everything
right now.

Jewel lounged beside him. She'd
probably dropped off to sleep. He wished he could. Worry wouldn't
let him though. He could only hope David had gotten the text
message. Otherwise, he had no idea how to get out of here. He
closed his eyes and rested. A weird sound caught his
attention.

What was that? He bolted to his feet
and spun around. The stone room was empty, the same as it had been
when they'd first entered. How could they have known that the door
would shut behind them like that?

Was he hearing voices?

He nudged Jewel awake. "I think
someone's here."

She shuddered. "Good guys or bad
guys?"

He grinned at the joke they'd been
tossing back and forth to keep themselves entertained. To keep the
panic at bay. "No idea. Maybe we should be ready for
either."