Descended by Blood (12 page)

Mirko was the first to descend the stairs. A black Chevy Tahoe drove toward our plane. It looked very official and governmental. My breath caught in my throat. I almost went into panic, thinking the clerk at the airport in Lynchburg ended up getting caught and sent the feds after us. But then Mirko waved at the driver.

A young guy got out. He looked to be about eighteen, and his light brown hair was cut similar to Mirko’s.

“Ace, my man!” They slapped hands in some kind of handshake. “Have you been waiting here long?”

“Nah,” Ace said. “I’ve been cruising around. They have a skydiving center down the road. Pricing’s not bad. We should take your friends here and go for a ride,” he said grinning and then grabbed one of Kaitlynn’s bags to put into the trunk.

“That’s going to have to wait until we get this situation with Slatki over here resolved.” Mirko pointed back at me.

We introduced ourselves to Ace.

“Will you drive me up to the terminal? I’ll get things situated, then we can leave,” Mirko said. I knew when he said “situated” he meant that he was going to do some memory rearranging.

“Sure,” Ace said, taking bags from Jaren and me to toss them, along with Kaitlynn’s, into the back of the truck.

Mirko sat shotgun, and the rest of us got in the back seat. I sat in the middle because I wanted to sit by Kaitlynn, but I didn’t want it to be too obvious that I was avoiding Jaren. So, I sucked it up.

Ace parked near the back doors of the terminal, and Mirko got out. “I’ll be maybe ten minutes,” he said before closing the door.

“Quite the adventure, huh?” Ace asked me in the rearview mirror.

“More like a nightmare.”

“Even the G6?” Ace asked with wide eyes, pointing to the plane still on the runway.

“Oh, yeah,” I smiled. “That part was nice. It’s all the other parts that suck.”

“Can you really control everything through the iPod?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“Haven’t you been on it?” Jaren asked.

“No. I can never get it to work out for me. Every time I need it, it’s on the other side of the country. Mirko, the lucky punk, has flown on it a couple of times now. And every time he comes back, he tells me about the iPod.”

“Well, the stairs are still down. I bet we could go back so you could check it out,” Jaren suggested.

“Oh, that’d be sweet! But I can’t take the Tahoe. Mirko would flip if he looked out and it was gone.”

“You could probably jog over there real quick and then jog back,” I said.

“True, but I don’t want to surprise Pavao by having a stranger board his plane. Will you come with me?”

“Sure.” Kaitlynn opened her door.

We climbed out of the truck, and Ace took the keys out of the ignition. We walked toward the airstrip.

When we stepped onto the road that lined the landing strip, I realized how much distance was left before we reached the plane. It didn’t seem that far from the terminal when we drove away.

It seemed far now.

I grabbed Kaitlynn’s arm. “Nah, you guys go ahead. We’re going back to the car.”

Ace and Jaren looked at me as if I was lazy. Maybe I was, but I was tired. Kaitlynn and I left to walk back.

With twenty yards left, a woman came into view from one of the side hills near the parking lot. Chills broke out on my arms. Why would a woman be out in the middle of nowhere hiding behind a hill, by herself? Something was off.

I looked back. Ace and Jaren were out of sight. I grabbed Kaitlynn’s arm. “Run!” I demanded, pushing her toward the terminal.

The woman sprinted for us at a speed unlike anything I had ever seen.

“Mirko! Help!” I hollered, picking up speed.

I turned back to make sure Kaitlynn ran beside me. She didn’t. She was way back there, and the woman came up fast between us.

“Kaitlynn!” There was no way she’d make it past the lady and get to the truck.

If these bloodsucking monsters wanted me, they would have to work for it. I used my new found vampire speed and charged toward the woman. This would give Kaitlynn a chance to make it back.

The woman responded with a smirk on her face and charged at me. When we were close enough, I sidestepped, escaping her grasp, and ran down the hill on the other side of the parking lot.

She was faster. Her chilled fingers grasped around the back of my bare neck. I flew forward from the impact, hitting the ground. I rolled down the hill with the lady’s limbs tangling with mine.

I struggled to keep her hands away from my vital organs.

This fight was different from the last one I had with a vampire. The intensity this woman used to try to take my life astonished me. I’m sure if she would have had a proper grip on my neck at the top of the hill, she would have ripped my head clean from my body.

Her fangs dripped menace and her eyes promised the death she was sure to deliver.

“Hey!” Mirko screamed from somewhere close by. I couldn’t concentrate on his location and focus on saving my life all at once. He wouldn’t make it in time. She was going to kill me.

She raised her claw-shaped hand, readying it to deliver the final death blow.

I struggled to get my arm unwrenched from behind me to stop the attack.

The sun glinted off a charm she wore on a chain around her neck. The znak!

She hissed, swinging her arm inches from my face. And then I was free.

Mirko tackled her before she made contact.

I sat up, readying myself to help him. Mirko clawed and swiped at the woman’s back as she fled. They flew all over the bottom of the hill. I could barely keep up with their location from one second to the next. I sat, stunned with the speed and ferocity with which he fought and she ran. It appeared to be a choreographed dance, if not for the violence and the blood spatter.

She spurred forward with a sudden burst of speed. It was clear` Mirko wouldn’t catch her.

When the woman disappeared from sight, Mirko dashed back to me with the same stunning speed he used in his attempt to catch her.

“Are you all right?” he asked, barely breaking a sweat.

“I…I really don’t know. She didn’t even try to take me. She started out wanting to kill me. Why?” I asked, looking up at him, desperate for him to make sense of it all.

“I’m sorry, but I really don’t know yet. Something has changed, though.” Mirko touched the small of my back, guiding me back to the truck. “We have to get out of here. Damn it! How’d she get away?”

“She was super fast,” I said, lost in shocked delirium.

“You sure you’re okay? Did you knock your head or something?” Mirko turned me by my shoulders, peering into my eyes.

“I dunno, but my knee hurts. My shoulder and elbow are tender, too.” I rubbed my elbow.

Mirko released me. We jogged back to the car. At least as fast as I could with my injured knee. “Now do you realize that you need to learn how to fight properly?” he asked as I worked to keep pace with him.

I scrunched my face. “Fine. But who’s going to train me?”

“Me, of course.”

* * *

Kaitlynn cried in Jaren’s arms near the truck as I gimped up the hill. “I’m okay, guys!”

“Oh, thank God!” Kaitlynn ran to me, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks. “I thought you were dead. What was that?” She grabbed me, pulling me into the vise her arms created.

I gave her a pointed look. We’d been over this. “Vampire.”

“Pijawika,” Mirko corrected.

“Same diff,” I retorted, pushing Kaitlynn off me to relieve my knee of the pressure.

“This is not cool. We need to get out of here.” Kaitlynn sniffed and grabbed my hand, scurrying along beside me.

“Working on it.”

“Faster,” Mirko said, as he scooped me into his arms and booked it up the rest of the hill.

Jaren and Ace stood at the top. Jaren’s face glowed with relief. His eyes revealed the tenderness he still felt for me. “Are you hurt?”

“My knee’s a little jacked up. I can walk, even jog, but Mirko thought I wasn’t fast enough.”

Jaren’s face soured at the sight of me in Mirko’s arms.

“Save it.” Mirko commanded. “We have bigger issues to worry about right now. What the hell, Ace?”

“That shouldn’t have happened. I didn’t tell anyone where I was going. No one knew when the plane was arriving. You were just over there, and I was just over here.” Ace pointed to the plane.

“From now on,” Mirko said, eyes stabbing Ace, “if I leave Slatki in your care, you better damn well care for her. You get me?”

Ace nodded his head, a frown on his face. “Yeah, man. I get you. It won’t happen again. But I’m telling you, someone had inside information. And I mean
inside
because I hadn’t said a thing to anybody.”

“Oh! I saw her znak thingy,” I said, pointing to my neck where a necklace would hang.

Mirko lowered his arms to release me to the ground. He looked into my eyes, and I felt as if he searched for a secret hidden deep within my soul. “What was it?”

“It was round and looked like a sun with rays coming out around it.”

“A sun…,” Mirko said. He stood so immobile, I was afraid to breathe.

“Yeah. I mean, I think that’s what it was.”

“Anything else? Any other details you can remember?”

“Um, the glare was red, like there was a red stone or a ruby in the middle,” I said, swallowing.

Mirko smiled. “Good girl.”

Ace’s eyes grew wild and opened wide. “Jelena?”

“That’s what it sounds like,” Mirko answered, nostrils flaring.

“Who’s Jelena, and what does this mean for us?” Jaren asked.

“Let’s get her out of here first,” Mirko said, hustling us toward the truck.

Jaren nodded and ran back, opening the back door to help me get in.

“I’m not handicapped, you guys. I can get in myself,” I snapped.

Kaitlynn jumped in after me. Mirko turned the car around to take us out onto the road.

Kaitlynn started to cry again. “I’m sorry, but I seriously thought you were dead. That was the worst feeling I’ve ever had in my life. I know you only did it to make sure I was okay, but don’t ever do that again. I couldn’t live with myself.”

Tears welled up in my eyes. “I couldn’t let her have you,” I said, voice cracking. “I’m so sorry. You were supposed to be safer coming with me, not in more danger.”

Mirko cut into our tender moment. “If that lady would have gotten to you instead of Slatki, you’d be dead right now,” he directed at Kaitlynn. She and I both shuddered and fell bawling into each other’s arms.

“You’re all rainbows and sunshine, aren’t you?” Jaren asked, chastising Mirko.

“What do you want me to say? That next time they should stand there, doing rock-paper-scissors to see who takes on the bad guy? This is reality. Yes, it’s a crappy one, but it’s yours nonetheless. Slatki has good instincts, and you’d do right by her to encourage her to listen to them instead of making her ashamed and disgusted for being who she is.”

“You don’t understand. And it’s none of your business anyway.”

“Fair enough. But if you hinder her growth, we will continue this…
conversation
,” Mirko threatened.

I didn’t care enough about their argument to speak up. I had nearly died twice in as many days. I had almost gotten my boyfriend, and my best friend killed. I was a monster beyond measure, but at least my best friend didn’t die today. She was alive and well, crying into my hair as my tears soaked into her sweater.

“I really can’t lose you. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had. I love you.” I pulled myself back enough to look at the tears streaming down Kaitlynn’s cheeks.

“I love you, too. Promise me that you’ll do whatever Mirko says to stay alive.” She found resistance on my face. “Please. I don’t think you’re a monster, and you’re my soul sister. Do it for me. Please,” she pleaded, breaking my heart enough that I had to give in to her.

I nodded.

Kaitlynn hugged me tight.

13

We Came Here Together

Mirko sped over one hundred miles an hour, only slowing when a cop was near. I soon realized two things from this part of my journey: Mirko had excellent eyesight, and he was super perceptive. He could spot a cop car from a couple of miles away—in the dark—and from places you wouldn’t even expect them to be hiding.

When we finally took the exit off the freeway, Mirko followed the road, then made a quick right, and then another quick right. The glow of the headlights reflected off a sign with threatening, red lettering:

No Trespassing

Government Property

Will Shoot on Sight

“Whoa! Where are you taking us?” I shrieked. I thought he was supposed to be keeping me alive.

“Oh, yeah. You mean the sign? That’s for The Base. We can really shoot people if they get too close, too. The government says we can.” Mirko’s lip jerked up in the corner.

“What? Why would they allow that?” Jaren asked.

Mirko lowered his voice. “Well, as far as the people in Washington know, this is a government facility. They have real ones, like this. You know? The types of facilities that are so top secret that they get funding, but you’ll never find the paperwork of where the funds are coming from or where they’re being allocated.”

Ace turned around, a grin on his face, and looked at Jaren. “We get the funding, too.”

“That’s disgusting,” I said. Talk about leeches.

“Well, Slatki, it’s not so easy for all of us to blend in as well as you have. It’s not like we could all go out and get regular day jobs to financially support The Base, now could we? No, if we were ever found out, the government would be the first in line to do the most disturbing things imaginable to us. And that includes you, too. The best way for us to remain hidden from the government was to make them think they already knew what we were,” Mirko said.

“Brilliant, actually,” Ace said. “We do secret missions for the government when they need it. It hasn’t been a strict ‘they give and we take’ relationship.”

That helped me feel a bit better, but I didn’t want to know what those secret missions were.

We followed the two-way road for a couple of minutes before a set of buildings, lit up with bright halogens, came into view.