Heart of the Dead: Vampire Superheroes (Perpetual Creatures Book 1) (26 page)

There had been people in her life, her friends from school, Foster, even Alicia, but none that Jerusa had truly connected with. There was always part of her she couldn’t yield over to them, and so the poison remained unchecked within her. Her friends were lost to her now. Jerusa couldn’t return to school, and she was now a danger to any human, including Thad. Even though she and Foster were now both vampires there would always be a certain divide between them. Foster and Shufah’s love for each other formed a kind of barrier around them that no other was permitted to cross. Jerusa didn’t begrudge this … well, maybe a little. And then there was Alicia, whom Jerusa loved more than any sister, but how close could she ever be with someone she couldn’t hear or touch?

There had been one, however, whom she had briefly hoped could be the cure to her solitude, one who seemed to share her affliction.

Where was Silvanus right now? Was he still alive or had the vile venom of Kole’s savage bite worked its mischief in him? Jerusa didn’t know what was worse, thinking that Silvanus had died to save her life or that he, too, was becoming savage. If she called his name, would he appear, scoop her into his arms, and whisk her away to some happily-ever-after fairytale?

She really needed to lay off the romance novels.

Suhail and Taos returned from their scouting, entering on opposite sides of the circle, saving Jerusa from having to answer Shufah’s question about Alicia.

“I could find no trace of Kole’s trail,” Suhail said, sensing the awkward moment.

“Me either,” Taos said.

“Nor did I,” Shufah added.

Alicia got Jerusa’s attention, pointed upward into the trees, and pantomimed swinging from branch to branch like a monkey.

“Alicia says that Kole took to the trees. That’s why there’s no trail.”

Suhail made an unimpressed noise. “That doesn’t matter. It’s clear that Kole is headed back into town.”

“And how do you know?” Shufah asked.

“The pattern of his victims, dear sister. He’s a hunter. It only makes sense that he go where the meat is.”

Alicia shook her head no and pointed in the opposite direction of town.

“Alicia says that Kole isn’t going toward town. She says he’s going that way.” Jerusa showed them the direction that Alicia indicated. She expected a retort from Taos, but strangely, he remained silent. It was Suhail that spoke up.

“Please, spare us the mockery. You did well tracking this corpse, but to be truthful, any one of us could have sniffed it out, probably even the mortal.” Thad backed away, uncomfortable with being addressed. Suhail continued. “Savages are little more than animals. Their only instincts are to feed and survive. Why would Kole move away from town?”

Jerusa didn’t have a good answer for that, but she took a stab at it anyway. “I don’t know. Foster said that savages have a particular weakness to light.” She looked to Foster for help.

“That’s right,” Foster said. “The pupils of the savage dilate and become fixed. Bright light is painful to them, though not fatal.”

Suhail rolled his eyes. “Thank you for the anatomy lesson. What is the point?”

“My point is, Kole doesn’t like the bright city lights. He would rather stay out here in the dark.” Jerusa looked to Shufah. “Maybe he just wants to hang out here and hunt the campers and hobos he comes across.”

Alicia shook her head, indicating that Jerusa was wrong, too.

“Well, then what’s he up to, then?” she asked the ghost. Alicia tried for several minutes to sign and signal whatever it was she had learned from the spirit of the headless man, but in the end Jerusa just couldn’t understand what Alicia was trying to say. “You know, you’re terrible at charades. If I survive, we’re both learning sign language.”

Alicia shrugged, then motioned for Jerusa to follow her.

“She’s going to show us where Kole is.”

“No,” Suhail said. “I say we head back into town. That’s where Kole will strike. He has no reason to stay out here and he certainly wouldn’t backtrack.”

“I think we should follow Jerusa,” Foster said. His voice was strong and clear, without a speck of doubt. “She has no reason to lie to us and no motive to lead us off course.”

“What do you think, Taos?” Shufah asked.

Taos’s fierce blue eyes were locked upon her, though from fascination or fury, Jerusa couldn’t tell. He reached up and ran his finger through the loose strands of hair that had fallen into his face. “What the hell. I’ll follow. I’m curious to see if the blood witch can deliver.”

“What about you, Thad?” Shufah asked, surprising not just him, but the rest of the group. “You’re in this as much as the rest of us. You have equal share in this danger.”

It took a moment for Thad to find his voice. He had relegated himself a second class citizen, a human among vampires, and had not anticipated being considered an equal. “I think we should listen to Jerusa. She won’t steer us wrong.”

“It’s settled then,” Shufah said, sweeping around to face Jerusa. “Lead the way, young one. But, please, tell your ghost to walk a bit slower this time. Covering ground at high speed is great for retreating, not so much for stealth.”

“You got that,” Jerusa said to Alicia. The ghost nodded, but seemed anxious and more than a little put out to have to slow down. Alicia turned and started off through the trees and Jerusa motioned for the others to follow.

For a long time, no one spoke and she fell back into her thoughts.

She couldn’t understand why vampires in movies and books always moped about, lamenting their fate. She loved being a vampire. The rules and laws were a tad annoying, but physically she had never felt better. She wanted to scale the nearest tree and take to the branches as Kole had done. She wanted to pull Taos aside and force him to teach her how to make fire with her mind. She wanted to …

Thad’s feet tangled in a length of thick vine that draped across the forest floor, and he face-planted on the ground.

Since they were moving at a slow pace, Thad could keep up and didn’t need to ride upon Foster’s back. No one had considered that Thad was virtually blind inside the dark forest. Jerusa doubled back to help him to his feet.

“Well, that was embarrassing.” Thad dusted himself off even though he couldn’t really see how dirty he was.

“It’s all right.” Jerusa pulled some brambles from his shirt. “I’m the queen of klutzes. If you only knew how many times I tripped going up the stairs at school. And that was in broad daylight.”

Taos walked by and gave Thad a hard slap to the back. “You’re so loud we might as well all be wearing cowbells.”

“I can carry you, if you like,” Foster said to Thad.

It was clear from Thad’s face that he’d rather crawl upon the forest floor on hands and knees than climb onto Foster’s back. A man’s pride was such a fragile and volatile thing, much like a crystal glass full to the brim of nitroglycerin. Jerusa didn’t think she’d ever understand male pride, but was well versed in the art of being embarrassed, so she could empathize.

“No, that’s all right,” she told Foster. “I’ll help him.” Jerusa took Thad by the hand and pulled him gently behind her. “Just walk where I walk.”

Thad resisted at first, but he must have figured this was better than going piggyback, because he soon relented.

“Thanks,” he said in a small voice.

“Thank you for taking my side back there.”

It pleased Jerusa to know that most of the group trusted her, even if they didn’t quite believe her in regards to Alicia. She figured Foster would support her, but Taos had surprised her. If she were a betting woman, she would have placed money on the opposite response. Taos, who had been gruff and hateful most of the time, seemed like the one who would challenge her every word. And though she didn’t think Suhail believed her, or cared all that much for her, truth be told, Jerusa assumed he would have followed his sister’s lead, instead of wanting to run back to town.

But then, Shufah never cast her own vote, did she?

She hadn’t. Shufah had asked Thad his opinion, which, at the time, Jerusa thought to be humble and kind, but now she wasn’t so sure. By bringing Thad into the mix, she was able to conceal her thoughts on the matter. What did she have to hide?

Jerusa shook the thought from her head. It was a vicious circle with no end. Taos was to blame. Before his cryptic warning in the garage, Jerusa had a clear check list of her friends and enemies.

Without warning, Thad’s body stiffened, and he planted his feet into the soft muddy earth as he clutched Jerusa’s hand tight.

“What’s wrong?”

Thad’s eyes were as wide as they could get. Any wider and they would be in danger of dropping from the sockets. “There’s something in front of us.”

Jerusa scanned the trees before them, but saw nothing out of place. If Thad could see something, surely her vampiric eyes would see it all the better.

“I don’t see anything. Where are you looking?”

“Right in front of us.” Thad pointed. “I can barely make it out. It looks like a small pillar of glowing mist. Not very big. Not very bright.”

The others stopped and peered into the darkness ahead.

“Do you see anything?” Jerusa asked them. Each said that they didn’t.

They were all silent. The only noise was Thad’s panicked breathing. Jerusa focused her vision with all that she had, pressing away the darkness. If something was there, she would see it. But there was nothing. No light. No mist. The only thing standing before them was Alicia, waiting patiently for them to follow her.

Chapter Twenty-One

J
erusa gasped.

“What is it?” Shufah asked.

“It’s Alicia. Thad can see her.”

“What are you talking about?” Thad seemed horrified by the notion of seeing a ghost, forgetting, altogether, the fact that he was holding hands with a vampire.

“What do you see?” Shufah asked Thad.

“I don’t know. It’s kind of like that image you get when you’ve stared at a bright light too long.”

“What do you see?” Shufah asked Jerusa.

“I see Alicia. She is standing right there.”

Shufah followed Jerusa’s eyes, but shook her head. “I can’t see anything.” She looked to the others, all of them agreeing that they, too, saw nothing. “What is Alicia doing? Is there anything unusual about her?”

“She’s just standing there. She’s glowing a bit, like she is standing in moonlight, but she’s been doing that on and off since I was turned.”

Alicia looked down at her hands, perplexed, as if unaware that she was glowing. The aura around her brightened and her skin even seemed to shine.

“Oh, wow,” Thad blurted out. He pulled his hand out of Jerusa’s and pointed at Alicia, but almost immediately, his face fell into a puzzled frown. “Where did it go?”

“What happened?” Shufah asked.

“I don’t know.” Thad rubbed his face as if trying to wash off a lingering sleep. “The mist got brighter, and for a moment … it looked like a person. But then it just blinked out like someone turned off the power switch.”

“You mean,” Shufah said in the slow, unsure way one does when talking through a problem, “it vanished when you let go of Jerusa’s hand.”

They all looked at Jerusa, but she could only look at Alicia. The ghost seemed more shocked by this theory than anyone else. The aura that illuminated Alicia flickered for a moment, then went out. Jerusa could still see her, even in the dark, but now the ghost seemed no different than the trees by which she stood. She looked weary, though, as if the act of glowing had been an intense workout for her. She vanished for a moment, only to rematerialize in the same spot.

“May I?” Shufah asked, reaching out to take Jerusa’s hand.

“That’s fine, but I don’t think you’ll see anything.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Alicia stopped glowing.”

“I would like to try anyway.” Shufah took Jerusa by the hand. Shufah’s skin was warm and soft, like silk, but Jerusa could sense the power hidden within. Shufah scanned the forest before them, but Jerusa could tell by her wandering eyes that she did not see Alicia.

“What do you see?” Foster asked.

Disappointed, Shufah pulled her hand free of Jerusa’s. “I see only what you see, my love.”

“Is this some attempt at deception?” Suhail asked, his bronze eyes alight with suspicion.

Thad spun around to face him. “No! Why would I lie?”

“Don’t play coy with me, human. It plays to your favor if you can convince others that you see spirits, too.”

“I didn’t say I saw a ghost,” Thad said in exasperation. “I just said I saw
something
. I don’t know what it was.”

“Are you all right, brother? You don’t seem quite yourself tonight.”

Suhail’s eyes fell upon his sister with a hard blow, but quickly softened. “My apologies, Shufah. The strain of the past two days is wearing on me. I am eager to be done with our grim task.”

“As am I, brother.” Shufah looked as though she had more to say, but pressed the issue no further.

Taos, however, couldn’t resist the moment. “Be careful of what you accuse my mark of. One day, he may be turned and I can’t have you slandering my future fledgling.” He shot Thad a wicked little wink. Thad seemed uncomfortable with the gesture, and Jerusa allowed a bark of laughter to escape her, but Suhail didn’t seem the least bit amused. Taos should have stopped there, but restraint was not one of his qualities. “And be careful how you behave around the blood witch. Her maker might be close at hand, listening. You don’t want to end up like Kole, now, do you?”

Suhail’s eyes narrowed and for a moment, Jerusa expected red laser beams to fire from his empty pupils and reduce Taos to ash. When it didn’t happen, he turned to Jerusa. “Lead on, blood witch.”

Jerusa didn’t know if the term “blood witch” was supposed to be a compliment or an insult, but considering only Taos and Suhail called her that, she figured it was the latter. Either way, though, she kind of liked it. She had never had a nickname other than “freak” or “Frankenstein” or some other bit of unimaginative tripe. Blood witch at least sounded powerful and frightening.

In the end, Jerusa ignored the name-calling, as she always did. She looked at Alicia, who seemed to still be trying to regain her luminous aura. “Are you ready to go?” Alicia dropped her hands to her sides in defeat and nodded. “Then show us where Kole is at.”