IM02 - Hunters & Prey (8 page)

“Not sure. I got away. I’m at a café right now with a friend.” I cringed. I knew he wouldn’t be pleased with me.

“You’re where?” His tone rose sharply.

“I’m at Copioh,” I said sweetly, trying to act as innocent as I could. “I’m with my old friend Fallon.” I bit my lip waiting for him to yell and scream. I knew I was in trouble.

His voice became unexpectedly monotone. “You told a mortal about us, didn’t you?”

I gulped, and took a deep breath. “I had to do something. He won’t bother me here. Too many people around.”

“Who won’t bother you?” Fallon asked.

I waved my hand to stop her from questioning me. I didn’t need to hear it from both sides.

Fallon let out an impatient sigh and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

I mouthed the words, “I’ll tell you in a second,” before putting my finger to my lips.

“Stay where you are,” Lysander said. It was more of an order than a request. “I’m going to discuss this with the rest of the clan. I will call you back at this phone number.”

Wow, no screaming. He’s taking this a little better than I expected.

I covered the receiver with my hand. “Fallon, can I use your phone for a bit tonight?”

Her deep brown eyes locked on me. “Yeah, sure, as long as you tell me what’s going on.”

I knew I wouldn’t be able to escape the inquisition. This wasn’t going to be a pleasant evening. Letting out an exasperated sigh, I took my hand off of the receiver. “Yeah, Lysander, call me back here.”

“Okay. I will be back with you shortly. Alyssa, promise me you will stay where you are until I call. Do not do anything more to endanger yourself.” The phone disconnected before I could say good-bye.

I placed the phone down on the table. “Great, he’s pissed at me.” Pissed for good reason, of course. Out of all the places I chose to hide, I had to pick one where I had mortal friends. There was nothing to be done about that now. I just hoped that Lysander would go easy on me when we did meet up again.

“What’s going on?” Fallon still had her inquisitive eyes locked on me. “What else haven’t you told me?”

Round two for the inquisition. Boy, am I getting myself in deep.
I cleared my throat, while trying to find the right words to say. “Remember I said I wasn’t supposed to tell people about my kind?”

She tapped her sandaled foot on the concrete and drummed her fingers against her folded arms. “Yeah. And…”

“Well, I’m kind of in trouble for that right now. Lysander is pissed.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Oh, and I have someone after me.”

Fallon blinked a few times and shook her head. “Did I just hear that? Someone is after you? Who’s going to go after vampires?”

“Shhh.” I leaned in closer.

“Sorry.”

“Think about it. Who goes after …” —
How do I put this?—
“people like me?”

“You mean like…” I saw the proverbial light bulb go on in Fallon’s eyes. “Vampire hunters?”

“Bingo! “I nodded.

Realization quickly turned to renewed fear in Fallon’s expression. Her eyes grew wide, pupils dilating, her breath quickened. “Shit! Am I in trouble now too?” She pushed back in her chair. I heard her heart rate jump to a thundering drum beat in her chest.

“No, I don’t think so.” I shook my head. “If anyone sees you with me, they probably think you’re my…um… Well, you’re probably in more danger from me than them.”

Fallon stifled a gasp, covering her mouth with her hand. “They think I’m … your dinner, don’t they?”

“Maybe.” I shrugged and gave her a halfhearted smile. I wanted to look as casual as possible about it. I didn’t want her freaking out about how true her assumption was. “Let them think that if it will keep you safe. Remember, they’re after me, not you.”

“So let me get this straight. Someone’s after you, and you’re out in the open, divulging your secret. Why?”

“As strange as it sounds, I’m safer here with you than out on the street.”

She shook her head and waved her arms in front of her face. “Wait, this makes no sense.”

“Okay, look.” I scooted close to her and lowered my voice to a whisper. “They hunt my kind, but they also keep my kind a secret from your kind. Get it? They aren’t going to attack me in the open, in front of lots of people.”

She stiffened in her chair and reached for her cigarettes again. “What if you’re wrong?”

“I’m not. Think about it, have you ever heard about us before? I mean really, not just books and stories?”

Fallon shook her head slowly.

“That’s because both sides want to keep it that way. Trust me. No one will attack in the open.”

The odd prickling sensation continued to nag at the back of my neck. I knew someone was close, and chances were, it wasn’t anyone friendly to me. I glanced down at the phone, hoping it would ring. I needed some direction. I couldn’t stay in the café all night. I needed a way out of here, past the immortal stalking around outside. My guess was that Santino had somehow tracked me here and was searching around the perimeter of the café, locating all of the potential exits, to prevent my escape.

Fallon sat quietly, across the table from me, sucking down her cigarette at record speed. I could tell she was having trouble processing all of this information. Not that I blamed her for that.

I scanned the area, looking around the café, searching through the front windows, watching people, looking for a sign, any sign, of who was out there.

“I need another coffee,” Fallon said, finally breaking the silence between us. She snatched up her empty cup and headed toward the bar.

For a moment I wondered if she was using this as an excuse to leave. I wouldn’t blame her for that either. I shouldn’t have gotten her involved.

She stood at the bar, shooting nervous glances back in my direction as she waited for the barista to finish making her drink. Worry covered her face like an ugly mask.

The door opened and a few people walked inside. Fallon jumped as they got close to her at the bar.

What have I done? Look at her, she’s on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

The cell phone buzzed on the table, snapping me back to the matter at hand. A wave of relief washed through me seeing Lysander’s number on the caller ID. I snatched the phone and answered, “What’s the plan?”

“We need you to stay out in the open until we can find a safe place to meet. How much longer can you stay at that café?” Hints of irritation still colored his tense voice, but I could tell he was more worried than angry.

“Uh … not much longer. I can feel someone close, and this café will start closing up in about an hour.”

Silence filled the line, and then Lysander took a deep breath.

“Go to a casino. I don’t know how long we will be. You can stay there safely all day if necessary. Just stay away from doors or any exits. When you get to a safe spot, call me and we will plan where to meet.”

A casino. Why didn’t I think of that?

“Is that your guy?” Fallon asked as she walked up behind me.

I nodded. “Got it, I’ll call you when I get there.”

I looked up to find Fallon gulping down her coffee.

“Hey, look, I’m sorry I dragged you into this. I’m going to get out of your hair.”

Fallon breathed a sigh of relief, but something in her eyes told me she wasn’t going to let me go.

I gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, you should be just fine. I’m sure the hunter will be happy I left you alone.”

“Where are you going now?”

“Nowhere really, I just need to hide out for a day or so until I can get back to my clan.”

She hesitated, set the cup down on the table, and wrung her hands. “You…uh, need a ride?”

“Really?” I had expected her to run screaming back to her home after all I had told her. “No, I can’t. I’ve dragged you in too far already.”

Another sigh escaped her lips. I could tell she didn’t want to be involved in anything I was doing, but she didn’t want to betray her friendship to me.

“It’s fine,” she said, her voice trembling a little. “I’ll drop you off and keep you company until your… people get there. It’s the least I can do.”

“Really, Fallon, you don’t have to do this.”

“I don’t want to leave you all alone again, okay? Last time I did that, bad things happened.” She bit her lower lip. “If you’re in danger and having me around helps, I’m glad to do it. I just got my best friend back. I don’t want to worry that anything else is going to take you away again.”

The fact that she would support me, even though she was scared, warmed my heart. I shot up and threw my arms around her. “You’re a true friend. Thanks.”

She returned the gesture, patting me lightly on the back as she hugged me. “Just try not to get all vampy on me, okay?”

I pulled back; a smile stretched the corners of my lips. “Vampy? Is that even a word?”

Fallon cringed slightly. “There you go with those teeth again.”
The eerie prickling feeling intensified. A moment later, the door to the café opened and a dark figure, wearing a long, thick trench coat and heavy boots entered.

Shit!
“Time to go,” I said, almost knocking over a chair as I tried to move away from the table.

“Who is that?” The color drained from Fallon’s face. She turned quickly toward the man who had just entered the café.

The odd sensation radiated from him like a wave. A wild mane of salt and pepper hair shadowed his face, but I knew exactly who he was… Santino. “Let’s get out of here. Go ahead of me and get the car started. Meet me around back. I’ll wait a few minutes before leaving to draw his attention.”

“He’s standing right in front of the door. How am I—”

“Just act like he’s a normal person. Say ‘Excuse me’ and walk past. Remember, no one will hurt you. I’m the one he’s after.”

She hesitated for a moment before taking a few shaky steps forward. As I expected, he let her pass, but he kept an eye on her as she walked out the door. I used the distraction to make my escape. Ducking behind chairs and mixing in with the crowd, I tried my best to stay out of his direct line of vision as I headed back behind the makeshift stage to the emergency exit.

The back door led to a dark alley behind the building. I hoped Santino would still be looking around the café for me. This would give me a chance to get to Fallon’s car without incident.

I kept to the shadows as I headed down the alley. A door banged closed behind me.

“You can’t run forever, little one,” Santino’s grizzly voice echoed in the silence.

“Seems you’re slow to keep up, Santino. Still a bit toasty from the fire?” I taunted, reminding him of the last battle my clan had fought with him. Anticipation hummed in my body.

Before I could make a move to run, a rush of air blew past me. A rough hand clenched around my neck before his face came into view. He was faster than I had anticipated. Santino slammed me into a cinder-block wall. The air rushed out of my chest with the impact. Stars danced in front of my eyes before the world momentarily faded to black.

“A smart mouth like that deserves to be shut. Forever,” he growled.

I shook off the haze in my vision. “Not today,” I choked out the words as I reached up to pry his hand from my throat.

Santino lifted me up with one hand. His other reached down. I knew from memory he carried a large knife in his belt. It was the one he’d used to behead Kallisto. The same knife that haunted my dreams.

I fought with all my strength, kicking my legs and throwing wild punches at Santino. My foot caught the crook of his right elbow. I shoved my sole down hard, knocking his arm back. He let out a muffled curse as he lost his grip on the knife. It flew into the darkness of the alley, landing with a loud
clank
. I thrashed even harder, trying to break his steel grip on my neck. Weapon or no, he was still a deadly warrior.

His fingers tightened, digging into my throat. I felt the pinch as his nails pierced my skin. His eyes narrowed, and he fixed me with a deadly stare.

I turned my head and squeezed my eyes closed, refusing to look at him. I knew the danger there. He was going to try to subdue me using only his mind, an old and very useful trick against young vampires like myself. I’d been warned many times by members of my clan to avoid eye contact for this reason. I would be just as weak and easily susceptible to his influence as a human was to mine.

With my back pressed to the wall for support, I lifted both legs and slammed my feet into Santino’s chest. He was a solid wall of muscle. My heels ached from the impact. Santino grunted. His grip loosened just slightly around my neck, but not enough to allow me to break free.

A horn blared in the distance. I guessed it was Fallon, ready to make our escape. I heard the rumble of a car engine and the screech of tires near the outlet of the alley.

Chancing a look, I turned my head and opened my eyes. The alley opened up to a residential street, and there at the end was Fallon’s old silver VW Bug.