MisStaked (23 page)

"Oh, just give me a break. Can't the three of you act like normal human beings for five minutes?” Dr. Grayson asked, rounding out the dissension.

Breathred sulked up against the window, not even daring to look in her direction. He could tell after three hours of
I've got to poo
, she was bordering on a nervous breakdown—if she wasn't already having one. Stud could be a handful, but in the chimp's defense he did have to see to his bodily functions. Breathred wasn't sure how much longer the chimp could hold out. He just hoped Dr. Grayson's mood improved and the professor stopped at the next gas station she saw. He didn't even want to think of the damage monkey poop could do to the rented upholstery.

When the van pulled off the highway fifteen minutes later, Breathred let out a sigh of relief.

Luna stood under the harsh lights flooding the convenience store parking lot. While the others rushed toward the store, she had elected to remain outside and watch the vehicles. Breathred had suggested staying with her, but she told him to go. Luna smiled at the relief that flooded his face. She knew him well enough to know that somewhere in the store; a Twinkie was calling his name.

Walking around the yellow and black gas pumps, Lunarealized just how glad she was to be free of the van. She hadn't been on a trip this lengthy since coming to Seattle over a year ago. Luna hated it then, and this jaunt was no different. If anything, it was worse. At least then she had the excitement of college to drive the demons from her mind.

Luna had hoped after Uncle Joan had readjusted her medicine bag things would be different, but they weren't. The closed-in confines of the van were just too restricting. Her heritage rebelled against being enclosed in such a small space. Her spirit self needed the freedom of the outside world and made her body suffer along with its imprisonment.

Her thoughts drifted back to those early days of being in Seattle. They had been both a blessing and a curse. The gray streets and buildings loomed over her every day, driving the sky away with their built-in gloom. The first few weeks in the big city had been the most frightening of her life. Nothing at all was like the home she had always known. It had been like crash landing on an alien planet.

Then, Luna found her salvation. If it hadn't been for the parks and forests that bordered her adopted city, Luna wouldn't have been able to stand the thought of staying in Seattle. At least once a day she had to taste the freedom of the grass licking at her bare feet, the feel of the wind as it brushed through the trees touching her face. Only then, did she feel at one with herself.

The van voided all those feelings. Breathred's presence wasn't even enough to make the claustrophobia endurable. Her every instinct told her to run into the wild northern woods that surrounded the gas station. Her soul burned to run among them. Luna looked forlornly at the thick forest just beyond her grasp. Luna could feel the closeness of home in the world around her. The smell of the pines and firs filled her with a homesick feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. Luna nearly wept as it overwhelmed her.

All too soon she would have to get back in the van and they would be off again. Breathred had been watching her, worrying. Luna had seen him casting glances at her ever since the border checkpoint. His concern had poured off him. She loved him for his concern, but there was nothing he could do. This was one battle she had to fight on her own. Thankfully, the darkness had hid much of her pain from his notice. She would snap out of it, but for the time being she wanted to sulk for lack of a better word to describe how she felt.

She looked around, as she heard them exit the store. They were grouped together, her group and the ones from the other vans, in a huddled bunch. It was hard to see Breathred in the crowd, but he was there. She could sense him.

The bond between them because of the new talisman was growing stronger. Uncle Joan warned her it would. She just hadn't realized how much it would affect her. Luna wondered if Breathred could sense it as well. Could he tell how she felt? What did she feel? Luna had to dampen his worry down a notch before he went all puppy dog on her.

As the crowd parted, she put on her happy face. Luna didn't know who she was trying to fool more—Breathred or herself. Either way, it was necessary.

"Hey, Luna. Look, they had caribou jerky,” Stud said, running up to her. He flashed the most inedible thing she had ever seen in her face, like it was the most important find since the Rosetta Stone.

"That's nice, dear.” She hoped he wouldn't ask her to try it. The thought of taking even a small bite of the foul concoction made her tummy do a belly flop.

"Luna, I got you a Slurpie,” Breathred said, tentatively. The others were already in the vans, but Luna could tell he didn't want to leave her sitting out here all alone.

"Thanks, sweetie.” She took the cup. Her lips took a hard tug on the straw. Watermelon, her favorite. Breathred always remembered her favorite.

"Something wrong?"

"I'm just tired, Breathy. That's all.” Luna sighed.

"If you're sure,” he said.

"We'd better get in the van. Stud's sucking the window,” Luna said, taking his hand and giving it a quick squeeze.

Breathred swooned slightly at her touch. It was like a jolt of electricity ran through him, as her fingers brushed against his. That had never happened before. For one brief second, he almost thought he could hear what Luna was thinking, but the concept was ridiculous.

Breathred allowed her to lead him back to the van. Against her better judgment, Dr. Grayson must have let Stud return to the front seat. That was okay with Breathred. He wanted to be close to Luna. Didn't know why, but he did. Somehow Breathred felt she needed him, instead of it being the other way round, as it usually was.

Protectively, he wrapped his arm around her. Luna nestled herself into the crook of his arm, laying her head against the side of his head. It felt good to have her there. More than that, it felt right—like she belonged there.

For the first time in a long time, Breathred was content. His being was at one with the cosmos. She was the reason for this new awareness. His brow knotted. Despite what he thought earlier, he wouldn't ever give her up. Breathred could see that now. If he did, Breathred knew he would surely die from the lack of her. He swore then he would protect her with everything he had—with his very life if need be.

Breathred laid his head atop hers. As Luna snuggled up into the protection of his body, the sound of a low satisfied growl escaped her pursed lips. Smiling, he tightened his hold on her, not wanting this moment to ever end.

Leopold stepped from the plane in a foul mood. Between the turbulence and the company he had been forced to keep, the vampire wished old man Stoker had been right. Leopold would have given anything to be able to turn into a bat, a wisp of smoke—anything was preferable to the agony of forced enclosure with cretins. Lewis was just as bad as the humans. The younger vampire acted almost like them when he was around them. It was irritating.

Leopold was finally free of them. Well, not exactly free, but he didn't have to smell them all over him. That was the important thing. Two cars awaited them at the front entrance of the hangar on the desolate airstrip. He would happily place Lewis and the two professors in one car, while he blissfully rode in the last car all by himself. It would be sure ecstasy.

Twinklings of snow filtered through the ebony night. Damn it! No one said anything about snow falling in Canada. The one thing the vamp despised more than polyester was snow. Here he was surrounded by it. Someone in his research department was going to hear about this as soon as he got back home.

Leopold always liked to be well informed before traveling to new locales. That way, if he didn't like the weather, he could be prepared for it. When confronted with such things, he tended to change his plans all together. Thinking back, he never once saw the word snow mentioned in any of his briefs. Leopold couldn't even remember seeing the phrase wintery precipitation. Now, he was forced to accept it without an Armani jacket to make it bearable. This sucked serious ass, as the obnoxious Hilton child liked to say.

Lewis came up behind Leopold. “Boss, the trucks are loaded."

"Lewis, did you know it snowed in Canada?"

"Sure. Everybody knows that.” Lewis scratched his head. “Why, what's wrong with snow?"

"And you didn't feel the need to share such pertinent information with me?"

"Look. Chill, man. It's gonna be okay. We'll get you some winter togs and you'll be fine. Leopold, you seriously need to take it down a notch."

"It's snowing you imbecile. How much chillier do you want me to get?” Leopold tapped the younger vampire on the forehead.

"All I meant was calm down. We can work through this, as long as you don't wig out on me."

"I am calm. Now, since I can't change the weather I will deal with it. That is what nobility does,” Leopold said strolling toward the car.

How dare Lewis intimate he was anything less than calm? He was the epitome of calm. He was Belgian, for the love of heaven. Unlike the French, Belgians knew how to be composed under pressure.

Leopold jumped in his limo and slammed the door before Lewis or the others could follow. As the car pulled away, Leopold flipped him the bird. He knew it was vulgar, but after all he had been through, a little vulgarity was called for.

The freedom to express one's ire with colorful non-verbal expressions was one of the few things of the modern world that truly thrilled him. In his day who knew the middle finger could invoke such derogatory feelings in your fellow man? It was empowering in its simplicity. Just raise your finger and insight a riot. Leopold found himself doing it sometimes just to shock old women driving slowly in the fast lane.

His need to be vulgar was neither here nor there. More important things needed to be contemplated at the moment, finding a good clothing store, being at the top of his list. Then, he could worry about Dr. Grayson and her team. Leopold checked his watch. 11:27. Damn, he doubted anything would be open at this time of night, except for a chain store. He would not shop at a chain department store. Heaven forbid he should ever stoop to something as mundane as retail shopping with yokels.

He'd call his solicitor and have the man get him something shipped up. Something from New York would do nicely. But, until then Lewis was so sleeping in the doghouse.

The ringing of his cell phone jarred him from his thoughts. Leopold fumbled for it in his bag on the seat. He flicked it open, fully expecting Lewis to be on the other end.

"Leopold, there is still time to end this foolishness,” came Marcus’ grating voice.

"Marcus, have you nothing better to do than stalk me through the auspices of T Mobile?” Leopold laughed to hide his discomfort. How had the old fool found him? The vampire wasn't in his top five.

"This is deadly serious, my old friend. The Lords are prepared to move against you if you don't stop this frivolity."

"Let them. Soon, not even they will be able to move against me,” Leopold said, growing angry.

"I pity you your senility. To think my old friend has succumbed to such a human frailty."

"The only frailty I hear comes from your feeble mouth. Don't darken my phone again with your dire warnings of doom. The best thing for you to do is to stay out of it. When I come to power, I will spare you from the purging to come,” Leopold advised, before hanging up on the elder vampire.

Well, wasn't this great? Not only did he have to worry about Lewis’ stupidity, now the geriatric squad of the damned was breathing down his neck. This night couldn't get any worse.

The car pulled up to a red light. Leopold looked out the tinted window. A reindeer was standing at the crosswalk. He stood corrected. It couldn't get any worse, but it definitely was getting weirder. All he wanted was one night where the universe wasn't against him. Was that too much to ask? And, would it be too much to fucking ask for it to please quit snowing?

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Beware of long drives. The tendency to obsess over the inane is highest at this time. Keep your mind focused on the important thing—not looking stupid when you die.

(* Authors Note: Due to the tedium of automobile travel, I regret to inform the reader the remainder of the trip is not located within this volume. Besides the self-deprecation was more than I could stand. So, to speed things along we will begin this chapter as we enter the campgrounds leading to the dig site. If any of you have a problem with that, tough shit.)

Breathred woke to find sometime after he fell asleep, his head had become wedged between the seat and the van's window. He'd still be asleep if it hadn't been for the fevered dreams that had fueled his rest.

Breathred wasn't used to such things. Sure, the occasional rampaging nun might pop up from time to time, but nothing like what he just experienced. For one thing he couldn't ever remember wanting to be a dog. Yet there he was in the middle of the forest chasing the moon through the high trees. His fur bristled, as the wind washed over him. It felt good. More than good in fact, it felt right.

The strange thing was Breathred knew even while it could only be a dream he wasn't the wolf. The wolf in his dream had been female. Of the wolf's sex, Breathred was certain. He knew it to be true because his nipples hurt from the cold, all eight of them. From there things got worse, or weirder depending on your point of view.

Breathred could smell a male in the woods, his/her mate. The scent drove all other thoughts from his mind. He had to find his/her mate. Everything depended on it.

The knotty pines and redwoods flew past him as he ran. The world was a blur around him. Still, he ran. The scent was too strong to ignore. The blooding moon sang and he had to answer it. The time of mating had come, and nature would not be denied.

The forest thinned, Breathred saw the mate standing in a clearing and his anger flared. This hairless scarecrow couldn't be his mate. Where was the majesty of the wolf? Where were the claws and teeth that marked his protector? This MAN was none of those things. The very thought of the aberration in the hallowed role filled his lupine heart with anger.