The Chosen Ones (12 page)

I shook my head and studied our
small group. Tony and Kelly. Jimmy. Carla and Sam cuddling in the corner. Did
they believe Will’s claim? Yeah, I trusted Will, but it seemed impossible. “But
how did they lose power?”

He frowned. “Greed, of course. Humans
were fighting each other for control. Blood drinkers saw an opportunity. While humans
were distracted with each other, the blood drinkers were able to bond, when
before they’d lived alone, hidden within the shadows. While the humans were embroiled
in their own wars, they knew it was the perfect time to strike.” He drew an X
through the map. “At least that is the story carried down through generations.”

Steve moved forward, handing a
tin plate of food to Will, and then one to me. He smiled a shy smile, genuinely
friendly. I smiled back, grateful for the food and the break.

We had thrived once, could we
again? “So, there are more of us out there?”

He nodded. “So many more. We,”
he glanced around the camp, “are merely scouts. Always on the move, constantly
scouring this area for escaped chosen ones to take back to the permanent camps.
But there are more of us posted throughout the country. And up on the border of
Canada and the United States there is a large base camp. Blood drinkers don’t
like cold.”

There was so much I didn’t know.
We were quiet for a few moments as we ate the rabbit, chopped walnuts, and root
vegetables someone had mixed. “Why don’t they like the cold?”

He shrugged. “For some reason it
makes them sluggish.”

“Reptiles are sluggish in the cold,
and some other animals have to hibernate.” Unwillingly, my gaze went to Thane
as I finished my meager meal. “Does he share information with you? Is that how
you know these things?”

“Not really. Don’t get me wrong,
he shares, but this is information we uncovered years ago, piecing together the
facts.” Will tossed his empty tin to the ground. It was Carla’s duty to clean
up after the meal. Just like in the compound, we all had our jobs. “They don’t
exactly confide in Thane. He’s not like them. He’s more…human.”

Was he? When the image of him
tearing those heads from the bodies flashed to mind, I certainly had my
misgivings. Yet, here, now, watching him clean his weapons, I realized he looked
rather normal. A lock of dark hair had fallen across his cheek, hiding the
scar. And yes, his lashes were so thick, they left shadows on his sharp
cheekbones; his features so stunning he could have been a painting I’d seen in
a book. But if you ignored his fine face, he looked like any one of us.

“Most of our orders come by word
of mouth from Raven.”

“Wait…what?” I asked, shocked. “Raven?”

“He’s the one who sends us
information at times. We believe he lives north.”

I frowned. “Who is he?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve never met
him.”

He was taking orders from a man
he’d never met? Jimmy moved to Thane, sitting down beside him and chatting. I
couldn’t hear what they said, but I couldn’t help but notice how at ease the
boy seemed around the half-vampire. “How can he kill so easily?”

“Thane?” Will asked.

I nodded.

“He has to. It’s kill or be
killed.”

Yes, I’d heard it before. “No,
he’s ruthless about it.”

Will shifted, obviously uneasy. He
didn’t want to talk badly about his friend, and for that, I respected him. But
I still wanted to know. “I suppose it’s the blood drinker in him,” Will
admitted.
 

So, he wasn’t quite human after
all. We were silent for a moment. Thane, as if sensing our attention, lifted
his head and met my gaze. I flushed and looked away. When he looked at me with
such intensity I had the feeling he could read my thoughts.

“Make no mistake, he’s better
than most of them,” Will said. “He hates the blood drinkers as much as we do. He’s
saved more lives than any of us. But I suppose deep down, he’s still part of
them.”

I slid Will a glance. “Are you
telling me not to trust him?”

He released a wry laugh.
“Honestly, Jane, in this world you can’t trust anyone.”

Frowning, I nudged a pebble with
the toe of my boot. Well, that was a depressing thought. At the compound we’d
had to trust each other. We were a community, and we needed everyone for that
community to thrive.

He leaned against me, his arm
pressing warmly against mine. “But for me, of course. You can always trust me.”

I looked up into his eyes, taking
in that dimpled grin, and my heart fluttered even though I told it not to. Even
though I said I couldn’t possibly be attracted to him because there were more
important things to worry about, my body betrayed me. Will was honorable,
caring, brave. He was the exact opposite of everything the beautiful ones
represented.

So why, then, did I tear my gaze
from Will and find myself reluctantly focusing on the spot were Thane had been
seated only moments ago? A spot that was now vacant. “I don’t know if I can again,
Will. I don’t know if I can kill, and be a part of this never-ending war.”

“You’d be surprised at what you
can do when your life is threatened.” He rested his hand on mine. The warmth
and comfort of his touch was almost my undoing. It wasn’t the first time he’d
touched me. I realized with some nervousness that I was starting to enjoy the
feel of his hands on me.

“It will get better, Jane. You
will get stronger.”

Perhaps I would, for I had no
choice. Fight, or be killed. “Yeah, but when will it all end? The fighting, the
murdering…”

He didn’t answer, but he didn’t
need to. Perhaps it wouldn’t end…ever. We both fell silent. He stared into the
flames, and I studied those around us. Jim was humming a song as he sat by the
warmth of the fire. He had his dagger out and was sharpening the end of a
stick. There was no worry on his innocent face. A couple others were sleeping,
their heads resting on their bags. Kelly and Tony were kissing near the
shadows. I flushed and tore my attention from them. Not one person looked
worried. They’d learned to accept their fate. Always on guard, but not always anxious.
Could I ever adapt to this way of life?

“Want to train?”

“Yes,” I replied a little too
quickly. Anything to get away from my worrisome thoughts.

“I knew that would make you
smile.” He stood. “Jimmy, time to put out the fire.”

He frowned, but obeyed Will’s
command and started throwing dirt onto the flames.

I fell into step beside Will and
we followed a path into the woods. The world around us was aglow in moonlight.
A hush had come with the night, and our footsteps were quiet as we made our way
into a clearing beyond the trees, eager to forget this new life for a moment. The
physical exercise was just what I needed to get my mind off of deeper things.

“As they have better eyesight
than us, many blood drinkers will hunt at dusk, dawn, and in the night. It
gives them the advantage. You usually won’t know they’re there until it’s too
late.”

I shivered despite myself, and
couldn’t help but study the shadows around us. “Which is why we move during the
day?”

He nodded as we paused in the middle
of the clearing. The moonlight filtering through the leaves above highlighted
Will’s face. He was handsome. Not as stunning as Thane, but there was a
ruggedness about him that I found highly intriguing. I tore my gaze from him
and focused on the night sky. Not a full moon, but it would be soon.
 

“Therefore, you need to know how
to battle hand to hand.” He stepped close to me and reached out. I had to force
myself not to jump when his finger slid down the outside of my thigh. He pulled
my dagger loose from its sheath and held it toward me. “We’ll start with
something small.”

I took the weapon gratefully,
eager to step back, out of reach and clear my thoughts. The point of training
was to forget about my confusing emotions toward Will, not make them worse. “If
they catch me and it’s too late, what’s the good of training?”

“They won’t kill you right away.
They like warm, fresh blood.”

I grimaced at the thought. So,
all that time while Sally was being pinned down, after they had sunk their
teeth into her neck, she had still had a chance…she was still living. Will
grabbed my arm, hooked his foot behind my leg and dropped me to the ground. I
hit the earth with a thud that stirred the dirt into a cloud around me.

“Hey!” I glared up at him. “I
wasn’t ready.”

He held his arms wide, grinning.
“I thought we were fighting, not daydreaming. You always have to be prepared.”

I shoved my palms into the dirt
and sat up. “Got it,” I gritted out, more than annoyed. “Always prepared.”

He held out his hand. I paused
for the slightest moment, unsure if I should trust him, but I relented and slid
my hand into his. He wasn’t the only one who could play dirty. With a quick
jerk I pulled him down beside me.

Will hit the ground as I jumped
to my feet, dagger in hand. “Always prepared.”

“Talk about unfair,” he muttered,
frowning up at me. “As I said…don’t trust anyone.”

“Oh stop.” I laughed, my
annoyance gone as quickly as it had arrived. “You know you can trust me.”

Slowly, he stood. There was
something in his gaze that caught me off guard. Something I’d noticed before
when I found him watching me. I shifted, uneasy. I had the odd feeling we were
no longer training.

“Can I?”

A sensation I didn’t quite understand
rushed through my body. My amusement fled. He moved close to me, so close that
my mind began to wander, my good intentions lost. I knew I needed to
concentrate, that this could all be some ruse to catch me off balance, but I
couldn’t seem to think when he looked at me so intensely. And when Will stepped
even closer, leaning so near that his musky scent swirled around me, I was
lost.

“Can I trust you, Jane?”

“Of course you can trust me,” I
whispered.

“I know.”
 

It was only as his gaze met mine
that I realized he was going to kiss me. My first kiss. The entire world seemed
to slow as Will lowered his lashes. I didn’t close my eyes…I couldn’t seem to
move. His lips brushed gently over mine. A shiver, hot and cold, raced down my
spine.
 

“Training?” Thane’s voice snapped
through the darkness.

Startled, I stumbled back before
I could decide if I had enjoyed the kiss or not. A horrified blush rushed
straight to my cheeks and I was grateful for the cover of darkness.

“Thane,” Will muttered, sounding
annoyed. “Perfect timing.”
 

“I’d love to help train,” Thane
said, strolling into the clearing as if he hadn’t a care in the world. As if he
hadn’t just interrupted us. “After all, it can only be better if she fights
me
…someone who is half blood-drinker.”

Thane looked all innocence and
ease as he waited across from me. I knew better. His gaze was distant, aloof. I
might trust Will, but I didn’t trust Thane in the least. Will abandoned me, moving
toward the edge of the clearing in silent approval. Suddenly I was alone with
Thane. Those eyes showed no kindness or compassion, but were mere hard flakes
of ice. I had the oddest feeling that he was angry with me for some reason I
didn’t understand.

“Please,” he said. “You first.”

It was rather hard to believe that
only a brief moment ago I’d been kissing Will, and now was about to spar with
Thane. With no real choice but to play along, I lunged at him. Thane easily
stepped away, so fast I barely noticed him move. Frustrated, I stepped back,
trying to regroup my thoughts and decide my next course of action. What was his
weakness? Every being had one, didn’t they?

“A minute,” Will called out.

Thane gave us a mocking bow. “By
all means, make your plans.”

I didn’t dare turn my back to the
dhampir, but moved toward Will with my gaze still pinned to Thane. Will leaned
close, his lips at my ear. “Study the way he’s standing.”

I focused on Thane’s stance. The
darkness made it impossible to read his features, but I had a feeling he was
laughing at us. Amusement practically thrummed from his body. He assumed I was
no threat.

“See how his weight is leaning
toward the right?”

Thane stood there at ease,
waiting for us with no worries. He might have them fooled, but not me. While
others saw a man of honor, I saw determination and hunger. Thane was more blood
drinker than human.
 

“To shift to his left it will
take energy, and might throw him off balance. So most likely he’ll go right.”

I knew the truth…I would never
be able to beat Thane. Still, I nodded, gripping my dagger a little tighter and
pretending that I might have a chance. Truly, it was sweet of Will to try and
help, as worthless as it was. “Okay.”

“By looking at his stance,
you’ll know which way he’s going. All you have to do is lunge a foot or so out
of reach. At the same time he’ll move.” Thane shifted impatiently. “Your dagger
meets him there.”

I gave him a tight smile,
pretending I had a chance. “Got it.”

Determined, I moved back into
the clearing with a steady pace. Hoping to catch Thane by surprise, I shot forward
the moment he was within reach. He chopped at my arm. The pain was immediate. Crying
out, my fingers opened and the dagger fell. Instinctively I grabbed for it,
catching the weapon blade first. The sharp sting had me pulling back, but it
was too late.

“Damn,” Will snapped, racing
into the clearing. “Are you all right?” He grabbed my hand, studying the thin dark
line of blood that marked my palm, the same palm I’d injured in the city.

“I’m fine. No big deal.” I
pulled away, embarrassed by his attention and the way he fawned over my injury.
The group already thought I was a burden. I didn’t want to be weak anymore.