Whisper to Me (Borne Vampires Book 1) (15 page)

“If you knew them, how could you have mistaken
Jarrod losing his soul when he hadn’t? Was it the list of ‘what to look for’
constructed by your father?”

“Partly.”

“Partly?”

“Mariah, he slaughtered an entire village in
revenge for his brother, a vampire who would have been condemned by the Elders
for consorting with a human pregnant with his child.”

“So you would have judged Aidan, too?” Horrified Rathe
could be so cold-hearted, she made to withdraw, but he stopped her.

“Dammit, woman, I’m not that much of a bastard!”

“Okay. Tell me your side.”

“My side?”

“Yes. I’ve seen Jarrod’s, the vampire who saved me
when I was born, and the memories of my mother’s. But I haven’t yours.”

He looked away. “I’ve been careful around you. I
wanted to tell you, but,” he shrugged his big shoulders, “I wasn’t certain how
to. The horror I witnessed. The villagers’ bodies. Aidan butchered. So much
blood and carnage.” He jammed his hands in his jean pockets and shifted to lean
back against the car.

“Aidan left for Bucharest on orders to slay a
rogue vamp hunting humans there, while Jarrod and I had gone onto Moscow on
another mission. He was supposed to meet us in two days, but a week went past
and contact could not be made with Aidan. Jarrod knew his brother wasn’t dead,
but Aidan wasn’t responding to him. We went searching for Aidan and learned he had
never reached Bucharest. Jarrod was frantic, still unable to speak with his brother.”

“We were about to call my father, when Jarrod
heard his brother's call for help, felt his rage and fear. We flew as fast as
our abilities allowed, but we arrived too late.” Rathe rubbed his face, as if
he were trying to scrub the horror he’d witnessed away. “The villagers were
savage in making certain Aidan did not rise from his death. When they finished,
they displayed him at a crossroad, a mile from the village, as if he were a
prized trophy. Or a warning. Either way, it was gruesome, even for a Slayer to
see.”

“Jarrod just stared at Aidan’s headless corpse
tied to a wooden cross. Never said a word. The villagers had stuck Aidan’s head
on a pike. I cut Aidan’s body free, and that’s when Jarrod dissolved into mist.
I opened a grave and had buried Aidan when I heard screams in the village.” Rathe
looked at her when she laid her hand on his bicep.

“That’s when Jarrod attacked the men who killed my
father.” She leaned back against the car for support.

“Not just the men. Bodies of women and children
were everywhere. Jarrod had torn the humans’ throats out, ripped them limb from
limb. He was like a maddened beast, draining his victims and tossing them aside
like rag dolls. To stop him, I knew I had to kill Jarrod. We battled until he
realized he could not defeat me, and he fled. That’s why Jarrod declared war on
me, because I chose to protect the humans from him and his rage. Now you know
why I had to kill him. Even if he hadn’t lost his soul at the village, Jarrod
had to be stopped. If he had only killed the men who had hurt and killed Aidan,
I would not have interfered. He went too far when he killed the innocent.”

“Well, we have to finish
the job now,” she grimly said. “We’ve an advantage since he thinks you’re
dead.”

“First things first, we need to get your daughter
to safety. Afterwards, we can devise a plan to stop him.”

“Then we’d better get a move on.”

Following him to the passenger side of the car, he
let her dogs in and opened her door for her. Buckling her seatbelt, she sat
there, astounded at the depths a vampire, Damned or Borne, could feel, how much
they could love — the grief they felt when those they had loved died. It was
humbling and terrifying, to be part of the tragedy vampires suffered and
endured. And the consequences of her actions had led her to it, returning to
the world her guardian vampire had tried to spare her of.

✝✝✝

True to his word, when dawn broke the horizon, Rathe
stopped and shut the engine off. Recognizing the town as New Meadows, she
calculated at least five hours of driving ahead of her still.

“Keep the gun on you at all times. Be safe.
Please?” He cupped her face between his hands, his eyes imploring her to heed
his warning.

“I will. I promise. Just hurry when you rise. I-I
have a bad feeling that Jarrod is not far behind me.”

Kissing her, gently and slow, he reluctantly drew
away. “I—” Whatever he was about to say was lost when a ray of sunlight
streamed across his face and he disappeared.

Sighing, she scooted into the driver’s seat. Faced
with her growing feelings for Rathe and the stress of driving in sunlight, she mentally
pulled up her big girl panties, put on her sunglasses, and started the car.

Several twenty-four ounce, quad shot lattes later,
she sighed in relief as she began the descent toward Lake Coeur d'Alene. Its
blue waters stretched out alongside the forest surrounding it. When her road
neared, she signaled to turn. Half a mile and the two-story lake house loomed
before the car, a welcoming sight in the midst of running from a psychotic
vampire and sunlight slowly killing her!

Parking beside David’s truck, she opened the door
and slid out of the SUV, her legs shaking. She let her dogs out, smiling as
they ran about, barking happily. A shrill shriek jerked her around to the house,
and she saw Rona running toward her with a big grin. Six inches taller than her,
Rona hugged her tight, lifting her completely off the ground.

“Don't you ever scare me like that again, do you
hear me?” Rona set her down and took her arm in hers, leading her to the house.
“Okay, fess up. What’s going on?”

David, Rona's husband, held the door open for
them. “Rona, give her a break. You can interrogate Mariah later.” He smiled at
her. “Go on and get some sleep. Don't worry about Salish and Bear, I'll feed
them.”

“Thanks. I’m exhausted.”

“Don’t you want something to eat first?” Rona
asked, concerned.

Shaking her head, the thought of eating food was
completely out of the question. “What time is the book signing?” she asked as
she forced her feet to walk up the stairs to her bedroom.

“At five.”

Checking her wall clock, it read twelve. “Good.
Gives me a couple of hours to sleep. Rona, I need to call Kai.” Groaning, she
stretched out across her bed.

“Sure. I’ll close the door. I’ll wake you around
four.”

“Sounds good.” When the door shut, she fumbled for
her cell phone, dialing Kai.

“Mom, you’re here!”

“Physically anyway. You safe?”

“Uncle Joe has taken vacation time to stay with
me. I had to tell him what was really happening.”

“He believed you?”

“Yep, and he got Holy water and crosses for us,
too. Anne got scared, so she took her daughters to Canada. Joe was not happy,
but he said it was much easier to guard me without fighting with Anne.” She
laughed nervously. “Is Rathe coming? I love Uncle Joe, but Rathe knows how to
fight Jarrod.”

Amazed by her daughter's confidence in someone she
had never met, especially a vampire, it struck Mariah what her daughter had said.
“Kai, how do you know Rathe and Jarrod’s names?”

“I was warned about Jarrod. Never trust him. Keep
hidden from him. He said I could trust the Romulas family, and they would
protect us from the Damned.” Kai hesitated. “Mom, don’t get mad, but I think he’s
always been there for us. Like a guardian angel, protecting us.”

“God, I hope he is because I’ve met Jarrod and he
is one helluva powerful vampire! We need all the allies we can get. Tell your uncle
I’ll pick you up after the book signing. I love you, sweetie, but I’ve got to
sleep. Love you!”

“Love you, too, Mom.”

Mariah tossed the cell phone on the night table and
crawled under the comforter, closing her eyes.

✝✝✝

The soft knock on the door jerked her wide awake.
“No way! I just fell asleep.” Clock read four o’clock. Another knock. “I’m
awake.”

Rona poked her head in the room. “You want me to
fix you a sandwich?”

“No, thanks. I’ll purchase something later.”

Bleary-eyed, she stumbled to the bathroom,
striping her clothes off. She turned the shower on and stepped into the hot
water, sighing as it cascaded down her cool skin. Revived, she washed her hair
and body. Once she had rinsed, she turned off the water and dried. Checking out
the medallion, the runes were only a faint outline left. One more blood exchange
should see them gone, and she would be a full vampire.

Grateful her friends had brought in her duffle bag
for her, she pulled out the leather pants, black silk shirt, black bra and
underwear, and dressed. She blow dried her hair and pulled the sides back,
fastening silver clips here and there. Applying make-up, hiding the shadows under
her eyes, she realized her eyes had stayed the same color — amethyst like her
father’s.

Her father.

Back in her bedroom, she sat on the bed and pulled
on her boots, slipping a dagger in the left one. Shrugging on the black leather
coat, she took her gun and tucked it in her waistband, at her back. Sometime
soon, she needed to buy a holster for it.

“God, did I really just think that? Am I to lead a
life on the run, hiding and killing, to protect myself and my kid?” She sat
down on the bed, hands braced on her knees. “Rathe was right. We can’t live
like this. We have to stop Jarrod. It’s the only way to get our life back!”

Needing to her daughter’s voice, she called Kai.
“Sweetie, you okay?”

“Yeah, Mom, I’m fine. Why? Has something happened?”

“No.” Rubbing her forehead, she told her, “I-I’m
coming to get you.”

“Aww, Mom, you know I really don’t like crowds.
It’s just hard on me.”

“I understand, baby. I really do. I’m gonna have a
tough time, too, keeping their thoughts out of my head. Okay, afterward the
signing, I’ll get you.”

“I have everything packed and ready. Hugs!”

“Hugs back.”

Hanging up, Mariah went downstairs. Rona and David
were slipping on their jackets, but stopped when they saw her. “Ready?” she
asked, amused as her friends stared at her, their mouths open.

Rona nodded. “You want David to drive?”

“No, I’m fine to drive.” Salish and Bear jumped
around her. “Stay and guard. I will return soon.” Leaving them in the house,
she locked the door when Rona and David were outside.

Turning around, she nearly screamed when she
looked into the sun. Shielding her eyes, she hurried past Rona, clicking the
car alarm off and unlocked the SUV’s doors.

Inside the safety of the
car, she managed to put on her black sunglasses. Flinching when Rona opened the
passenger door, she leaned away from the sunlight pouring in.

“Mariah, you okay?”

“Yeah, but I need to tell you something … to
explain the changes I’m going through.”

“Changes?” Rona got in, shutting the door, cutting
off the sunlight. David climbed in the backseat.

“Rona, do you remember the night my parents died?”

“Yeah, I remember the woman who brought you to us.
She was dressed like a gypsy, had weird green eyes.”

“Well, her name was Relle Besnik and she was a
Gypsy witch. She gave me this medallion that has runes on it, a protection
spell to hide from my uncle and … and to keep me human.”

“Human?”

“My real father was Aidan Draco. He was a Borne
vampire. He fell in love with my mother, Maria, a human. He was killed before I
was born. She was murdered after she gave birth to me.”

David leaned forward. “Are you saying you’re a vampire?”

“Actually, I am a dhampir. A half-breed. But I’m
changing, because I exchanged blood with a Borne vampire, and the spell has
weakened. Once the last of the runes are destroyed, I will become vampire fully.”
She glanced at Rona, worried at her reaction.

“I knew you were special, but a vampire?” Rona straightened
in her seat. “Oh crap! What great-grandma Beti said about our clan serving a
vampire has to be true, too, then!”

“Excuse me, but did you just say your great-grandmother
told you your family served a vampire?”

She rubbed her temple. “Let’s see, it was World
War II. They were living in Germany. Grandma Beti said the Master protected
them from the Nazis, wouldn’t let them be put to death. After the war, she and
great-grandpa, Nickolas, moved to the United States, wanting a fresh start.”

“Wow! Why didn’t you mention this earlier?”

Rona turned red. “She died a couple of months
before you and your parents moved to Coeur d’Alene. It didn’t mean anything … until
now.”

“What else did she say?”

“She-she was always saying the Master watched over
us-kinda thing. We had a blood bond with him. My grandfather didn’t believe in
the Old ways. Heck, he broke tradition when he married a gadji, a non-gypsy
woman. So it went with my dad, when he married Mom.” Rona shrugged. “Sheesh, I
thought Grandma Beti was talking about a nobleman, not a freakin vampire!”

He
had
kept his word to her mother, and he used his people to help watch over her.

“Oh, God!” She felt faint.

“What?”

“Sergio!”

“What about the prick?”

“The night he hit me, I’d blacked out. I always
wondered why he didn’t kill me when he had the chance.”

“You think the vampire killed Sergio and made it
look like an accident?”

“It makes sense. Sergio never made empty threats,
and I was still alive and so was my baby.”

“If he did kill the son-of-a-bitch, then he’s a hero
in my opinion. I’ll count him a friend.”

Smiling, she agreed. “Me, too.”

Entering the city of Coeur d’Alene, she kept on
Highway 95, taking it to the Lake City Mall, where the bookstore hosting the
book signing was at. Finding a parking spot was a challenge. She needed on
close to the entrance, so she could duck in without catching fire again. One
finally came available. Making her move, a smaller car tried to duck in and
take it. Swearing under her breath, Mariah focused her ‘will' on the driver,
whispering in his mind to find another parking spot. A look of fright crossed
the young man's face. He quickly drove away. Happy, she parked. Rona and David
exchanged a bemused frown.