Why couldnt she remember what happened?
Why did you bring him here? In this condition, hes weak and vulnerable. Theres no better time to strike at him. Your people could rise up and finally rid themselves of the human king they never wanted.
Her nose went back into the air. Ive been guarding him, and no one has even tried to enter my room. I think they remember how much their beasts love him. Every vampire possessed one, and without the wards they etched into their skin, those beasts could emerge, take solid form and attack. And when they attacked, no one, especially not their vampire master, was safe.
And yet, those same beasts acted like trained, slobbery house dogs in Adens presence, doing everything he commanded, protecting him against any and all threats.
Or maybe the people havent yet realized Adens here, she finished.
Oh, they realize. Everyone I ran into was on edge. Their beasts want out of them and in here with Aden.
That she could believe. The precious silence shed experienced those last minutes in the cave had ended the moment she arrived home. Chompers wanted to move inside Adens mind permanently and wasnt afraid to roar his displeasure about being stuck with Victoria.
After feeding him, shed had to double up on her wards to quiet him.
Is Aden now a vampire? Riley asked.
No. Yes. I dont know. Before passing out, he craved blood. My blood. All of my blood. She kept that little gem to herself. No telling how Riley would react.
He reached out and lifted Adens lips from his teeth. No fangs.
No, but his skin
Is like yours? Frown deepening, Riley unleashed his claws, his nails lengthening and sharpening. Before Victoria could protest, he raked those claws over Adens cheek.
Dont
Not a single wound formed.
Interesting. A clear liquidje la nunebeaded on the end of those claws, and Riley once more sliced at Adens cheek. This time, the skin sizzled as it split apart.
Stop it! With a screech, Victoria threw herself over Adens body, preventing Riley from making another pass at him. Not that he tried.
Youre right. He has a vampires skin, Riley said.
Which is what I was trying to tell you! What she wouldnt admit, not yet, because she still couldnt believe it herself, was that she now had human skin. Vulnerable, so easily harmed. Feeding hadnt reversed the damage, either. She wasnt sure anything would. You didnt need to hurt him like that. The je la nune would burn through a human, too.
Riley ignored her. How long has he been like this?
Three days. She sat up, remaining beside Aden, and glared at her bodyguard, daring him to blame her.
Give me a minute to mentally calculate. With barely a pause, he added, Yep, thats three days too long. Has he fed recently?
Yes. Shed tested every blood-slave shed allowed him to drink from, then, when she knew they were safe, shed given him a little at a time to gauge how he would respond. Thered been no reaction, good or bad, so shed given him more and more, until the blood had practically seeped from his pores. Still thered been no reaction.
For hours she had debated the wisdom of giving him more of her blood. What if he became addicted again? Then shed thought, what if he was still addicted, and only her blood could help him?
So, shed done it. Shed sliced her wristand oh, how that had hurtpouring her blood straight down his throat. The wound had healed slowly for her, swiftly for a human, but Aden had gotten several mouthfuls in the interim. His cheeks had suddenly bloomed with color, and shed been so hopefulfor both of them. But a few minutes later, the color had withered, then disappeared altogether, and his sleep had become fitful. Too fitful. Hed moaned in pain, writhed and finally vomited.
She explained all of that to Riley.
Maybe thats the problem, then, he said. Maybe he doesnt need the blood.
I let him go twenty-four hours without it, and he got even worse. He only improved to this comalike state when I started feeding him again.
A heavy sigh. All right, heres what were gonna do, Riley said, taking charge. As always. Im gonna post guards at your door. No one but you and I are to enter this room. Understand?
No. Because Im foolish. News flash, Riley. Thats why I threatened to disembowel anyone who entered. Well, well. Stress and lack of rest were making her snappy.
He continued, unperturbed, Youre going to feed him your blood, exactly as youve been doing, and you will alert me if theres a change. Any change. I will go to the D and M ranch and grab his medication.
The D and M ranch. Adens home. Well, perhaps former home now. Troubled teenagers lived there, and it was a last stop on the road to redemptionor damnation. One broken rule, and those teens were kicked out. Leaving without contacting Dan, the owner of that ranch, was probably the biggest no-no of all.
Victoria, are you listening to me?
What? Oh, yes. Sorry. She was still so easily distracted. But Aden hates his medication. And if he wanted back inside that ranch, Victoria would make it happen. A few spoken commands, and the humans there would do and think whatever she wanted them to do and think.
If she still possessed the Voice, she thought with a swirl of dread. Shed lost her ultratough skin and could have lost her ultrapowerful voice, too. Since returning, she had tried to compel a few of the human slaves to do her bidding. They had smiled at her and gone on their way, without doing what shed told them.
Youre out of practice, thats all, and still havent completely regained your strength.
The pep talk failed to comfort her.
Youre worse than Aden, Riley muttered. And I dont care if he hates his meds or not. Weve seen him like this before, minus the need for blood, and the medication was the only thing that helped him. If the souls are responsible, like they were before, we have to knock them out for a little while.
But what if the medication hurts him, now that hes a blood drinker?
Doubtful, since human meds dont really hurt you. But theres only one way to find out, isnt there?
Good point. One that bothered her. Most everyone in Adens life considered him a schizophrenic. Not only had his parents given him up when he was little, but hed been shuffled from one mental institution to another. Different cures had been shoved down his throat for years, and hed hated them all.
And, really, he liked the souls, loud and obnoxious as they were, and his newest medicinal regimen shut them down entirely. But Riley was right. Aden wouldnt last much longer in his current state. They had to try something, anything. Everything.
All right. She hated that she hadnt thought of this. If it worked, she could have saved Aden three days ofdistress? Pain? Mental torment? Probably a mix of all three. Well try.
Good. Ill be back. Riley turned on his booted heels and headed for the door.
Riley.
He stopped, but didnt face her.
Be careful. Thomass ghost is still there. Thomas, the fairy prince Riley and Aden had killed to save her. Now his very nasty ghost haunted the ranch, and he craved vengeance.
I will.
And thank you. Being here was probably difficult for him. Mary Ann was his love, and knowing him, he was frothing over her disappearance. Was probably frantic to be out there, searching for her. Yet, he stayed because Victoria needed him.
When Aden improved, she would help Riley hunt for Mary Ann, she decided. A danger to her loved ones or not.
A stiff nod, and then Riley was gone, the door closing behind him. Sighing, Victoria turned back to Aden. Her beautiful Aden. What was going on in that head of his? Was he aware of his surroundings? Hurting, as she suspected?
Did he know what she had done to him, those last few minutes in their cave?
She ran her fingers through his hair, lifting the strands and revealing the blond roots. There was a slight curl at the ends, the locks winding around her knuckles. He didnt lean into her touch as she was used to, and that saddened her.
How much turmoil could one boy endure before he crumbled? Since the moment shed entered his life, hed known only war and pain. Because of her, goblin poison had ravaged him. Because of her, the witches had cursed his friends to die. Because of her, the fairies had tried to take over the D and M ranch.
Fine. Maybe all those things werent exactly because of her, but she still felt responsible. A humorless laugh escaped her. How human of her. To carry the weight of blame, despite everything. Aden would be so proud.
You woke up from this kind of thing before, she whispered. You will wake up this time, too. Please.
Unable to bear the thought of separation, she remained where she was until Riley returned a half hour later. He was without his shirt and wearing new pants that werent yet fastened. Hed dressed hastily, his other clothes ruined during his shift to wolf, she was sure.
Wolves tended to wear clothing that ripped easily. Because, when they shifted, they were stuck wearing whatever didnt fall off. And wearing human underwear while in wolf form was something they preferred to avoid.
He carried a small wicker basket filled with medicine, the pill bottles rattling together. Victoria hopped to her feet, and he placed the basket where shed sat.
Sorry I took so long.
Thomas give you any trouble?
Nope. I didnt even catch a glimpse of him. But then, unlike Aden, Ive never been able to see or hear the dead. The delay had to do with the pills. I didnt know which ones to give our boy and didnt want him to have a reaction to the wrong combination, so I just grabbed the bottles with his name on them, stopped in my room, and Googled.
What he didnt say: Mary Ann was the Google queen, and she was the one whod taught him how to use the search engine. Although, calling it an engine always confused Victoria. There were no workable parts that she could see.
So, what happened at the ranch? she asked.
Here. See for yourself. He extended his free hand, and she twined their fingers. Theyd been together so long, theyd developed a very strong mental connection and were able to share their experiences.
As if a television screen were switched on inside her mind with a view straight from Rileys eyes, she saw Dan, an ex-football star, tall, blond and rugged, standing in the kitchen of the ranch. His wife, petite, pretty Meg, bustled around him, tossing ingredients into a pot.
really worried, Meg was saying.
Me, too. But Adens not the first to run away. He wont be the last. While the words were accepting, the tone was not.
Hes the first to surprise you with his actions, though.
Yeah. Hes just such a great kid. All heart.
Megs smile was soft. And not knowing why he left kills you. I know, baby.
I hope hes okay. Maybe if Id given him more one-on-one time, he wouldnt have
No. Dont you dare do that to yourself. We cant control the actions of others. All we can do is support them, and pray we make a difference.
The conversation faded as Riley stealthily maneuvered from the main house and into the bunkhouse behind it. Adens friends were there. Seth, Ryder and Shannon lounged on the couch, watching TV. Terry, RJ and Brian were in front of the computer, playing games. Relaxing activities, but there was an undeniable tension radiating from each boy.
They must feel the loss of Aden, too.
I have to fix this, Victoria thought.
Shannon stood, a chalky cast to his mocha skin, his gaze sweeping the roomand clashing with Rileys.
In the present, Riley released her hand, the images flickering, disappearing, and she was once again inside her bedroom.
Shannon saw you, she said.
Yeah, but he didnt do anything and I was able to get what we needed without incident. Riley dug inside the basket, setting aside what he wanted and discarding what he didnt. There wasnt a whole lot of information, just enough to tell me he needs the antipsychotics. This, this, and this. As he spoke, he placed the desired pills in her palm.
She studied them. One was yellow and round, one blue and oblong, and one white and scored in the center. These tiny things were supposed to help him when she could not?
Fetch a glass of water from my bathroom, she said.
Commands were not something Riley usually responded to, but he didnt hesitate to obey, soon thrusting the desired glass in her hand. His concern for Aden was as great as hers.
Lift his head and tilt it back, she said, and again, Riley jumped to obey.
She pried Adens mouth open and set the pills on his tongue. Then she placed the rim of the glass at his mouth and poured. Just a little, but enough. Without looking away, she reached out and set the remaining water on her nightstand. Or tried to. Her aim was off, and the glass thudded and splashed to the floor. She didnt care. She closed Adens mouth with one hand and worked his throat with the other, until all the pills made their way into his stomach.
That done, she straightened and peered down at her patient. Now what? she whispered, watching for any kind of responseand not seeing one.
Now, Riley said, grim, we wait.
FOUR
MARY ANN GRAY SAT AT THE corner desk in the back of the library, reading countless microfichesthe same thing shed done every night for a week. Days were beginning to blend together, her temples were throbbing, the muscles in her back were knotted, and there were (probably permanent) marks along her butt and thighs that were a perfect match to the scuffs in the freakishly uncomfortable chair shed commandeered.
According to all the How To info shed read for people on the run, she knew developing a routine was bad. Like flashing a neon arrow just above your head. Problem was, this routine was necessary.
They close in thirty, you know.
She flicked an irritated glance at her companion. AKA the boy she couldnt ditch no matter what she tried. And shed tried a lot. Dine and dash. The old wait here, Ill be right back. The classic whats that over there? And even brutal honestyjust leave me alone, I hate you.