Christmas in Vampire Valley (4 page)

I skimmed the top of the desk, but for once, someone cleaned
the surface, putting everything in its proper place making the top neat and
tidy.

Where did they put the box opener? It was always on the
desktop. I searched, growing desperate as the seconds ticked by, but I didn't
see it.

Agrh! I needed that knife! The small tool was unbreakable;
its synth crystal blade was the strongest known substance on Earth or Sídhí. A
blade made from crystal that would cut through steel much less the thin cuffs.

Turning backward and squatting lower, I managed to open the
top compartment. The drawer was a mess. Pens, packaging slips, tape, paper
clips, and a dozen other useless items filled the shallow drawer.

I didn't stop hunting. Dragging another drawer open and then
another I hunted through each one, but didn't find anything. Opening the last
drawer, I held my breath. The rank smell of a forgotten lunch bag curdled my
stomach.

A small swishing sound stiffened my spine. I glanced toward
the door, knowing my time was up. I had been so engrossed in searching for the
knife that I hadn't noticed when the shouting stopped.

Cold air slid past my neck, ruffling my hair. Too late, I
realized the sound came from behind me. I spun around, toward the window.

A hulking figure loomed over me.

I shrieked!

A hand hastily covered my mouth, deadening the sound of my
surprised scream.

"Megan, it's me," Brandon whispered urgently.

I sagged against him in relief. I'd never been so glad to
see him in my entire life. I leaned closer, seeking comfort; the warmth of his
chest seeped into my chilled limbs.

"Don't scream, okay?"

I mutely nodded my agreement, muttering yes.

He removed his hand. "Better?"

"They're not guardians. We've got to get out of here,
they plan to kill me."

He softly cursed. "Yeah, I know."

Stunned at his agreement, I demanded, "How?"

He pulled a switchblade out of his pocket and flipped it
open. The whitish blade glinted under the bright florescent lights. I breathed
a sigh of relief and didn't resist when he gently turned me around, slipping
the synth blade through the silver cuffs. The cuffs clinked to the floor.

"I was on the wall outside when I heard them discussing
it. Earlier, when I tried porting you to safety, I knew something was wrong.
Guardians don't use air horns or make such a huge production of apprehending a
suspect." He frowned. "Why do they want you dead?"

The lock in the steel door clicked.

We both glanced at the window, but I knew we wouldn't have
time. Even if we got through and on the ground, the vampire thugs would catch
us. Sídhí were fast, especially the older ones.

"Hide under the desk,"
he mentally ordered,
waiting just long enough for me to agree. Extending three-inch, semi-white
claws he turned and climbed through the open window.

The outside wall was straight down and solid stone. There
was no way I could scale the smooth surface. As a vampire, he had to be
clinging to the wall with his claws.

I crouched in the small area under the desk, hastily pulling
the rolling chair in front of the opening. It squeaked. Cringing at the sound,
I stopped moving.

A single set of footsteps crossed the floor.

The gravelly voiced vampire cursed, and hurried to the open
window. He paused and I held my breath, not daring to give away my hiding spot
with the slightest sound.

I heard him inhale, tasting the scents in the room.

Well, crap.

He wheeled the chair out of the way and looked into my
hiding spot. "Gotcha."

His eyes widened and he spun toward the window. Blood spewed
everywhere.

He dropped to the ground. The back of his head thumped
against the stone floor like a ripe melon.

A gaping hole stared at me where Brandon ripped the
vampire's throat open. The thug struggled to get up. His darkly handsome,
mid-twenties face was deceptive. He had to be several hundred years old. Only an
old vampire would still be moving after getting his throat completely sliced
open.

Brandon dropped beside the thug, slamming his synth knife into
the vampire's heart. He repeated the process until the vampire shuddered and stopped
moving. The single blade wouldn't kill him, but it would buy us a little time.

Brandon sheathed his claws and reached toward me with blood
stained hands. He hesitated.

I didn't, bloody or not, I didn't care. I grabbed his hand
and he pulled me from under the desk.

He gave me a quick hug.

I sucked in a shocked gasp, but didn't have time to hug him
back.

He shuddered and let me go.

An instant later, we jumped out of the window, landing next
to a prickly rose bush. He slid his fingers around mine, pulling me toward the
darker part of the garden.

"I've got to get home." I tugged my hand, but he
wouldn't let go.

"If they want you dead that's not a good idea." He
glanced around the shadowed garden, urging me toward a gravel path. We took the
narrow trail at a trot.

"Are you implying my parents can't protect me?" I
demanded, abruptly stopping as a group of people neared. We hid under the low
hanging branches of some sort of sweet smelling tree.

"No,"
he denied, speaking into my mind. The
group paused and he protectively curled his arms around me.
"I know how
powerful both your parents are, but Uncle Warren will call Commissioner
Malcrom."

"Head of the Guardians?"

He grunted his agreement.

The group moved past and we sprinted toward the baily wall. Not
pausing in our headlong flight, we clambered over the wall and dropped onto a
tile roof.

Brandon slipped on the round, slick surface, rapidly sliding
toward the edge.

I scrambled after him, grabbing his outstretched hand.

We both fell off the roof.

Brandon hit first, bouncing on a load of loose hay the park used
for hayrides.

Oomph!

I landed on top of Brandon.

Muscled arms curled around me, holding me securely against
his chest. His face was inches from mine. Later, I blamed my bold mood on my
near call with death. I swallowed and threw caution to the wind. Leaning
forward, I pressed my lips to his, giving him a quick kiss.

"Thanks, for the soft landing." My eyes remained
firmly on his chin, half-afraid of the expression I'd see on his face.

He didn't answer, didn't move.

Tears pricked at the corners of my pale green eyes and I
tried rolling off him.

His arms tightened around me, refusing to let me go.
"Meg." He gently tugged my chin until I looked him in the face. His
eyes shined with happiness. Then he kissed me and my world fragmented into a
thousand tiny pieces.

My Christmas wish came true.

His chest rumbled with a purr of pleasure.

Warmth built in the pit of my stomach as a wild craving
poured through me. I shivered and pressed myself closer to him, rejoicing as he
curled his arms tighter around me.

He broke the kiss, raining smaller kisses across my cheek.
Nuzzling my neck, he kissed my pulsing vein as blood pounded through me at a
rapidly growing pace.

"Ssh, I'd never hurt you," he said softly.

I hesitated. I knew biting between vampires, at least Clan
vampires, was more for pleasure than food. "Maybe you could bite me later.
Um, I mean, if we are still, I mean, if we go out..." I lamely stopped my
rambling. I was so pathetic.

He chuckled, rubbing his smooth cheek against mine. He
smelled like spice, like the warmth of a burning fire on a winter evening.
"Did you just ask me out?"

"Maybe, depends on your answer." I held my breath,
wanting him more than anything I'd ever wanted in my life. I couldn't explain
the crazy pull he had on me, but for the first time in a year, I felt nearly whole.
It was as if I'd been missing a part of myself and hadn't noticed the massive
hole until he held me.

I knew he didn't feel the same, but I had high hopes that
I'd grow on him.

"The answer is yes." He kissed me and leaned back,
looking me in the eyes with a smoldering depth of emotion that expelled all
doubt from my mind. "I was getting desperate. If all this hadn't happened,
I had planned on getting a job at Martin's."

I shook my head in disbelief. "You never even hinted
that you liked me." I stopped, suddenly remembering his earlier comment.
"You didn't want to date a fairy."

Doubt flickered through me, but he didn't let the doubt
grow.

"That's not true. I was terrified you wouldn't want to
date a vampire." He gently cupped my cheek in the warmth of his palm.
"I know how much teasing you'll go through and I was afraid you would turn
me down flat. Every time I'd say hi, you'd just smile, say hi, and then hurry
away."

I leaned into his touch, curling my hand around his muscled
forearm. "I was afraid you'd see how much I liked you and you'd tell me..."
I sighed, stumbling to a halt. How could I tell him I was scared to death of
him telling a fairy to buzz off?

"You're guy shy?" he asked softly.

Ducking my head, I groaned. Yep, he hit that nail on the
head.

He gently kissed my cheek. "Sorry, I should have
realized it, but you're so aggressive in some things that it never dawned on
me. Come morning, I won't let you change your mind," he said earnestly.

He captured my lips and my worries disappeared under the
flame of his touch. My heart raced, booming in sync with my expanding pleasure.

Time passed, I completely lost track.

Suddenly he wasn't kissing me; he crouched between the tall
building and me. His growl, deep and harsh, rumbled through the cold night air.
He glared upward, toward the roof we had fallen off.

I heard a deep chuckle. "About time you two came up for
air."

My eyes focused. Thanks to my Sídhí heritage, I could see
through the dark shadows just fine. The figure on the roof refined itself.

"Darn it, Ryan, with everything going on tonight,
sneaking up on me wasn't the brightest idea. I could've hurt you." Brandon
stood, sheathing his deadly claws.

Reaching for my hand, we jumped off the hay-filled trailer.

"Why do you think I'm still up here?" Ryan snorted
and dropped to the ground next to us. "What happened? I tried following
the guardians into Martin's, but Narlene put a closed sign up."

"They aren't guardians." I shivered, instinctively
leaning toward Brandon.

He took the hint and wrapped an arm around my waist.

Ryan grinned at the move, but kept his mouth shut.

"We need to get out of here." Brandon nodded
toward the dark alley between the two-story houses.

I heartily agreed with him. Hearing laughter and Christmas
carols drifting across the wind, I glanced toward the source. "We can go
through the village shops."

"Hold up. The guardians..." Ryan paused, loudly
sniffing the air. "Why are you covered in blood?"

"It's just his hands." I glared at Ryan.
"Those thugs weren't guardians. They planned on killing me."

"Getting Megan free, I took one of them out."

Ryan hissed through his teeth. "You attacked a
guardian?"

Beside me, Brandon stiffened. "I did not attack a
guardian. That piece of filth was about to kill Megan. I heard them planning
it."

A dark grumble sounded from the shadows. I'd recognize that
gravelly sound anywhere.

Brandon whirled, shoving me behind him. He stood defensively
ready to fight.

Ryan shot to his side.

The brothers growled, extending lethal claws. Together they
were a formidable wall, but I feared the vampire they faced was a lot more
powerful than both of them combined.

"Ease up," another voice sounded behind the thug,
"Chandar is on our side."

A young man, relatively speaking, stepped from the shadows.
The family resemblance to Brandon and Ryan was obvious in his strong face and
jet-black hair.

I lightly touched Brandon's back, asking him to be cautious.

He didn't move, staying between Chandar and me.

"Vance, what's going on?" Brandon demanded of the second
vampire, while whispering in my head.
"Vance is an older cousin. We're
safe."

"You youngsters stumbled into one of our
investigations. Chandar called me about a week ago and said he had a lead on a
gang of criminals that have been on our most wanted list for years."

"Did Chandar happen to mention, he planned to kill me?"

"Name's Chandar Jacobs, undercover guardian at your
service." The gravelly voice seemed a bit rougher than it had. "I had
already called in reinforcements when Phinnea decided to kill you. If she
hadn't sent me to do her dirty work, I would've volunteered."

"I didn't know I'd end up bleeding all over the
place." He grinned and I noticed long scars covered his neck. He had taken
the time to change into a clean shirt. His eyes drilled into Brandon. "You're
good with those claws, and darn fast. Most young people hesitate and it gets
them killed. If you ever consider applying as a guardian cadet, let me know and
I'll write a letter of recommendation." He chuckled. "Might even take
a picture of my neck before the scars disappear and add a visual of what you
did to a three hundred year veteran."

Brandon slowly stood. "Thanks, but I'd rather do the
college route."

I stepped forward and slid my arm around his waist.

He hugged me back, keeping me firmly at his side.

"Why would a gang of criminals kidnap me?" I
asked, not connecting the dots between a known criminal and a harmless teenager.

"Have you taken a good look at your outfit?" Vance
asked seriously.

"She is not a witch." Brandon snarled at his older
cousin.

I squeezed his waist, silently thanking him for taking up
for me.