Endlessly (18 page)

Acting as if I owned the place, I sat
down across from him, and met his scowl head-on. I said nothing.
After what seemed an eternity he asked, “Why did you do
it?”

Keeping my eyes locked on his, I said:
“I don’t answer to you.”

He laughed. “I’m sorry,” he sneered,
gazing up at the ceiling as if to think deep thoughts. “Let me
see…how do I explain this.” He looked at me directly. “I am in
charge. I took my seat on the Quatre two years ago, which is why we
haven’t met, but I’m familiar with your previous meeting...how many
years ago was it? I know you vampires easily forget those things,
but it hasn’t been that long. My name is Pedro Soto. There’s no
need for you to introduce yourself. I already know
everything.”

If my skin had color it would’ve
drained away right then. Why was I still alive? You don’t threaten
the life of one of the board and live to tell about it.

“Tsk, tsk Verloren.” He shook his head.
“If you’d given her to us everything would be fine. Instead you
royally fucked up.”

“You don’t understand,” I said. It was
a statement rather than the start of a plea.

“I do understand.” He pointed to the
bedroom, raising an eyebrow. “You can’t cover that up. It’s bad
enough with you running around in the open. Then you go and create
this…thing that can’t even go out in public.”

“She is not a thing,” I
growled.

“We’ll see about that. Sara won’t be
happy.” He got up and headed for the cockpit.

Sara…the thought of her gave me a
chill, and sent a storm of images through my mind. Then the episode
was over. I had grown accustomed to the unknowable flashes. I
ignored them, concentrating on questions that mattered. Why would
Sara be unhappy? Wouldn’t Kale be more likely to be the angry one?
But when it came to changing incarnates, he had little room to
talk. Look what he’d done to me. If we were going to die, I hoped
I’d have a shot at Kale before it happened.

Over 10 years had passed since my
meeting with the Quatre. Sara would be almost grown by now. Was
that a good thing? Obviously she still loomed large in everyone’s
considerations. That’s why Pedro had mentioned her.

*********

We landed at another small airport. Ash
wore her modified jeans and T-shirt. She knelt on a recliner as she
looked out the window. People outside refueled the
plane.

Her wings were spread and her tail
twitched with excitement. Sun shone on her face. I was glad that
the sun did not hurt her eyes like it did mine.

Our hosts stopped in the doorway, and
Pedro gave her a disgusted glare, shaking his head. The blond
stared at her, fascinated. She gave him a coy smile, showing her
fangs.

As they turned to leave Pedro looked at
me, and said: “We will be back shortly with a meal for you.” He
glanced at her.

I’ll need one too,
she thought.

“What?” Pedro stared at her.

“That’s right,” I said. “She can read
your mind, and, if she lets you, you can read hers.” Suddenly I
recalled how that ability had driven Jason crazy. I missed the guy,
even though I knew his smart-ass mouth would have gotten us all
killed before we even boarded the plane.

Pedro stomped off the plane.

She laughed.
He doesn’t like that at all.

Ah, who cares?
I thought.
Who is he
anyhow?

One of the
Quatre
. She nodded coldly, and told me what
she’d learned from reading them:
Sara
wants to kill me and eat my heart. She wants to manipulate all four
elements.

“Which one are you?” I asked her
aloud.

“They think I’m fire, but now that I’m
a mixed breed, that might complicate things. Pedro is afraid of
Sara, and what she’ll do when she learns the truth. They’re all
terrified of her. They think she’s a royal bitch.” She looked out
the window.

“You’ve never tried to use your
element,” I told her.

“I don’t know how to work it. I don’t
think it will work now.” She sighed and laid her head back. “My
wings either. I haven’t tried to fly at all.”

“You’re much stronger than all of
them,” I said. “The downfall of the dragons was their compassion.
They wouldn’t stand up for themselves. In other words…they were
lovers not fighters.”

”Is that why they are attracted to
me?”

“Yes. It radiates off of you. All you
have to do is look at them and will them to you. Remember, that
magnetism is a part of what you are now. You could have anyone in
the world with a glance. But I also want you to remember that you
have your soul mate.”

For a moment she seemed embarrassed,
then she straightened up in her chair, and was all business. “Um…
Sara has promised Pedro and Kale that after she has taken on the
four elements, they will be allowed to hunt more dragons. She’s
promising to find each of them his own set of four
elements.”

“She would never do that,” I said.
“She’d kill them first. Sara wants total rule.” I knelt down, and
laid my head in her lap.

She stroked my hair. “She’ll get one
hell of a surprise.”

A few minutes later Pedro boarded the
plane. As he came in the portal he wore an evil grin, but as soon
as he saw us he got angry.

“You’ll have to quiet them down when
they get in here,” he snapped. “They’ll flip out when they see
that.” He pointed at Ash.

I heard them outside: two girls talking
to the blond in broken English. I peeked out at them: two tanned
brunettes in short dresses and high heels: top-dollar call girls. I
aimed my thoughts at them. They froze, turned and boarded the
plane. The blond followed, keeping his eyes on me.

Once they were in the living area I
directed them to the sectional couch. They both sat, staring
straight ahead. The blond closed the door. Pedro
watched.

I gave Ash my hand as she rose and
stood beside me. She put her hands in her back pockets, scrunching
her wings behind her. The human girls’ eyes betrayed their fear,
but they said and did nothing.

Ash whispered to me: “They are both
very beautiful.”

“Ladies pick first.” I bowed to her and
waved my hand toward the women.

She went to the first girl, grabbed her
chin, and turned it. Ash lowered her head to the woman’s collarbone
and inhaled as she ran her nose up to the woman’s ear. Ash stopped
abruptly and huffed, then glared up at the blond. It was obvious
what he was thinking. “Men...” she muttered. She tilted the woman’s
head, and bit into her neck. The woman’s mouth opened in a silent
scream.

I stepped forward and grabbed the
woman’s wrist, pulling her aura. The woman fell slack in Ash’s
grip. Ash continued to feed until there was nothing left. She
leaned back and licked her lips. The woman dropped to the
floor.

The blond picked up the body, took it
to the bathroom, and shut the door. Ash smiled at me. I looked to
Pedro, who wore an indifferent expression. “Wait until he is done
before you do the next one.”

Ash returned to the recliner. I sat
beside my meal. I could see the terror in the woman’s eyes. She’d
seen what happened to her friend. Pedro stood over us as we waited
in awkward silence. Finally the blond reappeared. I looked at Pedro
and he nodded.

I turned the girl’s face from me and
bit hard into her neck. I pulled her aura slowly and her blood
quickly. I felt movement around us but paid no attention. I heard
Ash make a disgusted sound. A hand fell on my shoulder. It was
Pedro.

“Don’t finish her off,” he hissed. “I
like mine still kicking.”

I withdrew, and saw blood seep down her
neck. Her breathing was labored and her eyes were wide and glassy.
Pedro bent to scoop her up.

“Thanks.” He flashed a devious smile
and carried the girl into the bathroom. Before Pedro closed the
door I saw the woman’s face. She was lost in death’s fear. I let go
of her mind and a gurgling escaped her throat.

Ash aimed a thought at
me.
He is going to rape her and then eat
her while she is still alive.
She crossed
her arms over her chest and closed her eyes, disgusted.

I was glad that only she
could hear my thoughts.
It’s no different
than what we do.

She shook her head in
disagreement.

I went on:
Ash, there’s only one way for you to become a
part of the Quatre. You have to be ruthless, uncaring, and a
terror. Now you know what we are dealing with. They care for
nothing but themselves.

Why are they even bothering
to feed us
? She asked.

These two want to
refuel,
I thought.
It’s less messy for them when there isn’t any blood. They’re
not doing it for us.

We listened to the dying cries from the
bathroom. Pedro finally finished his meal and we were on our
way.

Chapter 18

FOLLOW ME

As we made our final descent I looked
out to see a landscape covered in snow. Only the runway was clear.
The sunlight reflecting off the snow blinded me, hurting my eyes.
Everywhere there were mountains and trees. Jagged rocks poked
through the white surface, and under different circumstances the
scene might have been beautiful.

As the plane rolled to a
halt we kept our seats. I still had my mental wall up, if only to
protect Ash.
Do they let everyone wait in
agony this way?
I wondered. The blond sat
across from us on the sectional. The silence was
deafening.

Ash was first to break it. “Where are
we?”

“Ural Mountains,” he said.
“Siberia.”

Pedro differed from his predecessor. He
was young, able (he’d landed the plane himself), and not afraid to
get his hands dirty.

Suddenly, as if on cue, the blond got
up and opened the exit portal. Pedro came from the front of the
plane, eyeing us with contempt. Maybe it was the bright light, but
now Pedro seemed older, possibly early thirties.

“
All right, people,” he
said, “let’s get this over with.”

Seeing Ash stand up brought a smile to
my lips. She wore a black gypsy dress with an opening for her
wings. What amused me was her choice of footwear: combat
boots.

She folded her wings as I helped her
get her trench coat on. She grabbed the front of my jacket and
kissed me lightly on the lips.

“No more of that!” Pedro snapped,
pushing us down the steps. “Knock it off and get
moving!”

The two men ushered us into a large
black Denali. The blond drove. Pedro put me in the passenger seat,
then pushed Ash into the back seat ahead of him. When I saw that
push I gave an abbreviated growl.

Ash’s thoughts filled my
head
. I’m okay. He just wants to get you
pissed off. He’s been arguing with Kale about who gets to kill you.
They plan to make a game of it. Both of them like their meals
‘kicking’.

There was no delay in our departure.
The blond drove quickly along snow-lined roads.

Jessica showed me
that,
I thought
.
Kale takes pleasure in not subduing his victims first. At least I
make it quick and as painless as possible. He gets off on showing
them how weak they are. He’s a sick asshole who loves to hear
screams and pleading. That’s one reason why they don’t want a
dragon in charge. They don’t want anyone to get between them and
their victims. They want control of everything, and they hate
anyone who has free will.

What about Hania?
Ash asked.
I haven’t seen
anything about him from these two.

Hania is believed to be one
of the oldest born knowings. He is a shaman and he’s the only one
of the four that I respect. He sits quietly, says little, and only
objects when he absolutely has to. He’s older physically too. He
must be close to seventy in human years.

We rolled over the hills on
snow-covered roads, sure that our end was near.

********

We turned off the road and drove
through thick woods. Finally we came to a clearing. On the opposite
side there was an opening carved in the mountain. The blond drove
the Denali into the darkness where we parked and got out of the
car.

The blond spoke: “Follow
me.”

I grabbed Ash’s icy hand, while Pedro
followed behind us. The blond led us down a long tunnel to a large
metal door. Ash tensed as he opened it.

When I saw what was waiting on the
other side I had to stifle a laugh. The room was small. Two dark
green couches lined two walls. In the middle sat a large wooden
coffee table with books scattered everywhere. Two generic landscape
paintings hung on white walls. It looked like the waiting room for
a doctor’s office.

Pedro followed us in and locked the
door behind him. Two hand-carved French doors led to whatever was
beyond. The blond said: “Stay here. Someone will be back for you.”
He and Pedro went through the doors, then we heard the click of
locks.