Eternal (26 page)

“No, that would—”

“I would prefer that,” Savhoran said. “At least I will be away from this village.”

“Better to let us help,”
Mad
ó
ran
said.

“No. Even if all of you shared
the burden, in the long run there are not enough of you to aid me without endangering yourselves. I must do this myself. If I knew how to drive, I would go alone.”

“
Well, you won't let me help the
obvious way,” I said.

He kissed both my hands. It sent a tingle all through me.

“You are the last person from whom I want such help.”

I smiled a little.

“
Len or Caeran could drive you,” Mad
ó
ran
said.

Savhoran thought about that. I bit my lip. I wanted to be with him, to make sure he didn't do anything suicidal again, but he probably didn't want me around while he went hunting.

“No,” Savhoran said quietly. “Amanda made the offer. I would rather go with her.”

You could have knocked me over with a feather. If I hadn't already been knocked over.

“
Very well.” Mad
ó
ran
stood and went to the door. “I will return in two hours to check on you.”

When he was gone, Savhoran kissed me: sweetly, tenderly. From the look of pity on his face, I figured I looked pretty awful.

He must have held me until I went to sleep. I woke up alone, in the dark. For a second I panicked, then I felt him—not physically, but through khi I guess. He was sitting in the bedside chair, which he had placed with its back to the door.

“My guardian angel,” I mumbled.

“How do you feel?”

I paused to think about it. I had a headache, and the left side of my face ached a little. Probably had a huge bruise, but overall I didn't feel too bad.

Very carefully, I sat up. My head didn't swim. “I'm OK. An aspirin would help.”

He didn't say anything, which probably meant he didn't know what aspirin was. Ælven probably never needed it.

“I'm going to turn on the light,
” I said, reaching for the nightstand.

“
All rig
ht.”

I switched on the bedside lamp, then got up and rummaged in my dresser drawer for aspirin. Found the bottle, and took two with the glass of water
Mad
ó
ran
had left for me. Then I risked a glance at the mirror over the dresser.

The light wasn't very bright, but I'd expected to be able to see the bruise. I walked closer to the mirror and turned my head. Only the faintest dark spot right over my cheekbone. I touched it and it felt tender, but didn't scream with pain.

“Damn, he's good.”

“Who?”

“Madóran. Look, you can hardly tell.”

I went over to Savhoran and he stood up. I showed him my face. He looked sad, then he kissed me gently right on the bruise.

“I am sorry you were hurt.”

“Same to you. Did
Mad
ó
ran
give you a zap?”

He laughed. “No. She did not hurt me, not as you were hurt.”

“What time is it?”

Rhetorical question: the ælven didn't seem to care much about time. I dug out my cell phone and saw that it was almost ten.

It would take almost two hours to drive to Las Vegas. Part of me wanted to crawl back into bed, but I knew I couldn't do that. If Savhoran didn't feed that night he'd be in a bad way. Even I could see that.

I put my phone in my pocket, then checked that my pepper spray was in the other pocket. Not leaving the house without it again.

“Let's go borrow the car keys.”

“Let me change my tunic, then I can return Madóran's to him.”

When Savhoran opened the door, I smelled rain. Out in the garden the flagstones were wet, and the water in the fountain was dancing.

The monsoons had arrived, maybe. Regardless, rain is a blessing in New Mexico. I took it for a good sign.

We went to Savhoran's room for him to change, then around to Len and Caeran's room. They were up. Apparently
Mad
ó
ran
had talked to them. I expected Caeran to insist that he drive, but he didn't say anything. Len just handed over the keys.

“Want us to come along?”

I bit my lip. Part of me did, but this was a short errand, and I didn't expect to see the alben again that night. She had never attacked twice in a day.

I also suspected Savhoran didn't want spectators.

“Nah,” I said. “Thanks, though. We'll be back soon.”

“Be careful,” she said. “It's raining.”

“I will.”

I hugged her. Not sure why, just spur of the moment. “I'll buy you a tank of gas,” I said.

“Thanks. It needs it.”

Savhoran and I went around to the entryway and out the front door. I paused, looking around as if I could spot the alben. Hah.

Maybe Lomen and Bironan had already caught her. That would be sweet.

She probably wouldn't come to the house again that night. We should be all right.

The back of my neck prickled as I told myself that. I looked at Savhoran, who was scanning the horizon. If the alben was around, he'd notice her first.

We got in the car and I checked the gas. About a third of a tank, which should get us to Las Vegas. I started it up and drove down the long driveway to the road. Didn't dare do much over the limit on the unfamiliar roads in wet weather. I paused at the stop sign in Mora, reading signs to make sure I turned the right way.

Something crashed into my car door.

For a second I thought we'd been in an accident. Then it happened again.

I glanced up, saw the alben through my window. Screamed “No!” as she aimed a punch that took out the glass.

I acted purely on instinct. Wrenched the wheel around and gunned the engine.

My hind brain must have told me to head west, away from Las Vegas. I concentrated on staying on the road while driving as fast as possible.

We hit a straight stretch and I sped up. Prayed no cows were wandering on the road at night.

“
You OK?” I said.

“
Yes.”

“
Is she following us?”

“
Yes.”

I floored it, and kept it floored until we got into some twisty mountain roads and I had to slow down. There were steep drop-offs that made me clutch the steering wheel, probably gorgeous in the daytime but scary as hell at night, in the rain.

My heart was pounding. Every minute I was expecting another attack.

We were somewhere southeast of Taos, in the middle of nowhere in the mountains, when the car coughed and died.

“
Shit!”

I looked at the gas gauge Empty.

Took out my cell phone, but there were no bars up there in the middle of the mountains.

“
Shit, shit, shit!”

I hit the button for the blinkers, then cried. Useless, and dangerous if she was still after us. After a couple of sobs I pulled myself together.

Rain was coming in the window, drenching me. There was broken safety glass in my lap—little sharp nuggets. I opened the door and more spilled out onto the pavement. I got out of the car and carefully brushed the stuff off my lap, then picked a few nuggets off my car seat. Even in the dark, I could tell that the driver door was seriously crunched.

I got back in, pulled the door shut, and locked it. I know, I know.

Savhoran hadn't moved. Hadn't said anything. I had a sudden fear he'd give up.

“
Do we stay in the car or get out?”

“
Stay.”

“
But if she follows us, we're toast.”

“
There is no shelter nearby. I cannot walk far.”

Shit.

I turned in my seat to face him. He looked ghastly, and I knew it wasn't just the light from the dashboard.

“
Savhoran, you need blood.”

I hadn't used the b-word before. He shook his head and stared at his feet.

“
We don't have a choice. You need to be strong if she comes for us. I'm counting on you.”

“
It would strengthen me, but weaken you.”

“
She'd swat me like a fly anyway. You're my only hope.”

He spoke through gritted teeth. “I would rather die than hurt you.”

“
Would you rather we both died?”

He didn't say anything. The look on his face was awful.

I realized what I had to do.

I reached down and scooped up a handful of glass nuggets from my footwell. Got a few little cuts just doing that. Then I took a deep breath, and squeezed.

Savhoran gasped. “Amanda! No!”

I dropped the glass. I could feel the wet dripping from my hand.

“
Sorry,” I said, holding it out toward him.

He gave a strangled sound, then grabbed my hand and started sucking. It didn't scare me or creep me out. What I felt was relief.

Through his khi I could tell just how bad off he'd been. He
needed
this.

I leaned my head against the seat and closed my eyes. Tried to relax, and not think about what we were actually doing.

My thoughts drifted back to the blood donor center, where all this had started. That was the first time I saw the alben. Bitch must have been attracted to the smell of the blood.

After a few minutes—less time than it had taken for me to donate a pint of blood—Savhoran raised his head.

“
Enough. We must stanch the bleeding.”

I didn't have stanching materials. My clothes were all wet. Savhoran pulled off his tunic and wrapped it around my hand.

“
It'll stain!”

“
No matter.”

He held my bundled hand in both of his. I imagined I could feel a tiny healing tingle. He met my gaze with sad eyes.

“
I wish you had not done that.”

“
I apologize. Afraid I can't take it back.”

“
Never do that again.”

I'd only heard that tone in his voice once before: when he claimed the kill of the alben.

“
I promise I won't. Just get us out of this, OK?”

He nodded. “I can travel now. We will be safer away from the car. Can you walk?”

“
Sure. Let's get to a high place. Maybe I'll get a signal on the cell.”

We got out. I slung my pack over my shoulder and stuffed the car keys in my pocket. I'd have some explaining to do to Len—her car was a mess—but first we had to survive.

Abandoning the car, we hiked up the highest piece of mountain at hand. The rain had lightened, but it was cold and I started to shiver. After a few minutes of climbing I was winded. Savhoran picked me up and started up the slope carrying me as if my weight made no difference to him.

He got us up to the top of our mountain and put me down. I pulled out my cell and tried to find a signal. Had to wander around the mountain top a bit, but I finally pulled up enough bars to make a call.

Len answered on the third ring. “Hi, Man. Any luck?”

“Yeah. All bad.”

I explained how we'd encountered the alben, and how I'd veered the wrong way and run us out of gas in the middle of the mountains. Oh, and that the alben was probably after us.

I didn't talk about the damage to the car. Time enough for that later, if we made it back to Guadalupita alive.

“Can you come pick us up? Maybe with a posse from the clan?”

“We'll have to borrow a car.”

“We're on a mountain top, north of the road,” I said, realizing this might not work. “My phone works up here but not down on the road.”

“We'll get there, don't worry. Did Savhoran get a chance to feed?”

“Uh…yeah.”

“Caeran wants to talk to him.”

I held the phone out to Savhoran. He spoke briefly with Caeran in ælven, then gave it back. Caeran had hung up, so I shoved it in my pocket.

“I guess we wait up here,” I said.

Savhoran shook his head. “I told Caeran we would retrace our path on foot. The alben thinks we are in the car. When she finds it, she will begin to search for us, but she is more likely to search beyond it than over the ground we already traveled.”

“
OK. So we keep the road in sight?”

“
When it is safe to do so. How is your hand?”

I unwrapped it. Couldn't see well enough to examine it, but I knew I had several cuts, some kind of deep. They had mostly stopped bleeding.

“
Guess you don't want this back,” I said, dabbing a little ooze of blood with the tunic.

He took it from my hands and threw it down the mountain, on the east side. “She will follow the blood. It may give us some time.”

He started down the mountain. I ran to catch up with him.

“
Wait!”

He turned. I grabbed him in a hug.

“
I love you, OK?”

He embraced me gently, briefly, then stepped away. I took what I could get.

We scrambled down the mountain and began to backtrack, keeping to woods when we had them, hurrying across any open spaces. It wasn't long before I gave up trying to keep up with Savhoran. Now and then he'd pause and wait for me.