Vampire Elite (9 page)

“They’re not humans,” Antar laughed. “It’s Aldeia Alada, the village of the winged demons.”
 

Stunned, Arianna looked around. The entire village had been built to integrate with the jungle. Several wooden bungalows were raised high above the ground on sturdy poles fixed with thick rope. All of the bungalows were interconnected with raised wooden-planked walkways like bridges. Their roofs were covered with vegetation. Here and there she could make out demons flying through the dark sky above her, and she heard the
shushing
of wings.
 

A group of the demons surrounded them and began enthusiastically speaking a foreign language; Arianna didn’t know whether it was Portuguese or some winged-demon tongue. Antar appeared to be very well liked by the demons, who clustered around him—especially the females, several of whom held onto him like ripe apples on a tree, refusing to let go. Antar laughed and joked with them while gently struggling free from their grasp.
 

“Welcome,
senhorita
Arianna, to the Winged Village, Aldeia Alada. I am Girtab, Alpha of this clan,” The voice came from another enormous guy who was making his way through the crowd, his arms spread wide.
 

“Thank you, Mr. Girtab,” Arianna replied, smiling. She hoped he was just gesturing to their surroundings and not about to hug her. These guys were all incredibly good-looking, and clearly friendly, but they’d just met.

“No
mister
, just Girtab, please, or just Gir. Allow me to show you to your cabin.”
 

He took her hand like a child and pushed his way through the crowd. In a moment, they arrived at a charming little cabin. “Here we go! Welcome to your new home away from home.”
 

The entire interior of the cabin was constructed of wood. Two single beds against the walls were covered with intricately stitched bedspreads, and the same design adorned a linen tablecloth on a small table in the middle of the cabin. Two heavy wooden chairs stood on either side of the table.
 

“Your luggage will be delivered shortly, as well as some food and drinks; you must be hungry. Meanwhile, let me show you around the village.”
 

He took her on a grand tour around the village, educating her on the intricacies of the rain forest, local traditions, family history, flora
and fauna, and emphasizing safety precautions. Arianna learned that Anavilhanas was the world’s largest freshwater archipelago of river islands, a natural labyrinth teeming with diverse landscapes and wildlife. The Rio Negro, or
black river
, got its name from its rich, tannin-stained waters. The hundreds of islands provided a paradise for different life forms—including several tribes of demons and multiple parks of were-animals such as jaguars, Bengal tigers, harpy eagles, vampire bats, and all sorts of other variations. Most of them worked in the tourist business.
 

“It doesn’t matter that some of us can shift or fly; it doesn’t pay the bills. We still need money,” Girtab clarified.
 

As they headed back toward Arianna and Simone’s cabin, Girtab told her more about the winged demons and the Legacy of Tyr. Antar’s group had come to Aldeia Alada to help them to find two young demons who had disappeared. As Antar had said, winged demons were common in the Legacy; each Legacy family had at least one member of that species. It was a good thing, too, because Legacy membership was a common ambition of young winged demons. Still only the best of the best were accepted into the Legacy, and those who achieved that status had to fight for it with singleminded determination. Antar, Sargas, and Rock were considered heroes by the locals. By the time he was done explaining, the tour was over. They paused outside the door to her cabin.

“How did Antar become Legacy Alpha?” asked Arianna.
 

* * *

Simone was seething, absolutely furious. When the helicopter had lifted off her stomach had dropped; she’d felt even worse than she had on the ride to Hunter headquarters a couple of days back. Clutching her abdomen, she’d been struck by a sudden thought and looked over at Arianna sitting across from her. Arianna looked even worse than Simone felt: hunched over, taking big heaving gulps of air, her complexion greyish.
 

It was the blood-bond: Simone was feeling what Arianna was feeling.

She’d heard that blood-bonds could do that—could share feelings and emotions, or block them from one another, and that earlier in the relationship it was an involuntary process, flickering uncontrollably in and out—but she’d always heard that it took awhile before that power manifested. Maybe her recent brush with death and Arianna’s rescue had affected that, accelerated the process. In any case, it would’ve been nice if this power had come online under different circumstances. She
really
didn’t want to throw up all over Antar.

Shaula said something to Arianna, and then Antar yelled at her to open the door. Simone grabbed at her harness reflexively as a chasm opened up where the door had been—and then Simone’s insides lurched again, roller-coaster style, as Antar leapt out of the helicopter, Arianna in his arms.

The connection disappeared.
Dammit!
Arianna got to experience the flight and Simone just got the motion-sickness? And then
nothing
?
 

She closed her eyes, focused, searched in her mind and heart for her connection to Arianna.
Ah, there it is.

She was soaring above the earth, terrified, in Antar’s arms. She pulled back from the connection a little, got the terror to recede. Arianna’s face was buried in Antar’s chest. Simone could feel his hair tickling her nose, smell his dark, exotic scent.

Jealousy blossomed in her, a monstrous sunflower, its black center swallowing her heart. What the
fuck?!
Why was he flying with Arianna and not her? Simone had felt sick, every bit as sick as Arianna had. She’d known him forever, done so much for him, bared her heart and her body to him! He’d treated her like a child, and then when she really needed him, when she was miserable with nausea, he picked Arianna. He could have flown Simone, held Simone, and—and gotten Sargas or Rock to take Arianna.
 

He liked Arianna. He’d chosen Arianna. She was Simone’s opposite, after all, and the type of female Simone hated most, but all these guys wanted: breathtakingly beautiful but also quiet, loving, nurturing, and—her brain spat the thought out—dependent. Women like Arianna made men feel all strong and desirable; they plugged right into their caveman-protector brains.

In her rage, she’d lost the connection to Arianna, and spent the rest of the trip fuming, hating her sister. After they landed, as she marched along the paths toward the cabin she was sharing with
that
bitch
, she’d actually had to check to make sure she wasn’t muttering out loud the string of curses rolling through her mind on a continuous loop. Every time she came close to winning Antar, something came between them. This time it was Arianna. He’d chosen Arianna. Fuck her. Fuck him.
 

She barked out a laugh at that—
yeah, I would if I could
—then looked around to make sure no one had seen her.
 

Across the wooden-planked bridge to their cabin, she could just make out through the low-hanging branches two silhouettes backlit by the bulb at the cabin door, a female and a big male standing on the front doorstep. Was it Antar? She paused to look more closely.

No, it was that guy Girtab, the Alpha of the winged demons. Even though she couldn’t see him, could barely make out his words, she recognized his rich tour-guide voice based on the few times they’d met in the past. She started walking again; she’d just blow past them and go to bed.
 

“... sold to a tribe that hated the winged demons ...” She could hear Girtab’s voice explaining. “... killed his father’s murderer ... fought to become Alpha ...” She was getting closer, could hear a little better.
 

“... has evolved into an organized army instead of a scattered band of loyal followers. It is now one of the King’s strongest allies.”
 

Oh, shit!
He was telling Arianna about Antar and the Legacy’s ties to Tor. She broke into a run. The bridge wobbled, but muffled her steps.

Arianna’s voice rang out. “What did you just say?”
 

Why hadn’t someone warned Girtab that the King’s relationship with Antar should not be discussed? She burst onto the platform and finally saw them clearly, Arianna facing Girtab, Girtab just standing there looking puzzled.
 

Arianna heard her, wheeled around to glare at her, lips trembling. “You knew this! You knew that Antar is Tor’s adopted son. Why, Sim? You brought me into a trap.”

Chapter 10

“Antar said that you’re safe here,” Simone mumbled. “The King has no veto over the Right of Sanctuary.”
 

“It doesn’t matter.” Arianna covered her face with her hands. “The King knows where Antar is, so he knows where I am, and he always will as long as I stay with the Legacy.”
 

And if Tor knew where she was, it meant that the other vampires knew it too; Sekhmi were well connected. She was like a lobster in a restaurant aquarium. It didn’t matter that it lay on the bottom, merging with the pebbles, nurturing an illusion that it was invisible: when the right customer showed up it would be caught and fried. Arianna rolled her eyes up to the sky then glanced down at the ground under her feet as if trying to decide which force to pray to for help. She didn’t know who to trust, what to think, what to do. She turned and fled across the bridge.
 

She could hear Simone darting after her, calling, “Ari, please, let me explain. Come back.”
 

“Leave me alone! This is too much ... I need time to think, I need to be alone ...”
 

“Then let’s do it together. You
have to
trust me; I’m your blood-bond.”
 

Blood-bond.
The word had an effect of a cold shower on Arianna. She stopped and stared at Simone. Who was Simone, really? Was she a rotten princess or a sincere friend? Arianna longed to believe that she was her friend, her family. Simone was all she had. And she was her blood-bond. Her father had taught her that the bond of blood was the strongest connection possible. Blood-bonds were like two halves of one heart. Then why did she feel so alone right now?

“I’m scared, Sim. I didn’t want to tell you this, but before you came, I had a dream—every night!—that I was locked in a cell without windows and drained of my blood. It was like being in a grave, buried alive. Every single night, over and over again, the same thing. It still haunts me. I’m scared ... I don’t know what to do. I was just starting to believe that I could be safe, here, with the Legacy. But it’s, an illusion, isn’t it? The dream is more real.” She would have thought she’d be crying, but instead she could feel her eyes were wide open, unblinking. Maybe some kinds of fear were beyond tears.
 

She willed Simone to feel her pain through the blood-bond. Even if Simone was a spoiled-rotten princess, if she could really feel what Arianna was going through, she’d understand. She had to. Anyone who loved joy, pleasure, and fun as much as Simone did would have to.
 

She couldn’t be sure, but she thought she saw Simone stand up straighter, like she was listening, then slouch, like she was ... sad? Or disappointed? Annoyed? Had it worked?
 

Simone sighed. “Well, I told you that you’re safe here but you don’t believe me. So I guess we have to find something else to do. Let me think.” She cocked a hip, brought a finger to her chin, rubbing it. For a long moment there was silence; Arianna could hear insects chirping in the jungle. She felt so helpless, always waiting to hear Simone’s ideas for her to follow. But what else was she supposed to do?
 

“We’ll have to run.” Simone concluded.
 

Arianna sputtered out a dismayed laugh. “Run? Seriously? But where to? There are vampires everywhere, they’ll be able to find me, and I can’t shield.”
 

“You can learn, and your blood-bond with me is giving your powers a boost, so you can do things you couldn’t do even last week. You can practice on the winged demons. They’re more sensitive than Sekhmi; if it works on them, it’ll work on Sekhmi. Meanwhile, we’ll start going out with the tourist groups for a few days and check out ways to escape. Once we’ve found an escape route, we’ll just disappear from the tour group.”

“Where will we go?
 

“Peru, I guess. It’s pretty safe. I’ve been there. There are all these hidden villages and towns in the mountains. Nobody will ever find us.”
 

Could Simone’s plan work? She couldn’t imagine being able to avoid all of the vampires who’d be coming after her, not to mention all the other powerful immortals like those she’d been hearing about tonight. But it was better than spending her whole life being a sitting duck in this so-called
Sanctuary
. Maybe they
could
just disappear into the vastness of the South American continent. What else could she do but try Simone’s plan?
 

The next day while their Legacy guardians were out searching for the missing demon youths, the girls begged Girtab to take them along with him on the daily tour. They told him that they were dying to see the jungle and it would be
so
unfair to live in the rainforest without seeing it at all. After some hesitation, Girtab agreed.
 

That night, they reviewed what they’d learned that day and laid out their plan. The demons began by collecting the tourists from the lodges and cozy indigenous-style hotels that lay scattered in the jungle around Manaus. At each stop, they were occupied with gathering the tourists, creating a perfect opportunity for the girls to escape, and the largest hotels offered both maximum chaos into which Simone and Arianna could disappear
and
taxi stands right outside their doors. All the girls needed to do was walk out of a hotel lobby without being noticed, hop into a taxi, and get to the Manaus train station and from there to Peru.