Vampire in Chaos (28 page)

Willingly, the other young men moved out of the way, only Tessa looked like she wanted to sit back down again. Cody said something to her that Serus only caught a few words of; something about using his energy if she was tired.

He had to stop and consider that. She had given some of her energy to this young man, Harry, who even now was sitting up and swinging his legs over the side. He’d obviously put it to good use, but who gave Tessa energy when she gave hers away? He walked over to stand in front of her. “Do you drain your own system when you do this?”

“I don’t think so,” she said, but the fatigue in her voice said something was going on.

“Maybe not,” Cody said, “but it does tire you out.”

“True.” She shrugged his concern off. “However, I recover fast.”

“Not really.” Serus frowned. “Can’t you find a way to not get so exhausted? There could be another thirty men in trouble here, you know.”

She gave him a wan smile. “I hope not.”

“That’s why you need to access some of my energy to help yourself if you need to,” Cody insisted. “I have lots, use it.”

“And mine,” Goran said, stepping forward. “I’m pretty damn sure every one of us would be happy to share. Just don’t get so worn down that you can’t heal.”

She smiled such a beautiful smile, Serus was shocked. She looked…stunning, and strong, and so angelic it made his heart hurt. How could he have fathered someone so special?

“I’m not sure how it all works yet. If I could use your energy when mine gets low,” she admitted. “That would be great. I have to see if I can figure that out.”

“If you can give him some of yours, I’m sure you’d be able to just reach out and grab some of ours,” Cody said, reaching out a hand to motion her forward.

Goran went out of the room ahead of them. Tessa turned, smiled at both men she’d helped, and said, “Take a few moments to get back on your feet. Your friends can fill you in on the mess going on.”

They both nodded, their smiles bright and adoring.

“Thank you so much,” Andrew said. “I appreciate it.”

“We both do,” Harry said. “I know I wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for you.”

Serus watched as Tessa gained two more loyal admirers. At the rate she was going, Cody was going to be beating them all back with a big stick. He grinned. Damn right. The kid was going to have to work for his daughter. And so he should. She was a prize worth fighting for.

As the two young men followed Tessa’s progress out the door, Serus chuckled. They looked besotted. He caught Cody’s questioning look and nodded toward the men. Cody turned, saw the looks on their faces, but instead of getting angry, he sighed and wrapped an arm protectively around her shoulders.

Serus chuckled louder.

Cody glared at Serus. “Why is this funny?”

“The sweetest fruit is that at the top of the tree,” he murmured to Cody as he walked past. Cody narrowed his gaze. “You just want me to sweat a little.”

“Nope. I want you to sweat a lot.” And he laughed and laughed.

*

“Are you sure?”
Clarissa smiled hopefully. “I’d love the company and the help in finding Tobias. But I don’t want you to get into trouble with school.”

Jared snorted. “And that is so not an issue.”

“Are you sure?” she repeated, but her tone was light and breezy. He laughed. “So we’re going to the hospital?”

“That would make sense, wouldn’t it?” She frowned as they walked. He sighed happily. “It’s great that we reconnected.”

“I know. I was afraid that I’d never see you again.” She reached out and hooked her arm though his. “I do hope Tobias is fine.”

“I do too.”

“Was he awake when you saw him?” she asked. “Was he in pain?”

“No, he appeared to be unconscious.” He deliberately didn’t mention how Tobias was carried out.

“Oh dear.” She unconsciously squeezed his arm tight against her. “Maybe it was better that way.”

“As long as he is getting the help he needs.”

The walk went by too fast, and before long they were turning the corner to the hospital block. Sounds of ambulance sirens rent the air. He winced. Jared thought he’d never get used to the sound of those damn things. They always meant pain and anguish for someone. He just didn’t want that someone to be him anymore.

The hospital was a hub of activity. One he’d like to avoid but given the circumstances, it wasn’t possible. Neither was it sensible. He might be lucky enough to find Taz. Ask him some questions. Maybe find a private moment to ask him about his residence issues.

“Ugh. I hate these places. I was so happy to see Tobias in the home. It was always nice to see him there than at the hospital.”

“Did you get a chance to see him here?” Jared asked as he opened the front door for her.

“Yes, we saw him several times. He was on the second floor.” She led the way forward. “I don’t think he’ll be back in the same place, but it’s possible.”

“Do you want to check there first? Or should we go to the front desk and ask someone there for help?”

“Maybe.” She smiled. “That’s why I’m glad you’re here. We’ll figure this out together.”

She walked up to the reception desk and said politely, “Hi. A friend of mine was brought in early this morning. Could you tell us what room he is in, please?”

“Sure, what’s his name?”

Jared stood off to the side, not paying attention to Clarissa so he could check out if Taz was anywhere around. And sure enough, he was walking out of Emergency. “Clarissa, I’ll be right back.”

He raced toward the doctor and called out, “Taz!”

The doctor froze then turned around.

T
essa strode down
the hallway, Cody and her father on her heels. She was elated with having saved the young man, but she wished she understood how and why it had worked. As she didn’t know, she couldn’t count on it working every time. And she didn’t want other people to think she could.

The process
was
wearing her down. She hadn’t said anything to Cody because she knew he’d try to stop her. The drain on her own personal resources was hard – harder than she was expecting. She kept telling her vampire genetics to kick in and they had, to some extent, but not enough.

Surely there couldn’t be too many more men dying. It would devastate her to not be able to help those others because
she
wasn’t strong enough.

At the men’s urgings, she raced into the closest room. There were three men hovering over another man. Several more lay or reclined against the walls, looking alive but exhausted or still wiped out from the drugs. She headed for the man on the bed.

“He’s in a bad way,” Goran said. “Tessa, he’s our own Councilmen Bushman.”

She got the message. That didn’t mean she could do anything about his condition. The councilman looked familiar. She thought she’d seen him in the blood farm.

At her say so, Goran moved the others back and she dove in, sweeping away the black energy that choked his life force. She didn’t even know where the words she’d used came from, but it seemed to fit. She was neither a doctor nor a specialist in vampire genetics, but somehow she’d become a specialist in energy.

There was a deep angry black lying against his heart, and that was the one killing him. She focused and pulsed lighter energy from her own system under the blackness. It gave his system something alive to use while she worked to cleanse that heavy blackout of his chakras. That was another word she’d read about somewhere that seemed to fit. She just hadn’t heard it often. Head down, she kept her eyes focused on the job at hand even as her ears heard muttering behind her.

“What is she doing?”

“How is this going to help our Councilman?”

“Did someone call for a doctor?”

It was getting irritating. She glanced over at Cody and rolled her eyes.

He grinned. “Everyone might just want to give her a little peace and quiet to work.”

“What work is she doing? This is not normal, Cody. I understand that you know her, but…”

“Isn’t that Tessa? David’s weirdo sister?”

As if everyone knew a line had been drawn, a pregnant silence that filled the room.

A couple of weeks ago she’d have been devastated. Right now? She’d let the others take care of this guy. When there was a shriek followed by a heavy thud against a wall, she grinned.

“This is Tessa,” Cody snarled. “She
is
David’s sister.” His voice rose in volume. “However, she is
not
a weirdo.”

Her father picked up the conversation. “And she is
my
daughter,” he roared. “That kind of talk will get you an ass–kicking like you’ve seen before.”

“Damn it, Serus,” Goran groused in glee. “How come you get all the fun?”

There was a rumble of raised voices behind her, but Tessa lost interest as she pulsed a little more energy into the man’s chest and watched it rise then fall…and then nothing. She pulsed a little more. Same thing. She frowned and shot a heavy bolt of energy into his chest and damn…he gasped, groaned, and opened his eyes as he gulped for air.

“Holy shit.”

“She did it?”

“What did she do?”

“I don’t know, but I’m a believer now.”

“Told you, man. Same thing she did to Andrew and Harry. Hell, Harry was fucking dead and she brought him back to life.”

Tessa reached down and helped the Councilman into a sitting position, shifting so she crouched in front of him. His face had a peaked look to it, but his eyes were bright. Clear. “Take it easy, your system is weak and still fighting off the drugs. You will need a day or two to recover.”

She glanced back at Goran, seeing the relief in his eyes. “Goran, he needs to be moved to safety.” She motioned to the hallways. “Same as the other two men. They need rest for their systems to recover.”

Goran nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”

Tessa watched him face the group of young men.

“We’re going to split you into two groups. One group is going to take the three men that Tessa worked on – and any others she says needs to – back to Council Hall. The second group is going to run interference for the first group to make sure they get out of the hospital safely. Remember, you were all drugged and kept prisoner here. We trust no one who isn’t here working to free everyone.” He glared at them all. “Anyone
not
understand?”

There were no dissenters. Tessa held back a smile. Goran was the right man to organize a large group of rowdy males. This group wanted to fight back against what had been done to them.

She stood up and gasped as the room wavered. She reached out a hand.

A dozen hands reached back.

Cody was first. He wrapped a gentle arm around her. “Tired?”

“I’m okay,” she whispered.

He gave her a doubtful look.

In a stronger voice, she responded with, “I’m better this time. Is he the only one that needs help?”

“No. There are two more.”

She winced. “We’d better go then. I don’t know how long before I crash.”

As they walked out of the room, she heard Goran organizing the men into groups. She asked, “Cody, do you know these guys?”

He nodded.

“Are any of these men going to be there on Friday’s hangout?” she asked curiously.

“Likely all of them.”

“Well, maybe it won’t be so scary then. I’m no longer a stranger to them.” She laughed. “A weirdo, but not a stranger.”

“He’s going to regret saying that,” Cody snapped in a hard voice.

“Don’t punish him anymore,” she said quietly. “He didn’t know. He’s just saying what everyone else has been saying for years.”

Cody, silent at her side, walked her down to where several other men were waiting impatiently for her.

She smiled at them.

They smiled uneasily, their gazes shifting to Cody. “Cody? Is she the one? She’s just a kid.”

“Yeah, she’s the one.”

“And I’m no longer a kid.” She brushed past them, leaving Cody to the explanations. She couldn’t blame them. She
was
young. She was someone new to them and what she was doing was a kind of magic – but it was also new to her and she couldn’t give anyone an explanation. The more men she helped, the more she worried about the men she’d ignored in the morgue. Had she missed a chance to help them? Considering what she’d seen, she realized there’d likely been no live energy surrounding those gurneys. They’d been dark and heavy with the black rot of death.