Helpless (Blue Fire Saga) Read online

  Dominic got into the back seat, allowing Walt to have the passenger seat in case Leesa had any questions for him. Leesa climbed behind the steering wheel and turned the key. The engine started right up, despite the cold. She guessed Walt might have started it up before their arrival to make sure the engine was warm. It sounded to her untrained ear like it was running nice and smoothly.

  She backed carefully out of the driveway, beeping the horn twice before she edged out past the tall piles of snow at the end of the driveway that made seeing the street all but impossible. She headed toward Washington Street because it was the most cleanly plowed road in the area. She had never driven an SUV and really liked the height of the thing, feeling like she could see things much better than from car level. Too bad the Blazer wasn’t really for her, she thought. If it was, she’d be on her way to the Maston settle-ment to see Rave in a flash.

  She drove for about ten minutes, testing everything she could think of: turn signals, horn, heater, radio, wipers and washer, even the air conditioning. She hit the brakes hard a couple times, too. Everything seemed to be working fine.

  “It’s great,” she said to Dominic as she pulled back into Walt’s driveway and turned off the headlights.

  They all got out of the car and gathered in the front of the driveway. Dominic pulled a thick wad of cash from his pocket—he wasn’t about to let the man see his magic wallet. Leesa watched Walt’s eyes lock onto the money. Catnip to a cat, she thought.

  “I’ll tell you what,” Dominic said. “I won’t haggle on the price, if you’ll do me one small favor.”

  “What’s that?” Walt asked.

  “Let us take care of the paperwork. Give ourselves a bit of a break on the sales tax, hey?”

  Walt grinned. “I’m all for that. Damn government takes too big a bite out of everything already.”

  Dominic counted out the cash and handed it to Walt, who signed the pink slip over to Leesa and handed them the registration papers to fill out later. Dominic and Walt shook hands one more time and then Leesa and Dominic climbed into the Blazer, with Leesa again getting behind the wheel.

  As she pulled out of the driveway, they could see Walt thumbing through the thick sheaf of bills and smiling. He looked up for a moment when Leesa again beeped twice to warn any oncoming traffic. She grinned. He was probably afraid they had changed their minds.

  “I didn’t want this thing registered in your name, just in case,” Dominic said.

  “I understand.” Leesa liked all the little ways Dominic was always trying to protect her. “Do you mind if we take this thing for a real test drive?”

  Dominic raised his dark eyebrows. “What do you have in mind?”

  Leesa smiled. “Well… I wouldn’t mind seeing Rave.”

  Dominic laughed. “Go for it,” he said.

  Leesa headed east on Washington Street, down the hill toward the river and then over to the beautiful arched steel Arrigoni Bridge. Once they crossed the bridge, it was all she could do to keep driving at a steady fifty miles per hour. She didn’t feel safe going any faster on the slick road, but her foot seemed to want to press down on the gas pedal so she could see Rave a little sooner.

  She had driven to the Maston settlement once before, so she knew where the isolated turnoff was. Even so, she almost passed right by it, because the rutted dirt road had not been plowed—it was really more of a wide path than a road anyhow—and was almost indistinguishable in the darkness from the surrounding area. She found a spot along the side of the highway where the plow had pushed the snow back a bit farther than elsewhere and guided the Blazer into it.

  “I forgot the road wouldn’t be plowed,” she said, disappointed. “It’s a pretty far walk through all this snow.” In truth, she didn’t see how they would be able to manage it—too bad she hadn’t asked Walt if he had a plow attachment for the Blazer.

  “And you can’t call him to tell him we’re here,” Dominic said, smiling as he recalled their earlier conversation about cell phones.

  “Ha! You’re right about that,” Leesa said.

  A wild idea suddenly popped into her head. Maybe she could take advantage of Rave’s acute hearing. What the heck, she thought. They were here, it wouldn’t hurt to try.

  “Maybe I can call him,” she said.

  She turned off the engine and climbed out of the car. Away from the heater, the cold immediately enveloped her, so she quickly zipped up her parka. Dominic got out and came around beside her. It was so very quiet out here. The soft ticking of the Blazer’s engine seemed unnaturally loud in the stillness. The silence was perfect for her plan, though. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted.

  “Rave! I’m out here on the highway. Come get me before I freeze to death.”

  She felt a little foolish, shouting into the darkness like this. Rave was almost certainly inside somewhere. She wondered if he’d be able to hear her yell through whatever walls might be between them.

  She got her answer less than two minutes later. Rave came walking up the unplowed roadway almost as if it had already been cleared, rather than covered in two feet and more of drifted snow. He was dressed only in a gray T-shirt and jeans. Out here, he had no need to conceal his nature by wearing heavier clothes. She couldn’t see his feet behind all the snow, but guessed he was probably only wearing his moccasin style shoes.

  Leesa felt her heart grow warm as she watched him approach. The pale moonlight glinted off his coppery hair and a big smile seemed to light up his handsome face from within. She knew he must have ratcheted up his inner heat, because the snow in front of him was melting even before his legs touched it. The familiar tiny blue flames on his fingertips that were the only outward manifestation of his inner fire seemed brighter than usual in the darkness, reflecting off the snow in an eerie blue glow. Tiny bits of steam, also tinted blue by the flames, floated up in front of him as the snow melted. Behind him, a narrow cleared path marked his passage.

  When he was about fifty feet away, Rave suddenly stopped and cocked his head to the side. Leesa looked around, but saw nothing amiss.

  A moment later, she heard a car approaching on the highway. Rave had heard it first, of course. She knew he was making sure no one witnessed his magic. Turning to her left, she saw a silver pickup truck rumbling toward them. The truck slowed to a stop across from where she and Dominic stood. The elderly driver lowered his window and leaned his head out. His silver hair seemed to shine in the moonlight.

  “You folks okay?” he asked.

  Leesa realized he thought they might have had car trouble. He was just being neighborly.

  “We’re fine,” Dominic replied. “We’re just waiting for our friend. Thanks for stopping, though.”

  The guy looked a bit puzzled, like he was thinking about what kind of friend they could be waiting for out here in the middle of nowhere, but obviously decided it was none of his business.

  “No problem,” he said. “You folks have a good evening.”

  He slid his window up and drove away. When he was out of sight down the road, Rave continued toward them. Leesa smiled as he drew nearer.

  “Hello, gorgeous,” he said as he melted the last few feet of snow between them and swept her up into his arms, lifting her completely off her feet.

  The cold immediately disappeared from Leesa’s body. She clung to him tightly, burying her face against his warm neck and inhaling his masculine scent. God, she had missed him. Had it really only been three days?

  They stayed that way for a full minute before Rave finally put her down.

  “So, what brings you all the way out here on a night like this?” he asked, smiling.

  “Oh, no particular reason. Dominic and I were in the neigh-borhood, so I thought we might swing by and offer to take you for a ride.” Leesa grinned.

  “Ha! Very funny.” Rave extended his hand to Dominic. “Hi, Dominic.”

  “Hello, Rave. It’s good to see you again.”

  “What were you doing when I yelled fo
r you?” Leesa asked.

  “I was practicing Rammugul with Balin.”

  “Oooh, I like to hear that. Are you getting any better at it?”

  “Slowly, but yeah, I think so. Still a long way to go, though.”

  “Oh.” Leesa feigned a pout. “I guess me and Dominic might as well go home, then.”

  “Not so fast.” Rave picked Leesa up again, this time cradling her in his arms like he did when he carried her long distances. “I’d let you go, of course” he teased, “but Balin would never forgive me if he found out you’d been here and I didn’t bring you by at least to say hello.”

  He turned and headed back up the path his heat had just cleared, carrying Leesa easily. Dominic followed behind them.

  Leesa snuggled her face against his chest, soaking in his warmth and enjoying the play of his muscles beneath his shirt. She was never happier than when he carried her like this. Except maybe when he kissed her, she thought, but those moments were all too rare and all too brief. This was the next best thing, though. And one day, whether it was through her mastering her magic or Rave mastering Rammugul, they would be able to kiss without worry, without danger. She just hoped Rave was ready for all the catching up she planned to do.

  7. BLACK MAGIC

  Several hundred miles to the north of Balin’s cabin, Jarubu led his three companions southward through the Green Mountains of Vermont. Melissa loped almost at his side, staying a respectful half pace back. Behind them, Conley and Alexi ran side by side. They moved rapidly through the night, but not at full speed, for they had many miles ahead of them.

  Only the very edge of the recent blizzard had reached this far north and west, leaving less than a foot of snow behind. The steep, snow-covered slopes barely hindered the vampires, nor did the forest. When the woods grew too thick or the snow drifted too deep, the vampires simply took to the upper reaches of the trees, leaping and swinging from branch to branch almost as quickly as they raced along the ground. Though racing through the trees would make following them more difficult, Jarubu did not fool himself into thinking it would thwart their pursuers. Only distance would do that.

  He had no destination in mind. He merely wanted to get far enough south that Maier and his followers would see no reason to chase them. The vampire chieftain would love to catch and punish the rebels, Jarubu knew, but Maier’s first priority would be to insure the safety of his coven. Forcing the rebels hundreds of miles away into another country would certainly accomplish that goal. Jarubu was pretty sure Maier would be satisfied with that. Even so, he meant to flee at least another couple hundred miles to make sure. One never knew with Maier—his anger was prone to linger, especially where Jarubu was concerned.

  Up ahead, the lights of a small town glimmered faintly in the blackness. Lights meant humans, and humans meant blood, but Jarubu veered slightly to the left, choosing a course that would skirt the village. As much as he would like to feast, hunting would only delay them, especially within the confines of a town. The four of them had dined recently enough—it would not be too much of a hardship to pass this chance by, even with Destiratu fanning their thirst. There would be plenty of time and opportunity to slake their thirst when they were safe.

  They continued southward, coming within a few hundred yards of the town’s outskirts, but the sleeping inhabitants remained ignorant of the four deadly creatures passing so near. Jarubu wondered if any of the humans would be troubled by nightmares simply from the proximity of the vampires’ presence. He thought it likely. Awake, most humans were blithely ignorant of anything supernatural. Asleep, their primitive instincts and senses became more heightened, more in tune with the non-human energies that shared their world.

  A faint prickling on Jarubu’s skin told him dawn was fast approaching, though there was still not the slightest hint of light to the east. No matter though. The sun’s rays were weak this time of year, and all four of them wore hooded sweatshirts for protection if the day became too bright. Still, like all his kind, Jarubu rued the ending of the night. He hoped the coming day would be cloudy.

  Distracted by the approach of day, he almost missed the strange scent that teased his nostrils. The smell had a taste of human about it, but was unlike any Jarubu had ever encountered. The only similar scent in his experience—human but not human—was volkaane. This was definitely not volkaane, though. He would recognize volkaane instantly. Too bad it was not, he thought. For a chance to taste the hot blue blood of one of the vampire hunters he would stop, pursuit be damned. But this was something other than volkaane.

  Still, caution was needed. He raised his hand, signaling his companions to halt.

  “Do you smell it?” he asked.

  Conley inhaled deeply through his nose. “Yes,” he said. “Human, but different.”

  “And not too far, either,” Alexi added. He looked off to the right at a forty-five degree angle. “That way, I think.”

  “What is it?” Melissa asked. “This scent is new to me. Is there danger?”

  “The scent is new to me as well,” Jarubu said. “But whatever it is, I smell only one. I do not think one of anything will be a danger to four vampires.”

  “I say we let it alone and continue on our way,” Alexi said. “One of anything might not be dangerous, but it would also not be enough to feed the four of us. We’ve been making good time—why go out of our way now?”

  Jarubu hesitated. He knew Alexi was right, but the smell tempted him. What if this new thing was something as delicious as volkaane? That was not something he wanted to pass up, even if there was only enough to make an appetizer for the four of them.

  “I think we can spare a few minutes to check it out,” he said at last.

  “Are you sure?” Melissa asked, throwing a glance over her shoulder. Though their pursuers were far behind them and might even have given up the chase by now, the thought of stopping here made her nervous.

  “Knowledge is power,” Jarubu said. “I want to know what this thing is. Fan out.”

  The four vampires formed a line, each about fifteen feet from the others. In unison, they crept silently forward toward the source of the unfamiliar scent.

  They hadn’t gone far when the woods gave way to a small clearing. Jarubu wasn’t sure what he had expected, but it certainly was not this.

  The clearing was an old graveyard, unkempt and overgrown with stringy brown weeds tall enough to poke up through the surface of the snow. The place probably belonged to the town they had just skirted, though it looked quite forgotten. The weathered gray stone markers appeared to be quite old—none of them could have been here less than a hundred years. The town obviously had a newer cemetery somewhere else, perhaps closer to town, and no people were now alive to mourn or tend these ancient graves.

  Still, it was not the sight of the graveyard that surprised Jarubu. No, what drew the vampires to a halt was the man sitting casually on one of the old headstones, looking at the vampires as if he’d been waiting for them. Equally puzzling was the small section of ground in front of him—an area directly beneath the gravestone about the size of a grave—that was bare of snow and appeared to have been freshly disturbed.

  That the man could have been expecting them was crazy, Jarubu told himself. Few creatures moved as silently as a vampire, and they had approached from upwind, so the man—or whatever he was—could not have smelled them coming, either. There was no way he could have detected their presence. Yet he did not seem to be the least bit surprised—or concerned—when they emerged from the forest.

  He rose easily to his feet, his eyes fixed on Jarubu, as if he instinctively sensed that Jarubu was the leader. The man was short and slender, with a trim black beard that tapered to a sharp point. He was dressed completely in black—black leather boots up above his ankles, loose black pants and a black jacket that did not seem nearly thick enough to ward off the bite of the freezing night air. He did not appear at all uncomfortable in the cold.

  Whoever he was, Jarubu decided, he was so
mething more than human. The question was what. Jarubu decided to give him a little test. He let his fangs drop from his jaw.

  The man only smiled. “There’s no need for such display, vampire. I know what you are.”

  Jarubu’s curiosity grew. Behind it, a tiny bit of anxiety arose as well. Why was the man unconcerned by the appearance of four vampires out here in the middle of nowhere? Did he perhaps have allies hidden somewhere nearby and was merely acting as bait? Jarubu sniffed the air and scanned the surrounding darkness with his keen eyes and ears. He detected no sign of any other presence.

  “Who are you?” he asked.

  “I’m the man you are going to obey,” the stranger said simply.

  Jarubu’s temper was never buried very deep, and it began to bubble up at the man’s haughty demeanor. A low growl rumbled from his throat. He wondered what the man’s blood would taste like. His three companions extruded their fangs as well, ready to follow Jarubu’s lead.

  The stranger raised his arm and pointed a bony finger at Alexi. A bolt of black energy shot from his hand, striking Alexi in the chest. A brief hissing sound filled the clearing, and a moment later, Alexi was gone.

  Jarubu stared uncomprehendingly at the spot where Alexi had stood. There wasn’t even a pile of ash to mark his passing. Jarubu had no idea what had just occurred.

  “I trust we are done with your foolish challenges,” the man said. “Or do you perhaps require a second display?”

  Jarubu forced his anger down and shook his head. He was wise enough to know when he was overmatched, painful as it was for him to admit it.

  “Who are you?” he asked again. “What are you?”

  “My name is Josef. I am of the black waziri.”

  Jarubu felt his muscles tighten. Long ago, when he was still back in Africa, he had heard tales of the clan of wizards. He had never heard of black waziri, though. And all the tales placed the waziri in Europe, not here in America. Still, the wizard’s lethal demonstration had been more than enough.