Stitched Read online

  My stomach growled, yanking me out of my thoughts. “I need to eat.”

  Blaz didn’t answer, just tucked his wings in tight to his body and dove. Peta snarled and Blaz let out an answering snarl. I glanced back to see Peta clinging to Blaz, her claws digging into his scales, her fur standing as the wind rushed around us. She looked like a cartoon cat, and a pissed off one at that.

  A laugh escaped me and she glared my way, though there was a distinctive twinkle in the green depths. Blaz was not laughing.

  Peta! Not so much claw!

  “I don’t think she can let go,” I said, laughing between the words, the wind sweeping it all away. Blaz seemed to think I was encouraging him. He spiraled as he dove and Peta let out a roar, her muscles bunching as she dug in deep to hang on. Her face was fucking priceless, her eyes squinted shut and her fur spun out in every direction, her lips jiggled around her bared fangs, and I couldn’t stop laughing. I knew Blaz would catch her if she came off, but it was like watching someone on a roller coaster and they didn’t realize it was safe, no matter how scary a ride it was.

  Ten seconds of the crazy, spinning ride and I’d had enough, my innards feeling as if they were climbing up my throat. “Blaz, stop!” I slapped a hand over my mouth as he leveled out, then landed.

  I slid from his back, fell to my knees and heaved until the dry heaves brought sweat to my face and tears to my eyes. I wiped the back of my hand across my mouth. “Damn.”

  Peta says that’s what you get for laughing at her freaking out.

  I couldn’t even lift my head, but I managed to give her a thumbs up. “Got it. Where are we?”

  Doesn’t matter, and better you don’t know, I think. Call Faris when it’s dark.

  “He’s tied to Alex, not me.”

  Blaz grunted and dug a claw through the rocky ground. Don’t be so sure about that. I think he’s tied himself to you somehow. Maybe even through Alex.

  Finally, I raised my head. “Through Alex, or through Berget?” A memory surfaced of Faris and me standing in the basement apartment I’d had while I was in London. Of his mouth on my neck, of the flood of lust he’d spurred in me as he’d taken my blood. Damn, could he still be hooked into me from that? It would be like him to hide the fact he could still find me. Secrets. That one was all about the secrets, bastard that he was.

  I shook my head to clear the thoughts and let out a groan. Even that simple motion made my stomach roll. Laying down, I curled up on my side, waves of nausea cascading through me. I closed my eyes. “How long ‘til dark?”

  An hour.

  Saliva filled my mouth as I sat up and I forced myself to swallow. Pushing to my feet, I looked around. Blaz had brought us to another jungle island, though this one had a rockier beach.

  I realized we were missing something. “Where’s Peta?”

  Hunting. She’s going to bring something back for you to eat.

  I gathered up some sticks and piled them up on the beach, Blaz lit them, and within minutes Peta was back, some sort of bird in her mouth. Blood dripped along its feathers, and I had a sudden flash of fear that I would be throwing up instead of eating. But my stomach growled again, and my hunger spiked.

  Definitely Liam’s kid if the sight of a dead bird makes you hungry and not queasy. Blaz picked up the bird by one leg and blew a stream of flame over it, searing off the feathers in short order, then lowered it over the fire we’d put together on the beach. The sound and smell of sizzling fat had me drooling in minutes and all I could think about was tearing into the flesh, biting off huge chunks.

  A half hour passed and I couldn’t wait any longer. “Give it to me.” I wiggled my hands as Blaz snorted.

  It isn’t cooked all the way through yet. I don’t think—

  I snatched the bird off the stick we’d jammed it on and ripped a leg off. I bit into the flesh and let out a groan as the juices slid down my throat. No, it wasn’t cooked all the way through, but then again, I was carrying a wolf hybrid child. I didn’t think a little blood was going to bother the baby. As if in answer, the baby gave a kick. I didn’t slow down, just tucked into the bird and found myself licking my fingers far sooner than I’d thought.

  “Thanks, both of you.” I looked up to see Blaz with his thickly ridged eyebrows high. I turned to Peta who had a similar expression on her face. Half horror, half fascination, all surprise. “What?”

  I’ve never seen anyone clean off a whole chicken in under five minutes.

  I frowned up at him. “I didn’t eat that fast.”

  You did. But I suppose you haven’t been eating much and the baby is going to start demanding you chow down. Especially once you manage to speed things up.

  I looked up at the sky, thinking. “True, but that won’t matter if we don’t get some vampire blood.”

  I stood, went to the water’s edge and washed my face and hands. The salt water stung my hands and I turned them over to see some small cuts. I’d not noticed them when I’d been fighting Spider, but two of them were quite deep. I pinched the one closed and hissed at the sharp pain. Damn.

  “Faris.” I said his name and imbued it with the need I had for him. A true need, not just a simple want. I Tracked him too, and felt him moving toward us—fast.

  Peta let out a growl and I turned to see Faris walking across the beach to me. The sun had just set and the last of the light kept the sky glowing, highlighting his figure. Blond-haired and blue-eyed, he cut a striking image, his body lean and muscles cut as if defined by a sculptor. Dressed in khakis and a white shirt, he was very bohemian looking, an unusual outfit and style for him. And then there was the missing arm. He moved as if it didn’t bother him, though I had no doubt it did. The loss of it made him look weak and vulnerable, not something any vampire could afford.

  “Rylee. I’m surprised you would call on me.” His voice was as smooth and cool as expensive ice cream and I knew he was trying to spell me.

  “Still? What the fuck, man. You’d think you’d figure it out after all this time I don’t do the whole spelling shit.” I put my hands on my hips to emphasize my position. That I was in charge and wasn’t going to put up with his games.

  He smiled at me, a small smile that allowed his fangs to peek out. “You can’t blame me for trying.”

  “Why, because you left me to die the last time I saw you?” That was the other reason I was surprised he came to see me so easily. He had to know I was still pissed about that. He’d closed the veil between me, Erik, Pam, and Alex, and the safety of London. Just to keep Doran safe. Now even if I understood that part of his decision, he could have at least tried to get us to somewhere else.

  He shrugged. “I’m a realist. So are you. That’s why we work so well together.”

  Fuck, I hated that he was right about that. I grimaced. “Look, I need your help.”

  He spread his one hand. “Depends.”

  “I need some of your blood.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “You what?”

  I repeated myself and he slowly shook his head. “No. I don’t do that.”

  “Why the fuck not?”

  He frowned, his face closing off, giving me no emotion. “I don’t share my blood with anyone, it isn’t just you. There is too much power in a vampires blood to just hand it out.”

  “I’m hardly a blood whore standing on a corner and begging you to give me a fix,” I snapped, closing the distance between us, knowing what he was pushing for. “What do you want?”

  His face went from frowning to smiling in an instant, and he lifted his hand to touch my cheek. “Well, if you really want the blood that badly, I supposed I would consider it. If you give me what I want, that is.”

  The chicken in my belly flip-flopped and I fought to keep it down. “You’d ask that of me, when Liam has been gone for barely a few days?”

  His eyes slid to half mast. “Where did your wolf go? I’m surprised he would leave you at this . . . stage of your life.”

  Oh, fuck, he didn’t know. But damn
it, had everyone but me known I was pregnant? “You haven’t spoken with Doran?”

  He shook his head, stroking my cheek with a single finger. “No, he’s rather irritated with me for leaving you behind . . . that, and he thought you might try and kill me if I was close by. So, I’ve been spending my time waiting for the call to go back to my liege. Not that I could anyway, there is something wrong with the veil. To be fair, I thought I’d find Doran here with you when you called for me.”

  I licked my lips and struggled to find the words. Nothing would shock Faris, he wouldn’t feel bad that Liam had died, or how. I slumped and turned my back. The last thing I needed to see was the vampire smile when I told him. I needed his help and his reaction to my words could get him killed in short order. “Liam’s dead.”

  Silence met my words and slowly, I turned back to him. He wasn’t gloating, he wasn’t smiling. His mouth hung open in the most un-vampire like manner as the shock hit him. “How?”

  I told him briefly about the veil being closed off, which made me question something rather pertinent. “How the hell did you get to us with the veil closed?”

  “I think your dragon knows more than he lets on. Come, I’ll show you.”

  With Faris leading the way, Peta and I walked down the beach. Blaz chose to stay behind.

  He won’t harm you, that much I can see inside his head. Convince him to help you, Rylee.

  Blaz curled up on the beach and tucked his head inside the curve of his tail. It hit me then that I wasn’t the only one who’d been run ragged the last few months. We all had been pushed to the brink, pushed to limits we didn’t know we had.

  Rounding a slight point in the beach, I stopped, shock rippling through me. The house was made of white sandstone and stood high enough that the waves didn’t hit it. But it wasn’t the beauty of the house, or the place it stood. No, it was that I’d been here before. This was Milly’s refuge. A place she hid to lick her wounds.

  “You were already here?”

  “I haven’t been able to jump the veil for the last few days. I thought perhaps I’d lost the ability, or that the demons had shut things down,” Faris said, his eyes never leaving mine. “If Blaz hadn’t brought you here, I wouldn’t have been able to find you.”

  “I Tracked you here.”

  Faris frowned. “How? I’m in the middle of the ocean, that’s why Milly picked this place, you know. You couldn’t Track her here.”

  “Things change.” I put a hand on Peta to help steady me. Not because I was really all that faint, I just needed the comfort of her. If I couldn’t have Alex with me, Peta was a damn fine substitute. Even if she wasn’t much of a talker, she still made me smile. My lips twitched as I saw her once more clinging to Blaz’s back, her hair all floating upward as we pitched out of the sky.

  She batted at my leg as if she knew where my mind went. “Sorry.”

  Faris lifted an eyebrow. “Talking to a cat?”

  “No worse than talking to a blood sucker,” I spit out.

  “No need to get testy,” he said, then waved us toward the house with his hand. “Welcome to Chateau a la Millicent.”

  The place was as I remembered, covered in flowers, smelling of sweet growing things, a warm breeze sweeping around us. The white sandstone building was three stories, but really, none of that mattered.

  “Faris, I need your blood.” I stood in the middle of the raised patio that faced the ocean. “And either you can give it to me, or I’ll take it. Your decision.”

  He lifted one eyebrow. “This again? Can’t we all just get along?”

  I didn’t move, just waited. “You can’t jump the veil to get away, and I have a fucking dragon in my back pocket. You think you can out maneuver him?”

  Faris slid into a wicker chair, placing his hand over his chest. “You wound me, Rylee. You won’t even tell me why you need my blood? Just demand it, threaten me, and you’ll somehow get your way? After all that I’ve done to help you—”

  “Can the shit, Faris. You’ve caused me as much trouble as you’ve supposedly helped, so I think we’re on neutral ground here.” I pulled a chair toward me with my foot and sat, Peta sitting beside me. I stroked the fur on the top of her head, scratching lightly behind her ears. “If I tell you what it’s for, you’ll willingly help?”

  His mouth twitched and I wanted to strangle him.

  “What are you doing out, anyway? I heard you were supposedly off to some sanctuary to keep you and the rugrat safe.”

  Fucking asshole. “That is none of your fucking business.”

  He leaned forward. “Oh, I think it is. You are the only thing standing between us and the demons now, Tracker. And you’re gallivanting around? Not acceptable.” His hand tightened over my wrist and I fought not to jerk away from him. I would not be afraid of him. He wouldn’t hurt me for the very reasons he just stated.

  Then again, he was a vampire, and he’d been after my blood for a long time. His grip tightened further, to the point of pain.

  “Let me go,” I said, fighting not to struggle against him. I’d look ridiculous fighting with a one armed vampire and losing. Because even if I was willing to kill him—and there had been days I’d been close to that—I wasn’t stronger than him. Not even with him missing an arm.

  Slowly, inexorably, he pulled me toward him. I put my free hand against his chest. “Don’t, Faris. Don’t make this a show of power and strength.”

  “Or what?”

  “I have a dragon.”

  In the distance, Blaz gave a roar, his voice coming to me, clear as a bell.

  Rylee, run, it’s a trap!

  Oh, fuck me. I jerked my arm, but nothing happened except the loosening of my arm in my shoulder socket. “Faris, let me go!”

  Peta let out a snarl, crouched beside me, her body language a clear warning. Faris ignored her.

  “You need to be kept safe, one way or another. And if you aren’t smart enough to do it, then I will do it for you.”

  What the hell did he think? “You’re fucking kidding me, right? Faris . . . you think you’re looking out for me? The demons took your arm, you aren’t going to be able to take care of me any better—”

  He yanked me around so we were nose to nose, his lips actually brushing mine as he spoke. “It’s because they took my arm that I know how much trouble you’re in being out here on your own. You took an old man, a half-broken guardian, and a dragon with you. A dragon who is being attacked right now.”

  Horror and anger flooded me. I scrambled to feel Blaz, but got nothing. “Peta, can you sense Blaz?”

  She shook her head, eyes drawn.

  “What did you do to him?” I screamed, reaching for my blade.

  “It’s not me, Rylee. There are still demons on this side of the veil, you little idiot. You think you killed them all in the fire at the castle? There is a fucking plague sweeping the world and you’re pregnant, the last hope for our world and you act like you can just do anything you please?” He was yelling at me, his eyes blue with fire in the shadows. “If you can’t see that you need to keep yourself safe until this kid shows up, then you need someone to do it for you.”

  His words were like a splash of cold water, as much what he said as how he said it. Faris didn’t have a potty mouth, and it shocked me to hear him actually cuss. I stopped squirming. “Faris, I have a place that is safe, but only if Blaz is still okay. He can get me back there.” Again, I struggled to sense my friend, but got nothing back. Tracking him was easy and I could sense he was alive and well, but unconscious. “What’s happening to him?”

  The vampire shook his head, blond hair catching the firelight. “Most likely just stunned. The demons around here are fairly minor, but there are a lot of them. Like a gang of pygmies, they have some venom that can drop even a large creature like a dragon. They’ll be headed here next.”

  I didn’t protest as he half-dragged, half-led me through the house, starlight the only guide we had. Blaz would be okay, I had to believe that. “
What are their weaknesses?”

  “They don’t like sunlight.”

  I snorted a laugh. “So like your very own mini-me’s?”

  “Not funny. There’s enough of them that unless we can hold out until the morning, it won’t matter that the plague is sweeping the world, or that there are only six months of respite from the veil being closed off—that is, if you are right about Liam’s sacrifice.”

  We reached the lowest level and I noticed that while it was below the ground, it was only sunk about halfway, and there were narrow windows along the hallway we strode down.

  “The light will come through the windows and we just have to wait them out.”

  “You think the three of us can’t take them?” I was surprised he wanted to hide. Really surprised.

  Faris opened a heavy door that looked to be oak bound together with iron bands. “There are too many, Rylee,” he said, reading my surprise. He pointed to the windows and the flash of legs that went by brought me to a standstill.

  I did a quick count, as they raced by and felt the sweat chill along my spine. At least a hundred.

  “And that isn’t all of them. There are probably four times that.”

  Four hundred mini demons. Yeah, even I knew I couldn’t take on that many. Fucking hell, I did not want to be stuck in a room with Faris for what I knew was going to be at least ten hours.

  Behind us, the sound of squealing filled the air. Like a herd of cannibalistic pigs. Faris grabbed me and jerked me into the room. Peta leaped through just before he slammed the door. But I could see, as the door shut, the first wave of demons. The pig analogy wasn’t so far off. They were about four feet high, cloven hooves, pale pink skin and their faces resembled a mutated pig with oversized tusks and tiny black eyes. The squealing rose to a fever pitch as they caught sight of me.

  And then I was helping Faris slam the door shut. Three bars of iron slammed into place over the door as the pygmies hit it. The frame didn’t even rattle.