"If we follow the forest path," Teira said, her voice stronger than it had been inside the palace, "we can reach Darius by morning."
"Then let's go."
One of the guards scattered along the bastion noticed them. "Down there," he shouted.
Someone else called, "Stop them!"
Pop. Whiz . Bullets flew, peppering the ground a few feet behind them. Alex increased his speed, sprinting for all he was worth, the fire extinguisher slamming into his back. Later, he would feel the bruises. For now, he felt only the blessed numbness of his adrenaline rush.
Still hand in hand with Teira, he forced her to keep pace beside him. He launched into the safety of the trees before finally slowing. Alex liked to think he was in top physical condition, or had been, thanks to his daily workouts. But right now his breathing was ragged, and his pulse leapt like it was connected to a live wire.
"You need rest," his companion panted. "We are safe here. We can stop-"
"No. No resting. Keep moving."
She claimed the lead, and he forced his suddenly heavy feet to step one in front of the other. Forced his mind on the task at hand and not the drugs he was leaving behind. For a moment, his vision blurred and he swayed. Teira glanced at him over her shoulder, her expression concerned.
"Keep moving," he said again.
When they swerved around a large elm, a giant of a man jumped from the shadows, followed quickly by another. Their features weren't visible in the growing darkness, but Alex felt the anger coiled so tightly in their bodies.
Teira screamed.
Acting instinctively, Alex sprayed the liquid nitrogen, spinning in a circle as he did so. A thick foam of white coated the men, and they growled indistinguishable curses as they wiped at their faces. He tossed the red canister to the ground and jerked Teira through the thick foliage. Then they ran. Ran around trees and bushes, flowers and stones. They waded through two crystalline rivers along the way, and through it all he heard the men racing in pursuit, their footsteps fast, determined.
"Which way?" he called.
"East," she said, panting a little. The white gown she wore swished and swirled around her ankles, and her moonbeam pale hair whipped behind her. "There is… a town… nearby. We can lose ourselves."
Alex veered east, pushing himself past his endurance. The longer he ran, the less he heard of his followers. Either he'd lost them or they'd given up. Or were somehow able to silently follow. He didn't relax his defenses. Only when Teira was safely ensconced inside his apartment would he rest-after he made love to her. Several times.
After what seemed an eternity, they reached the town. One moment they were surrounded by dense forest, and the next by shimmering gold and silver buildings. He slowed when he found himself on a crowded stone road. Throngs of people strolled in every direction. No, not people. Winged men, bulllike animals and horned women. Interspersed throughout were tall, lean humanoid creatures with skin the color of new fallen snow. They glided rather than walked.
Alex felt their dynamically surreal eyes boring into him hungrily, as if they could already taste his every drop of blood. Vampires. He shuddered. They moved with fluid, catlike grace, mere slashes of white skin and flowing, black clothing. The only color they possessed was in their eyes, an inhuman blue that hypnotized and promised every desire satisfied.
His shudders intensified, and he reached up and massaged his neck, covering the marks of his last encounter with a vampire. The Book of Ra-Dracus told of their insatiable thirst for blood-more so than earth legend proclaimed. He knew that firsthand.
"In here," Teira said. She ushered him inside the nearest building. "We will hide here until we are sure we are safe."
Loud music, more fluid than rock, less structured than classical, boomed in every direction. Voices and laughter blended with the music as people mingled and danced. He and Teira swept through the crowd, trying to remain unnoticed. There, in the back, was an empty table, and they hurriedly claimed it.
He plopped into his seat. The adrenaline rush he'd experienced in the forest had helped mask his need for drugs, but now, as the surge receded, he became increasingly aware of his shaking hands and aching temples.
A woman approached them and clanked two glasses onto their table. Two small brown horns protruded from her forehead. She gave them a brittle smile and said something in the same language Teira sometimes used. He was beginning to catch on to its unusual inflections and pronunciations, so he didn't need an interpreter to know the waitress had said, "Drink up and leave, or tonight will be your last," before she flittered away, suddenly lost in the crowd.
"There are many vampires here," Teira said, gazing around. "More than usual."
A wisp of dark cloth. A shiver of electrifying power. Then someone was there, standing behind Teira, caressing her shoulder. The laughter and music slowly tapered to quiet, and the patrons stared over at them.
"You smell good, little dragon," a vampire male said, his voice hypnotic and dark. Seductive. "I wonder, though, how you will taste."
It took Alex a moment to translate. When he did, he saw red. He didn't care how much stronger the vampires were, he didn't care that he might be inciting a fight, he would not allow threats to Teira's life. "Back off," he said, glaring up at the bloodsucker. "Or it will be your blood that is spilled this night."
The vampire snickered.
"I taste like death," Teira finally responded. Her gaze flicked from Alex to the vampire nervously. "Now leave us. We wish only to rest. We will leave soon."
"No, you won't. Not until I've sampled both you and your human."
Another vampire joined them, his mouth a blood-red frown. "We are not to harm the human, Aarlock. You know that."
"I will not kill him. The dragon, however… "
Still another vampire approached, crowding their table further. "The human doesn't wear the mark. We can kill them both if we so desire."
All three bloodsuckers glanced at Alex's neck. The one called Aarlock smiled slowly. "No, he doesn't wear the mark of the other humans. He is fair game."
Alex could almost see the knife and fork clanging together in their minds, and he wondered what mark Jason and his minions wore to prevent vampire attacks. I have to do something , he thought, vaulting to his feet. Not knowing what more he could do, he drew back his fist. Before he had time to blink, the vampire caught his arm and held him in a bruising grip. Those eerie eyes turned to him, gazing deeply, probing.
A strange lethargy worked its way through him, as if he'd been shot full of those delicious drugs. Suddenly he wanted only to feel this vampire's fangs sink into his neck, wanted only to give himself to this powerful man.
Dainty, gentle Teira, who loved tender contact, snarled a sound more animal than human, jolted up and bared amazingly sharp claws. She shoved the vampire backward, causing him to stumble as he released Alex.
"Do not touch him," she snarled. "He is mine."
The rest of the vampires gathered around them, some baring their fangs, others hissing. Alex shook himself out of his stupor just as Teira flashed her own set of fangs, hers longer than the vampires. Alex's eyes grew round. He'd known she was a dragon changeling, but he hadn't really expected her body to physically change.
"We must leave," Teira mouthed, once again speaking his language, never taking her attention from the creatures in front of her. "We will need a distraction."
Determination rushing through his veins, his palms sweating, he glanced around, searching for a spear, a torch, something. Anything. When that failed, he looked for a back door-not that they could have used it. The vampires had formed a circle around them, their bodies nearly transparent and vibrating with hungry energy.