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However, some distance from it, he stilled, lifting his nose to scent the wind. Someone else was there, and whoever it was incited a deep uneasiness in him. As Rand fell into track and hunt mode, he kept his mind shifted enough to grasp all his human faculties. He also maintained his hold on his wolf's instincts and tracking abilities, so he had that plus the type of complicated reasoning that most animals didn't need in their daily lives.
It took several decades of maturity to handle that mental straddle without strain. He had that, but it still took more effort than usual. The skill was rusty, since he hadn't needed to use it much until recently, first with the hunter and then with Cai.
He'd drawn close enough to the campsite to realize what had set off his alarm bells. Vampires. Three of them. Great. With three humans. He surmised they were servants because there was a different quality to their human smell that carried their blood link with the vampires. He bore some of that scent himself with Cai's two marks, but these servants had stronger scents. Maybe because of the third mark.
As he closed in on the group with stealth and started picking up snippets of conversation, he realized two key things. They were looking for Cai. And they didn't sound like they were friends. Maybe that was why there was no sign of Cai.
Cai, you awake? You have visitors.
Rand didn't know if vampires were like humans. Some bouncing right out of their coffins perky and alert; others definitely not "morning" people, dragging their asses out way past full dark. If he had to guess, he'd say Cai was the latter.
Without any evidence of where the vampire had gone, it was possible Cai had left and was miles away. Rand could clear out of here himself, shrugging off the whole thing. But Rand wasn't certain. If Cai was somewhere nearby, holed up and vulnerable...
He thought of earlier today, the vampire's voice whispering in his mind's ear. Whether Rand had wanted to live or not, the vampire had saved his life. He had a code, which had more to do with his respect for karma than a desire to protect Cai. The guy was an asshole, but if Rand left him at the mercy of enemies when he could help, well, fate would figure out a way to zap him in the ass.
But exactly what could fate do worse to him? He had no one left but himself.
Just shut up, he told himself.
"He's close. I can sense it."
"You said that earlier, and we ended up going another bloody ten miles." A male voice sighed. "There's something here, though. Some...vibration of energy. The sorcerer said the amulet would help, and it's as red as it's been thus far."
Rand, on his belly in the leaves and well-concealed by foliage, saw one of the vampires hold up a red-stone pendant on a black cord. He was tall, with long golden hair plaited back to show a sharp-featured face, his slate eyes in concentrated slits. The other male had short, choppy dark hair and a Goth fashion sense, an absurd choice for hiking, though his thick tread silver-buckled boots looked decent enough for the terrain. If he hadn't been a vampire, he would have lacked any menace, a skinny male who looked barely out of college. But physical age was an unreliable measure with vampires. Cai looked about thirty, though he was over two hundred.
Scent always told Rand more about someone than they'd ever want to reveal. Gold Hair smelled older, way older than Cai. Maybe around four centuries. The Goth was about three hundred. The final member of their group fell somewhere in between.
She was a dark-haired woman wearing jeans, T-shirt and hiking shoes, the only vampire properly dressed for the environment. Her expression was steady, set. Determined. She was the hunter, probably the biggest threat of the three.
In comparison, Gold Hair was wearing freaking Armani and a Rolex. But he also appeared to be in charge and not unsettled by his surroundings. Not by so much as an out-of-place hair, and he looked coldly intent upon their goal.
The servants with them were one female and two males, properly deferential and quiet, unremarkable except they were dressed in adequate hiking gear and looked capable of handling any physical threat launched by a mere mortal.
Twilight grew deeper, darkness taking full hold. Rand wondered where the vampires had stayed out of the sun, this deep in the woods, then surmised they or their servants had scouted out one of the narrow caves that creatures of stealth and good observation skills could find throughout the mountains. Still, their being up and about this close to dusk probably reinforced their greater age, since Rand did know that older vampires had more tolerance for the approaching dawn, or being out sooner after sunset, than their younger counterparts.
Cai was outgunned, if they meant him harm. But why come to harm him? Who have you pissed off, vampire? Other than me?
Can't keep all this charm exclusive to you.
Rand let out a held breath. He was awake.
Stay hidden, Cai advised. If they haul me off somewhere, you don't need to worry about it. It's been a pleasure, wolf. Maybe our paths will cross again sometime.
What? But why would they--
When Cai had told him he would go to ground during daylight hours, Rand had taken it as an expression. He couldn't imagine anyone, even a vampire, willingly burying himself in the earth. Apparently, Cai was just such a vampire.
He emerged from beneath a covering of soil and dead leaves less than forty feet away from the cluster of vampires and their servants, startling them as well as flushing a covey of birds. The depth he'd chosen explained why his scent had ended at the edge of the campsite. Rand had to assume he used his magic to smooth the earth, rake the debris over him so that the living grave didn't stand out from the rest of the forest floor.
He wore a long-sleeved shirt and an old faded pair of jeans. His version of pajamas, Rand supposed, preserving his other clothes from soil stains. Though he looked remarkably clean as he brushed earth off himself and gazed at the assembled vampires with cool eyes.
"I hear you're looking for me."
The golden-haired vampire recovered his aplomb first, giving him a sneer. "Burying yourself like the grub you are, Trad? No self-respecting vampire would do such a thing, except as a desperate measure."
Trad? Rand frowned. The term was unfamiliar, but Cai's reaction to it was telling. A flash went through his eyes, deep and sharp as a killing rage. While it was gone in a blink, it sent a dangerous ripple of energy through the clearing. The servants exchanged uneasy glances.
"Maybe you just haven't learned to appreciate a good dirt nap. Or the irony of the undead taking one." Cai's gaze glinted. "Who are you, and what do you want? I assume you didn't come traipsing up here in your city shoes to trade insults. I'm no Trad."
"Save it. We're here to take you to Lord Greenwald and a Council delegation."
"I don't know Lord Greenwald and could give less than two fucks about the Vampire Council. None of their business is mine."
"We'll take you by force if necessary. We brought the means to do it." The woman stepped forward, unlooping a chain over her hands. Cai scoffed at her.
"If you think that will--"
Cai. Rand barked it in his head as the Goth male moved. Before Cai could whip around, he'd tossed a handful of what looked like innocuous pebbles at the vampire.
Cai's expression was appropriately baffled, just a flash. Energy shimmered and the pebbles erupted into something very different. The rocks became the sharp points on a coil of barbed wire that whipped around Cai as if he were a magnet, holding him from shoulders to knees. When he fought the binding, it constricted around his calves, toppling him to the ground. As he struggled, the lines cut into flesh, causing blood.
Stay back, Rand. Don't...let them see you.
Rand crouched in the forest undergrowth, lip curled back, animal body trembling with anger and nerves. Indecision. These weren't his people. His fight. But the vampire was obviously in pain, and yet he was taking the time to warn Rand to stay out of sight.
"Amazing how often a woman can cause a man's attention to wander at just the right moment," the female said. "Nicely done, Chavez. And the pain element is a bo
nus. Did the sorcerer throw that in for free?"
"Hell no." The Goth scoffed, as if he didn't think much of what the sorcerer had offered them. "That's a little gift from a blood source of mine who dabbles in the dark arts. She said it would save time, skip the negotiation step. Don't care what they told us; everyone knows a Trad's going to kill, not talk."
"It only hurts if you struggle, vampire. Which should make this an entertaining trip." Gold Hair aimed a kick at Cai that flipped him over and tightened the barbs as a result.
Pain...cruelty. Chavez's eyes glittered with a look Rand knew all too well.
Go, Rand. Leave. Goddamn it...
The barbs cut into Cai's throat and arms and made Chavez grin. The woman's gaze remained impassive, disinterested in the games.
