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Rand was out of practice himself. Except for the disastrous fight with Grey and his betas to help Sheba and her pups escape in Colorado, he and Dylef had never refined their team hunting skills for combat. Though if they had, and had later drawn the teenagers into that training, maybe they would have held their own better against Grey.
Earth and stone, his guilt was a festering wound that never healed. Ignoring it to give full attention to what might be beneficial for Dovia's rescue, he listened intently to Daegan and Gideon for the next half hour. He kept part of his mind open to Cai during that time, sensing his presence and proximity, and verifying he was still resting. Rand didn't want the vampire to take off without him. That was why he kept touching that connection.
That was what he told himself.
Returning to the present, Rand realized he'd drifted off. It was twilight. As he let himself come fully awake, he stretched, then ate the last of the cookies. Vending machines were placed by the restrooms, and they advertised coffee. Probably didn't taste all that good, but it was coffee. He left the vehicle to get himself and Cai some. After he returned, he sat and sipped from his cup, watching the last few hikers and dogwalkers emerge from the woods and head off for the night. It wasn't long before he heard the rasp of the trapdoor opening.
He handed the full and still steaming cup over his shoulder without looking, smiling a little as it was taken from his hand.
"You know," a grumpy voice said, "technically caffeine has no proven effect on vampires."
"I saw that study in the latest Scientific American," Rand said. "But I figured you might like the taste."
He handed back several sugar packets and one cream. A pause, then those were also removed from his grip, the vampire's fingers brushing his.
"Okay, that's creepy damn specific mind reading, wolf."
"Now you know how I feel, having you crawling around in my head."
"Wise ass." A rattle of paper as Cai added the condiments. "For all we know, Lord Brian has submitted articles to Scientific American. Vampire scientists. Next thing, there will be vampire lawyers, a redundant term in so many ways."
The pause drew out as they drank coffee and watched the night darken.
"You want to kill him, but you don't hate him, do you?" Rand asked. "Gideon. Because you get it."
Silence. Rand wisely said nothing for a few minutes, letting Cai sip his coffee.
"Yeah," the vampire said. "But you said you have a code. It's like that, right? I may get why he did it, but he still killed someone whose death I feel like I should avenge, because Lodell did me a solid."
Rand glanced back. The vampire's hair was tousled from his sleep, his blue eyes annoyed, his mouth set in a line. The line of questioning was bugging him. On a whim, Rand leaned back and brushed his mouth over his, tasting coffee and Cai. He used his thumb to remove some of the coffee residue from his lip. The blue eyes flickered in surprise.
"You have a strange sense of honor," Rand observed. "You kill humans to feed, but you avenge your sire because of the kindness he showed you, and we're here, going after a female vampire you feel certain is dead or wishes she was."
"That's because you're considering it from your human side. Think like a wolf," Cai advised. "Have you ever seen a rabbit in a meadow, nibbling on a tasty flower, enjoying a sunny day? That's a happy creature. He could die in a second, has probably seen lots of his family and fellow rabbits caught and killed, so he enjoys that moment. Versus humanoids, so caught up in baggage, they can't feel the sun shine on their faces. Even if it was half the distance it is to earth and fried them like an egg."
"You're a vampire. You don't feel the sun."
"Okay, go with moonlight, or a fucking sun lamp. You know what I'm trying to say. Don't worry about my contradictions. Humans will stop being annoying before you can figure those out. Focus on that meadow. Sunny pep talk over."
Cai exited the car, crumpling up the cup and tossing it in the trash as he shouldered the pack Jacob had also provided them. It was stocked with changes of clothing and other supplies, like Lord Brian's vials and gum.
Rand shook his head, but followed his lead. He thought about offering to carry the pack, but after his nap, Cai looked as if he was suffering no residual effects from the katana. Vampires really did have spectacular healing powers. Or Cai was right about shifter blood. Or both.
They locked the van and left it behind. Within a few miles, Cai stopped, checked his compass, and left the trail to head into the unmarked terrain. It was full dark now, their eyes gleaming in the moonlight. Rand began to unbutton his shirt. "Mind carrying these clothes in the pack, in case I end up needing them?"
Cai squatted to his heels, back against a tree, gazing upon him as if he had hours to watch Rand strip. "Nope."
Rand eyed him. "Don't you ever get tired of sex?"
"Vampires have to be dead to be tired of sex. Even then, they're probably checking out the available action in the line to the Pearly Gates." The vampire tossed him a bland look that concealed none of the sensual intent behind his steady gaze.
Snorting, Rand stripped off shirt, jeans, shoes, socks and underwear, folded them neatly and brought them to put in the pack. Cai accommodated that, then his gaze slid up Rand's tall, bare form. "What if I d
id want sex?" the vampire asked pleasantly. "If I demanded it?"
Rand shook his head. "I don't take orders from you."
"Only a pack leader, hmm?"
Rand nodded. "That's the way it works." He knew Cai was thinking about the thoughts Rand had had a few hours ago, about the third mark and its appeal as a substitute pack. Then it had made the vampire come to him, stroke him, share a silent companionship. Which was nice. But he was going down another road now, making Rand respond a different way. Provocation had several meanings, after all.
Cai glanced around. "I don't see a pack here. Didn't see any at Greenwald's house, either. Just a lot of vampires circling one another like suspicious dogs."
"Some of them seemed pretty well bonded with their servants."
Cai shook his head. "Vampires can't have relationships with their servants. You heard Brian. Want to be my property, able to do only what I say?"
Neither Jacob, Gideon nor Debra had seemed like slaves, though it was undeniably a far more extreme form of Dominant and submissive relationship than humans sometimes embraced. It had a stronger echo in the structure of a wolf pack; however, except for packs led by those like Grey, anyone could leave at any time, if they didn't agree with the structure. Like Fane and Lynn. So maybe it was different.
But there was an odd look in the vampire's gaze. Something was going on in Cai's head, and for once Rand couldn't quite work it out. Which meant it was something beyond his understanding, no point of reference.
"We should get going," Rand said mildly, and moved away, preparing to shift. He'd ponder it while they traveled.
The vampire leaped for him, an elegant, powerful move, like a dragon exploding into flight. He tackled Rand and they rolled across the ground, with Cai ending up on top, Rand on his stomach in a pin.
"What the--" Rand turned, fought, and they rolled further down the slope, collecting leaves and dirt as they went. Rand cursed as sticks poked him in tender, unclothed places.
The vampire had an edge on him tonight, because Rand had been driving while Cai had been sleeping. Rand threw an elbow and slipped a headlock, only to find himself back on his stomach again, Cai's hands locked on his wrists, the vampire's weight sitting on his ass.
