The cracking of a stick pierced through the fog of ecstasy Mollie weaved around him. He tore his mouth away from hers when he recalled they were standing in the woods, where anyone or anythingcould find them. A low growl reverberated in his chest as his grip on her tightened.
“We have to keep moving,” he whispered.
A rush of fear buried Mollie’s disappointment as she recalled where they were. “Yes.”
* * *
“Oh God.”Mollie bent over and rested her hands on her knees. Breathing shallowly, she fought the nausea rolling through her, but her head still spun like she’d taken ten trips on the tilt-a-whirl at a carnival. “Oh God, no.”
Mike rested his hand on her shoulder while he gazed in disbelief at the sight before him. Out of everything he’d expected to encounter,thishad never crossed his mind. And he had no idea what to do about it.
“Gives credence to that wholeIsland of Doctor Moreautheory, doesn’t it?” Mollie asked, unable to contain a bitter laugh.
Mike had to agree with her.
“We’re so screwed,” she whispered.
“No matter what, Iamgetting us out of this. Come on.”
Mollie took another deep breath.Get it together. You have to be strong for Aida. And at least this discovery will make it easier to find her.
Mollie focused on that hopeful realization as she tried to pull herself from the bleak pit of despair sucking at her soul.
Rising, she met Mike’s gaze before turning her attention to the lighthouse they’d left behind yesterday. In the rays of the setting sun, the rotting building appeared more ominous as she realized their journey had taken them in a complete circle of what she now realized was an island.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Standingat the top of the lighthouse again, Mike surveyed the land that he now knew was an island with a more critical eye. They were stuck on an island, but where was it located? Were they off the coast of Canada, or maybe Maine... or somewhere else entirely? And how far were they from the mainland?
Most importantly, how could they get off this berg of land?
He hadn’t seen any boats in their travel, but they’d stayed away from the cliffs throughout sections of the island. He’d missed many areas of the shoreline to remain hidden in the forest, and the boats may be located there. There had to be boats somewhere, but he had a feeling they were heavily guarded.
“It will be easier to find Aida now,” Mollie said as she gazed over the treetops to where Mike had said there was a building beyond the barn. “If she’s still alive, she’s in that house or building or whatever it is out there.”
Mike rested his hand on her shoulder to give her some comfort as he sensed her sorrow beneath the words “if she’s still alive.”
“And if Jack and Doug are still alive, we’ll have an easier time locating them than I anticipated,” Mike said. “Plus, we can’t be far from the mainland. I’m not sure which direction land is in, but the water separating us from it can’t be too big; the Savages wouldn’t be able to traverse it otherwise.”
“Three bright sides, what about the bad?”
“It’s not a large island. I suspect the reason we haven’t encountered many others is they’ve stayed more to the woods while we’ve been sticking to the cliffs for a while. I’m sure some have gone down the cliffs in search of a hiding place, and others are probably dead, but a fair amount of vampires escaped with us.”
A hollow pit formed in Mollie’s stomach when she realized what he was saying. “And all those vampires are going to be hungry.”
“Many will feed on the animals.”
“Why weren’t the ones who attacked me today doing that?”
“Because animal blood isn’t as good as human blood, and some, even if they’re not killers, will refuse to drink it until it’s too late for them. They also probably didn’t realize we were on an island and might have believed they had a chance to get somewhere with a higher human population soon, so they decided to hold off on feeding. Or they could have been further gone than anyone realized when they were set free, and animal blood no longer satisfied them.”
“So that means there may be others who were further gone, feel the same way, and we’re trapped with them.”
“Yes.”
“Great,” she muttered.
“There’s more,” he said reluctantly. He hated to deliver more bad news to her, but she had to know everything.
