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I felt my lips pull up into a smile just before Lars exploded in a blinding burst of light that tore me off my feet and sent me hurtling through the air. I landed on my back with a breath-stealing thump and sat up immediately to look around.
Through the white spots in my vision, I could see that trees, even large trees, were flattened in a circle around where Lars had been. Dust and leaves were settling back to the earth in the aftermath of his brilliant disappearance and there was no sign of Lars, no sign that he’d ever stood in the woods across from me.
I scanned the forest, fully expecting him to pop back up somewhere else. I kept thinking that it was too easy, getting rid of him. For me—plain ol’ me— to get rid of someone supposedly so old and powerful, it had been far, far too easy.
When several minutes had passed and it seemed that Lars wasn’t coming back, I sprang into action, rushing to Bo’s side. He was barely conscious and he was bleeding badly. I pulled at the stake in his right shoulder, but it wouldn’t budge. I wasn’t strong enough to move it even an inch.
“Bo,” I whispered, stroking his cheek.
My heart sank when I got no response, so I tried a little more stimulation.
“Bo,” I called more loudly, tapping his cheek with my hand.
I thought I heard a moan, but I couldn’t be sure.
“Bo,” I shouted near his ear, pinching his earlobe between my fingers.
“Ridley,” he croaked.
I looked into his face and when I saw his eyelids flutter, my legs nearly gave out beneath me.
“Bo, I can’t get the stakes out. What do I need to do?”
His lids trembled with his efforts to open them, but still they didn’t rise.
“Follow the path to the cabin,” he instructed, his breathing shallow and labored. “Bring Lucius.”
Though I was afraid to meet a very old vampire like Lucius by myself, I was more afraid that Bo wouldn’t make it. That fear trumped any leeriness of Lucius.
“But what about you? What if more vampires come? I can’t leave you here alone.”
It sounded ridiculous, even to my ears. Whatever bizarre thing had happened with Lars notwithstanding, what protection could I provide Bo? I was still nothing more than a weak, fragile human.
“No choice. You have to go.”
Chewing my lip, I wrestled with indecision for a few seconds before Bo’s voice spurred me into action.
“Now, Ridley.”
Quickly, I bent and pressed my lips to his, promising, “I’ll be right back.” Not sparing myself even a brief glance behind me, I took off through the woods.
Turns out I didn’t have to travel very far. Bo wasn’t even out of sight yet when a man stepped in front of me, earning a startled yelp from me.
I didn’t have to wonder what he was. Between a very pleasant honeysuckle smell and his uber pale skin, I knew he was a vampire.
I was instantaneously filled with a fright that froze my muscles and locked my heart in a vise grip. But before I could panic, he spoke.
“Don’t be afraid, lass. I’m Lucius.”
His silky voice put me at ease right away, like an auditory valium. I felt my muscles warm and relax and I had to purposely resist the smile that tugged at my lips.
Though I wouldn’t have called Lucius handsome, I couldn’t deny that he was incredibly appealing. He made me want to giggle like a silly ten year old, something I didn’t do even when I was a silly ten year old.
Lucius had sparkling emerald green eyes and dark red hair that was parted in the middle and bound at his nape. Though his skin was alabaster white, it wasn’t hard to imagine him with the ruddy, freckly complexion typical of an Irishman, which was what I imagined he once was. Though his accent had all but faded, there was still a lilt to his voice that gave away his European heritage. He was positively charming and attractive in an inexplicable way.
“Let me tend to Bo,” he said, touching my arm with his cool fingers.
Lucius walked around me and made his way to Bo, with me fast on his heels.
I watched as he easily pulled the stakes from their place deep in the rock, freeing Bo’s body.
When the last stake was removed, Bo slumped lifelessly to the ground and my heart lurched. Lucius bent and threw Bo over his shoulder and turned back to me.
“This way.”
The cabin that had been our destination wasn’t far from where we’d been accosted. It looked simple enough from the outside with its log walls and small front porch, but the inside was something entirely different.
The entry level of the cabin was innocuous enough with its one-room floor plan that consisted of a tiny kitchen, a living room with a fireplace and a bedroom that lay behind a folding metal partition. Not including the front door through which we entered, there were three other doors dotted throughout. I assumed one was a bathroom, since it was near the bedroom, and the other looked like a pantry beside the refrigerator.
It was the third door toward which Lucius headed. Curious and a little nervous, I followed.
The door led to a long flight of stairs that descended many feet into the earth. It ended at another door. This one had a sophisticated keypad that required biometrics to open.
Shifting Bo to better free his hand, Lucius pressed his thumb to the pad, punched in a series of numbers and, with a soft click, the door popped open. Lucius stepped through and held the door so that I could enter as well.
I stepped into a grand parlor that looked as if it was lifted out of a Victorian mansion and deposited beneath the cabin, beautiful and perfectly intact.
The walls were painted a rich dark cream and trimmed with wide crown molding and decorative corner pieces. A huge fireplace dominated one wall. Above it hung a mirror with an ornate, gilded frame that looked like it cost a fortune and weighed a ton.
The floors were hardwood and covered in thick rugs that were brown, rust and cream in color. Atop them sat several small delicately curved, Queen Ann-style sofas and chairs, upholstered in brocade of matching hues.
In the center of the high ceiling was a crystal chandelier, its base surrounded by a large plaster medallion. It shed a soft warm glow over the entire room.
The crackling of the fire and the smell of roses completed the surreal scene. I was speechless.
With no thought to the furniture, Lucius deposited Bo on one of the couches directly in front of the fire, arranging his limbs comfortably before he scrambled out, muttering a low, “I’ll be right back.”
