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He drags his phone from his pocket and starts typing in his instructions. He may not be a vampire anymore, but he’s still in charge. Finally, he drops his phone to the sofa cushion beside him. “There. Reward issued for anyone who comes up with a valid location for Vera. Now all we do is wait and hope we’re the first to reach her.”
He relaxes his head against the back of the couch, already despising the delay. Patience isn’t his strong suit.
Hang on, Maddy. I’m coming.
Chapter5
Madeleine
The next morning, Maddy scans her surroundings, eyeing the thunderstorms building on the horizon where the water meets the sky. Lightning flashes overhead, jumping from cloud to cloud, and a deep rumble vibrates across the ocean and the earth beneath her feet.
She may be a vampire with all the interesting enhancements now, but sleeping out in the open on the sand of the beach isn’t going to help her survive in the elements. Plus, making herself a target for anyone who can spot her isn’t conducive to survival, vampire or not. She has to at least get the basics covered. Her teeth chatter, but not because she feels cold. It’s probably because she’s hungry again with no blood bank in sight.
Her stomach hollows. The blood bags she’d stolen—was gifted?—are long gone, and she has to find another way to eat. No inhabitants are apparent in this place, so consuming fresh blood also doesn’t seem like an option, unless she wants to try some kind of animal. Which animal would she be okay consuming? She wrinkles her nose.
Maybe a mile down the beach, the top ridge of a roof peeks out of the foliage, and she thinks it’s the best chance at finding shelter. In a burst, she launches herself into a run, and her feet move at a speed she hasn’t ever achieved before in her life. Gnats and mosquitos slam into her cheeks, and she squints against the impact, surprised she hasn’t noticed them before. They haven’t bothered her the whole time she’s been on the beach—probably another side effect of being turned into a vampire.
She reaches the ramshackle building sooner than she expects. How long will it take to get used to the increased speed, the overload from her heightened senses, and the hunger which never seems to disappear for long?
Making a wide circle around the building, she studies the holes in the wall slatting, the broken glass in the windows, and the listing door which has nearly come off its hinges. It’s definitely not a Hilton, but it’s better than nothing. She can’t see much of the beach, but the surface of the ocean is now broken up by the growing waves.
More lightning zags across the sky, closer this time, and the thunder follows immediately after. The storm rolls in, and Maddy hurries up the steps into the shack. A gust of wind moves through the cabin, and rain scents the air. A drop splatters against the jagged edge of the broken window. A neon bolt slams down into the water, and Maddy presses her hand to her stomach, feeling hungry and alone.
The skies darken, and it’s as though the whole beachfront takes a deep breath, waiting for the impending deluge. All the noise Maddy was hearing—the birds, the frogs, the bugs, all of it—pauses, and the silence presses in all around her.
Caleb.Caleb should be there with her, but he’s not. She’s never going to see him again, and the pain from his absence isn’t something she’s ready to grapple with.
Then the skies open, and the clouds empty themselves on the roof of the building Maddy’s in. Within moments, water dribbles in across the whole of the building. It’s not water-tight in the slightest. Maddy moves from spot to spot, trying to find a place which doesn’t drip on her.
No luck. She chews her bottom lip but gasps when her new teeth poke the tender skin. Each flash of lightning overwhelms her vision, as though her brain can’t keep up with the sensation dump. She blinks to clear her sight and cringes as the thunder crashes over the building, rattling the broken glass in the windowpanes and the thin floor beneath her feet. She isn’t sure what would happen if a vampire is struck by lightning, but she doesn’t want to find out, so she moves to the middle of the cabin.
No matter how she twists, she can’t escape the leaks, so she sinks to the floor. Rain drips on her shoulder, but she pulls her heels toward her bottom and rests her forehead on her knees. She’s miserable here on this beach, but she’s not going to risk the people in her life. She won’t risk Caleb. Cold, wet, and hungry…
A clatter on the porch makes Maddy launch to her feet, and she presses herself to the wall, inclining her head to listen. Another noise, almost like a stomp, sounds on the porch. She moves to the door and sticks her head out to get a better look.
There’s a shimmer in the air, and the rain moves around…something…making its way up onto the porch. Maddy’s seen enough in the last few months that she expects bad news and scrambles back inside. If it’s Caleb… God, don’t be Caleb. She checks her cloaking spell, glad to find it’s still completely in place.
“Who’s out there?” she yells with more courage than she feels.
When nothing happens, she takes a jagged, pointed piece of wood from the floor and clutches it like a sword. Then she creeps outside.
The moment the sole of her foot hits the decking, a large figure steps out of thin air.
She leaps at him. In a blink, she has the makeshift weapon pressed at the hollow of his throat. Her teeth catch her bottom lip. Her heart should be pounding, but it isn’t. “Who are you?”
Rain drips over his long-ish hair and skin, but it doesn’t look like he feels any of it. His clothes are neatly arranged, and his mouth pinches as he raises his hands. “I’m not here to hurt you.”
“Then why are you here?” Her gaze narrows, and she glares. “And I’ll warn you that I’m not the weakling you probably imagine me to be.”
The man shakes his head, and that’s when Maddy notices the ear points. “I’m from the Fae.”
Maddy gasps. “Alec?”
He shakes his head. “I’m not Alec. Though, I know of him. My name is Sylvan, and I need your help.”
“Need my help? With what?” She’s not ready to trust whoever he is, and she’s not ready to lower her weapon. “How did you find me?”
“You weren’t so hard to find, and I won’t be the last one.”
