Blood Kissed

  “Not even when you’re going running, apparently.”

  Amusement briefly touched his lips. “It’s a ranger’s motto to always be prepared.”

  “I thought that was the Boy Scouts?”

  “Same, same.” His smile faded. “I’ll lead from here on in.”

  I wasn’t about to object when his physical senses were far stronger than mine. He stepped forward carefully, testing each bit of ground before putting his full weight on it. It made for slow progress, but that was infinitely better than getting caught in whatever other macabre trap our vampire might have set.

  We were maybe a dozen steps away from the mine’s entrance when a slight tremor ran through the ground. Aiden immediately stopped, his body tense and head cocked slightly to one side. There was no further movement, so he took one more cautious step.

  It was one too many.

  Without warning, the earth gave way, and we were falling into darkness.

  Chapter Nine

  Even as we plunged down, Aiden somehow twisted in midair and grabbed at the pit wall. His fingers found purchase and he instantly reached for me. His hand locked around my arm and a grunt of effort escaped his lips—a sound I echoed as I came to an abrupt stop. For several heartbeats, we gently swung back and forth. I didn’t dare breathe, and my heart hammered like crazy. I stared at the crumbling edge of shoring he was holding on to, waiting for that moment when it gave way and plunged us both into darkness.

  A darkness that was very, very deep, given the stone and dirt that had fallen with us had yet to hit the bottom.

  Lizzie, what in hell—

  Not the time, Belle. Chat later.

  “I need you to grab the plank closest to you and swing your weight onto it.” Aiden’s words were little more than a hiss of air, and beads of sweat had broken out across his forehead.

  “Will it hold my weight?” I said, even as I reached for it.

  “It’s got more hope of holding your weight right now than I have.”

  As if to emphasize this, his grip slipped and I dropped an inch or two before he caught me again, this time at the wrist. His “Hurry, Liz,” was little more than a pant of air.

  I quickly dug my fingers into the soft soil behind the plank in an effort to get a better grip. The entire length of it shuddered and bits flaked off. But for the moment, at least, it held. I pulled myself closer, and managed to wedge one shoe into the small space between two horizontal boards. It didn’t make me feel any safer. Didn’t make me feel any further away from death.

  I repeated the process with my other foot, but the wood crumbled as my weight went onto it and my shoe slipped. The abrupt shift in position and weight sent me twisting around, wrenching my shoulder and undoubtedly Aiden’s. He hissed but didn’t say anything.

  He didn’t need to.

  Ignoring the panic pulsing through me, I tried again, this time reaching a little further along the plank. It held.

  “Ready for release?” Aiden asked.

  Hell, no. My knuckles went white as I instinctively tightened my grip over the old bit of wood.

  Then I nodded.

  Aiden immediately released me and lunged for his section of shoring with his now free hand. I did the same, grabbing the brace so fiercely that splinters dug into my skin and fingernails. Pain flared, but it was totally drowned in fear.

  I closed my eyes, my body shaking with the effort of holding on. Dirt, stones, and small bits of wood rained around me as Aiden began to climb. I wanted to follow, but fear held me locked in place.

  After a few minutes, there was a grunt of effort and the shower of debris briefly increased before lessening again.

  “Hang on, Liz. I won’t be long.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” It came out little more than a hoarse whisper, but it was a sound that echoed ominously.

  His footsteps ran away from the shaft. After several overly fast heartbeats, a long, loud howl cut across the silence, the sound of desperation and urgency. Aiden might be calling for help, but would it come fast enough to be of any use?

  More soil came down. I forced my eyes open and looked up. Half of Aiden’s body now hung over the shaft’s edge, but he wasn’t anywhere near close enough to grab me. He threw his belt—which was wrapped around one wrist—down, but it, too, fell short.

  “You’re going to have to climb.”

  “I’m not sure—”

  “You’re strong enough to do it,” he cut in. “Believe it, and do it.”

  Believing wouldn’t help one little bit if the damn bracing gave way, and that was a serious possibility given the heavy smell of rot in the air.

  But what other choice did I have? Remaining locked in position until my arms gave out wasn’t any more appealing. I swore under my breath and studied the next board. It was wet and fragile-looking, but the board above it was just beyond my reach. I tightened my grip on the current slab of wood then carefully stretched up and pulled on the next one to see if it crumbled. It didn’t, so I gripped it tight then shifted one foot. Once it was securely in place, I stepped my other hand and leg up. One plank down. Plenty more to go.

  It was a nerve-rackingly slow process, and one that quickly took a toll. Neither my strength nor my legs had fully recovered from the blast, and even Belle’s potion wasn’t stopping the latter from expressing their displeasure rather strongly. And my arms were beginning to join in on that particular chorus.

  But even worse was the fact that the shaft’s edge was beginning to crumble under Aiden’s weight. He hadn’t yet pushed back to avoid being dropped into the shaft again, but he would soon have to.

  Desperation surged and I lunged for the next beam. It fell apart as soon as I touched it, and for one terrifying instant, momentum threw me backward. My grip on the lower board held, and I quickly pulled myself back to the wall, sucking in great gulps of air and trying not to think about what might have happened.

  “Aiden? What the fuck is happening? Are you okay?” The voice was male, but not one I recognized.

  “If you’ve got the climbing gear in your truck, René, go get it,” Aiden said. “And hurry.”

  I didn’t hear the other wolf leave—my heart was still pounding far too loudly.

  “How secure is the shoring you’re hanging on to?” Aiden asked.

  I glanced up and was immediately greeted by another shower of dirt. “Secure enough, I think—why?”

  “Then stay where you are,” he said, and pulled back.

  I closed my eyes and prayed to whatever gods or spirits might be listening to give him help. I didn’t want to die. Not now, not in this place.

  Die? Belle mentally screamed. What the hell—

  Still not a good time. I need all my concentration and strength right now—

  So why haven’t you tapped my strength?

  Because that’s not that sort of strength I need. It’s okay, Aiden’s working on the problem.

  Then tell him to get his rear into gear!

  Trust me, he is.

  Even as I said that, dirt showered down again. I looked up through narrowed eyes to see Aiden slip over the edge and rappel toward me, one hand controlling his rope while he held a second in the other.

  “I have never been so glad to see anyone in my entire life,” I muttered.

  He stopped beside me, but his smile was quick and tense. “Let’s get this around you.”

  He wrapped the other rope around my waist and tied it securely. “Okay, slow and steady, René.”

  The slack was taken up and the rope around my waist tightened. “Grab the rope, brace your feet against the wall, and climb. René will keep a steady tension and he won’t let you fall, no matter what.”

  I nodded, released one hand to grab the rope, and then repeated the process with the other. Step by slow step, I climbed. Aiden paced me, keeping close and offering encouragement. When we reached the shaft’s rim, I threw one leg over, hauled myself up in a somewhat ungainly fashion, then scrambled to my feet and ran for t
he trees, where I collapsed onto my knees and let reaction set in.

  Another howl bit across the silence—this one shorter and holding no urgency. Then Aiden was beside me, gathering me in his arms and holding me close.

  “It’s okay,” he said softly, his breath warm as it brushed past my ear. “We’re okay.”

  “I know,” I said through the tears and hiccups. “It’s just the relief.”

  “If this is relief, I’d hate to see happiness.” I could hear his amusement even if I couldn’t see it. “And I think my shirt is going to need a serious wringing out.”

  I laughed, as he’d no doubt intended, and pulled back a little. As I did, he shifted one hand from my back to my waist and brushed the moisture away from my cheeks with the other. His fingers were warm against my skin, his touch gentle. I licked my lips and tried to ignore the flick of desire, only to have any hope of control shattered as his gaze followed the movement and became heated. Between one heartbeat and another, the desire to resist—to not get involved with anyone else again—fled. All I could think of—all I wanted—was to kiss this man. I leaned forward imperceptibly and, in a moment of perfect synchronicity, our lips met, the kiss a teasing promise of heat and possibilities.

  And that’s all it was.

  He pulled away so abruptly that the cold afternoon air hit my face as sharply as a slap. I blinked as his eyes lost their heat and his expression settled into one of careful neutrality. Annoyance surged, but at my own moment of weakness rather than his sharp retreat.

  What the hell was I thinking? It wasn’t as if he hadn’t made his opinion of me clear. I might have seen desire—might have even felt it—but it was surely nothing more than relief. Nothing more than a brief need to affirm life after such a close brush with death.

  Footsteps approached and it was only then I remembered we weren’t alone. I glanced around. The man approaching was shorter and broader of shoulder than most wolves, with dark reddish hair and brown skin.

  I smiled up at him as he stopped beside us. “Thank you so much for helping rescue—”

  “There’s no need for that,” he cut in. “You’re just lucky I happened to be in the area.” He held out his hand. “I’m René Marin.”

  I smiled and shook his hand. “Lizzie Grace.”

  “The witch who owns the new café with the amazing cakes?”

  Interestingly, there was no rancor in his question, and definitely no underlying distaste. The O’Connors might hold witches in very low regard, but it appeared the other packs didn’t.

  My smile grew. “The very one. Next time you’re near, drop in. Cake and coffee will be on the house.”

  “That’s an offer no sensible man could resist.” His gaze shifted to Aiden. “You need anything else?”

  “Just the flashlight, if you don’t mind.”

  René nodded. “I’ll be back in five.”

  Aiden nodded, then rose. He undid the climbing gear then offered me his hand, his grip decidedly impersonal. Obviously, that very brief slip toward attraction was not going to happen again.

  It should have made me happy, and yet, it didn’t.

  Nor should it, given you’re both fighting what is ultimately unavoidable—

  Says who? I cut in.

  Says me after seeing the unspoken—and certainly up until this point, unacknowledged—desire surging between the pair of you, Belle said. Oh, and color me ecstatic that you’re safe. But if you can avoid such calamities in the future, I’d appreciate it. I’m far too young for gray hairs.

  Idiot. To Aiden, I said, “Did you have any idea René was in the area, or was that call simply a wide cry for help?”

  “The latter, but I was hoping he was close.” He untied the rope from my waist and began to roll it up. “He’s been reworking one of the old mines a couple of miles further down for some weeks now.”

  “Why would a werewolf work an old mine?”

  “There’s still plenty of gold in these hills, and these days we have better methods of finding it than they did back in the gold rush heyday.” He shrugged. “A lot of folks also use metal detectors around the tailings, with various degrees of success.”

  “And here I was thinking this reservation was one of the richer ones.”

  “It is, thanks to all the tourists coming to the mineral springs,” he said. “But no matter what you or others might think, the three packs here aren’t lolling around getting fat on the profits. Nearly all of it is plowed back into the reservation, and most of us work.”

  I raised my eyebrows at the bite in his tone, and said mildly, “Generalizations suck, don’t they?”

  He stared at me for a beat then a somewhat rueful smile touched his lips. “I guess they do.”

  It wasn’t an apology, but it was probably as close as I was likely to get. I crossed my arms and turned to study the mine. “Is it normal for a vertical shaft to be so close to the entrance of a horizontal one?”

  “This entire area is littered with both, and yes, some of them are dangerously close.” He shrugged. “Safety wasn’t much cared about in the heady days of the gold rush.”

  “Meaning there might be another shaft between the one we fell into and the entrance of the horizontal one?”

  “No, not in this case,” René said, as he came back into the clearing. “But you were both damn lucky not to be killed. Flooding was the reason both shafts were eventually abandoned, and old Cutter’s has a hundred-foot drop into water.”

  Which meant that while the fall itself might not have killed us, getting out might have been next to impossible, given the timbers closer to the water would surely be rotten by now. And a shaft that deep might mute any cry for help made.

  Aiden handed René all the climbing gear then took the flashlight with a nod of thanks. “How far into the mountain does the horizontal shaft go?”

  “A couple of hundred feet, at least.” René wrinkled his nose. “It isn’t pleasant in there, though.”

  “We’re not going in there for the scenery.”

  René’s grin flashed. “I guess not, given neither of you have anything near the proper equipment. You want me to stick around, just in case something else goes awry?”

  Aiden hesitated. “Yes, if you can. I’d hate to risk being trapped again.”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem. The place is wet but pretty solid.”

  “So a gunshot isn’t likely to cause any problem?”

  Speculation rose in René’s eyes, but all he said was, “No.”

  “Good.” Aiden glanced at me. “Ready?”

  “No, but that’s irrelevant.”

  “You don’t have to go in—”

  “Just because I haven’t felt anything untoward doesn’t mean it isn’t here, Aiden. Whether I like it or not, I have to go on.”

  Unsurprisingly, he didn’t argue. I followed him across the clearing, watching every step as we skirted around the still-disintegrating edges of the vertical shaft. Aiden flicked on the flashlight as we stopped at the entrance of the horizontal shaft, and swept the beam across the darkness. There was nothing to see other than old wooden beams and rough-cut stone walls that glistened with moisture.

  “I can’t smell anything other than wood rot and mold,” he said. “There’s nothing to indicate our Mason is close.”

  “He probably wouldn’t be stored this near to the entrance.” It might have made things easier for both our vampire and us, but the risk of discovery would also have been greater, especially if magic wasn’t being used to distort the stench of Mason’s rotting flesh.

  Aiden stepped carefully into the mine. In the distance, water dripped, a melodious sound that oddly matched the soft echo of our footsteps. I rubbed my arms against the chill of the place and did my best to ignore the damp smell of rot that pervaded the air.

  As we moved deeper into the mountain, the tunnel began to slope downward and the ground became slippery. I brushed my fingers against the rough wall to help keep balance, and tried to ignore the trailing
touch of moss and who knows what else.

  After several more minutes, we came to a T-intersection. Aiden stopped and swung the flashlight’s beam in both directions. The tunnel to our right dropped sharply and disappeared into dark, still water. The one on the left came to an end about twenty feet in.

  Leaning against that rear wall, his flesh putrid and crawling with bugs and larvae, was the thing that had once been Mason Redfern.

  I might have thought I was prepared for the reality of a zombie, but I’d been very, very wrong.

  “Fuck,” Aiden whispered. “I knew it would be unpleasant, but this—”

  “Is unforgivable,” I finished for him.

  What had been done to Karen was bad enough, but she’d at least willingly injected vampire blood, even if she’d had no idea that the man who was guiding her through the process—a man she thought cared for her—was only using her to destroy her mother.

  But this… this was flesh without life, without heart or soul. It was a crime against nature itself, and one for which there could be no forgiveness.

  I could understand the vampire’s desire to lash out at those who had hurt him, but no child should have to pay for the sins of their parents.

  And the fact that Mason was made me so damn angry it was all I could do to resist the urge to race out of here—to somehow find the monster responsible for this and end it. End him.

  Aiden swept the light slowly around the small chamber. “Are you seeing any signs of magic?”

  “No, but there has to be something here, as we should be smelling Mason’s rot given how close we are.”

  “I think it’s something of an understatement to say I’m glad we’re not.” The flashlight’s beam centered on Mason again. “So, a head shot?”

  His voice was matter-of-fact, but there was something underneath it, a timbre that spoke of abhorrence—both at what had been done, and what he now had to do.

  I nodded, my mouth suddenly dry. Mason’s head did have to be removed, and not just to stop the vampire from using him again, but also for the safety and sanity of his parents. They’d already gone through enough heartache—they didn’t need to know their child’s remains had been given life via magic so he could be used as a weapon against them.