Blood and Sand

  The old vampire didn’t even see it coming.

  The wind walker fell with a gust that lifted the dust around him. He snarled, his fangs dripping blood from a previous kill. Baojia shoved Natalie back and scrambled out of the tunnel.

  “Behind you!” He reached into his open pockets and grabbed the twin short swords, pulling them out as he launched himself toward the attacking vampire. Tulio had already dropped the girl and turned at Baojia’s warning. The wind vampire shot into the air, spreading his arms like some mad bird of prey. He hissed and swooped in the air, angling himself toward the girl lying on the ground.

  Baojia stopped and watched him for a second. This creature was already half out of its mind with bloodlust, forgetting the twin threats of two other immortals, his eyes locked on the human. He dove from the air, arms outstretched toward her as Baojia leapt. The elixired blood had captured the vampire and he saw nothing else.

  Reaching out, Baojia slashed at the vampire, the cut throwing his opponent to the ground as he reached out for any strength the dry desert air offered him. There was little to be had, so he gripped his sword and threw himself toward the mad immortal who had taken to the air again, his eyes still following the unconscious girl.

  “Get her out of here,” Baojia hissed. “Get my woman and the girl out of here.”

  “You’ll take care of him?”

  Another swoop downward and another slash at the soft midsection of his attacker. “I’ll be fine. Go.”

  The wind vampire’s eyes darted away from them and toward more cries out in the desert. The sounds of the hunt were everywhere. Women screamed. Vampires snarled. The scent of blood drifted on the wind. Baojia had to end the fight before he lost control of his own lust or attracted more attention.

  Leaping up, he flipped over his opponent as the vampire dove after the retreating Tulio. Baojia landed on the

  monster’s back. The creature was strong but distracted. He tossed one weapon to the ground and grabbed for his opponent’s long hair, pulling it back to reveal his soft, vulnerable throat. His enemy had just started juhe monsto let out a frustrated scream when Baojia sliced his sword back, taking off the vampire’s head with a clean stroke. He tossed it over the rise of a hill and kicked the body to the side before he reached down and grabbed his sword. He took only a second to clean the blade on the dead vampire’s shirt before he walked back toward the tunnel. Tulio and Natalie were still there with the unconscious girl. Natalie’s eyes were glued to the blood that had sprayed over his chest.

  “I couldn’t get her to leave you here,” Tulio complained. “She’s far more stubborn than mine.”

  He didn’t say a word, just tore his borrowed pants a little more at the thighs and sheathed his blades before he turned his back to Natalie. After a second of hesitation, she hopped on and wrapped her legs around his waist. Baojia grabbed on and said, “Let’s go.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  She watched him wash in the small basin Cirilda had provided when they returned to Tulio’s cave. The girl was still unconscious but safely stowed in a locked room that only Tulio and Cirilda could enter. Baojia had taken Natalie by the arm and led her to his own chamber before leaving to return with a basin of clear water to wash up. He had let her wash first before stripping off the borrowed clothes, still silently stewing about something.

  “Are you brooding?”

  “No,” he said quietly. “I am thinking. I don’t brood.”

  The drip and splash of the water echoed off the smooth walls. He dipped the washcloth in, then covered his face, wiping away the grime that had accumulated as they traveled under the earth. He wet the cloth again, and Natalie rose from the bed in the corner. Cirilda had loaned her one of Tulio’s shirts, which fell to her knees. She padded over to Baojia and reached around to grab the washcloth from his hands, trying to ignore the red stains from the blood he washed away.

  “I’ll get your back.”

  “Thank you.”

  The tense muscles began to relax under her fingers as she smoothed the washcloth over his shoulders. “What are you thinking about?”

  He was silent for a few more minutes, standing still as she rinsed out the cloth to wash around his neck and the backs of his ears. “I am thinking… those women did not deserve to die.”

  Natalie bit her lip to keep from crying. “We saved one.”

  “Yes. But not the others. This has to end. I cannot bring it to Ernesto at this point, but it has to end. Too many have already died, and I have done nothing to prevent it. I think my own brother may be involved, and I didn’t see it. This should not have gone on as long as it has.”

  She had a vision of him, flying out of the cave toward Tulio and the girl, leaping in the air to slash at the monstrous creature that had come after them. The thing had scarcely looked human, and it had moved so fast, Natalie could barely see it. She hadn’t seen much of the fight, it was dark and they moved too fast, but she had seen Baojia end it, ruthlessly cutting off the head of the monster and tossing it aside as he used the dead vampire’s shirt to clean the blade that had killed him.

  And yet, here he stood, thinking not about the girl he had rescued, but the ones he had not.

  “I think you’re much harder on yourself than anyone else.” She lifted an arm to clean along his side.

  “I don’t compare myself to others. That’s useless.”

  “But you ex juhe.

  “I expect,” he said, spinning around, “to protect those I am responsible for. To cause as little harm as is possible for one of my kind. And I expect you to take off that shirt because it smells like Tulio and, as much as I like the man, I do not want his scent on your body.”

  She blinked and looked down at the shirt. “Are you serious?”

  “Very.”

  “I don’t have anything else to sleep in.”

  “I don’t care.” Then a smile touched his lips. “And it’s hardly necessary, is it? I’ve seen every freckle.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m not being modest. It’s cold down here.”

  “The shirt, Natalie.”

  “Fine.” She was already blushing when she pulled it over her head and tossed it in the corner. “Happy?” Her face was on fire.

  “Yes.” He gave her a smug look before turning around again. “Could you get between my shoulders now?”

  “You ass!” She laughed and slapped at him with the washcloth, happy that he seemed to be coming out of his mood. She pressed against his back and let one hand trail down his stomach as she dipped into the basin again. “Between your shoulders, huh?”

  His breath hitched at the feel of her fingers. “Among other places.”

  She smiled against his back. His skin was alive. The hair on her arm rose simply by touching him.

  “You’re a good man,” she whispered. “I won’t believe otherwise.”

  “Natalie—”

  “Shhh.” She saw his head fall forward and heard him groan as her hand slid beneath his waistband. “Let me take care of you for once.”

  Natalie was lying in his arms, drifting off to sleep after their very long night, when she heard him.

  “Natalie?”

  Her eyes were closed, but she answered, “Hmm?”

  “Talk to me about your job.”

  She pulled away from the hypnotic feel of his skin and rubbed her eyes. “Well, I’m going to run out of personal days soon. I was supposed to be following this story on my own time, with the backing of the paper, but still on my own time. I have court cases to report on. Regular crimes. Local politics. Stuff like that. I’m sure Kristy’s probably pissed at me, but she can’t do anything about it because I have so much personal time saved up.”

  He trailed a finger up and down her arm. “And what about when it runs out?”

  She had a feeling he wasn’t really all that interested in her job. “What do you really want to know, Baojia?”

  He reached for her and pulled her to lie on his chest. “You are under my person
al aegis,” he said quietly. “But I cannot stay in Southern California. Not while my sire rules here.”

  She froze. Natalie knew he had quit his position in his father’s business, or organization, or whatever it was. But she hadn’t realized he would have to leave.

  “So what does that mean? Explain it to me.”

  “It means I am responsible for you. Both for your actions and your safety. But you live here. And I cannot stay here.”

  “You’re saying if I did something any vampire considered a threat that you would be the one responsible?” She looked away. “That’s… medieval.”

  “Yes.” He pressed gentle fingers to her face so that fa

  Natalie forced back the tears. She didn’t want to cry while she was looking at him, but the crushing sense of loss was almost overwhelming. Once again, she felt like she was losing everything. “What are you asking me, Baojia?”

  The insistent fingers on her cheek turned soft and soothing. “You have family in Northern California. Could you—”

  “I don’t talk to my dad. Maybe once a year.”

  “Why?”

  She rolled away from him. He tried to grab her, but she pushed him away. “Don’t.”

  His voice held an irritated edge. “What do you want to know about my life that I haven’t told you? Ask me, right now, and I’ll answer.”

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. He was right. As many questions as she had asked, he had been forthcoming about his past. And he knew nothing about her.

  “Your father is a police officer.”

  Her eyes flew to his. “How did you—”

  “Guesswork, mostly. At the bar, the way the retired officers talked to you… It made sense.”

  “Yeah.” Somehow, it made it easier that he already knew part of it. “He was a detective in Oakland. That’s where I grew up.”

  “I remember. And your mother?”

  “My mom was not a cop.” She took a deep breath and forced out a rueful laugh. “She was a mom, mostly. And a writer. A poet. She’d been published a few times. She and my dad were complete opposites. He was the strict cop, she was the hippy poet who did yoga and wore caftans to PTA meetings.”

  His voice softened and he moved closer. “You loved her.”

  “We both adored her.” She tried not to tense when he touched her shoulder. “My parents had a great marriage. We had a good life.”

  “What happened? Your mother is dead?”

  “There was… this homeless man in our neighborhood. Well, there were lots of homeless people, but she always took Oscar food because he usually stayed around our corner. She helped him find a shelter when it got cold. Tried to help him find work here and there. He was a vet, I think.” Natalie frowned. “He had a lot of… issues he never got the right help for. But Mom always said we were all someone’s child and some people just needed an extra hand sometimes. That’s the way she was.”

  “She sounds like a very fine woman.”

  “She was. She was the best.”

  “This Oscar…” His voice was soft and coaxing. “Did he hurt her?”

  “He was harmless, mostly. Everyone in the neighborhood knew him. Helped him out a little. But he adored my mom. Called her his angel.”

  “What happened?” Baojia had moved behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, slowly drawing her back to his chest and covering her with one of the blankets on the bed.

  “She would let him in the house to take a shower when he got really dirty. Dad told her not to do that, but I know she did when he needed it and couldn’t find room at a shelter. One day, my dad picked me up from school and we went home.” She started trembling. “And… Dad went in the kitchen. She was there. He had killed her with a kitchen knife.”

  “Oh, Natalie.” He whispered her name and rocked her back and forth. She felt numb, relating the story as if it was just another shest 18" was reporting. She put her hands on his arms as they held her.

  “My dad… he kind of lost it. He, uh, he left me with a neighbor to call 911 and went looking for Oscar, but the thing was, Oscar wasn’t even trying to hide. He was sitting on the corner covered in her blood, sleeping. A hundred people must have walked past him, but no one asked why he was covered in blood. And when Dad picked him up and shoved him against the wall, screaming, he didn’t even know why. Mr. Pak, who had the market across the street, told me Oscar kept saying, ‘Where’s my angel, Mr. Ellis? You seen my angel today?’”

  “He didn’t know he’d killed her?”

  She shrugged. “The doctors think he had a psychotic break. He hadn’t taken his medication in a while and he had no idea what he’d done. Had no memory of it. When the police finally got there and put him in the car, he was sobbing. They put him on suicide watch, but he killed himself a few months later.”

  Baojia had his arms wrapped so tightly around her that she was beginning to wonder if breathing would become an issue.

  “And your father?”

  “He just… broke. We moved out of Oakland. Left the city. He commuted in for work, and I switched schools. But mostly he disappeared unless he was lecturing me about my safety. He got super-protective. I’m sure he was worried about losing me to something random, too.”

  “How old were you?”

  “I was fifteen when she died. As you can imagine, teenage Natalie was a huge fan of all the new rules.”

  He let up the pressure on her ribcage and ran a hand over her hair. “I’m sure you drove him crazy.”

  “Well, I was looking for a reaction.” The pressure around her heart eased a little with his touch. “And I got it.” She finally turned to him. “You say I can be reckless, but the thing is, there is evil in this world. It’s a broken, broken place sometimes. It can be obvious, like Ivan. But sometimes it doesn’t even know it’s evil. Sometimes it’s random and no matter what you do, it will find you. So I don’t want to live my life worrying about my safety. I can’t, Baojia, because even if I do everything right, even if I followed every one of my dad’s rules, or your rules, or any rules… the bad might still find me like it found my mom. That girl you rescued tonight probably wasn’t looking for trouble, but it found her. I want to live my life fearlessly and help other people without worrying about myself, because even after what happened to her, I think that’s what my mom would have wanted. Does that make sense?”

  He was frowning, staring at her hard, as if he was memorizing her face. “It does make sense. Even if I don’t like it.”

  She forced out a wobbly smile. “Be scared. Live anyway.”

  Baojia drew her back toward the pillows and she could feel him start to slow down. “Rest with me. Sleep. I’m sorry I asked you to share all this tonight. It’s already been upsetting enough.”

  “It’s okay.” Strangely, it was. Lying at his side, Natalie felt peace. She felt safe with him, safer than she’d felt in many, many years. “It happened a long time ago. I can remember the good things now.”

  “I’m sorry you don’t speak with your father,” he whispered. “You should have been a comfort to each other.”

  “The dad I grew up with left at fifteen when my mom was killed. He never really came back from that kitchen after he went in. I escaped as soon as I could. Southern California was as far away as I could handle.”

  “And you’d never consider going back?”ackescaped a

  “To Oakland?” She shook her head, remembering the streets of her hometown like she’d been there yesterday. “No, I don’t want to. I don’t want to live with ghosts. Dad moved back, eventually. But I couldn’t.”

  “What about somewhere else? Somewhere north?”

  She paused, trying to measure his intent. “What are you saying?”

  “I promised to keep you safe, Natalie.”

  “So I’m just supposed to follow you?” Her heart rate began to pick up again. Was it fear? Excitement? A combination of both? “I’m just supposed to leave my whole life here and follow—”

  “Who said you wou
ld follow me?” he offered casually. His voice was drowsy as dawn approached. “I could follow you. There’s a possibility that a move to Northern California or the Pacific Northwest would be an option for me. Even welcome.”

  “But—”

  “I’m just asking you to think about it.”

  Think about it. She could do that. Sure, she’d only known him for a few weeks, so why didn’t that seem insane?

  “I’ll think about it.” She settled down at his side as he squeezed her shoulders, her eyes already feeling heavy. “But if I can’t—”

  “Natalie, when I offered my loyalty, it was not with conditions. Now sleep.”

  “But—”

  “Sleep.”

  The events of the night started to ambush her, and she felt her eyes droop. “Bossy.”

  “You love it.”

  Natalie sighed and closed her eyes. “Yeah, George. I think I might.”

  The girl was named Rosa and she was frightened, looking to Cirilda for reassurance as Baojia and Natalie questioned her. Baojia’s Spanish was better than hers, but with over a hundred years to practice, she’d be kind of annoyed if it wasn’t.

  “Where did you come from?” he asked.

  “It’s a small town near Ensenada,” Rosa said. “No one has ever heard of it.”

  Natalie saw his nose twitch and knew he was scenting the girl’s blood, even though he’d taken hers at nightfall.

  “Do you remember what happened?”

  She shook her head, then frowned. “Maybe a little? I remember walking at night to my grandmother’s house. I was taking her and my mother food because my grandmother has been sick. So I cooked dinner for my brothers and then took some food to my mother and grandmother.”

  “But you didn’t get there?”