Flight From Death

  “Watch for the junction, please. This road will turn into 307, and Highway 104 will turn to the right. We need to take that fork, or our drive is going to be a whole lot longer.” Alex flipped the windshield wipers to high.

  I peered out the window, but by the time I saw the sign leading to the turnoff, so had Alex. We swung right on the easy, broad curve and once again found ourselves on a two-lane road. Before long, I could see the glint of the port coming in from between the heavy tree line, especially in the areas that houses hugged the waterline. Then we were deep into the woods again. The farther along we went, the more I sensed something watching us. It didn’t feel specifically focused—it wasn’t watching us because of who we were . . . but because we were moving through its territory. Uncomfortable, I shifted in my seat.

  Ralph leaned forward. “I have to take a leak, Alex.”

  I groaned. “You can’t hold it?”

  “Not unless Alex wants the backseat to have a wet spot.”

  Alex grumbled but motioned ahead. “There’s a turnoff up ahead where we can park. The bushes will have to make do for now.” He swerved to the right, coming to park against a broken rusty gate attempting to barricade a trail leading down to what I assumed was the port.

  Ralph leaped out of the car and headed for the nearest pile of brush.

  Alex turned to me and grinned. “Hope the boy doesn’t get himself stuck in a pile of stinging nettles. Welts like that could ruin his fun for a while to come.”

  I snickered. “Yeah, it really could.” Shading my eyes with my hand, I stared at the faint gleam of water coming through the trees. If I hadn’t been dragon, I might not have been able to catch the shimmer, but the water was so near I could taste it on my tongue. “Mind if I walk down there for a moment? I won’t be long.”

  Alex muttered something under his breath, but then motioned for me to get out of the car. “Go on, but don’t be long and don’t go off the path. And watch out. As I said, there are creatures in these woods . . . creatures that don’t like intruders of any kind.”

  I slipped away from the car, softly shutting the door behind me. As I headed around the broken gate, I could hear Ralph finishing up his business behind a bush. A moment later, he was walking beside me.

  “Mind if I come along?” He shivered, pulling his Windbreaker tighter against the blowing rain and wind.

  “Sure.” Actually, I was glad for the company. I wasn’t really afraid—after all, dragon. Not so much can hurt us. But Alex’s warning stuck in my head and my ego wasn’t so big to think that I was invulnerable. Especially in human form, and especially since I could only change into my dragon form underwater.

  The path wasn’t all that long. We broke out of the tree line to find ourselves on an open stretch of land. The trail led to an embankment overlooking the water. It was hard to estimate how far down it was, but I decided it wasn’t a good idea to attempt a recon mission. As we stood there, I glanced over at a thicket of trees.

  “Can you feel them? Something’s watching us.”

  “Yeah, I’ve felt them since we started. I don’t know what they are—not Supes in the sense of you, or me. They feel almost . . . alien. Also, there are a lot of ghosts. Did you know that Port Gamble is the most haunted city in Washington State? We’re almost there.” He shifted from one foot to the other. For a werewolf, he really was fidgety. “Shimmer, Earthside is a lot different than your home. I think . . . in the Dragon Reaches, you expect things to be a certain way because they’ve always been that way. But here, there are so many variables. Never take anything for granted here. And don’t take anything at face value.” He punctuated his warning with a smile, but it still felt like a warning.

  I exhaled slowly, realizing that I’d been holding my breath for the past couple minutes. The skin on my arms had puckered into goose bumps, and the hair was standing up on the back of my neck. “What do you think lives out here?”

  He shrugged. “Out on the peninsula? Old things . . . older than me—older than even you. Bigfoot lives here—Sasquatch. He’s not from this planet, at least that’s what a lot of Supes believe. And he’s dangerous if you get too close. But there are things that make even Bigfoot look like your best buddy. When we’re hanging around Port Townsend? It’s best if you don’t engage the local entities too much. We don’t want them pinning a target on your back.” And with that, he turned on his heel and headed back to the car.

  I jogged to catch up to him, thrusting my hands in my pockets. My breath came out in little white puffs thanks to the cold. “Ralph . . . what’s the real reason Alex and Patrick had a falling-out? I think I know Alex well enough by now to figure out it wasn’t over a thousand bucks.”

  Ralph glanced at me, then stopped before we were within earshot of the car. “I’m not positive, but Bette told me that Alex and Patrick were like brothers. Patrick was still alive at the time, and Alex liked him a lot. Then Patrick got sick and asked Alex to turn him into a vampire. Alex refused. He didn’t want to be responsible. Patrick broke off the friendship and apparently found another vamp to help him.”

  “Sick . . . as in . . .”

  “Sick as in terminal. Patrick didn’t want to die, and he wanted to be turned before he wasted away. Bette says he was diagnosed with aplastic anemia. They aren’t sure what triggered it—this was a long time ago. But he was dying.” Ralph glanced at the woods. “We’re being watched very carefully.”

  “I know, I can feel it.” I could also hear the sounds of something moving around in the bushes. Whatever it was, was incredibly quiet. If I’d been human, I might not have noticed the noise. But the creep factor was incredibly high and I realized that I was shivering. “Here’s a thought: Let’s get back to the car and lock the doors.”

  “I like that thought.” Ralph started to jog again, and I followed. A moment later, we came to the gate and hurried to the Range Rover. I slammed my door, locking it, and reached for my seat belt with a sigh of relief.

  Alex searched my face. “You find out what you wanted to find out?” He turned the ignition key and we eased back onto the rain-soaked road.

  I gazed out into the dark night. “Mostly, I guess.” But inside, I realized that I wasn’t even sure what it was I’d been searching for.

  • • •

  Before long, the forest opened out and we could see houses to the left and the port to the right. In the daylight, it was probably lovely. At night, there was a definite small-town weirdness factor. From what I could tell, the houses were historical in look. Most were probably as old as they appeared to be. I’d have to see them in the daytime to know for sure, but from what I could tell, they seemed to be kept up to snuff with almost fanatical attention.

  As we slowed to match the speed limit of the town, I realized that I was seeing wispy figures along the roadside—every now and then one would pass by us.

  “Is anybody else seeing—” I paused, not wanting to sound like a fruitcake.

  “People in the mist? Yeah.” Ralph was breathing heavier, and he leaned against the window as we came to what appeared to be the center of town. Not much farther, the land would end at the water’s edge, but before we reached the shore, Highway 104 turned west and we curved with it. Another few minutes and we’d passed through what there was of the tiny city, and were back into woodland.

  I turned to Alex. “How much longer before we reach Port Townsend?”

  “We’ll be coming to the Hood Canal Bridge in just a couple of minutes, and once we cross that—another half hour. Maybe forty minutes, given the rain.”

  I grimaced. “I really botched things with the ferry over in Coupeville. I’m sorry.”

  Ralph pulled out his iPad. A moment later, he said, “Not really. Even I didn’t know you need reservations on it, and obviously, neither did Alex. From what it says here on the Washington State Ferries app, the next sailing that we’d even have a chance of making would have been the last one. The stats here say it was full. So if we had waited, we’d still have had t
o turn around and come this route.”

  I flashed him a grateful smile and he winked at me.

  Alex noticed the interplay because he let out a chuckle. “Could have been worse, love. As it is, we’ll reach the High Tide B and B before midnight, so no harm, no foul. It’s not like Patrick’s waiting on us so he can go to bed. At least not till sunrise.”

  The Hood Canal Bridge, like the 520 over Lake Washington, was another floating bridge. Western Washington seemed to make good use of the pontoon bridges and had at least two of the world’s longest.

  “You do realize this bridge went down in 1979?” Alex grinned as Ralph let out a grumble.

  “Wonderful. And yes, I just try to forget it. At least, if history repeated itself tonight, Shimmer would be fine. She could just shift and come up on the shore with no problem. I, on the other hand, am not quite so fond of swimming, especially in frigid temperatures.”

  “That’s okay, Ralph. I’d save you.” I was beginning to realize just how much Alex enjoyed teasing his staff, though I’d never seen him be cruel about it. In fact, if I was honest with myself, he got on my nerves mostly because I hadn’t wanted to admit my attraction to him. The vampire had a wicked sense of humor and enjoyed using it.

  Ralph, on the other hand, was staring suspiciously out the window at the water.

  The bridge felt narrow as it stretched into the darkness. Even the streetlights that illuminated the roadway could barely pierce the fog that had risen to wash across the area. It only took us a few minutes to cross the span, which stretched out farther than a mile, but it felt like longer. But then we were on the other side and headed up the interior of the peninsula, and once again, the sense of being watched rested heavily on my shoulders. I distracted myself as much as I could, and finally, half an hour later, we entered the town of Port Townsend.

  • • •

  As we eased into the town, Alex plugged Patrick’s address into the GPS he had his Range Rover retrofitted with. “He lives on W Street, right across from the front of Fort Warden State Park.”

  I had done a little reading on Port Townsend, enough to know that the old military fort had been turned into a state park. It sounded like a beautiful place, with access to the beaches where I could take a dive in and swim out enough to shift into my dragon self. I’d have to go at night or early in the morning, to avoid attention, but I was determined that I wouldn’t let this opportunity pass me by.

  Now that we were in the town, I realized I was actually excited. I’d been stuck in the city for months and this was the first time I’d had the chance to see any place over Earthside other than the Seattle area. The forest had been gorgeous. Spooky as hell, but gorgeous. The Dragon Reaches—even the temperate climes of the greens, and the jungles of the red dragons—had a far different feel. They were more open, and far fewer spirits had ever passed through them.

  I leaned forward, examining the houses as we passed by them. Most were dark. By now, it was nearing eleven thirty, but in some of the homes, lights still shone and I could make out that a number of the houses were Victorian in style.

  Walnut Street, which paralleled the water, curved to the left and turned into W Street. To the left were houses; to the right, the street bordered the park. We passed Redwood Street, then Ash, and then Alex swung into a driveway. A hand-carved sign that looked both rustic and artistic at the same time read WELCOME TO THE HIGH TIDE BED & BREAKFAST.

  As we stepped out of the car, the front door opened and a man came out to stand on the porch. His eyes had a faint, pale shine to them. Vampire.

  Ralph hauled his backpack and rolling suitcase out of the back of the Range Rover, then lifted mine out for me. I thanked him and picked it up. Though I wasn’t anywhere near as strong as I was in dragon form, I could more than hold my own in a fight. Lifting a fifty-pound suitcase? I didn’t even blink.

  We followed Alex up to the door where he and Patrick—I assumed it was Patrick—stood, facing each other. After a moment, Patrick gave him a broad smile, fangs and all, and held out his arms.

  “All water under the bridge?” Alex asked, sounding cautious.

  Patrick nodded. “Blood under the bridge, more like it. I let it go a long time ago, bro. And I get why you refused. I understand now.” He flashed Alex a war-weary smile. “I’ve had to say no . . . when I desperately wished I could say yes.”

  Alex moved in then and gave him a guy-hug. The pound-the-back-but-make-no-mistake-we’re-being-manly type of hug.

  Patrick opened the door. “Please, enter, Alex—and your friends.”

  His invitation was a courtesy only. Vampires could enter other vampire domains without an invitation, unlike houses belonging to the living, and they could enter domiciles such as apartments and condo towers and frat or sorority houses. So, even though Patrick hadn’t officially opened as a business yet, and the house was still a private domain, since it belonged to a vampire Alex could come and go as he liked.

  The house was typically Victorian on the outside—huge and at least three stories high. Inside, however, it had been completely renovated. Instead of choppy little rooms, most of the downstairs had been opened up into one giant room that felt spacious and welcoming.

  Seating areas had been arranged so there were several intimate groupings, and yet there was room to create a semicircle of chairs for a larger gathering. The dining table was obviously custom made. An extra-long picnic table—only far less rustic—it had long benches on either side. The table could easily sit fourteen. The benches had been cushioned, just enough to keep the polished wood from being too hard on the backside.

  I set down my suitcase and looked around. It was gorgeous, but as I stood there, I began to sense something odd in the room, and whatever it was didn’t make me feel very welcome.

  “Let me take you to your bedrooms. Then we can talk and I’ll fix you something to eat.” Patrick turned to Ralph and me. He had a slick, fun feel to him, and I could easily see how he and Alex had hung out together. Patrick wasn’t as rugged as Alex, but he definitely had an edge. I suspected he’d had it before he was turned.

  Wearing leather pants and a smooth V-neck T-shirt that was a deep cobalt blue, Patrick had shoulder-length curly brown hair and full lips. His eyes shifted toward the blue spectrum, but I suspected they’d originally been brown. Vampires’ eyes always changed to frosty gray and silver over time—the cooler the color, the longer the time as a vamp. And their skin color, even if darker to begin with, faded. It would never fully fade if the vampire had been a person of color before they were turned, but if they’d been Caucasian? Over time, they would become albino. As I studied his looks, I realized that Patrick was pretty hot. He reminded me of a European rock star.

  As I passed by him on my way to the staircase, he leaned close and let out a little purr. “I’m so glad you could come with Alex.”

  I glanced at him, startled. He was hot, all right, and he knew it. I wasn’t immune to vampire glamour, that much I knew from experience.

  “You’re a lovely one. How did you happen to start working for good old Alex?” Patrick’s voice was all golden honey, suggesting so much with so few words.

  Alex quickly intervened, his voice just on the edge of growly. “Shimmer, meet Patrick. Patrick, back off. Shimmer is . . . she’s my associate as well as a blue dragon. She could eat you for dinner without blinking. And I’m not talking about your dick, so get your mind out of your pants.”

  Patrick laughed, just a little edgy. “So she’s yours, is she? No worries. Hands off.”

  Behind me, Ralph shifted uncomfortably. I decided the best tactic was to ignore the testosterone war and be congenial, but play it cool.

  “Alex took me on as a project for the Wing-Liege.” I shrugged. “Apparently, in the Dragon Reaches, I’m considered persona non grata so they sent me Earthside. Basically, I’m indentured to Alex for five years. So when the boss says jump . . .”

  “You jump.” Patrick eased over the words. He glanced over at Alex and I ha
d the feeling something had passed between them. A scuffle or something, but then it vanished and, once again, we were headed up the stairs.

  Ralph and I were given the rooms on the third floor.

  “I still have to furnish the second floor,” Patrick said. “Or rather, re-furnish it. I’ll tell you more about that later.”

  The rooms were spacious. By their size, it was obvious a few walls had been knocked down in order to turn what must have been four bedrooms into two suites. Each room had its own bathroom, and the view from my window overlooked Fort Worden State Park.

  “Put your things away and then join us downstairs. We’ll be in my office or the kitchen. The office is off the hall that leads from the great room back to the kitchen and laundry. Meanwhile, I’ll show Alex to his room—the basement has been fully renovated for my guests who require . . . less sunlight.” Patrick motioned to Alex and they headed downstairs.

  After the two disappeared from sight, I glanced over at Ralph, who sagged against the door. “What do you think of him?” I kept my voice low, just in case Patrick’s hearing was extra-sensitive.

  Ralph shrugged. “You know, I think he’s trustworthy, if a little sleazy. Well, as much as you can get with any vampire. Alex is the only vamp I’d ever really trust. But then again, their kind and my kind have never gotten along very well. I’m not sure where the old feuds began, but you have to bet it was probably over something stupid.”

  I nodded. I was rapidly becoming aware of an entire subset of interactions that I’d never considered before. Supes didn’t figure into the Dragon Reaches any more than humans did.

  “When I really think it over, I really have lived an insular life. Up in the Dragon Reaches there aren’t many other creatures. Oh, cattle, and wild animals, and some of the Northlands folks made their way into our realm and settled there. But I’m beginning to realize that, as a rule, my kind don’t play well with others, let alone with each other. Teamwork isn’t a concept we come by naturally.”