"What just happened? I couldn't move."
"Mencheres is with me," he said, as if that explained it.
My brow rose. "And?"
He dropped one hand but tightened the other. "Come."
I followed Vlad up the narrow steps. Once topside, I saw the Egyptian vampire, also soaking wet, surveying the remains of my captors with detached admiration. Then Mencheres turned, shading his gaze against the bright, mid-morning sun.
"My apologies for using my power on you, Leila. We thought it necessary to immobilize the entire boat in case some of your captors had survived."
You think I wouldn't notice someone else trying to kill me? I thought jadedly.
"One could have jumped overboard and then waited to catch you unawares," Mencheres replied, reminding me that Vlad wasn't the only mind reader on board. "That's why we swam the last few miles. Less to notice when we're under water."
"So you're the reason I felt like I was encased in invisible carbonite?"
The vampire shrugged. "I can control things with my mind," he said, his tone implying that it wasn't a big deal.
With that incredible ability, Vlad should take Mencheres with him on all his rescue missions. All his assaults, too.
A growl made me glance up. Vlad's expression was closed off, reminding me that this wasn't a happy reunion.
"Thank you both for coming," I said, my voice turning businesslike. "The injured people are in the cargo hold and Maximus is in one of the rooms below.
Another ominous sound from Vlad. "I know. I smelled him."
"The humans need blood for healing," I said, ignoring that. "And Maximus needs that silver out of him. He's already showing signs of . . . mental instability."
With that, I headed downstairs, making sure to sing anything that came to mind as I went. Being near Vlad was so much harder than seeing him in a dream. Every emotion I'd tried to suppress resurfaced with pitiless intensity, and that was only how he affected my heart. My hands still tingled from their brief contact with his skin, and if his wet clothes molded any more explicitly to his body, I'd soon smell like eau de slut to any vampire within sniffing distance.
He'll be gone soon, I consoled myself. Then I could go back to burying those traitorous emotions by hunting for Marty's killer. Hannibal said he didn't know who hired him, but a search through the memories in his bones would show if he was lying.
I'd gone into Maximus's room without thinking about it. He lay exactly as he had before, but with one marked difference. His eyes were open, silver streaking them like hideous veins, and they were fixed on a point over my shoulder.
I turned. Vlad was in the doorway behind me. He stared down at Maximus, his face coldly expressionless. Then, almost casually, he withdrew a knife.
Maximus's eyes fluttered shut, either from resignation or insensibleness. Without my even needing to concentrate, a whipcord of electricity shot from my hand.
"You promised!"
Vlad glanced at the glowing strand and his eyes went green.
"Are you threatening me?"
His voice was buttery smooth - and deadly. My gut twisted from a mixture of fear and resolve. He could burn me to death before I snapped this whip, but I wasn't about to back down.
"I am if you're about to break your word."
My wrist was suddenly seized in an iron grip. Any other vampire would've been knocked backward from touching my right hand when it was fully charged, but Vlad absorbed the voltage like it was mere static electricity. Then he leaned down, brushing my hair back with his free hand.
The one that still held a knife.
"I told you before - I dislike being called a liar." Breath from his words fell like the softest of blows against my neck. "But more importantly, if I had decided to go back on my word, you wouldn't be able to stop me."
Just as blindingly fast, he was kneeling in front of Maximus, slicing through that razor wire with brutal efficiency. The cord of electricity I'd summoned curled up into itself before disappearing into my hand like a turtle seeking the shelter of its shell.
No, he'd proved that I couldn't stop him even if his pyrokinesis was out of the equation. At that moment, I felt like exactly what I was: a woman who was in way over her head with the creatures around her. All at once, loneliness overwhelmed me. I didn't belong in the vampire world, but thanks to my own oddities, I didn't fit into the human one, either.
I turned on my heel and left the room. I couldn't do anything about being an outcast in every society that existed, but I could at least let the terrified survivors know that help had arrived at last.
Chapter 17
Mencheres and Vlad stood close together, talking too softly for me to overhear. Still, they stopped as soon as I came back on deck.
Weariness helped me hold back my snort. They weren't even trying to be subtle, were they?
"My associate will be here shortly to transport us," Mencheres stated.
Good. I'd checked on Maximus again, too, since he looked in worse shape than the humans, which was saying something.
"Just drop me anywhere after you take care of them," I said, giving the dead bodies a calculated look. I hadn't cared before in my search for cell phones, but a few of them carried cash. I'd need that to keep up my hunt for the female vampire.
"Robbing them won't be necessary. You're coming with me."
Disbelief snapped my head up. Vlad flashed me a smile that was both charming and challenging, while his expression almost dared me to argue.
I took that dare.
"I'm not coming with you because my problems no longer concern you." Ice was warmer than my tone. "So thanks for the arrogant assumption, but no thanks."
"But they do concern me," he replied, his tone as pleasant as mine had been cold. "If I do nothing when someone attempts to blow up and then kidnap my former lover, my enemies will think I'm weak and attack more of my people."
"I'm not one of your people and I don't need your protection, as all the bodies on this boat should attest."
Vlad's charming smile never slipped. I stiffened, remembering he was never more dangerous than when he smiled.
"As you wish." Then he glanced at the door leading to the cargo hold. "Their heartbeats are faint, and they might not live long enough to make it to the hospital. Pity."
My fists clenched, the only sign of the fury coursing through me. "You promised to heal them."
"No," he replied instantly. "You made me swear not to kill or torture Maximus, but you never bargained for them. Dropping them off at a hospital is free, but my blood comes at a price."