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“C’MON,” JESSE SAID, grabbing the folder with our flight information and other important info. As I slipped on my clothes and shoes, he frantically tapped on the adjoining door for Fred, who was rooming next to us.
Suddenly, somebody knocked.
My hands began to tremble. Someone wanted in, and I knew it was the enemy.
Fred finally opened the adjoining door, and Jesse briefly explained the dire situation. Fred traced over to the window in his room in a flash. When he peeked out, he gasped.
I knocked on Julie and Grant’s adjoining door. As soon as they opened it, I jumped in their room and explained everything in a tumble of panicked words.
Grant looked at Fred. “How many?”
“Too many for us to fight,” he whispered.
I looked at Jesse. “What are we gonna do?”
My valiant protector pulled my hand and led me to the back of the motel room. He started to feel the walls. With a deep breath, he kicked one. Concrete and plaster crumbled as he continued kicking. A jagged hole finally appeared, and Jesse motioned me forward.
I climbed through and stepped on a bed, right between a screaming couple. “I’m so sorry about this,” I tried to explain. Clearly, we had made a rude intrusion on a romantic interlude.
Once we all jumped out, Fred looked at the stunned couple. “Carry on!”
Jesse opened the door and motioned for us to come out. We started to slowly walk through the parking lot, when a deep growl echoed from behind a car.
“I got this,” Grant said.
“Let me help,” Julie begged.
“No! Just go!”
In seconds, a werewolf jumped on Grant. In a flash of light, Grant transformed. I gasped as I watched the dog fight. They growled, snarled, and rolled around on the concrete. Grant snapped his long jaws, then bit into the wolf’s neck savagely.
“You girls, go!” Jesse said. “I’m right behind you.” He then looked at Fred. “Get them out of here!”
Jesse traced over in a blur and grabbed the werewolf. He lifted the werewolf high in the air and with incredible strength, threw it dozens of feet. Fred motioned me toward the line of bushes at the edge of the property. I grabbed Julie’s hand and pulled her along. With our hearts pounding, we ran toward the hedges.
A man was starting to get into his car when Fred put him in one of those sleeper moves.
“Fred,” I said. “Stop it!”
“This is our lives we’re talking about!”
“If you kill him...”
“I’m not!”
He laid the man down and grabbed his keys. He jumped into the car. When the engine roared, he unlocked the doors and motioned us inside.
My jaw dropped. I wasn’t used to violence being used on innocent humans and I wanted no part of it.
“The man is okay,” Fred insisted. “Now lock the door!”
“Where are they?” Julie asked nervously, peering through the windshield.
As if to answer her question, glass burst in a shower of shards. I gasped as a tall man with glowing eyes pulled Fred roughly through the shattered remnants of the window.
“Fred!” I shouted.
“Drive!” Julie screamed.
I jumped in the front seat. With my heart pounding, I gripped the steering wheel. Suddenly, just as I was about to make our getaway, strong arms gripped my shoulders and pulled me right out of the car. My feet dragged over the asphalt, and I kicked and flailed something fierce. It let go of me, then lunged at Julie, throwing her in midair. She crashed against a tree trunk. Bark exploded as she pounded into it, releasing a loud whimper. I’d been dropped to the ground, and I scrambled to my feet in a daze, with the vampire casting a hard glare in my direction.
My heart was beating a million miles a minute. I’d never been alone with a vampire that wanted to kill me right on the spot like that. He was dressed in a long, black coat with black boots. His blond mane swayed in the wind. His face was so pale, so white, that it looked as if he’d been dead for a century. His fangs were so long, so sharp, and his pasty face personified evil, a nightmare-come-true. His face contorted, and he hissed like a snake. I clenched my fists, ready to fight, even though I was paralyzed with fear. I knew I couldn’t outrun him, so my only option was to try some of the moves Jesse had taught me. I wasn’t so sure they’d work against a vampire, but I had no other choice.
“I’ll enjoy bringing your head home to the witches,” he said, “a trophy truly worth hanging.” He pointed at me with a long, sharp nail. “But if you don’t mind, I’d like a drink first.” He then dragged his long, gnarly finger across his throat, as if to forewarn me of what he intended to do to me.
When the fiend stepped closer, my heart quickened. I could barely breathe.
He smiled, clearly enjoying toying with me. “I came after you first, because petal blood is the sweetest of them all and I’m dying for a taste,” the bloodsucker said. “There aren’t many of you left. What a shame. I suppose you’ll be extinct soon.”
Then, in a blur, he grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked my head back. I was certain that I was going to die. My family and Jesse flashed through my mind, but just as his sharp nail began to pierce my skin, somebody tackled us. I went flying, and the figure tackled my attacker. When I jumped to my feet, I noticed that it was Jesse.
“Jesse!” I shouted.
I wanted to help Jesse, but I was a mere mortal, and there was little I could do. Jesse’s eyes glowed as he delivered a punch to the vampire’s gut. The vampire doubled over, and Jesse threw him in the air like he weighed nothing. The thing crashed down on a windshield that shattered with a loud crash.
Two more vampires approached. Grant, in his wolf form, attacked one, and Jesse bolted after the other.
I ran over to Julie, who was naked on the concrete. I felt for a pulse and was relieved to find a strong one. “Julie,” I said. “Wake up!”
She didn’t move.
The car Fred had started barreled toward us, lights flashing and horn blaring. For all I knew, a vampire now hijacked the vehicle and wanted to run us over. I scooped Julie up to get her out of harm’s way. Swallowing hard, I tried to get the hell out of Dodge before I got run over by a Chrysler.
The car pulled up next to me, and the driver yelled, “Jump in!”
“Fred,” I whispered, breathing a sigh of relief.
Jesse opened the door, and we managed to get Julie safely inside. I found an itchy wool blanket on the car floor and covered her with it. Grant stumbled in, also naked, much to our dismay. He sat next to Julie and crawled under the covers. Fred hit the gas pedal, and we took off with a jerk.
I cupped Jesse’s face. “Are you okay?” I asked.
He placed his hand over mine. “I’m fine.”
I turned my attention back to Julie.
“What happened to her?” Grant frantically asked.
“She hit her head. The thing threw her,” I said. “I wish we could take her to the hospital.”
“You know we can’t,” he retorted. He felt her head, then her neck. “She has a pulse, and she’s breathing well.” He quickly examined her. “No serious injuries, but she’s still unconscious. She should come to any minute.”
“She was no match against that thing,” I said.
“It was one of their strongest hunters,” Grant said. “No newbie werewolf stands a chance against that kind of experience.”
I met his gaze. “This isn’t gonna stop, is it? It’s going to keep coming, right?”
“I’m afraid you’re right. This is only the beginning.”
“Jesse’s dad and that Lost Race are our only hope,” Fred observed, “because our enemies even got past the protection spell on the place.”
“I’m okay,” Julie stuttered softly, slowly coming to, her eyes fluttering open.
I squeezed my friend’s hand, and it suddenly hit me just how much danger we were really in. “You just about gave me a heart attack, girl!”
“H-he knocked me out,” she stuttered. “I’m fine though...sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“I feel like there’s a chorus line of hippos dancing on my head, but other than that...”
“Well, that’s to be expected.”
“Don’t worry so much about me,” she said. “I was more worried about you. After all, you’re only human.”
I shuddered as the vampire’s sadistic grin flashed through my head. He would have killed me without a second thought, and that chilled me to the bone.
“If they got through the protection spell at the hotel, then what makes you so sure they can’t get us at the castle?” Julie asked.
I knew she was right. “Yeah, I get that they used a tracking spell to find us,” I said, “but how did they get into the motel room? Grant’s buddy said we were safe, that other immortals go there for protection, that the place was protected.”
“Right,” Julie said, nodding. “How the heck did that turn into the Helliday Inn?”
Grant glanced at me. “Don’t you get it? It’s pretty obvious that we aren’t truly safe anywhere. If they got through that protection, they must have some serious punching power. They want us back, and they’re not gonna stop till they get us.”
“Are you saying we won’t be safe at Jesse’s dad’s either?” Fred asked.
“We’ll be perfectly safe there,” Jesse interrupted. “The Lost Race is ancient, gifted with powers beyond those of any others.”
“Jesse’s right,” Grant said. “They’re an elusive, mysterious bunch, but I’m sure they can effectively hide us in those mountains of theirs with all that ancient magic they have. Besides, no one will expect us to be there.”
“I don’t know,” Fred said. “I want to believe you but they broke through this protection spell like it was nothing. How is Northwood Fortress any different?”
“Because the castle’s covered with a deep ancient spell that’s been in place for hundreds of years, not some spell put up by a few amateur witches,” Jesse said.
Fred blew out a long breath. “Man, was that close. My heart is still racing from that crazy escapade. We only lucked out because they had no idea we’d go out the back. Most of them were waiting for us in the front.”
“Yeah, I guess they weren’t expecting us to pound through a wall like the Incredible Hulk,” I said.
“That tracking spell is going to get us every time, isn’t it?” Fred asked.
Jesse looked at him. “Their tracking spell will let them zone in on us every time, but once we reach France, we’ll be off the grid, and their spell will be useless.”
“Right. So we just have to make it there in one piece,” Grant said.
“I’m just glad we got out of this thing alive.”
“We’ve gotta find these two some clothes,” Fred said, “or at least Grant.”
I playfully slapped Fred. “That’s not funny.”
“Are you looking at my girlfriend?” Grant asked him.
“Dude, she’s naked. How could you expect me not to sneak a peek?”
Grant lunged at Fred, but I wedged between the two of them. “Hey!” I yelled at Grant. “Calm down and stay under the blanket. Nobody wants a peep show from you.”
He sat back down like an obedient dog, and I was surprised he listened to me.
Grant rubbed his chin as if in thought, then looked at Jesse. “What do you remember there about the immortals at Northwood Fortress?”
“It’s sketchy. I do remember the castle on top of the mountain. I also remember feeling safe there, like it was...home.”
“Do you remember any leaders or elders there, other than your father? Are you confident they will help us?”
“Like I said, I really don’t remember much.”
“Hmm. Odd, if you grew up there,” Grant said. “Maybe your mother erased—”
“She wouldn’t do that,” Jesse said flatly, cutting him off. “But I should remember more,” he pondered, his forehead rippling with wrinkles.
“I can’t believe your mother hates your father so much that she didn’t even want you to remember the place.”
Jesse was silent for a moment, then said, “She had good reason for being angry with him. He cheated on her with a woman named Mariah. And Mariah just happens to be the queen’s daughter.”
“She told you that?” Grant asked, looking at him in disbelief.
“No. I found out...secondhand, but I believe my father is still with Mariah to this day.”
“I’d be pissed too,” Julie said. “Now it makes sense why she left.”
“I know, but he is my father. And I had every right to have him in my life.”
“Look, man,” Grant said, “is there any angst between you and this dad of yours? I mean, are you pissed at him for ruining the marriage or anything?”
“Why?”
“Because he thinks we have a right to know if we’re walking into some episode of The Immortal Jerry Springer,” Julie answered for him. “We can’t have you going off on the princess because she stole your dad away from your mom.”
“Right,” Grant agreed, nodding. “I don’t want to feel like I’m walking on eggshells.”
Jesse let out a long breath. “What my dad did was horrible, but that was years ago, and we can’t change the past. I’ve already forgiven him. I just want to see him again, to start over.”
“No grudges?” Julie asked.
“None whatsoever.”
“Fine. If you and Daddy dearest are on good terms, I guess it’s our best option. They won’t be expecting us to take a little Parisian vacation, and that will keep us one step ahead of them.”
Fred looked at him. “I’m pretty sure they expect us to go to Tabby for help.”
Grant nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure she’s under surveillance.”
I sighed. “This isn’t gonna be easy, is it?” I asked Jesse.
“Nothing worth doing ever is,” he said wisely, winking at me.