Nearly two hours had passed as Dori watched over the shoulder of the security officer at the video surveillance console. She deftly sidestepped Major Pietari's concerns over her continued presence by pointing out that she had extensive background working with video surveillance in a previous job. As the officer systematically reviewed each camera's views leading up to the mysterious blackout, she closely watched the monitors for anything noteworthy. Finally, the officer changed to the live camera feeds.
"That was our second pass, and still nothing other than seeing the captain and Mr. Taylor near the lobby elevator after leaving the dining room," the officer said.
Dori scanned the miniature screens before her and thought that something looked out of place. "Wait, can you pull up the shot of all screens just prior to the blackout?"
The screens reverted to a still-frame of all camera views, which Dori closely scrutinized. "Okay," she prompted, "now go back to a live view of all cameras."
The miniature boxes all reverted to live feeds, and she studied the multiple monitors before her. "There's one missing from that monitor," she prompted with a pointed finger to a grayed out box which had been populated earlier on the right-most screen. "What is that?" she asked.
The security officer cocked her head to one side and clicked on the small gray window. When the cursor hovered over the window, it popped up with the message: Vault - View Disabled.
"Activate it," Dori ordered in a suddenly authoritative voice.
The small screen was black instead of gray, but still showed nothing.
"It's the vault interior," the officer explained. "The camera must have become disabled during the malfunction."
Dori flashed the officer a dubious look. "Can we turn a light on in there?" she asked.
The officer pulled up another screen and activated a button for lighting. The view of the small window lit up to reveal two people sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall of deposit boxes.
Dori grabbed the radio and announced, "This is Dori. They're in the vault!"
Paige was startled by the sudden whirring sound coming from the vault camera. She took note that the red operational light was illuminated, and by its glow they could see the camera point in their direction. Then the lights brightly snapped to life with glaring intensity.
She unwound herself from around Caleb and leapt to her feet, leaving him slumped against the vault wall. He tried to rouse himself and squinted against the bright ceiling lights, but he was having trouble moving in a coordinated fashion. He was also unable to catch his breath for reasons that he had trouble fathoming.
Paige turned her body slightly and stood in front of where he lay so she was in a position to defend him. Fortunately, a vampire's physiology could operate in a much lower oxygen environment than was possible for a human.
Moments later, the vault door lock mechanism made a loud series of clicking sounds, and the large steel door began to open.
Paige relaxed once Katrina, Alton, and the hotel manager appeared in the doorway with relief evident on their faces. Caleb craned his head around to see the incoming individuals and tried to move but found himself still feeling lethargic.
Katrina's eyes focused like lasers upon his struggling form. A feeling of concern surged above the relief she felt from finding him safe.
Paige surveyed Caleb and quickly knelt down beside him as Katrina moved towards them.
"Caleb," Katrina's soft voice issued, laced with urgency.
Paige pulled him into her arms as she knelt beside him in order to stabilize him better. Alton and the bank manager remained silent as they observed Katrina's and Paige's attentions to the young man.
Caleb's cloudy thoughts began to clear, and he struggled to fill his lungs with fresh air. At the same time, he felt a returning sense of control to his limbs. He stood with success, momentarily swooning as he established his footing.
Katrina's hand appeared out of nowhere to stabilize him.
What's wrong with Caleb? She gazed at Paige searchingly.
"Minor oxygen deprivation," she replied.
Katrina then realized how dangerous the pair's situation had become before the vault was opened. She sharply looked up at both Alton and the bank manager, who displayed similar expressions of concern.
Caleb pulled free of Katrina's grip, resulting in a surprised look on the redhead's face. His mind raced with a series of confused thoughts. However, he remembered some of the last topics that he and Paige had discussed before he lost consciousness, including his regret at having broken a cardinal rule by offering his blood to another vampire.
"We have to talk, Kat," he tersely stated. "I'll confess everything. These rules just are a death sentence waiting to happen."
He barreled unsteadily towards the open doorway, though it was crowded with figures by that time, including four other vampires: the major, two security guards, and a very concerned-looking Ethan Reynolds.
Katrina and Paige stood statue-still with perplexed expressions while watching him depart.
"What happened?" Alton insisted with a curious expression as most of the faces in the small vault looked first at Paige and then at the departing stormy figure of Caleb.
Katrina appeared bewildered as she watched Caleb whisk past her without saying a word. Her mind raced with why he would be so angry about the rules at a time like this.
A broken rule? she pondered as he stormed away.
"We received a cryptic note from the front desk about the vault. It was unlocked when we got here around ten-thirty or so, and then someone locked us in here," Paige irritably recounted to Alton.
"I never got a look at who it was, and they shut the door too fast for me to reach them. They had to be a vampire to move that fast. You can see the briefcase on the floor over there that drew us both in here in the first place. This was a trap, pure and simple, and I was an idiot not to see it from the start."
"What's wrong with Caleb?" Katrina demanded with a steely voice.
Paige heatedly retorted, "Wrong? I'll tell you exactly what's wrong. I had to feed, and I think it almost came close to costing me your friendship, that's what. Instead, you have a mate and a best friend riddled with guilt. So, thanks for all the helpful rules that we had to confront in here."
Katrina stared at her with a stony expression.
What gives? All I'm trying to do is figure out what had happened.
Paige pushed past the group to exit, and Katrina demanded, "Now just where are you going?"
"To try and stop my friend from making a mistake," she grumbled on her way out of the vault.
Ethan's soft brown eyes caught hers as she exited, and he started to say something. However, she paused only briefly to acknowledge him before proceeding after Caleb.
Alton and Vlaeva watched Paige depart then looked at Katrina, expressions of curiosity evident on their faces.
"Well, I don't very well know either, now do I?" she fumed as she turned to follow Paige to get to the bottom of what was going on.
Why the hell do I end up being the bad guy half the time? she fumed as she stormed from the vault. All that she ever tried to do was keep Caleb safe, but she felt that everyone was always so critical of her.
"We better look into this carefully," Alton suggested while pointing to the briefcase. "However, I'd wager that an equally intriguing story just left the room."
The hotel manager studied Alton introspectively.
"Indeed."
Paige darted in a blur to reach the elevator doors before they closed, arriving a moment too late.
"This wasn't your fault, Paige," Caleb barked from the other side of the closed doors as the elevator car ascended to the floor of his suite.
Her eyes blazed bright blue in momentary frustration as she turned to head for the stairwell fire escape. Katrina just managed to catch up with her at the steel exit door and looked at her friend with a mix of concern and aggravation.
"Paige, what the hell's going on?" Katrina demanded. Her concern was changing quickly to irritation, and she wanted some answers.
"Oh, just follow me and find out," Paige insisted as she flung the door open and sprang up the stairwell.
Wasn't an alarm supposed to sound when I opened that door? she fleetingly pondered.
The two vampires exited the stairwell door on the floor where Katrina and Caleb's suite was located and were waiting beside the elevator by the time that the doors opened.
"Crap!" Caleb exclaimed as he was startled by the sudden appearance of both vampires. He frowned at his poor track record involving surprises and elevators.
"Paige, just let me do what I have to," he declared while barreling past both of them. Proceeding down the hall towards his room, he added, "Kat, I have a confession to make, and I'd rather do it in private."
Katrina raced ahead to snatch his arm, catching him in midstride. She spun him around, causing him to teeter slightly. Stabilizing his stance with her hand on his arm, she stared into his eyes with concern. He refused to meet her gaze, however, which bothered her even more.
"What happened?" she demanded in a calm voice.
"Nothing, except that I tried to help a friend," he explained. "But thanks to the rules, Paige decided that she had to practically rape -"
"Don't you dare use that word, Caleb Taylor," Paige interrupted him with narrowed eyes. "That's not what would've happened, and you know it."
Katrina's eyes widened with surprise as she frantically tried to decipher why he would try to use such a harsh word to describe what had happened. She also wondered which rules he was referencing.
"Let's take this inside," she quickly suggested as she maintained a hold on her lover's arm while gripping Paige's upper arm in her other hand. She didn't want to discuss the topic in an open hallway on a floor occupied by curious vampires with keen senses of hearing.
Time to get to the bottom of this.
She towered above both of them with a determined expression, and neither tried to resist her as she led them to her and Caleb's room. He already had his card key out, and since Katrina's hands were full, he unlocked the door.
Katrina pushed them both into the suite before her and slammed the door behind them. If I have to get a little rough just to get some answers, then so be it.
"You," she ordered with a pointed finger at Caleb, "sit quietly on the couch."
He silently perched on the edge of the couch with his arms defiantly folded before him.
"And you," Katrina stated, pointing her finger at Paige, "start talking."
Both vampires moved into the living room with Paige sitting on the chair across from Caleb while Katrina sat next to him on the couch. She calmly listened as Paige recounted what had happened in the vault, including all the details related to their rules dilemma and the final solution for Paige to feed successfully.
"You know, I'm the one dying of thirst now," Caleb impatiently interjected.
Katrina said nothing, but moved to the small refrigerator in the kitchenette area to retrieve a bottle of water for him. She felt a momentary pang of guilt at having neglected to consider how thirsty he probably was after being locked in the vault. She made a mental note to ask if he were hungry after they finished discussing what had happened.
"Please continue," she instructed Paige as she handed the bottled water to Caleb.
Paige proceeded from where she had left off, and Katrina's face was stern as she listened quietly to her friend. However, Paige deftly excluded details from the intimate discussion that she had shared with Caleb involving her feelings for him.
Katrina patiently listened as her friend recounted the events that both led up to, and followed, being locked in the vault. She casually observed Caleb in her peripheral vision as he drank the entire container of water. She couldn't help but notice that he appeared tense and agitated.
Once Paige finished, Katrina felt a host of emotions cascade upon her: anger towards whomever had trapped both her friend and mate, frustration over the seeming ineffectiveness of the security systems, and a pressing uneasiness over what had transpired between Paige and Caleb while isolated in the vault. In the end, she merely sighed with resignation.
"Who could have predicted that such a situation might occur? This is the first time that I know of where a human has been co-sponsored in some way between vampires," she insisted. "But you two should be lawyers given how handily you interpreted and generated loopholes to my rules for him."
Paige resented her tone and snapped, "Thanks, Ms. Sarcasm. Why don't you take another minute to try to understand our circumstances? The air was being used up pretty quickly by the time that I finished feeding. The situation looked pretty dire, though I wasn't about to tell him that."
Katrina was surprised by her friend's candid assessment of their plight within the vault.
"That bad?" she quietly asked.
"That bad," Paige confirmed. "You saw how debilitated he was when you entered the vault. Another hour and who knows if you would have found him alive."
Katrina sat stunned, while Caleb's face washed with shock.
"You never told me that," he quietly accused.
Paige paused. "What kind of guardian would I be if I inflamed the situation at times like that? Besides, you'd just get upset and use up the oxygen faster."
Katrina admired Paige's grasp of sound logic.
Hard to be upset with either of them, I suppose. Paige made the sensible decision. Would I have acted any differently?
Caleb's irritation dissipated, and he turned to grim thoughts as Paige's comments sank deeper into his mind. He glanced up at Katrina with a serious expression, only to find her intently staring at him. Her green eyes were penetrating but not angry, and he noticed that the corners of her mouth were upturned ever so slightly.
"I'm not angry with either of you, my love," she reassured him. Truth was, she was merely grateful that they were still alive.
He was somewhat surprised by that revelation. "But what about the third rule?"
She shrugged. "I suppose that we'll need to start considering that one in a situational context in the future, won't we?"
Despite knowing full well that both of them were trustworthy, it took a conscious effort on her part to be flexible about her control issues.
Maybe there's hope for me yet, she entertained.
Both Caleb and Paige considered her with upraised brows, and then exchanged curious glances with each other.
Katrina was amused by their reaction, but cautioned, "However, let's not get too crazy with the whole feeding thing, okay?"
They both nearly simultaneously replied, "Got it." Their eyes darted to each other over the coincidence.
"Okay then," Paige resolved, relieved that her best friend's concerns had been somewhat placated and that her own strong feelings for Caleb remained effectively unmentioned. "First, I'm still kind of thirsty, so I'm gonna go round up some more of the red stuff. Then I'm getting to work on finding the asshole that locked us in the vault."
Someone's going to become very dead very fast when I find them.
"Keep me posted," Katrina grimly instructed.
Her eyes darted to her mate, and the horrible thought of his near-death in the vault flashed in her mind. It had been a close call, and she intended to see that justice was handed out swiftly to those responsible.
"I'll check in with you later," Paige promised. Her eyes briefly fell upon Caleb. "Besides, kiddo here needs some rest."
She flashed him a smirk then rose to depart the room with a nod to Katrina.
"Paige?" Katrina prompted before she had reached the door to exit the suite.
"Yes?" she suspiciously asked while glancing over her shoulder.
"I'd rather that you not drink from him recreationally," Katrina informed her friend.
"Understood," she replied while gazing at Caleb in a penetrating fashion that slightly unnerved him. Then she winked and departed, closing the door to the suite behind her.
Katrina rose from the couch and went to lock the door to the suite, while Caleb wearily leaned back into the couch cushion. When she turned around, she maintained a neutral expression, but her eyes had a calculating look about them.
She joined him on the couch, warmly embracing him in her arms. Her arms protectively encircled him, and she felt his rapid heartbeat against her body. She sensed that something else was bothering him, something beyond the vault incident.
"I trust both of you, you know," she reassured him. The possessive nature of her personality railed against her declaration, but she bent it to her will.
He drew in the sweet scent of cherry blossoms emanating from her body and appreciated the soothing quality of it. "I'm glad. I'd never violate my fidelity to you, and I doubt that Paige would want that either."
"I appreciate that, my love," she contentedly replied. She trusted him implicitly and was merely happy to have him safely in her arms again.
He marveled at how understanding she was about the situation and hoped that she realized that his commitment to her was sincere. In his mind, there was no other prospective mate for him.
Her soft lips found his, and they tenderly kissed. Her fingers caressed the side of his face as their lips met again and again, until finally he had to pull away in order to catch his breath.
She realized that he must have felt exhausted. "Time for a shower and some oxygen-rich sleep, I think," she quipped.
He hauled himself upright with a tired groan and began stripping out of his shirt. She watched him walk towards the bedroom, appreciating his masculine form as the removal of his shirt revealed his lean chest and back muscles. She found him so attractive, and she tentatively bit her lower lip as carnal visions played across her thoughts.
"Well, maybe some sleep after I'm finished with you," she slyly muttered as she slipped her shoes off.
She purposefully slipped off the couch to follow him into the bedroom.
Paige barely had time to finish a quick shower and pull on some sweatpants and a t-shirt before a knock sounded at her suite door. Still drying her hair with a towel, she flung open the door, expecting it to be the major or perhaps even the hotel manager.
Instead, Ethan Reynolds stood in the hallway holding a large Styrofoam cup with a lid on it. Her eyes flashed to the cup before looking up into his eyes, which reflected concern and maybe something else.
"Ethan?" she asked. Her eyes appreciated the way that his jeans perfectly fit his slim waist, as well as the snug fit of his black t-shirt against his muscled chest.
He started to say something, but stopped and instead extended the cup to her.
"Brought you a little something," he said with a supportive smile. "I was worried and wanted to check in on you."
She reached out to accept the warm cup and caught the faint scent of blood. Smiling, she gestured for him to come inside.
Realizing that she still held a damp towel over her hair, a wave of embarrassment washed over her. "Sorry, I'm a bit of a mess right now," she stammered as she closed the door behind them.
He entered and turned to look down at her. "Nah, you look great, actually," he assured her.
She casually tossed her towel on the nearby couch and popped open the lid to the cup. The scent of blood permeated the air, and she took a moment to drink from it. The warm liquid tasted amazing to her, though not nearly as much as Caleb's had earlier.
"I raced down to the basement when I heard they found you," Ethan gently offered. "I was pretty worried, but then I saw you both standing inside, and I felt so relieved."
Her blue eyes darted to his, and she glimpsed the sincerity reflected in them. Surprisingly, it deeply touched her that he felt that way. She frowned at the confused feelings she had, but registered a more familiar sensation run through her as she practically ogled him: desire.
"Sorry about earlier," she apologized, recalling how she had barely acknowledged him at the vault. "It wasn't that I -" she began.
She was interrupted by the sudden crush of his lips against hers.
He moved like a whirlwind, sweeping her into his strong arms and nearly lifting her from the floor. Her earlier feelings of desire peaked, transforming into a wave of sexual energy that cascaded throughout her body. The sensation was almost electric as their lips pressed together in a prolonged kiss that nearly took her breath away.
Still in his arms, she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist. His lips pressed to hers, drawing the breath from her lungs. He swung the two of them onto the couch, pressing her into the cushions with the strength that only another vampire could wield.
The heat streaming from both of them was palpable, and Paige's dormant sexuality sprang to life. Her body's reaction surprised her, but she relished every second. Only then did she fully realize the impact of the subtle tension that had been rising between them ever since the evening that Caleb had introduced them.
Much to her satisfaction, his body was everything that she had previously only playfully imagined. His body pressed against hers, and she felt firm fingertips against her soft skin. Her lips locked onto his, and she felt her t-shirt being lifted upwards.
In a matter of moments, clothes were shed, and their bodies were joined. And finally, time stood still.
Early the next morning, Katrina slipped out of the suite while Caleb slept. She joined Alton to strategize for the upcoming resumption of the conference, or as she preferred to call it, the "organized debate and argumentation" sessions. While happy that Caleb was once again safe, she couldn't help wondering what was coming next.
Maybe I should've handcuffed him to the bed, she darkly reflected as the conference prepared to reconvene. That might actually keep him out of trouble.
Later that morning, Caleb made his way to the dining room for something to eat. He was keenly aware that a number of staff and guests stared at him as he passed. Embracing his newfound, notorious celebrity, he simply waved or politely wished them good morning.
He sat alone at a table in the corner, glowering into a cup of hot tea as he waited for his food to arrive. After massaging his sore eyelids with his fingertips at length, he stared wide-eyed across the table at Paige, already seated and intently studying him over a cup of coffee.
"Morning, tiger," she merrily offered.
He felt a rush of happiness at the sight of her. "Good morning, babysitter."
She adopted a playful grin as the waitress set a large plate of eggs, sausage, hash browns, and biscuits before him. He thanked her and hungrily appreciated the array of food as she departed.
"That's a honkin' plateful," Paige said in a mock-southern drawl.
He reached for a packet of grape jelly.
"Hey, I gotta make enough blood for two nowadays, you know," he countered.
Paige's smile faded a little as the memories of feeding on him in the vault washed over her. She recalled the rich taste of his blood and felt a momentary urge for more. Instead she sipped at her coffee, admittedly a poor substitute, and refocused her thoughts.
The revelations of mere hours ago washed over her. Despite her surprising, yet satisfying interlude with Ethan, she nevertheless felt a strong emotional draw to the young man before her.
After shoveling in a few forkfuls of food, he looked up to note her contemplative expression. He absently reached up with one hand to touch the place on his neck where she had bitten him, which immediately drew her attention.
"Sore?" she softly asked.
"Nope, never better," he replied with a shy smirk.
It was no worse than when Katrina drank from him, actually. Yet, there was something more to having shared his blood with her. He couldn't explain it, but he felt an increased closeness and an increased sense of affection between them.
Following a few bites of food, he looked up to find her staring at him again. "What?" he asked.
She was caught between conflicting feelings at that moment. As she stared at him, she saw an attractive, innocent man who she had sworn to protect, as well as someone who was a best friend. Granted, she enjoyed flirting with him and occasionally contemplating sex with him. But it was much more than that. She loved him, unlike anyone else she had ever known. And then with sharing his blood the previous night, those feelings were heightened. It had been more than feeding; it was intimate.
Even the sex that she had shared with Ethan, while surprisingly good, had been merely that: sex. Oh, she liked the handsome doctor, but then, they hardly knew one another. The sex was easy to understand and manage, unlike the complex spectrum of feelings that she felt for Caleb.
"Paige?" he asked with a perplexed expression.
She looks almost dazed.
She broke from her reverie. "Yeah, I heard you, kiddo," she answered. "Eat up."
He shook his head and continued to eat. Minutes later, Dori appeared and plopped down into a chair between them.
"There you two are," she energetically said. "I've been looking for you, Caleb. We have interesting things to talk about, you and I."
"Yeah?" he asked between forkfuls of egg and sausage.
Before Dori could respond, Ethan appeared at the tableside wearing the trappings of his trade in the form of a white lab coat over slacks and dress shirt. Completing the look was a stethoscope lazily draped around his neck.
"Good morning, everyone," he greeted in a friendly tone.
The three of them all looked up with smiles, though Paige's was more of a satisfied grin. His eyes caught the blonde vampire's only briefly before fully focusing on Caleb.
"How are you feeling this morning, young sir?" he asked in a practiced tone.
"Uh-oh, he's got that doctor's voice going on," Caleb teased. "Me? I'm fine today, Doc. All the oxygen's returned to my brain."
"Leaving only the usual minor damage," Dori quipped. "We hardly noticed the change."
"Ha, good one," Paige snapped and happily slapped open palms with the brunette.
Caleb adopted a bland expression and cast a withering look towards the women. "Oh, so very funny...not."
"Well, if you notice any blurred vision, disorientation, or headaches, come see me immediately, okay?" Ethan insisted. "Enjoy your day," he added and turned to walk away.
Paige's eyes followed him as he walked away, and then turned to notice that her two tablemates were watching her with curious expressions. "What?" she snapped.
Caleb and Dori innocently shook their heads.
"Oh, whatever," Paige blurted and rose from her seat. "I gotta run down some leads on last night. I'll let you know what I find out."
She quickly departed the dining room, leaving the two humans with perplexed expressions.
"What was that about?" Caleb asked.
"Not sure that I care to say right at the moment," Dori wistfully observed with a knowing tone.
Then she noted Caleb's curious expression and changed the subject. "Listen, I finally have some information related to our little storage building excursion."
"Like what?" He felt that the topic was old news given all of the recent excitement.
Dori explained that she had acquired old photographs of mines in the surrounding area from museum archives. One photo clearly showed the same area where they had been apprehended by the authorities. As recently as thirty years prior there had been an actual open entrance into a mine where the storage building presently stood.
Caleb was encouraged that they hadn't been barking up the wrong tree in their search of the site.
"Did you show everything to Alton?" he inquired.
"Yes," she glumly replied. "But he wasn't as interested as I expected him to be."
He silently pondered their situation. "So, with our being under virtual house arrest, how are we supposed to get back there?" he asked.
"We sneak out, of course."
"Lady, I like your style. What's the plan?"
"I'm working on that, but I should have something by tonight," she said.
"What can I do to help in the meantime?" he asked before lifting another forkful of food to his mouth.
She rose from her seat. "For now, just try to stay out of trouble. Think you can manage that?"
He rolled his eyes and offered her a sour expression as she walked away. Then he happily returned to his breakfast.
By midafternoon, Paige was silently fuming during a protracted interview, or rather interrogation, from Major Pietari pertaining to her and Caleb's experiences leading up to and during their vault detainment. His insistence that she go over the details three times merely to be thorough sounded rational, though she somehow had the notion that he was enjoying himself.
However, she didn't give him the satisfaction, and instead patiently recounted the information upon request. In the end, it had seemed to her to be a waste of more than two hours of valuable time.
Finally, she was able to return to her duties, which meant engaging in her own investigation. Sitting before the video surveillance monitors, she poured over the stored video streams from the previous night just prior to her and Caleb's entering the elevator, as well as anything potentially useful that had been recorded after the systems came back online.
In addition to the vault camera's having been switched off, she noted that the basement cameras were unable to capture anything useful, either. Someone had been quite artful and clandestine in avoiding any other camera viewing angles.
An inside job, she resolved.
She reverted to a live video feed, quickly scanning the plethora of images before her, and zoomed in on a view from the shopping area near the main lobby. Caleb walked into one of the shops with Maddy Baker and Aiden Henderson in tow. She was pleased that he was interacting with other humans, instead of obsessing over Baldar Dubravko or any other vampires at the conference.
Upon further consideration, Paige considered it likely that their unplanned detainment had been part of a darker scheme. To her, the two most important questions were: which vampire took the initiative to act, and upon whose authority or sanction?
The minutes passed as she reviewed the conference participants and any known affiliations for those who were representing absent parties. Despite her dedication to the investigation at hand, her mind wandered a couple of times. And on both occasions, the subject of such wandering was none other than the handsome and charming Dr. Ethan Reynolds. To her surprise, she found herself smiling like a school girl who was experiencing her first crush.
I need to get laid more often, she chastised herself, refocusing on the task at hand.
Caleb spent the afternoon visiting with Maddy and Aiden and actually enjoyed himself for one of the few occasions since his arrival at the conference. For a brief period of time, he was able to stop dwelling on recent events, vampires, or mysterious upcoming plans with Dori. For a few hours, he was nothing more than a tourist enjoying the company of friends, or at least, burgeoning friends. He admired his newfound human companions and appreciated their diverse backgrounds and personalities.
He found Maddy to be happy-go-lucky, magnetic, and witty. In some ways, she reminded him of Paige, including their early twenty-something appearance. And yet, there seemed to be an underlying seriousness to her; focused and intent on where she was and what she was doing at any given moment.
Aiden was an electrician, a skilled tradesman in his own right, and a person with a sharp intellect coupled with a comradely demeanor. He was Caleb's age, though he carried himself in a confident, self-assured manner that one might expect from someone much older and experienced.
Caleb appreciated the social and emotional respite provided by the two of them. However, by late afternoon, the three had once again gone their separate ways. Maddy returned to her suite to shower and change before dinner. Aiden wanted to catch one of the late afternoon shuttle rides into Podjelje to purchase some gifts for family back home in Connecticut. Caleb had no immediate plans or obligations and decided to take a walk outside. On his way through the lobby, he ran into Dori, who was furiously scribbling on a notepad.
"What's up?" he asked. "Any progress?"
Her violet eyes caught his with an energetic zeal. "Working on it. We'll talk soon," she promised before whisking across the lobby in the direction of the elevator.
He shook his head with amusement as he proceeded towards the exit. He briefly wandered through the well-maintained flowerbeds and envied the skilled hands that had meticulously given to each bed. Though he had lived on an acreage as a child, he had moved to the city before learning much about tending gardens. Once in the city, his mother, as a single parent, rarely had the time to devote to gardening.
Caleb wandered in the direction of the nearby forest. Unlike the manicured gardens, the forest presented nature in its native, unbridled decorum. The unexpected cool breeze that swept across the mountains felt refreshing on that sunny late afternoon. The looming canopy of trees was quickly being overshadowed by the nearby mountain as the sun continued its westward track behind it. In a couple of hours, it would be dusk.
Unlike the main conference grounds, the forested area was devoid of people, aside from a single human guard who acknowledged Caleb in passing on his march back towards the conference center. Caleb offered a friendly greeting, but noticed that the man stared at him rather suspiciously.
Well, I am the resident troublemaker, after all, he conceded.
After no more than fifteen minutes of wandering, he heard the birds and other wildlife suddenly fall silent. Something triggered in his subconscious, and his eyes panned the area. Seeing nothing, he shrugged and continued his stroll.
A couple of minutes later, he looked up in the direction of a rustling sound in the bushes less than twenty feet to his right. His eyes immediately fell upon a pale-skinned woman with short, auburn hair wearing a security uniform worn by the conference site officers.
Instantly, he recognized the vampire that he had seen back in Atlanta in his backyard at the estate and at the Italian restaurant.
At first, she surveyed him with disdain. Then her expression transformed to a sneer, and she shook her head slightly.
"Of all the luck," she said.
Instead of fear, he registered surprise. "What are the odds?" he whispered.
He half-expected her to respond aggressively, but was dumbfounded when she merely winked at him. Then she turned and raced through the trees in the opposite direction, leading deeper into the woods towards the nearby incline of the mountain base. It was at that moment that he weighed the flight or fight reaction that any normal human would experience.
Yet, his decision was something that made him doubt his own sanity: he pursued her.
"Wait!" he yelled, plunging headfirst into the forest after her.
It took less than a minute of running for him to realize that she could easily outdistance him, leaving him lost in foreign surroundings with no sense of direction. A pang of doubt clouded his initial decision. Determined, he ran faster as he tromped across the uneven ground before him.
Soon, he came to the perimeter fence that surrounded the vast conference site property and which the vampire effortlessly seemed to slip through. He ran towards the location, wondering what magic trick had just been displayed.
As he drew closer, he quickly recognized the subtle manner in which the links had been cut to appear intact, while providing easy access through the barrier. Slipping between the cut links, he caught his shirt and scraped his hand, but made it to the other side.
The chase was on again, though he thought that she must have stopped to observe him because she wasn't much further ahead than before. Skirting a felled tree trunk, he leapt over a small depression in the ground, barely maintaining his footing as he propelled forward.
To his mutual surprise and satisfaction, he caught a glimpse of her through a break in the trees in the distance.
Well, she hasn't turned on her vampire super-speed yet, and she hasn't tried to kill me.
"Hold up!" he yelled, but kept running, despite feeling a little winded.
He tried to maintain visual contact on her as she stopped to look back at him. Suddenly, his body lurched forward as he caught a tree root underfoot. His eyes darted downwards, and he flung his arms before him as a large rock sped towards him on his plunge to the ground. His left arm raked across the side of a rough-barked tree as he tried to grasp at anything nearby. At the last second he instinctually closed his eyes prior to impact, but felt something wrap around his torso, suspending him in midair.
His eyes snapped open to see the rock just inches from his face. His head swiveled up and to the right to see the auburn-haired vampire holding him with one arm.
She had an aggravated expression on her face and spat, "My God, you're clumsy. And insane!"
"Busted," he conceded with a hopeful expression.
She immediately dropped him to the ground beside the rock.
"Umph!"
"I don't believe this," she muttered with exasperation while perching her hands atop her hips.
He hefted himself up from the ground and sat up and back on his heels.
"Thanks," he appreciatively offered as he examined his left arm.
She rolled her eyes and shook her head in disgust. "Give me one good reason why I don't drink you for dinner," she chided.
The gravity of his circumstances quickly washed over him, and he adopted a nervous smirk. "Um, perhaps because I'm charming in an annoying kind of way?"
She fought back a scowl with only partial success.
"True," she agreed. "On the annoying part, that is."
The fear that had been growing inside him began to dissipate, but only slightly. His motivations for doing what he had were cursory at best, and he quickly acknowledged that he was facing a situation that could turn negative at any moment.
As if in time with his thoughts, the vampire demanded in a serious tone, "So, why are you following me? What's your game, human?"
"Actually, we both have the same questions, I think," he hedged. It was the best that he could come up with in a pinch.
She seemed taken aback at first, but resumed her serious, piercing focus on him. "And?" she demanded.
He swallowed hard, straining for something relevant to counter with. Then his memory played back to the conversation with the tall, dark vampire in Katrina's backyard before their trip.
"Take me to your leader?" he weakly ventured.
She winced at his lame reference. "Oh, I can't wait to see what Hazi says about this," she muttered.
She reached down to grab him by his uninjured arm and effortlessly pulled him up from the ground like a rag doll. He lurched upwards and struggled to gain his balance while in her grasp.
She spun him around and propelled him forwards in the direction that she had been running earlier. He nearly lost his footing, but managed to right himself.
The waning light around them gave the forest an edgy appearance, and he swallowed hard, wondering if he had made the right decision or not. However, at least the delay in walking with her allowed his racing thoughts more time to settle so that he could think more clearly.
"I don't even know your name," he muttered.
At first, she said nothing. Following a prolonged pause, she replied, "Mara."
"Mara. A beautiful name," he offered in a cheerful tone. "I'm Caleb."
"I know who you are," she sternly responded and pushed him from behind to encourage a brisker pace.
By the time twilight fell, there was barely enough light for him to see where he was walking. Fortunately, she allowed him to slow slightly, enabling him to maintain his footing. That was not to say he didn't stumble now and again, occasionally eliciting a disparaging response from Mara.
A short time later, they broke through the dense forest to enter a small clearing at the base of the mountain. A dark-skinned vampire casually leaned against a large, moss-covered boulder. He was the same vampire who had confronted him in Katrina's backyard just weeks prior.
Unfortunately, Caleb couldn't remember his rather complicated proper name, though he recalled Mara referring to him as "Hazi." However, something Katrina had once said about vampires and nicknames made him reject the idea of using such an informal address with the stranger.
"I've been pondering who might be accompanying you," the yellow-eyed vampire announced, sounding mildly intrigued.
Caleb walked towards him, but Mara grabbed his arm to halt him before he was six feet from the vampire.
"I ran into this one while approaching the perimeter," Mara explained. "Since he's probably the only person at the site who might recognize me, I thought it best to abort my plans."
One side of the man's mouth upturned with amusement.
"And you didn't kill him instead?" he asked.
She hesitated and grumbled.
"A soft spot for this one, perhaps?" he inquired.
Caleb started to turn to gauge her reaction, but she promptly popped him in the back of the head.
"I'm still contemplating dinner," she wryly remarked. "His blood smells inviting to me."
He took stock of his wounded hand and noticed that the blood was starting to dry where he had gouged it on the fence. His left arm ached slightly from the abrasions he had sustained earlier. He realized that it wasn't a good idea to chum the air with blood around a vampire.
"Well said," the man replied. Then he turned to address Caleb directly. "You remember me?"
"Yes, sir," Caleb politely replied. "Although I'm ashamed at the moment not to recall your name properly."
"So polite," he remarked. "I am Hakizimana."
Caleb attempted to brand the name into his mind while inclining his head in a gesture of respectful deference. Hakizimana seemed impressed by that, and the edges of his mouth upturned slightly.
Caleb viewed the growing darkness as an ominous blanket around him, and he had trouble clearly seeing the vampire's expression. He warily surveyed the area as if half-expecting a contingent of other vampires to appear out of nowhere.
"We are alone...for now," Hakizimana offered. "What can you tell me about the status of the conference, Caleb?" he asked with an authoritative tone.
Though Katrina had been kind enough to discuss the meetings in general terms, Caleb had very little specific information from the meetings. However, he understood that both she and Alton were suspicious of the motives of some of those in attendance, and the tone of the proceedings seemed less than fruitful. Despite his own growing reticence about the conference, he paused to consider what might be prudent to reveal.
"Well, it hasn't exactly been successful," he hinted.
That seemed to please the tall vampire, who smiled enough to display pearly white teeth for the first time.
"I thought as much," he replied. "Alton Rutherford is far too presumptuous concerning his personal projects."
"Even though I'm anxious for it to be over, I somehow don't get the impression that failure is a good thing in this case," he reasoned.
"Oh?" prompted Hakizimana.
"Well," Caleb began, "Alton's agenda may not be the one you need to be concerned about."
Mara orbited around Caleb to gaze into his eyes, while Hakizimana moved closer towards him. He tried to remain calm, but nevertheless tensed from the rapt attention suddenly being paid to him.
"What do you mean by that?" Hakizimana asked.
Caleb swallowed, deciding, In for a penny, down for a pound. He shifted in his stance slightly so that both vampires were in front of him.
"There's a vampire named Baldar Dubravko, you see. And between him and another vampire named Dominic Ambrogio-"
"We already know of them," Mara interrupted.
Hakizimana held up his hand to silence her then nodded for Caleb to continue.
Caleb's eyes darted between the faces of the two vampires before him, but settled upon Hakizimana. He hoped the sincerity of his next statements would ring true to him.
"They seem to be doing everything possible to disrupt the conference and its attendees," he explained. "It's as if they're quite satisfied that things aren't going well."
"So?" Mara challenged.
"Well, I've been watching them," Caleb ventured. "And though I can't say for certain yet, it does seem as if they're up to something. I'm fairly certain that I almost suffocated to death in a vault just from demonstrating an overt interest in them."
Hakizimana's brows furrowed.
But Mara scoffed and urged, "You're just speculating in generalities, human. Hazi, we're wasting time. Let me drain this one, and I'll still have time to check things out for myself."
Caleb's pulse surged, and he nervously eyed the woman. Perhaps he had been hasty thinking that she had taken a liking to him at all.
"Wait," Hakizimana ordered.
His yellow eyes bore into Caleb's despite the darkness. "What is it that you think they're up to, exactly?"
Mara shook her head and settled her hands on her hips.
Caleb couldn't help thinking that this was his all-or-nothing gamble for either redemption or doom. He silently deliberated over everything that he had acquired from his own observations, coupled with anything Katrina or Paige had said to him. Then he replayed all the ponderings that he had contemplated during his numerous hours of boredom.
Finally, he shrugged and tried sounding as innocent as possible, "Well, if they're so adamant against the conference, maybe that doesn't just indicate disinterest in the proposal. What if the conference's failure removes an impediment to another competing interest? And if Alton's proposal is open and voluntary to anyone who wishes to join, what form of alternative or counter-agenda does that open the door for? Maybe nothing. Or maybe something that's oppressive and less voluntary in nature."
Mara blankly stared at Caleb, while Hakizimana thoughtfully tapped his chin with a fingertip. Seconds felt like hours as Caleb stood helplessly before the two vampires, wondering if his life were about to end.
I should've just run like hell for the conference center, he belatedly determined.
Eventually, Hakizimana sagely nodded his head.
"An interesting possibility. Granted, it's a great deal of speculation, but it's worth considering."
Caleb felt cautiously hopeful for the first time that evening. Then something else occurred to him.
"Um, if you don't mind me asking, why don't you infiltrate the conference and find out for yourself?"
Mara groaned. "What do you think I was trying to do when you saw me?"
"No," Caleb countered, "I mean, from the inside."
"And how do you propose we do that?" Hakizimana asked.
"Easy," he explained. "Just attend the conference."
Mara stared at the tall vampire next to her. The dark-featured man's eyes widened with some surprise.
"You have a gift for guile, for a human," he observed. "As if Alton's going to just invite me in, much less Katrina, who I'm sure won't be very pleased to see me."
Caleb admitted the logic of his statement. It was time for another gamble.
"Okay, point taken. But what if I could guarantee your safe admission to the conference?"
"And precisely what is your method of guarantee?" Mara demanded.
"Me," he offered. "I'll personally guarantee your safe consultation with Alton about this. My life for my word."
"We could take your life now," she flatly ventured.
Caleb contained a shiver at her cold tone and countered, "Yes, but it won't get you admission into the conference if you kill me now."
Hakizimana chuckled. "Well played, young man. Perhaps we'll consider your boon."
Caleb optimistically regarded the tall vampire.
"Any other bargaining chips up your sleeve?" Mara inquired.
He grinned. "Well, maybe..."
Paige strolled outside among the flowerbeds at the front of the conference center, appreciating the cool evening breeze. The shuttle bus pulled up before the hotel entrance with returning guests who had taken an earlier journey into town. She peered up at the partial moon in the sky and inhaled the fragrance of the nearby flowers. She also detected the telltale scent of a certain aftershave.
"Lovely night for a stroll," Ethan offered, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Devoid of doctor's coat and stethoscope, he looked like a tourist in his casual slacks and collared shirt.
She looked up at him. "Sure, if you like that whole romantic walk in the park sort of thing."
"You don't?" he asked with some surprise.
"I never said that," she demurred.
Her radio suddenly crackled to life with the voice of a tense security guard. "Captain Turner to the west exterior side of the conference center immediately! We've got visitors."
Paige and Ethan moved like a blur as they raced to the other side of the facility.
When they arrived on the scene, four vampire security guards were pointing submachine guns at Caleb and two other vampires whom Paige didn't recognize. She sensed his anxiety and immediately noticed that his left hand had been recently injured. Her concern for him was quickly superseded by building anger directed towards the two vampires flanking him whose appearance matched his descriptions of the two vampires who had confronted him in Katrina's backyard, as well as the woman at the Italian restaurant.
"Who are you, and what have you done to Caleb?" Paige demanded. She sensed Ethan's solid presence beside her.
"It's okay, Paige," Caleb reassured her. "It was an accident."
"We're here under a flag of truce. We merely need to speak with Alton," Hakizimana calmly explained.
"If that's true, then let the young man come over here," Paige negotiated.
Mara moved closer behind Caleb, gripping the top of his left shoulder in her hand and firmly squeezing.
"Um, I'm kind of guaranteeing their safety," Caleb tensely countered.
Paige growled, and Mara's grip immediately lessened, resulting in a sense of relief on Caleb's face.
"Get Alton out here now," Paige commanded into her radio, knowing that if Alton came, so would Katrina.
Minutes later, Caleb watched as two figures virtually materialized out of the darkness to stand to the right of Paige. Alton maintained a neutral expression, while Katrina's was virtually livid, her emerald eyes brightly lit. Between her visage and her red hair shifting in the evening breeze, she looked liked a beautiful demon from hell ready to unleash both fury and brimstone on those around her, and Caleb shivered slightly.
Mara's eyes widened as she sensed the tension in his body, and she readjusted to a more aggressive stance.
"You rang, Hakizimana?" Alton quipped as he soberly studied the tall vampire.
The tall vampire inclined his head in greeting. "Alton Rutherford, I've come to request admittance to your conference."
Alton's eyebrows curiously rose. "I see. And what, may I ask, caused you to reconsider my offer of nearly a year ago? An offer you pointedly rejected twice, as I recall."
"Remarkably, this young man," the yellow-eyed vampire matter-of-factly replied.
"Really?" Alton incredulously challenged.
Katrina appeared astonished, but said nothing.
"Well, kiddo's just full of surprises," Paige whispered.
Alton dismissed the gun-wielding vampires around him with a wave of his hand. They looked at Paige for confirmation, and she curtly assented.
The four vampires shouldered their weapons and quietly slipped back into the night.
"And what, exactly, did Caleb say that piqued your interest?" Katrina demanded. She was quite unhappy to see Mara's hand on her mate's shoulder and even more displeased to see his wounded hand and arm. The scent of his blood played in the air between them with each passing breeze.
Hakizimana appeared circumspect for a moment. "He shared some compelling arguments concerning the best interests of those in attendance. And then, of course, there were other perks."
"Perks?" Alton pressed.
"Um, I may have mentioned that we could comp them for their suites," Caleb spoke up. "Perhaps one of the larger suites?" he tentatively added.
Paige groaned and tightly pinched the bridge of her nose between the fingers of one hand. Katrina rolled her eyes, and Ethan artfully stifled a laugh.
"I think we can arrange something," Alton diplomatically offered. "You're welcome to attend the conference, of course. You may be surprised to discover that I actually appreciate your participation."
"Thank you for your hospitality," Hakizimana offered with a slight inclination of his head.
"Are there just the two of you?" Paige guardedly inquired.
"Just Mara and I," Hakizimana replied. "However, I represent a number of other interested parties," he added.
"How many?" Katrina asked.
"Close to three dozen, including the two of us," the tall vampire replied.
Alton was immediately intrigued, and he shot a meaningful glance to Katrina.
"Excellent," he replied in a self-satisfied tone.
Katrina regarded him suspiciously, but quickly refocused her attention back on Caleb.
"And what of my mate?" she demanded with narrowed eyes.
"Naturally, I remand him back into your custody," Hakizimana offered, at which Mara released her grip on Caleb's shoulder.
Katrina crooked her finger at Caleb and wiggled it in a slow, beckoning fashion as she glared at him with a penetrating stare.
He swallowed hard, fleetingly wondering if he didn't feel more comfortable in Mara's grasp. Nevertheless, he moved away from the two vampires to within a few feet of Katrina.
"Perhaps we should arrange for your accommodations," Alton politely suggested to the two visitors with a gesture of his hand towards the conference center.
Hakizimana inclined his head in a gracious manner, and he and Mara followed Alton. Paige cast a curious, yet concerned, glance at Caleb before turning to fall in behind the trio. Ethan quickly surveyed Katrina's displeased features and looked at Caleb with concern.
"Let's have a look at those abrasions, Caleb," he reassuringly suggested and moved towards the young man.
Katrina held up her left hand, insisting, "I think that I've got this. Thank you for your concern, Doctor."
Ethan looked at Caleb, who shrugged.
"Thanks, Doc," he replied. "But don't wander too far," he sheepishly quipped. "I just might need you later by the look of things."
Katrina cast him a withering expression, though his comment elicited an amused smile from Ethan.
"I'm always a mere call away," he politely affirmed and turned to walk back towards the conference center.
"Very funny," Katrina remarked, somewhat relieved that her mate's sense of humor had returned. "Let me see your arm," she insisted, reaching out to him.
He stepped forward, extending his left arm to her.
She observed him in a stern manner that might chill a simmering volcano, but gently held his arm in her soft hands as she scrutinized his abrasions.
"Let's go back to the room, and I'll seal these," she suggested.
He nodded with resignation and fell into step beside her as they walked to the hotel. While there was no denying that he was happy to be back safely at the conference site, he was nonetheless concerned about Katrina's mood.
"I thought I was trying to help, but as with everything lately, all that I managed to do is make you angry," he lamented.
She looked at the man who had captured her heart, draping one arm around his waist as they walked.
"I realize that you mean well, my love," she conceded. "You're so young and full of adventure, but there are moments when you lack the wisdom to make sound decisions. It's a burden of youth, I'm afraid, and something that will develop with time."
She only hoped that she could keep him alive long enough for wisdom to set in.
He tried not to feel offended by her critical observations. "Alton seemed quite pleased with the results this evening," he tentatively ventured.
"But your methods are reckless, occasionally bordering on foolhardy," she snapped. "You're going to get yourself killed, Caleb."
He winced slightly over her biting admonition while simultaneously struggling to contain his irritation at being scolded almost like a child.
She caught herself before she continued her rant, and instead made a conscious effort to settle her temper as they walked.
Heaven help me, I sound like some horrible, angry bitch, she shamefully realized.
"Look," she patiently attempted, "this is hard for me. The stakes are escalating, along with the danger, and I don't want to lose you."
"I don't want to lose you either," he blurted, not fully realizing the intensity of his feelings, or their implied double meaning, until that moment. Given Katrina's lengthy obligations to committee sessions, it already felt as if he had been practically alone on the trip as it was.
She halted in midstride while encircling his waist with her arm and turned to stare into his gentle, pale-blue eyes. For as much as he was a capable young man by human standards, he appeared somewhat vulnerable to her.
"You're not going to lose me, my love," she calmly reassured him.
He offered a wan smile, and she bent down to kiss him warmly on the lips. Appreciative for her intimate attentions, he gratefully returned her kiss.
"Honestly, none of this is easy for me, either, and I'm trying my best to adapt to situations as events unfold. I want to prove to you that I can actually handle adversity. I know that you worry about me, and I'd like to promise you that I'll stay out of trouble, but I just can't make any guarantees," he earnestly offered.
She couldn't help but admire how determined and sincere he sounded. A previous, fanciful thought from earlier that morning gravitated to the forefront of her mind.
"Really? I think I can help with that," she resolutely remarked. "I'm half-tempted to handcuff you to the bed. Perhaps that will keep you out of trouble."
"What?" he countered with a wide-eyed expression.
"Just during the day, my love," she equivocated as she ushered their renewed walk back towards the hotel.
"Um, I think not!" he heatedly challenged while half-heartedly attempting to pull free from her grasp.
She slyly chuckled.
My sense of humor's still intact too, it seems.