Page 30 of Sergi (Of Blood & Dreams #7)
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sergi stood next to a pool of water large enough to bathe in, but he didn’t like the steam rising off it. When Alex squatted as if she would drink, he yanked her back so quickly she fell on her backside and glared up at him.
“I just wanted to see if it was drinkable.”
“You don’t have to get that close to know it isn’t. Look at the vegetation around it.” He pointed to the brown leaves and grasses that encircled the pool. “It might be drinkable, and it was only the heat that killed the grasses. The other possibility is acidic water created by gases, toxic enough to burn the flesh off you. There will be more pools that are safe enough to refill our water bottles and warm enough to bathe.”
She stood and brushed off her backside, still irritated but no longer glaring at him. “How do you know so much? Are you from this area?”
He shook his head. “I’ve fought many battles in the Carpathians. This area is rife with volcanic activity, which creates these pools.”
He moved on, following trails that led in the general direction of a village he remembered seeing on the map of the area. A map he’d studied for hours preparing for this mission.
“How long will it take us to get to a town?”
“Two or three days. This side of the mountain is more treacherous, and I doubt we’ll find a direct trail. We might find a logging road, but I didn’t see any on the map. Our first task is to find a cave where we can stay the night. It’s almost dusk, and we don’t want to be out in the open.”
A half-hour later, they found a living room-sized cave tall enough to stand in. Sergi checked for any evidence a wild animal might have been using it but didn’t find anything to be concerned about.
“I’ll find some wood so we can start a fire.” He dropped the backpack in the center of the cave.
“Don’t we need something to start it with?”
Sergi pointed to the pack. “I grabbed a few supplies. There should be a lighter in there.”
“A vampire who thinks ahead.”
He gave her a quick grin. “We’re not all savages. I’ll be back soon.”
She looked like she wanted to say something but didn’t. Instead, she squatted next to the backpack and started rummaging through it.
Sergi walked farther than he wanted before finding branches and wood dry enough to start a fire. When he returned, he found the cave empty except for the backpack and a few things Alex had pulled out. Then he spotted her clothes lying in a pile. She’d shifted.
He dropped the firewood and considered following her. He didn’t remember seeing any wolf prints by the entrance, but he’d been focused on the interior of the cave. And if he was honest, he needed food. A growl from his stomach, or was it his beast, validated his thoughts. At least he’d found a few nutrition bars and a small container of nuts.
He decided he’d give her wolf time to stretch its legs before worrying about her. But if she wasn’t back in a half hour, he’d have to search for her. He didn’t even know what her wolf looked like.
He started a fire, and as he watched it catch on the twigs and branches, his thoughts turned to Devon. It had been a week, maybe more, since he’d been captured, and Devon would have acted once the team’s transmitters showed no movement. The question was whether he would send a large enough force to make a difference. When small footsteps interrupted his thoughts, he grabbed a dagger and jumped up.
A wolf, the size of a mastiff but thinner, stood in the entrance, a dead rabbit in its mouth. It stared at Sergi, and when he made no move, it walked to the fire and dropped the rabbit. Once it was in the light of the now blazing fire, he could make out its coloring. Mostly white with strips of brown, black, and gray running through it. A striking color.
The wolf continued to stare at him, and he said the only thing he could think of. “Thank you.”
Then it yipped and raced from the cave.
Alex was on the hunt. He grinned as he picked up the rabbit and, with his dagger already in hand, began to skin it. He would have preferred something with more meat, but beggars and all.
The wolf brought three more rabbits before Alex shifted back to her human form. He didn’t mean to stare at her nakedness, but he couldn’t help but appreciate what sleek muscles she’d been able to retain after a year of near starvation and little activity.
That wasn’t the entire reason he couldn’t look away, though he knew how rude it was. But he wasn’t currently in control. His beast had a soft spot for the shifter. He brushed it off as nothing more than gratitude for a life saved. It was impossible to know where he’d be now if Gheata had gotten another dose of the modified Magic Poppy in him.
She’d been staring at him as well, and a slight smile curved her lips before she turned away and slipped on her clothes. “I think that second rabbit is done cooking.”
That broke his stare, and he removed it from the spit he’d made as she handed him the next one he’d skinned to be placed on the fire.
She sat near him and took the cooked rabbit he offered her, while he picked up the first one he’d laid on a stone near the fire to keep warm. “You shouldn’t have waited to eat that. It’s been some time since I’ve had to cook rabbit over a fire. The one thing I can remember is that it doesn’t taste as good cold. And you need something to eat.”
“It’s still warm enough, and the same goes for you. How long has it been since you’ve eaten meat?”
“It’s been a while. They gave us porridge for breakfast with an occasional egg. For dinner, and lunch when they were generous, we got stew that was more vegetable than meat.”
“It’s easier to handle shifters when they aren’t fed meat.”
She ripped a piece of flesh from the rabbit and ate it greedily. Then she quickly swallowed a second piece, and before he ate half of his, she tossed the bones into the fire. She licked her fingers as she watched him eat, then grinned.
“You’re right. I needed that. It was all I could do to stop the wolf from eating them raw.”
He grimaced. “It’s been a long time since I had to do that. It wasn’t pleasant.”
“So, how old are you?” She poked at the cooking rabbit and what little fat there was sparked a sizzle when it hit the flames.
“I thought it wasn’t polite to ask,” he teased.
“That’s a human thing. Or are vampires more sensitive than I’ve been told.”
“Who said we’re sensitive?” A spark of indignation came out of nowhere.
She grinned. “I think you just did.”
He laughed and shook his head as he dumped the bones from his rabbit in the fire. He flexed his shoulders, and a light pain nagged. He ignored it. “Sometime before the Middle Ages.”
She stared at him for the longest moment, and he turned his focus to the cooking rabbit.
“The oldest vampire I met was born during the Napoleonic war. I thought he was ancient until my uncle told me he was just reaching his prime.”
Sergi leaned back on his hands and stretched out his legs, his body warm from the fire. “I know a few vampires, barely over a hundred, who would question that statement. Like many of the young, they haven’t grasped the full weight of longevity.” He considered his words. “I think it depends on which House they come from and whether they’ve been around true ancients. The smaller Houses don’t view it the same as the larger ones.”
“And how did you feel when you were barely over a hundred?” Her grin showed a playful side that he found endearing.
He laughed. “Like a young stud who knew everything and challenged everyone.”
She laughed as if she expected his answer. “When did you become wise?”
He considered the last few days bound to a wall and the memories the torture had produced. A past he hadn’t thought about in a long time, except for his brief discussion with Devon before he’d left on this mission. Maybe that was why it was so easy to select one moment over all his other memories.
“The first time I met Devon Trelane.” He shook his head as Alex pulled the cooked rabbit from the spit and put the last one over the fire. “He was barely a hundred and I not much older. I didn’t know who he was at first, caught up in my own anger as I disparaged the House leader’s son who was to take charge of the army.”
She nodded as she ripped several pieces of flesh from the rabbit before leaning over to hand him the rest. “Was it because this son showed no skill for war or that he was too young?”
He swallowed a bite and shrugged as he pulled another piece from the bone. “At the time, both. So I bet this stranger, whom I assumed to be part of the young whelp’s command, to a fight.”
Alex grinned as if she knew where the story was going, and she scooted closer.
He told her of battling the warrior, who had been an equal match, before he realized he was fighting the Master’s son. When he told her of throwing his shield and sword down before falling to his knees, she laughed with delight, and he couldn’t help but grin. When he felt his face flush, he blamed it on the fire.
When her laughter died, her expression turned serious, her brows lowered as she considered his story. “You’ve been with this House ever since?”
“Yes. I was Captain of the Guard for many centuries before the title became obsolete with industrialization and fewer wars of any consequence, at least to vampires. Then I became Devon’s bodyguard and eventually cadre when his parents were killed by Venizi, and he became House leader.”
He watched her as little lines formed above her nose. He suspected she was mulling over his words, and when she spoke, he was pleased he’d read her correctly.
“I thought it was possible for a House leader to grant someone they find worthy a House of their own, or did I misunderstand that?”
“You’re correct.” He was surprised by how much she knew about vampires. He imagined to young shifters it was considered Vampire 101—know your enemy. “It’s rarely done these days but was considered a reward for bravery in battle in defense of the House. Devon offered it to me once, but I turned it down.”
“Why wouldn’t you want your own House?” Once the question was asked, she lowered her head. “I’m sorry. That was rude.” She played with the sleeve of the lab coat she’d put back on.
“It’s a fair question considering how long I’ve been with House Trelane.” She lifted her head, and he shrugged. “You’re thinking of it from a pack perspective, and if that was all it was, perhaps I would have reconsidered. Vampire politics and law are a quagmire of corruption. For a vampire born to a House leader, they’re trained from a young age to someday run the House. I have no desire to be that type of vampire. I understand the politics and how to maneuver around them, but I prefer to serve. Devon gives me more opportunities to lead than I desire.”
“What you actually mean is that you’ve grown comfortable.”
He growled and focused on the cooking rabbit, but all she did was smile. She had a beautiful smile. In fact, she had several types, and he already knew the differences. A shy smile when she’d trailed her fingers over his tattoos when she thought him asleep. A smile that was pure joy when she’d seen that Cadfael and Carlos were safe. A knowing smile when she didn’t believe a thing he said. And the smile she gave him now. It was close to the one that said he spoke bullshit, but this one added an extra layer. One that said she was challenging him and his beliefs, and when she proved she was right, he’d see himself for the fool he was.
His first instinct was to react with irritation as he did when Cressa challenged him. Until he realized that with Alex, he welcomed the challenge. After staring at her for a few minutes, he gave her a devilish grin. “Perhaps we’ll have to put your theory to the test.”
Her laugh was lusty as she pulled the last rabbit off the spit. “So, tell me, vampire, since you know the Carpathians so well, what perils will we face before reaching civilization?”
He didn’t believe for one moment that she’d given up. Her change of topic was merely a ruse. She’d wait for a more opportune time to tease him further. He reached over to take his share of the rabbit, which was larger than the last. “The only true threat is the wild shifters, but there are bears and wolves in the area. We’ll want to stick to deer trails, but you’ll want to keep your wolf close to the surface. We should be able to make a lot of ground tomorrow, assuming the weather remains mild, but we’ll be spending at least one more night in the woods.”
She nodded. “Maybe you can find one of those warm pools.” She sniffed her armpit. “I could use a bath.”
To see her naked again wouldn’t be a bad thing, and he grinned. His cheeks hurt from how much he’d smiled since meeting her. “I’ll see what I can do about that.”