Unbound (The Captive #7)(62)
“Because the cave dead-ends too, or at least the direction we were going dead-ends,” she replied. “At least here we will hear and see them coming. We will be able to attack them before they can enter here and we can climb out through the roots if we must. Besides, the chances of them finding the crevice to lead them here are slim to none. I’ve hidden here before.”
Max’s teeth ground together. If she was telling the truth, she’d been right to bring them here. If? He saw no reason why she would lie to him, but he hadn’t lived this long by not being cautious.
Daniel stepped forward and craned his neck to peer up at the thick roots twining down from above. “We can make it through them if we must,” he agreed. “Timber, come with me. We’ll listen for the vampires if they come this way. Max stay here and watch above.”
Daniel and Timber cautiously crept back across the cavern beneath the roots and to the jagged crevice in the wall. They took a position along the sides of the rock walls to wait for any possible attack.
“What are you doing here?” the girl inquired, drawing Max’s attention back to her.
She’d pulled her legs up against her chest and hugged them to her slim frame. He guessed her to be no more than five feet tall. She was delicate looking with her slender hands, a ski-slope nose, and pouty lips. When she turned to face him completely, he saw a scar running down the right side of her face, but he couldn’t see the extent of it through the dark.
“We are meeting with some friends,” he replied. “What are you doing here?”
She shrugged and rested her chin on her knees. “I live here.”
“In this cave?”
“Sometimes. Sometimes I live in the forest.”
“Who do you live with?”
“Friends.”
Her words made him take a closer look at her. She knew the caves well. She was elusive and had been nearly silent when she’d run at them from the woods. “You were a rebel,” he guessed.
“Aren’t we all a little bit of a rebel?”
He couldn’t stop himself from smiling at her. “Some are. Some are simply surviving.”
“And which are you?” she inquired.
“I’ve rebelled every step of the way.”
“There’s something coming again with the vampires. Something’s not right. That’s why they chased me in here. They’re hunting humans again.”
“I know. We’re preparing for it.”
Her head tilted as she studied him, seeming to try to decide if she could trust him or not. He glanced toward Daniel, knowing that he could gain the woman’s trust by revealing who Daniel was, but he wasn’t certain if he could trust her with the knowledge yet. She had been fleeing from the vamps, but he wasn’t taking any chances with his best friend’s life.
“Have you been to one of the new locations?” she inquired nonchalantly.
Max’s eyes slid back to her. “Yes. Have you?”
Her eyes ran over him again. “Perhaps.”
Smart, cautious girl.
“Then you will know how much airier they are than these caves,” he replied. Her lips clamped together. Max watched her closely but no emotion played over her pretty, dirt-streaked face.
“Very airy,” she said and turned away from him.
Were they both playing with each other, or had she really not been to one of the safe houses?
Before he could try and figure out the answer to that question, the earth around them began to shake. Bits of dirt and debris rained down from above. Darkness and moonlight flickered through the holes in the roots when figures moved over them from above. The jingle of saddles drifted through the air as horse’s hooves thudded over the ground.
Max snatched hold of the girl’s arm, holding her back when she craned her head to peer up. She shot him an irritated look and tried to jerk her arm free, but he kept hold of her. He couldn’t take the risk of her accidentally giving away their location. Beneath his hand, her wiry muscles bunched and flexed, but she remained unmoving.
He held his breath as more dirt fell through the holes and the ground around them vibrated with every step the horse’s took. Across the way, Daniel and Timber flattened themselves against the rock wall and watched as shadows danced over the holes in the trees above them.
Then, light slid back through the holes as the horses rode on. “The vampires after you, were they on horseback?” Max inquired of the girl when he was certain it was safe to talk again.
“No,” she whispered.
He looked across the way to Timber and Daniel. They wouldn’t be able to move on now, not until they had an idea of where the vamps who had chased them in here were.
“There have been a lot of vampires in this area recently. Far more than usual,” she said.
Max looked back to her. “Do you know why?”
“No.”
They were close to the cave where they had left Jack and Braith. Had the vampires realized Braith was somewhere in the area and were searching for him? The possibility chilled him. They had to get out of here and get to Jack as soon as they could—if it wasn’t already too late for Jack, Braith, and Hannah.
***
Jack
Jack let the blood from the coyote he’d caught drip into Braith’s mouth, which he’d propped open for this purpose. To him, it was such a morbid thing to do, yet everyday he caught more animals and brought them to his brother. He was feeding him more than Braith would have required if he were still alive, but he figured it took a lot to come back from the dead.