A Kiss of Blood (Vamp City #2)(19)

“I know, Vampire,” she said testily. “You’ve reminded me three times.”

“You’re acting like a helicopter parent, Ax,” Micah chided, coming to stand at the foot of the wagon. “Hover, hover, hover. Quinn’s a smart girl.”

Arturo grunted. “You haven’t seen her in the full throes of her power.” Truthfully, he had reason to be concerned. She was nearly sick with worry that they wouldn’t make it out of Gonzaga kovena lands . . . Cristoff’s lands . . . without being stopped. If anyone figured out who she was, and that Zack was her brother . . . The thought caught in her throat until she could barely breathe around it.

Arturo rounded the wagon and reached for her, his hand curling around her knee. “Cara mia,” he said softly, “I’ll not let anything happen to you.”

She swallowed, annoyed that he could feel her emotions. “Neither will I.”

His mouth tightened just a fraction. With a nod, he straightened and turned to the two Traders who would drive the team of horses. “Off with you.”

One of the Traders flicked the reins, and, a moment later, the wagon lurched forward. As they braced themselves against the sudden movement, Quinn and Zack exchanged wary, worried looks. So many things could go wrong, even if the two vampires really were wholly on their side this time.

Quinn had been shocked by Arturo’s inviting the two Traders into his living room earlier. Her only experiences with them had been bad ones. But she supposed all Traders were no more coldhearted mercenaries than all humans were Mother Teresas. Arturo had introduced them as friends and told her they could be trusted. And so, for now, she’d reserve judgment. Allies might well make the difference between life and death in this place. Twice she’d struck out on her own in Vamp City, and twice she’d been caught. And that was before she had a price on her head. With Cristoff’s entire guard contingent searching for her, her situation was far more precarious.

Plus, where would she go? If there was a safe haven anywhere in Vamp City, she didn’t know about it. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She’d trust the vampires until they gave her a reason to doubt their motives. In the meantime, it wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye open for alternatives.

The wagon rattled along the dirt road, the wheels hitting pits and rocks, knocking Quinn into the rails closest to the Traders often enough and hard enough that she was going to have bruises. At least she and Zack sat deep in the shadows, where they’d be the least likely to draw attention if anyone saw them.

They’d left the city behind quickly and without incident—urban structures hadn’t extended much past downtown in 1870—and now traveled through the woods. The dead woods. The only trees that grew in V.C.—and they grew in abundance—were dead ones. Which twisted her scientific mind into knots. But there was only so much that science could explain in a world created from magic.

Quinn ducked her head, peering out, wishing she could see some sign of Arturo and Micah in the dark. She’d feel better if she knew they were close by. Arturo had promised they’d follow at a distance, keeping watch without making it obvious they were associated with the Traders and their human cargo. And as the wagon had pulled out of Arturo’s yard, she’d seen him and Micah mounting horses, so she had to believe the trip was going as planned. A plan that, hopefully, she wasn’t going to have to kill Arturo over.

On the bright side, she and Arturo had developed some kind of link when he first sucked her blood—an unusual link that allowed him to sense her emotions and allowed him to speak to her telepathically. She wasn’t sure why it had formed. Maybe because of her magic. To her knowledge, he never heard her thoughts in return, so if they got into trouble, she wouldn’t be able to call for help. But the moment her terror spiked, he’d know.

She shivered at the thought that he’d been right across the hall, in Mike’s apartment, on and off the past couple of weeks. Had he felt her dreaming about him? And she had, on too many occasions, dreamed he was back in her arms and in her bed. Heat began to rise into her cheeks. Of course he had. No wonder he’d been so quick to want a few minutes alone with her.

A faint light caught her eye in the distance, and she peered out again, recognizing the windows of a house. She wondered who lived there. Vampires? Werewolves? That probably depended on where they were.

From what she’d learned on her previous visits, Vamp City was in the shape of a disc, its borders a circle extending approximately three miles in every direction from the spot they called the Focus, where Phineas Blackstone had originally summoned the magic to create it. Vamp masters had laid claim to land around the outer circle for their kovenas, the vamp equivalent of mob families. The unclaimed lands between them were called the Nod. The wild and dangerous inner lands were called the Crux, home to the werewolves and the Rippers.

“Do you know where we’re going?” Zack asked quietly.

“No clue. How are you feeling?”

“Hungry.”

Quinn rolled her eyes, then smiled to herself. He’d eaten enough for four men less than two hours ago. Zack was definitely feeling better.

“There’ll be food where we’re going,” one of the Traders commented, his voice low and scratchy. Apparently, Traders not only had good night vision but good hearing. They ought to, considering the size of those ears.

A moment later, the same Trader spoke again. “We’ve got company coming.”