The Frenzy Series (Book 2): Frantic (27 page)

“The dark-headed vampire that I don’t care for,” she huffed, crossing her arms and pursing her lips.

“Roman?”

“That’s him. He came and said it would hurt you if I died, so he wanted to help.” Maggie looked to Tage as he stood in the doorway.

“He’s up to something. You could see it in his eyes. You keep clear of that one, you hear me?”

“I’ll try,” I promised, taking hold of her hand. The blanket was one she’d sewn. It was a patchwork of different fabrics, but looked like it fit together perfectly. Vivid and spunky. Very Maggie. I imagined she had been quite a handful in her prime.

“Who are you?” she asked candidly.

“Tage,” he replied.

“You’re the one helping her?” Maggie grinned. “Oh, ho! Saul does
not
like you, fella.”

He smiled, leaning against the frame of the door. “I know.”

Ella cleared her throat behind him and Tage stood up straight, his cheeks turning pink. A blushing night-walker. And Tage, to boot! HA!

“Sorry. It’s just…never mind,” Tage fumbled.

Maggie nodded her head. “A wise man knows when he is outnumbered.”

“I have to go, Maggie,” I said quickly. “I just wanted to check on you. I don’t know when I’ll be able to come back. I don’t know when they’ll let me.”

She nodded, squeezing my hand. “Don’t you worry about me. I’m fit as a fiddle. Your brother and father have both been by today. Thank them for the company if you see them before I do.” I would be seeing Ford. Very soon.

I hugged her again, kissed her softly on the cheek, and stood up. Tage said goodbye and the other customary things like, nice to finally meet you, hope you get better soon, etcetera, and we walked out the door. As we stepped toward the front door, Ella called out, “Come back anytime, Porschia.” She smiled, her eyes filling with understanding.

“Thank you.” It meant everything to me. Somehow she finally saw the same girl I’d always been. She saw me as me, as
human
me, and someone who would never hurt Maggie. She saw me as someone capable of love, maybe even someone who could love her son. Or at least I hoped Ella was saying that. It sure seemed that way.

We sped across the land, between houses and outbuildings, down sidewalks and through yards. “Let’s cross near the barn,” Tage said, trying his best to keep up with me.

“Sounds good.”

There was another fallen tree there, but it was close to the water. When we got to the crossing, it was almost covered. Dark, frothy water lapped at the wood, sometimes bursting overtop. “Snow melt,” Tage said. “It’s not the best idea.”

“It would give us the element of surprise.”

“If you fall in…”

“I won’t. I’m strong. Are you afraid?” I teased.

“Hell, no. Let’s do this. Ladies first,” he said with a bow, sweeping his hand toward the log. My bravado disappeared in a second. Mother fell in. I might fall in.
What if I fell in? What if something happened and I didn’t make it across? What if Dara was already draining Saul?
With that thought spurring me on, I sprang across, foot finding the log once, just enough to propel me forward, and Tage was right behind. We sniffed the air. Northwest. Saul was northwest and Ford was with him. So was Dara. Lightning struck through my veins.

“Wait up!” Tage yelled. I was already gone, but I wasn’t stupid. I would let him catch up, and then I’d stop to assess the situation before pouncing.

The snow had melted and frozen back over again. Ford was walking to my left, with Dara to my right. We took it slow. The terrain was slick, which made hunting nearly impossible since the animals could hear our boots crunching from half a mile away. Walking along the ridgeline, we saw nothing. No movement. Other than old animal prints that were half-melted, it seemed like the forest was empty except for us and the wind.

“I can’t even hear anything,” Ford whispered.

There was no sound. No rustling. Nothing in the trees.

“Let’s keep walking,” I answered. “Eventually we’ll have to find something, right?”

Ford nodded half-heartedly, readjusting his grip on the crossbow. It was the lightest I could find, but it was still too heavy for him. Though he acted like an adult, Ford was just a teenage kid. He was like the brother I didn’t have, and I promised myself and Porschia that I’d look after him.

Dara had been quiet. She usually was during the hunts, but more so tonight. Maybe it was just that everything else was so still. I glanced over at Dara to see her sniffing the air.

“What is it?” I whispered. I knew she could smell the animals before we could see them.

“A complication.”

Ford huffed, his breath coming out in a big cloud of white steam. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” Dara said. “Look, there’s nothing here. Let’s just walk toward the others. Maybe we’ll scare something toward them.”

Ford looked to me for the final say. “Yeah. There’s nothing here.” His eyes flashed with concern. He must have also felt the strangeness in the air. There was nothing here, nothing we could do, but if we could find the others, there was strength in numbers.

Unease made me tighten the hold on my crossbow. Our boots crunched over the ridge as we began our descent. Nothing stirred around us but the bitter wind.

Dara smelled something, but she wasn’t saying what. A complication? More like a rotter. Were they in the forest? I sure as heck couldn’t see anything other than a thick blanket of crunchy snow that was more ice than anything, trees, and the dark sky above us. Our breath was visible, too. I was more than happy to keep moving. At this rate, I wouldn’t be able to feel my toes by morning. Plus, if we could get to Roman, I would feel better.

I wished Porschia was here. Roman said she was sick, too sick to go into the cold. When she went into the river after Mother, something happened. I asked Roman about it. “I thought night-walkers could withstand water and any temperature, even freezing ones?” I asked him.

His eyes narrowed. “Normally they can, but Porschia is different.”

Several slips, falls, and freezing miles later, we found Victor, Tim, Julian, and Roman. Tage had stayed behind at the house to guard Porschia, which meant they had her locked in the cell again. Everyone was tight-lipped about it and I didn’t know if she was going nuts again, or if the Elders made them lock her up.

She didn’t hurt Mother, so why would they punish her for anything that had happened?

Roman waved as we approached. “Nothing?” he asked.

“Nothing at all, man,” Saul said, shaking his head and looking out into the forest.

“Do you want to return to the Colony and try again tomorrow?” Dara asked. She really rubbed me the wrong way, the way she was always looking at Saul even though she knew he and Porschia were together…sort of.

Victor and Tim spoke up at the same time. “Yes.” Tim blew into his gloved hands. Victor shifted on his feet.

“Agreed,” Roman said. “Let’s get out of here.”

He led the way down the hill and toward Blackwater. It would be a long walk back, but at least we could get home soon and get warm!

I pressed the heels of my palms against my head. The whispers. The voices wouldn’t stop. Different voices.

How much longer until they come back?

It’s freezing.

Do you think they smell us?

“What’s wrong?” Tage asked, brow furrowed.

“Don’t you hear them?”

“Hear who?” He looked around. We’d just crossed the river, and no one was around that we could see on either side.