“Even if the old man is dead,” LaRue cautioned, “there are other alligators in this area.”
“I thought you said nothing was here but the big one,” Gary protested.
“I think you are right. The old one is dead.” LaRue’s faded eyes searched the landscape. He inhaled sharply. “The stench is fading, and the regular rhythm of the bayou is already restoring itself. See the way that log lies half-buried in the mud? That is no log. Stay in the boat.”
Gary paced impatiently until Beau managed to maneuver the craft to the edge of the swamp. Gary, thick blankets in his arms, jumped to ground and sank two inches into the bog. LaRue shook his head. “The land is unstable here. If you sink into the marsh, you’re dead.” More carefully he tested the land and led the way from spot to spot of firmer ground.
Gary spied the two bodies lying on a mound of rotting vegetation. Swearing, heedless of his own safety, he crossed the distance at a run. A jacket covered their faces. Both appeared dead. He checked their pulses. Neither had one. Gregori’s clothes were torn and dirty. The amount of dried blood staining the material in so many places was appalling. Before LaRue could see them clearly, Gary covered them from head to toe with a thick blanket.
“We have to get them into your boat quickly. Is there a dark room, a cave, anywhere dark we can take them?” Gary asked. He was already lifting Savannah into his arms.
LaRue watched him carry her to his boat. “A hospital would be good.” He made the suggestion in a soft, reasonable tone, as if he feared Gary had lost his mind.
Gary made certain that every inch of Savannah’s skin was hidden beneath the blanket before hurrying back to Gregori. “I’ll need help with him. Don’t let the blanket slip. He’s very allergic to the sun.”
“Is he alive?” LaRue bent to remove the wrapping so that he could check. The wounds were deep and nasty.
Gary caught his wrist. “Gregori said you were someone he trusted. Help me get him into the boat, and find us a place in the dark where they can rest. I’ll take care of them. I’m a doctor, and I brought what they need.” He picked up Gregori’s shoulders and stood waiting for the other man to make up his mind.
Beau hesitated, puzzlement on his face, but then he lifted Gregori’s legs and they struggled in silence with the dead weight, inching their way across the unstable, sponge-like ground. Once inside the boat, Gary wrapped Gregori like a mummy in a blanket, pulling both bodies beneath the craft’s awning. “Get us out of here and to a dark place fast,” he commanded.
Beau shook his head, but he started the boat. He would have liked to examine the pile of smoldering ashes, the scorch marks on the reeds and rocks. Something terrible had taken place there. He knew Gary was right. Old man alligator was dead. The terror of the bayou had finally been reduced to the legend everyone thought he was.
Gary knelt between the bodies, his heart pounding in dread. He hadn’t taken the time to examine them closely; he didn’t dare in the sun or with the captain watching. Please God he hadn’t failed them, he hadn’t been too late. Gregori had lost so much blood. What would happen to him? Why hadn’t he asked the couple more questions while he had the opportunity? He dropped his face into his hands and prayed.
“They are good friends of yours?” Beau ventured compassionately.
“Very good friends. Like family. Gregori saved my life on more than one occasion,” Gary answered carefully, not wanting to reveal too much.
“I have such a friend. He is like this one. He had a place not too far from here that he often stayed in when we’d spent too much time in the swamp. He didn’t like the sun either. I’ll take you there. Gregori and Savannah know him. I don’t think Julian would mind.”
The boat began to pick up speed now that they were out of the root-choked channel and into the clear water. “Thank you,” Gary said gratefully.
Beau LaRue knew the bayou like his own backyard. He took the boat to the top safe speed and found every shortcut he could think of. When they approached land, it was a small island with a single hunting cabin on it. The cypress trees were thick, nearly impenetrable. “The ground is very firm here in the center of the island. It doesn’t look so, but there is a trail of stepping stones leading through the mire. We can take them to Julian’s secret place. He owns this piece of land, and it’s always undisturbed. He isn’t a man one wants to trifle with.”
They took Gregori first because Beau had to lead the way. He picked his way carefully, every step placed on a round stone in the muck. It was difficult going with Gregori so big, his body a dead weight. Beau could not discern the rise and fall of the man’s chest, but he refrained from saying so. It seemed insane to him to take someone so mortally wounded to a dark, damp cavern, but he had seen Julian go to this place on more than one occasion when the sun was rising to its peak.
The cave they approached was man-made and very small. There was almost no room to stand. They laid Gregori’s body full length on the dirt floor in the darkness and retreated quickly, Gary anxious to get Savannah out of the light. He lifted Savannah into his arms and faced the captain. “Thanks for your help. I’ll attend to these two. Leave my bags right here on the stones. I’ll see to Savannah and come back for them.”
“You want me to stay?” Beau asked, torn between curiosity and his ingrained belief in privacy. Gary shook his head, already moving across the stones.
Beau cast off, started the engine. “I’ll check to see if you need me later tonight.”
“Thanks,” Gary called over his shoulder, hurrying to get Savannah’s body out of the sun.
He sank down beside the two still bodies, breathing hard, worried that they might truly be dead. He was even afraid to bathe Gregori’s fearsome wounds, not certain what harm it might do. He passed the time playing solitaire, drinking from his canteen, and going back and forth between being certain they were dead and sure they would rise with the setting of the sun.
Out across the bayou the sky finally became a smoky gray. Gary crawled to the entrance to the cave and stared out at the gathering night. It couldn’t happen too fast to suit him. When he turned his head, he saw the rise and fall of Gregori’s chest beneath the blanket.
Gregori felt hunger first, then pain. He blocked them both and assessed the damage done to his body. He had lost a good amount of blood, but Savannah had replenished him. It took a short time to focus, to go inside himself and heal the gaping wounds. Even with what Savannah had given him, he was in desperate need of blood. Only after he had closed the lacerations so that there was no further blood loss, he stirred, then sat up. He could hear a heart beating close by, the ebb and flow of life rushing hotly, calling to him so that his fangs began to lengthen in his need.
His mind automatically reached for Savannah. She had saved him. He was getting used to her pulling him back from tight spots. There was no lack of courage in Savannah. He found her life-light huddled in a small corner of his mind. She had brought herself to the brink of death in order to give him life. Swearing, he pushed the blanket from his body and shoved hers aside. He gathered her close and examined every inch of her.
The loud, insistent beat of the heart so close to them, so filled with the rush of life, drew his attention. Slowly Gregori turned his head to see Gary watching him from the entrance to the cave. He had known he was there, knew it was Gary who had taken them from the swamp and found them a dark, safe place to sleep.
“I owe you much,” Gregori greeted the human softly. Hunger gnawed again, and he could feel his incisors sharpen in response. His lifemate needed sustenance immediately. “Stay with her while I hunt.”
Gary took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “You can use my blood. I knew you would wake hungry.”
The hard edge to Gregori’s mouth softened momentarily. “I do not merely hunger, my friend. I need. Savannah needs. I can be dangerous in this state. I would never risk your life.”