“Everything okay?” Jeff asked, stroking her clammy fingers tenderly.
“Yeah, they’re on their way.” Samantha’s eyelids slid open and she smiled at Jeff. “I’m a bad ass, you know.”
Jeff kissed her gently. “I know.”
A sharp tearing sound startled Samantha and she whipped about in her seat to see Cian peeling back the plastic. He clung to the back of the van, his long hair whipping about his face. Cassandra helped him inside, then pressed the tape back into place.
“Hi,” Samantha said, waving to him.
Cian gave her a short nod, ignored Eduardo completely, hugged his daughter and kissed her cheek. Looking flush with life, the vampire shook out his windblown hair, leaned forward, and rested his hand on the back of Samantha’s seat. “How’s it going?”
“She’s a few miles ahead, but we’re gaining,” Aimee answered.
“Jeff, do you want to be infused?” Cian asked. He was all business, his hazel eyes hard as stone.
Jeff glanced at Samantha, obviously seeking her opinion.
“Do it,” Samantha said. “You need to be able to see everything that is going on.”
“Me, too.” Alexia cast a look over her shoulder at Cian. “That cool?”
“Absolutely.” Cian lightly ruffled her short hair, showing rare affection to the human.
Alexia grudgingly allowed it.
Benchley tossed a stainless steel coffee mug over his shoulder. Cian snatched it out of the air before it hit Samantha.
“Hey!”
“I knew he’d get it,” Benchley answered. “Hit me up with some of that blood, too.”
“Is that clean?” Alexia asked worriedly.
“Does it matter?” Cian unscrewed the top before slicing his wrist open with his thumbnail.
“I guess this isn’t the time to worry about being hygienic,” Cassandra said thoughtfully.
The sound of the thick vampire blood spilling into the canister grossed out Samantha. Trying to ignore it, she leaned forward to view the map with the tiny red drop sliding over its surface.
Jeff was the first to sip the blood.
“Take three drinks,” Cian instructed, raising his wrist to lick the wound closed.
Samantha deliberately looked away when Jeff drank. He handed the canister across Samantha’s lap to Alexia. As calmly as if she was swigging a soda, Alexia took three drinks.
“Yuck,” was all she said before leaning forward to give it to her brother.
“Like communion, huh?” Benchley joked, then swigged from the canister.
Samantha frowned. “So sacrilegious.”
The van swung onto the shoulder again, scooting around a thick gnarl of big rig trucks rushing along the interstate.
“Watch it, Shark Boy!”
“It’s slowing again,” Benchley responded, then thrust the canister toward Jeff. “Put the lid on. There’s some left. I don’t need it on my floor.”
Cassandra darted around Jeff, grabbed the canister, and gulped what was left. When she finished, Cian handed her the lid. Screwing it on, Cassandra returned to her seat.
Samantha reached back to touch her hand. “We’re almost there. We’ll save her.”
The dhamphir gave her a slight smile. “I know.”
Again, Cian showed a softness that was rare as he gathered Cassandra in his arms and held her close. His daughter laid her head on his chest, obviously comforted by his affection.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Alexia cried out. “A tornado just set down at the 1604 junction!”
“What?” Samantha slanted over to see the smart phone. On Twitter there was a picture someone had snapped with their phone of a massive tornado tearing apart the overpass. Trucks and cars hurtled through the air.
“That’s where the temple is!” Benchley shoved his foot harder on the accelerator, the van sliding onto the grass bordering the shoulder. The van sped past the slowing traffic.
“It’s starting.” Aimee checked the map again. “Galina’s almost to the 1604!”
“The good news is so are we and the traffic is going to slow her down, too!” Benchley swerved briefly onto the shoulder. His big arms were tense and his jaw was set.
Cold wind filled the vehicle with a loud roar. Samantha twisted around in her seat to see Cassandra and Cian were gone.
“Oh, shit.”
Cassandra clung to her father as he swooped over the traffic below them. She had never doubted that he could fly, but to see it in action was electrifying. They hadn’t even exchanged words before he’d torn them out of the van. It was a relief to have him so likeminded. They were definitely on the same page. Like father, like daughter.
“It’s a blue Mini Cooper, white roof!” Cassandra shouted into the gust.
The long lines of vehicles stretched toward the violently swirling winds of the tornado ripping apart the 1604 junction. From their vantage point, the dhamphir and vampire could see the chaos clearly. The van would have difficulty getting through unless Benchley got very creative. As the drivers of the cars spotted the massive tornado consuming everything ahead, they were futilely attempting to get off the interstate and escape. Metal crunched and tires squealed as the cars collided. The frontage, shoulder, and the swatch of land between them were cluttered with cars and people. Some people simply abandoned their vehicles and ran.
Shrouded in shadows, no one saw the two people flying low overhead seeking out one car among many. Cassandra didn’t have time to enjoy the thrill of the flight since she was so anxious to spot her mother. The cold rush of air tore at her hair and clothes as their speed increased.
When she spotted the familiar car attempting to edge around a massive snarl of vehicles, relief flooded her. “There, Dad! There!”
Cian swooped lower and then they both dropped to the ground right behind the rear bumper of the car. Cassandra darted around to the driver’s door and Cian took the passenger side. A strange glow was emanating from within the car.
“Mom!” Cassandra dragged the door open, breaking the lock in her haste.
Galina stared straight ahead, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. Foot still pressed on the accelerator she urged her car forward, trying to push the big SUV in front of her out of her path.
“Mom!” Cassandra snatched the keys out of the ignition. “Mom!”
Staring straight ahead, Galina calmly unbuckled her seatbelt and shoved Cassandra violently out of her way. Cian made a grab for her, but Galina moved with preternatural swiftness to avoid him.
“She’s under its control!” Cian darted in front of Galina, raising his hands to stop her.
“Where is it?” Cassandra clutched her mother’s shoulders and twisted her about.
Galina struck her across the cheek with a closed fist. Cassandra staggered backward, shocked, hurt, and angry. “Stop it, Mom!” Her mother was still beautiful, but her sweetness was gone, replaced with a zombie-like stillness that terrified Cassandra.
The eerie illumination that Cassandra had witnessed before caught her eye again. It was emanating from Galina’s coat pocket. Cian saw it at the same time. Taking hold of the front of the coat, Cassandra ripped it open, the buttons bouncing off the asphalt as Cian yanked it off Galina’s arms.
Galina blinked her eyes, tilted her head, then a befuddled look came into her blue eyes. “Cass?”
The dhamphir had only a second to relish the return of her mother when she saw her father swarmed by people from all sides. Men, women, and children attacked him with nails, teeth, and hard punches. Surprised, Cian staggered backward, falling under the torrent of attackers.