“I’ll book us a room in Oregon. We’ll be able to make it there before sunrise,” I said, and while the two of us climbed in the truck, I did just that. We’d be staying in a small town just out of Klamath Falls. “We should get there before sunrise.”
“I hope you’re right,” Marlon said as I started the truck.
“I mapped it, so unless there’s an accident or something else that slows down traffic, we’ll be fine.”
“You mapped it?” Marlon asked and turned in the seat to look at me.
“Yes, a lot has changed since you were here last. I can use my phone to map out the best route to anywhere we want to go.”
“We barely had a map to follow when we came here,” Marlon said.
A strange feeling crept over me. I was a vampire, driving an old vampire to find another vampire that we planned to destroy. Marlon knew nothing of the world he’d been thrown into after we’d dug him up, but I knew nothing of the world he came from except that it was far more dangerous, and we were on a path that would soon turn deadly.
Twenty
Marlon
After Blake double checked he’d packed any supplies he thought we’d need, we drove away from the town I hadn’t left in nearly a century. Once again, I was caught up in how strange everything around me was, and how much it had changed. Lights from homes or perhaps businesses dotted the landscape as we drove on what Blake had called a freeway. There was so much more noiseand motion around us. The sheer number of automobiles shocked me and nothing like the road we drove on existed when I was here before.
“Are you okay?” I asked Blake. He’d only just been changed, but so far, he was amazingly in control of his urges.
“Yes, but the different scents are so distracting. I have to restrain myself from chasing after every scent I catch.” Reaching across to him, I smoothed my fingers down the back of his hand. He loosened his hand and took mine before pulling it over to rest on his leg.
“You are doing really well. When I was first turned, I was crazed with the many senses I experienced and my need for blood. I thought of it as a calling, because the blood screamed at you over a distance.” The memories of that time were still sharp and thinking about how much I wanted blood elicited a growl.
“What is it?” Blake asked, his eyes darted left and right, and his fangs showed.
“Just a memory,” I said. He glanced at me and squeezed my hand but stayed silent. “I was just remembering what it felt like when I was first changed. The memory is so clear.”
“I don’t want to remember everything,” he whispered.
“What do you mean?”
“Digging you up and realizing you were still alive under there. At first, I was terrified.” His eyes narrowed as he replayed it in his mind, and I could feel the shame and guilt rolling off him. “I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact you were still alive.”
My hand tightened into a fist as I looked out across the darkened landscape and forced myself not to think of all the years I’d hoped for a death I knew would never come.
“I hated knowing you’d been there for so long and people knew it and did nothing to help you. They knew you were a vampire, and you’d probably be alive, but—”
“They didn’t understand what I was. They only knew what Josiah had told them, and between him and Rupert, they would have made sure no one felt guilty and ensured no one dug me up to check if I was alive or dead.”
“They did all this for gold?” Blake asked.
“Yes, and to gain my ability. I have no memory of them draining my blood or burying me. It’s all a blur until I woke up in the grave.” This was part of the change. Some memories were sharp while others faded, and it appeared for him the part that faded was when Josiah had confessed to what he’d done.
“I don’t understand how that happened if you didn’t bite him and give him your blood,” he said.
“When all of this is behind us, we’ll find out what really happened. I don’t believe anything he said. It’s not as simple as drinking our blood,” I said, and realized that was true. He had lied to me so many times, but one thing he didn’t lie about was the fact he’d had my blood in him when he’d been turned. “I know he consumed my blood because I can feel him. We’re going in the right direction.”
“Good,” Blake said, and for the next while neither of us spoke as he drove fast enough to get us to the hotel before sunlight would put us in danger. “Don’t worry, we have time.”
“I know, but I worry. You’re my responsibility now.” I tried to think of a time I’d ever felt responsible for another. Possibly my parents, but the emotions I had attached to them were foggy now, and not clear.
“We take care of each other. This is new to me, but I’m not weak,” he said.
Pulling his hand to me, I kissed his palm before holding it between both of mine. “I know, love, but every part of me wants to protect you. My mate.” Those words carried so much weight, and so much responsibility, whether he accepted it or not.
“What will happen when we find Josiah?” he asked.
