Refuge(142)

“Jordan!” I sputtered as more water flooded my mouth. The current tugged at my heavy clothes, dragging me back under. I kicked my feet and fought for the surface as the swift river carried me away. A gasp of air then water washed over my head again. Terror filled me and I lost all sense of up and down. My lungs burned and tiny stars exploded before my eyes.

No, not stars. In my panic, I’d summoned the water’s magic, and it had answered my call. A cloud of sparkling lights moved rapidly toward me, surrounding me, lifting me. I broke the surface and sucked in a deep breath of cold air that burned my throat.

Gasping, I searched the water for Jordan. A flash of blond in the foaming water ahead of me caught my attention. It disappeared and I thought I’d imagined it. Then I saw it again.

“Jordan!” I pushed forward with renewed strength. A few seconds later my numb fingers snagged the collar of Jordan’s jacket, and with a cry, I pulled her to me. Her arm wrapped around my waist and she laid her head on my shoulder as I kept us above water. She was battered and freezing, but alive.

“Hold on to me. I’m going to get us out of this.” I took several deep breaths to calm myself and reached out to the magic in the water. I felt it respond almost immediately and watched as millions of golden particles formed a warm glowing shield around us and kept us afloat in the rushing water.

“W-what is that? Is that y-your power?”

“Sort of.” Surrounded by the familiar magic, I felt my courage and strength returning. This was my element; there was nothing for me to fear from the water. I was back in control, and the river would take us exactly where I wanted it to.

Minutes later, I saw a glow through the trees ahead. The stronghold. Using my free hand, I directed the water to carry us to the shore below the low bank I often sat on. Our feet touched bottom, and we supported each other as we stumbled across the slippery rocks to collapse on the shore. As soon as we left the water, the cold hit me again and I shivered violently. Rocks dug into my back as I stared up at the clear moonlit sky, but for a full minute I was too exhausted to move.

Stiff from the cold, I got to my feet and pulled Jordan up with me. “We have to get inside and warn everyone.” I was still reeling from Michael’s betrayal and the fact that so many vampires had gotten past Tristan’s security. The stronghold was supposed to be impenetrable, but it looked like no place was safe from the Master.

“Well, hello there,” drawled a strange male voice above our heads. I jerked backward and stared in shock at the two vampires standing on the bank. I was so cold I hadn’t even sensed them.

“Stay back.” I shuffled backward until I felt cold water around my calves. Where the hell was everyone? We had vampires running around the grounds and there wasn’t a warrior in sight. My gut told me the situation was a lot worse than I’d thought. There was no way vampires would get this close to me with Nikolas here unless . . . unless something really bad had happened to him. My stomach squeezed painfully.

“Don’t come any closer,” I yelled at them, my fear for Nikolas overriding my own.

“Or what?” The second vampire let out a laugh as he jumped off the bank and landed a few feet away. “You’ll splash us?” Before I could respond, he seized my arm in a steel grip, yanking me against him. Jordan pulled out her knife and waved it at the other vampire who was advancing on her.

“Mmm, you do smell good. I bet you taste amazing.” The vampire’s nose nuzzled my neck, and I pushed back on the terror threatening to engulf me. He was trying to use my fear against me, to make me so scared I could not fight. A few months ago, he would have succeeded.

I twisted around and put my hands on his chest. I wasn’t too scared or cold to notice he had moved faster than a baby vampire but not as fast as a mature vampire. I might not be able to knock him out, but I was prepared to do my damnedest. Keeping my eyes on him, I reached into the water swirling around my knees and sent out a silent, urgent call to the magic that waited to do my bidding. Come to me. Help me, please, I cried, terror tinging my inner voice.

Water exploded upward behind me, sending a cold shower down on our heads. The vampire’s eyes flew wide and his mouth opened in a silent scream as an ungodly screech rent the air. Before I could turn to see what was behind me, a huge white shape leapt over my head to land on the shore behind the vampire. The snow white kelpie towered above us and shook his magnificent mane before he opened his mouth to emit another earsplitting sound.

“Noooo!” the vampire screamed as Fiannar clamped down on his shoulder and ripped him away from me. The vampire’s horrified eyes met mine, and then he was gone. With a flick of his powerful head, Fiannar tossed him out into the river.