Shadows Strike(44)
Her father looked stunned. Confused. Terrified for her.
He shifted his gaze to Seth. “Did you attack the base?”
“No,” Seth told him. “We wish to find the vampires who did and destroy them before they can wreak more havoc.”
“Are you all vampires?” the general asked.
Only Ethan had flashed fangs so far.
“If you’re all vampires,” her father went on, “then why are you hunting the others?”
Seth exchanged another look with David, then spoke. “We aren’t vampires. We’re . . . something else. Something more.”
“What does that mean?” the general asked.
“Zach,” Seth said.
Zach vanished and reappeared a millisecond later in front of the tight knot of soldiers.
More gasps all around.
“Tim, is it?” Zach gripped the soldier’s shoulder. He must have read Tim’s mind to know his name, because Heather didn’t remember having heard it spoken since their arrival.
The two disappeared.
Curses filled the night.
A moment later, Zach reappeared, his hand still clutching Tim’s shoulder.
Tim wrapped his arms around himself and shivered. Something white dusted his hair and shoulders and eyelashes.
Was that snow?
Even as Heather watched, the fat snowflakes melted and dampened Tim’s clothing.
“Tim?” her father said, brow furrowing.
Tim shook his head. “I don’t know where the hell we just were, but there was a fucking blizzard going on!”
As Zach strolled back to join the others, Seth said, “David?”
David’s body seemed to melt into the form of a huge black panther.
More curses exploded from lips as soldiers scrambled backward. Eyes widened as the majestic beast padded toward them and stopped just in front of Heather’s father.
Face pale with astonishment, her father held his ground.
The panther roared.
The hair on the back of Heather’s neck stood on end as the rumble vibrated, like thunder, through her body.
In the blink of an eye, the panther morphed back into David, clothes and all. He looked down at her father, who Heather began to fear might have a heart attack. “As Seth said, we’re something more. Vampires do not bear these and the other gifts we possess. We were born with them, much like your daughter was.”
“Y-your daughter can shape-shift?” Wayne stuttered.
David answered for him. “No. She’s telepathic. As am I and several others of our kind.” He looked at Tim. “Yes, I can read your mind . . . Yes, every thought.” His look turned resigned. “Perry the Platypus. Camel. Pink. Jay Z. Doc McStuffins. Pizza. Enough. You’re giving me a headache.” He backed away to rejoin his friends. “We call ourselves immortals. In addition to our special gifts, we possess even greater speed, strength, heightened senses, and regenerative capabilities than vampires do.”
Seth glanced at Wayne. “No one knows about us because we don’t want anyone to know about us, which is why we must insist upon your silence.”
“Dad,” Heather said, drawing his gaze, “these immortals are good guys. They believe the commander of the vampire army that attacked the base also sent vampires to attack me.”
He paled even more. “You were attacked by vampires?”
“Twice. Once, a couple of weeks ago—the same night they struck the base. Then again a few nights ago.” She rubbed Ethan’s arm, then slid her hand down to link her fingers with his. “Both times, Ethan was there and defeated them.”
“We defeated them together,” Ethan corrected, something like pride and admiration in the glowing eyes that met hers. “Your daughter is a valiant warrior, General Lane.”
Heather’s heart fluttered at his praise. “The second time they attacked, I was fatally wounded and would’ve died if Seth hadn’t healed me. These men saved my life. And they want to save more lives, if—”
“Are you a vampire now?” her father interrupted. “Did they turn you?”
He had always been such a strong, commanding figure. To see him so shaken broke her heart.
“No, Dad.”
“You said they healed you.”
“Seth can heal with his hands.”
The soldiers exchanged doubtful glances.
A split second later, Ethan released her hand, yanked the 9mm from her holster, and shot Burke.
Shouts erupted as Burke dropped to the ground. Her father and the other soldiers rushed to help him, kneeling around him and trying to stanch the flow of blood as Burke’s shirt began to glisten.
Mouth falling open, Heather spun around and looked up. “What the hell did you do that for?”
Ethan shrugged. “I believed another demonstration was in order.” His face darkened. “And thought I’d teach him a lesson as well: Fuck with what’s mine and he’ll pay the price.”
“Damn it, Ethan!” Seth grumbled and strode forward.
What’s mine? Heather thought some part of her should object to him referring to her as though she were some possession of his, but . . . she found she kinda liked it.
Though they were wary as hell of him, the soldiers didn’t shy away at Seth’s approach. All stuck by their friend, a dozen hands attempting to render aid at once.
Seth knelt beside her father. “Easy, Burke,” he murmured when the injured man’s eyes widened and he tried to move away. “You’re going to be fine. This will only take a moment.” He looked to her father. “Tell your men to release him.”
Heather held her breath as her father stared into Seth’s eyes.
General Lane looked to the others. “Let him go.”
The men all did as ordered, but stayed close.
Seth rested a hand on the fallen soldier’s chest.
Seconds later, Burke gasped. The tightness in his expression eased as Seth siphoned away his pain and healed his injury.
Seth withdrew his touch. Rising, he offered his hand to the soldier.
Staring up at him with awe, Burke took it.
Seth drew the man to his feet and clapped him on the back. “Looks like you’re even. As long as you don’t put Heather at risk again, Ethan won’t harm you.”
Burke nodded.
As Seth walked away, returning to stand beside David, Burke yanked up his shirt.
The wound in his chest, like Ethan’s, had healed.
Expressions of amazement wafted from his comrades.
Heather met her father’s gaze. “As I said, these are good men. They didn’t know about the attack on the base until I spoke with Nick. We were at the base today, trying to find some clue that would lead them to the vampire army so they can destroy it. They aren’t familiar with army bases, so they asked me to accompany them and see if anything stood out as odd. Anything that might have made that particular base seem a more attractive target.”
Her father shifted his gaze to Seth. “You found it.”
Seth arched a brow. “The biohazard symbol in the basement?”
“Yes. They were researching ways to counter biological weapons our troops may be exposed to. Or the American people, if terrorists should ever manage to strike that way.”
“Those biological weapons were present in that facility?”
“Yes. You can’t learn how to counter them if you don’t have them on hand to study.”
“The doors down there did not appear to be damaged. Were any of the toxins taken?”
“No. As far as we can tell, those doors were never breached. That was one of the many things that puzzled us about this. If the . . . vampires . . . attacked the base because they wanted to get their hands on the bioweapons, why leave without them?”
Heather glanced at Seth. “Could the doors have been too thick for them to break through?”
“We saw no evidence they had even tried.”
She didn’t remember having seen any either.
David shook his head. “Unless the walls are as thick and impenetrable as the doors, it wouldn’t have mattered. The vampires would’ve just plowed through them. Wood, Sheetrock, and insulation would’ve proven no deterrent to them.”
“Then what was?” she asked.
“The biohazard symbol?” Zach suggested and looked to Seth. “Perhaps you were right. Perhaps these vampires weren’t told exactly what was on the island they were ordered to attack. Slaying the soldiers might have been fun to them, but most humans hold at least some fear of illness. If these vampires did not abandon their humanity very long ago, they may have little understanding of their new condition and may not realize that such things can no longer harm them. Laughing in the face of the common cold is one thing. Coming face-to-face with something you’ve been taught to fear, something that has killed thousands or hundreds of thousands—if not millions—in the past, is another.”
A thoughtful silence ensued.
General Lane studied them all. “Are you saying these vampires might not have been there for the weapons? That they just killed our men for the fun of it?”
“Yes,” Seth answered. “Their goal was most likely to spark an international incident, to pit you against whomever you would eventually blame for the attack.”
“On whose order?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“What can you tell me?”
“Very little, I’m afraid. We don’t even know where this vampire army is consolidating. That’s why we’re here. That’s why we didn’t simply find you while you slept tonight and erase your memory of seeing us earlier. We need your help. You have access to information we do not. And your mind is, as you know, very difficult to read. Your daughter doesn’t wish to see you harmed and asked us to sway you to our side instead, if we can.”