Chapter 6
Six
Fox chewed on his bottom lip, trying to not let panic overtake him. Had he made his situation better or worse? He’d just run off with a random vampire. Was this a rescue or another fucking kidnapping?
Well, it was feeling a little better so far.
The vampire hadn’t knocked him out, beat him up, or even restrained him.
Damon’s goons had enjoyed roughing him up every chance they got.
And that was when they weren’t threatening his life if he even thought of stepping out of line.
For two days, he’d been living like a tightly coiled spring, tension and fear vibrating through his body as he waited for Damon to discover the truth.
Fox Turner was a goddamn fraud. A complete phony. A worthless fake.
Sure, he was a witch in the sense that he had the capacity to do magic. He’d just never learned how.
And all these vampires now thought he was somehow linked to a prophecy. Fox would laugh his fucking ass off if he wasn’t sure he would be killed the second they learned the truth of his “uselessness.”
The fates were making fun of him. Snickering at him like it was all some great, big joke. He couldn’t do magic. He was the world’s worst witch, and yet he was embroiled in some twisted vampire politics because some other witch claimed he could take out a vampire clan. It was cruel.
Old bitterness and anger rose up in Fox’s throat, threatening to choke him, but he shoved it down in favor of focusing on his more urgent problem. How did he get away from this new “captor”?
Not that he was even sure this guy was kidnapping him. Maybe this was an unexpected rescue, and he’d be set free once they got to a safe location.
Fox wasn’t getting his hopes up. He certainly hadn’t hoped for a rescue while stuck in Damon’s clutches.
He was alone in the world, with just a few acquaintances that he hung out with on occasion.
Only his boss was likely to be pissed when he didn’t show up for work, but he doubted the man would call the cops to report him missing.
Just fire him and hire someone else to fill his spot.
His eyes slid over to his new companion for what felt like the hundredth time. The vampire had made getting out of the mansion a fucking breeze. Chaos was happening all around them, and this guy just had them weaving calmly through it all like it was a dance. One he was very familiar with.
They remained in the world of the dead, giving Fox a good look at the hordes of ghosts that surrounded the mansion. Ghosts! Freaking white, transparent figures just wandering around Damon’s place like it was the most natural thing in the world.
His mother had said ghosts were real, but he had never seen any evidence to say it was true.
But there was no missing them as his would-be knight whisked him through the insanity.
Part of him had longed to stay and watch them, maybe even try to talk to one of them.
Hell, he thought a female ghost had been cheering them on as they ran from the house.
But there was no stopping. There was no time. The vampire kept them moving at a brisk pace until they reached his SUV several blocks away. Only then did he open a little door and pull them both back into the world of the living, and all the ghosts were gone.
To Fox’s complete shock, they got away from his captors without suffering a single scratch. His heart thudded like a thing gone mad in his chest and he held his breath, waiting for them to be discovered. To hear shouts and gunshots following after them. Neither happened.
Fox reluctantly tore his eyes from the vampire driving to his window again at the passing scenery, which was mostly dark shapes and quick flashes of streetlights.
The only bonus in all this mess was that his new rescuer-slash-kidnapper was fucking hot.
Like hot with a capital “Holy shit, let me lick you!” He had a crazy rock-star vibe with all this black hair hanging down his back and pale electric blue eyes, but it was mated with this action-star vibe, thanks to his hard jaw and snarky smirk.
If he hadn’t been worried about dying, Fox would definitely have been interested in climbing the man like a goddamn jungle gym.
And the icing on the cake was, the man seemed completely oblivious to his sex appeal. Fox had called him sexy once, and he’d looked absolutely flabbergasted. Fox had half expected the vampire to look behind him to make sure Fox wasn’t talking to someone else.
So, of course, that meant everything out of his mouth was flirtatious. Anyone who saw Fox would think he didn’t have a single damn survival instinct. But if the flirting knocked sexy off his game, then Fox had a shot at escaping.
It was just a shame that he had such a cool power.
Fox would have loved to talk to him about it, would have loved to watch him part the veil between worlds as easily as parting his mother’s gauzy drapes to peer out the window.
But it would be better if he didn’t try to stick around.
He didn’t know what this new vampire had in store for him.
It was just better if Fox had his own plans for escaping and getting the fuck away from all vampires for a very long time.
Dawn was fast approaching, thank God. The sun was going to be up in less than an hour.
This bloodsucker had to go to ground soon.
He already looked exhausted. Sweat dotted his brow, and there was the finest tremble to the hand resting on the steering wheel of the massive SUV.
The windows were darkly tinted, but Fox doubted it was enough to protect the vamp from the sun.
No, they’d have to stop, and once he was asleep, Fox had a shot at escaping.
“What do you know about this prophecy?” the vampire asked, breaking the lengthy silence. It was the first time they’d spoken since he’d snapped at Fox to get in the damn car.
Fox was proud of himself for managing to keep his mouth shut for this long. He tended to talk—a lot—when he was nervous. But then, he’d been busy alternating between watching the vampire driving and looking over his shoulder to make sure they weren’t being followed.
“The prophecy? Not a fucking thing.”
The vampire’s hand tightened on the wheel while his other fisted on his thigh. He snarled, his upper lip curling just enough that Fox saw a hint of one white fang.
Fox immediately threw his hands up. “Hey! It’s not my fault.
I was in Denver working as a budtender in a dispensary when these vamps caught me after work.
They said that someone called the Variks wanted me dead.
They were taking me someplace safe. Next thing I know, I’m halfway across the country and tied to a fucking bed.
I don’t know if these Variks are real or if they just made it up, but it was clear they didn’t give a shit about my safety. I would have been fine on my own.”
The man muttered something under his breath and shoved his free hand through his hair, but Fox couldn’t be sure if it was out of frustration or if it was really bothering him.
“What’s a budtender?” he asked after a second.
Fox couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his lips as he stared at the vampire. It was the last thing he’d expected him to ask about. “It’s like a bartender for pot. Colorado is a legal state. In the dispensary, I answer questions, offer my advice, and handle the product.”
A little grunt came from the man’s throat, but that was about it. He’d met plenty of people who were happy to get all judgy about legalized weed and people who enjoyed a little herbal refreshment, but if the vampire had any problems with it, he didn’t give any indications, at least.
“Look, we both know the sun is gonna be up soon. This SUV offer enough protection for you?”
“I’ve got a place where we can stop for the day, rest, and make some plans.”
Fox shifted in his seat, placing his hands under his thighs to keep from twisting his fingers together and giving away his growing anxiety. “And what plans are we making, exactly?”
The vampire glared at him for a second before turning his attention to the road again. “What the fuck I’m going to do with you.”
That didn’t sound promising in the least. Fox slumped in his seat and crossed his arms tightly over his chest. His chances of survival were starting to look a little grim.
A new knot twisted in his stomach, blocking out the gnawing emptiness that had plagued him for the past two days.
Panicked thoughts buzzed in his brain, and he debated whether he had a shot at escaping if he just jumped out of the SUV when it slowed down for the next stoplight, and other equally stupid plans.
This guy might be much hotter than the other vampires, but this was feeling less and less like a rescue.
He needed to get home—not that he was entirely sure how he was going to accomplish this.
The fuckers who grabbed him took his phone and wallet.
No ID and no cash. He couldn’t even call anyone.
Of course, he had no one to call. His only family had been his mother, and she’d been dead for almost ten years now.
To make matters worse, he was convinced that if there really was a prophecy, they had the wrong guy.
Harry Potter could go suck a big fat one, because there were no cute little schools with fun houses, color-coded scarves, and plants trying to kill you.
And most importantly, no classes to learn this magic shit in.
Witches were seriously old-school. They took on apprentices. Or a witch tried to teach himself, which was a damn good way to get blown up.
Fox hadn’t met a lot of witches in his relatively short life, but the few he knew were total assholes. They didn’t want apprentices, didn’t trust him, and a couple had even threatened to kill him simply because he existed in the first place.