Argeneau Family - The Immortal Hunter Part 18

Decker suspected it was because he was worried about how Decker was taking all of this.

"I never worry," Lucian growled, doing up his seat belt.

Decker gave a harsh laugh of disbelief. "Yeah, I know. You're a coldhearted b.a.s.t.a.r.d... and you're still reading my thoughts."

Lucian didn't respond.

"Wake up."

Dani blinked her eyes open to find herself sitting slumped in the front pa.s.senger seat of the pickup. She felt weak, a little nauseous, and there was a terrible pounding in her head. Wincing, she sat up, closing her eyes quickly when the interior of the vehicle began to swim in a rather alarming manner.

"Yes, I know. I hit you too hard and now you feel nasty," came the impatient comment from her right side. "But we all have our trials to bear. Now, come on. Rouse yourself and get out. We're here."

"Where's here?" Dani asked fuzzily, forcing her eyes open again. Much to her relief, the world didn't move around her this time.

Turning cautiously then, she peered at the man standing outside the vehicle, holding the door open. "Who are you?"

He raised his eyebrows at the question, and then clucked his tongue with feigned dismay. "I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I?

That was most remiss of me. Leonius Livius the Second at your service." He gave a sweeping bow that reminded her of movies of Renaissance times and then straightened and gave her a wink as he added, "You can call me Leo."

"Let me guess," she said wearily. "You were born and raised during the Renaissance?"

"A very good guess, but no. Alas, I was born much earlier," he a.s.sured her. "I did enjoy that era though. The long ball gowns were very elegant and helped to hide any cuts I made in search of food. I could keep a woman for months before having to find a replacement if I was careful not to take too much blood."

Dani recalled the shape of the bodies in the ravine and wondered if that was what had happened to them, kept alive for months, their blood being drained, their life slipping away while this man and the others abused and taunted them. It could be what was happening to Stephanie right now.

"Of course, with the skimpy clothes you girls wear nowadays, that isn't possible."

Dani glanced down at her stretched-out top and shorts and supposed he was right. Thinking back to the brief, shadowed glimpse she had of them, she thought there had been cuts at all the major arteries on the women in the ravine.

"To keep a woman any length of time now, one has to either keep them hidden or dress both them and yourself as punks. My sons don't seem to mind, but I find it a rather rough and distasteful style." He shrugged, and then added, "But one does what one must."

"The men in the clearing were all your sons?""Yes they are." He emphasized the present tense.

Dani ignored that. "And the one who took my sister too?"

"Ah yes, sweet Stephanie. She's prettier than you," he commented, glancing her over. "And quite the screamer as well. Twenty- one took a real s.h.i.+ne to her. I could tell."

"Twenty-one?" she echoed, confusion and worry for her sister tumbling through her.

"Leonius the Twenty-first," he explained. "Twenty-one for short."

"You named all your sons Leonius?" Dani asked slowly, struggling to understand.

"Of course. I was named after my father and it only seemed right to continue the tradition, so my first son was Leonius the Third, and so on."

"Yes, but-"

"But, but, but," he interrupted impatiently. "We were talking about the sweet, screaming, Stephanie."

Dani closed her mouth.

"Aren't you going to ask me if she's all right?"

"You couldn't know if she is or not if you've been following us around," she said quietly. Decker had said they'd removed everything from the men's pockets while searching for keys to the van, so Dani knew he didn't have a cell phone to call or be called on and probably had no better idea where his son, Twenty-one, was than she did.

"Ah, but I wasn't in the clearing to be searched and Twenty-one fled before that," he pointed out, apparently having dipped into her thoughts. He allowed her to get her hopes up that he might know where her sister was and if she was all right, and then happily squashed those hopes by saying, "However, I did lose my phone somewhere along the way. Probably down in the ravine with the girls," he said with a frown. "I do hope they don't run up my minutes on me. You women are so yippy."

Leonius burst out laughing at his own words, but Dani merely stared, not finding his little joke the least bit amusing. After a brief moment, he stopped and peered at her with a little sigh. "I fear you are lacking a funny bone, Danielle. We shall have to work on that. In the meantime, while I don't have my phone, my boys and I do have a system for contacting each other should we get separated during one of our little adventures. No doubt Twenty-one has left a message by now... As well as his brothers if they've managed to free themselves. I'll check after I get everything rolling here."

"But the others are dead," Dani pointed out, feeling like she was Alice and had just fallen through the looking gla.s.s.

"No. Decker and Justin staked them through the heart, it's true, but I unstaked them. Not enough to make it obvious. I only pulled the stakes out enough to be sure they were no longer piercing the heart."

"You were under the tarp when we were driving to Toronto," she said with realization. She'd thought she'd counted five bodies, but Decker and Justin had a.s.sured her there were only four.

"Yes, I was. I'm very old, you know, and strong. I recovered more quickly from the tranquilizer than even I would have expected. Not fully, mind you, but enough to roll myself out of the clearing and down into the ravine with the girls. I was recovered enough to walk and talk by the time they were moving my boys to the van. I waited until they turned their attention to putting out the campfire and collecting you, and then got under the tarp with them. I managed to raise the stakes on two of them before Decker started the van and set out, but had to be much more careful once they decided to wake you. Justin was constantly looking back to talk to you."Leo pursed his lips. "I fear the delay may have cost one or two of my boys their lives. You can't leave the stakes in too long if you wish to preserve life. If the blood dies from lack of oxygen, the nanos die, and there is no hope for the host. But I'm not sure how long that actually is."

Dani couldn't help noticing that while he looked displeased, Leonius didn't actually look torn up about the loss... and hadn't been willing to risk being caught to unstake them. "You were gone when we switched vehicles at Outdoor World."

She had seen Decker and the others crowded around the back of the van and a.s.sumed they had been checking the bodies.

Decker would have noticed an extra one.

"I left your delightful company while Justin was busy getting gas and Decker escorted you into the restaurant to use the facilities," he announced. "While my sons were showing no signs of regaining consciousness yet, I knew I couldn't wait for them and slipped out while I had the opportunity. I then hitched a ride with a lovely pair of young women. The brunette drove, following you, while I fed on the redhead in the backseat. She was an exciting little bundle; a real screamer like your sister. I actually had to concentrate hard to keep her friend under control and driving while I drained her life away. Sally was her name.

I believe the three of you met. At least the brunette had a memory of speaking to you briefly to tell you a stall was available in the ladies' room."

Dani blanched, recalling the two women with the cell phone in the fast-food restaurant.

"You are so delightfully expressive," Leonius said with a chuckle. "I really don't even need to read your mind to know what you're thinking."

"Why aren't you reading my mind?" she asked, only now realizing that he seemed to dip in and pluck things out intermittently.

He wasn't in there constantly, though, and wasn't controlling her either.

"I don't wish to share your headache or try to decipher thoughts that are obviously as slow as mola.s.ses. I'll wait until you're more recovered, thank you. Now, shall we get out of the pickup?"

Dani hesitated, but supposed there was little point resisting right now. She was too weak to run, and he would simply take control and make her do what he wanted. Besides, the sooner he "got things rolling," the sooner he would see if he had a message from Twenty-one, and she might learn how Stephanie was.

Wincing at the pain that immediately stabbed through her head, Dani s.h.i.+fted on the pickup's bench seat and slid out of the truck.

The jolt as her feet hit the ground sent a pain so sharp through her head that nausea followed, and she had to close her eyes and clutch at the truck, taking deep breaths to try to keep down the food she'd eaten at the mall.

"Oh my, tsk tsk. You really are in a bad way. I hit you far harder than I'd intended, but then you were trying my temper. You must try not to spark my temper so this doesn't happen again. I wouldn't want to accidentally kill you in case my sons haven't managed to escape and are still with the enforcers. I might have to trade you for them."

"Me?" Dani straightened slowly and just as slowly turned her head to peer at him with disbelief. "They won't trade your sons for me."

Leonius was silent, his gaze concentrated on her face, and then his eyebrows rose. "You actually believe that," he marveled, apparently having suffered sharing her headache long enough to read her mind. "You have no idea of your value, do you? How charming."

He broke out in laughter, making Dani wince as the sound grated on her nerves and aggravated her pounding head.

"Now listen," he said suddenly, the laughter dying as abruptly as it had started. "Let Daddy teach you a thing or two that you can use." Leonius paused until she met his gaze and then said, "A life mate is more valuable than anything else on this earth.

Most immortals would give up any and all wealth they'd acc.u.mulated, their family, and even their own lives for a life mate. You are a precious jewel. Do you understand?"Dani nodded slowly, but only because he expected her to. She didn't really believe that she carried that high a value for Decker.

She simply couldn't. They had only met the day before. Dani liked him... well, more than liked him, she acknowledged; she liked him a lot ... And she was definitely in l.u.s.t with him and-judging by his performance that day-thought he might be in l.u.s.t with her too, and maybe liked her a lot as well, but that didn't mean he was going to turn over this man's murdering sons for her.

At least, she hoped not. Dani didn't want them free. How could she enjoy any peace of mind knowing those animals were out preying on innocent women because of her?

"Are you feeling recovered enough to walk?" Leo asked solicitously. "We should really go inside. We mustn't keep our hosts waiting."

Dani turned her head slowly to the building they were parked beside, her gaze sliding over an old Victorian house with a wide, white front porch. She then swiveled to peer at the outbuildings and fields of corn and felt her heart sink. She was sure this was not his house. She was also sure their "hosts" weren't willing ones, and she feared this was all going to get much worse before it got better.

Chapter Thirteen.

"Come, I have a couple of surprises for you, and I know we're going to enjoy them mightily." Leonius took Dani's arm and half dragged her up the steps to the porch of the old farmhouse when she didn't move quickly enough for his liking. She winced at his bruising hold, but otherwise didn't react. She had no intention of saying or doing anything that might add to his enjoyment of this nightmare.

"Here we are." Leo leaned past her to push the front door open and then forced her inside.

Dani closed her eyes briefly as the bright, overhead light sent shafts of pain through her head. The smell of cinnamon and apples teased her nose and brought her eyes slowly open. They stood in an old country kitchen with white cupboards and a wide- planked, hardwood floor that was undoubtedly as old as the house itself. Her gaze slid over a rooster-shaped teapot on the table, cow figurine salt and pepper shakers, and finally to the source of the sweet smell; a pie, not long from the oven. It sat on a cooling rack on the far end of the old, long, butcher-block table before her.

"I was watching from the woods in front of the house when you and Decker went into the barn," Leo said beside her. "When you stayed there so long, I approached under cover of the rain. Once I saw what the two of you were up to, I knew I'd have time to search for a place close by, somewhere near enough to keep an eye out, and to bring you to after I captured you." He paused to explain, "I didn't expect you to go shopping or even to really leave the grounds. I expected I'd have to steal you from the house while the others were sleeping.

"Anyway," Leo continued, urging her to the opposite end of the table. "I was very pleased when I found this place. It's nice and cozy, with only the mister and missus to worry about... I was a little worried about it being right next door, but-" He brought them both to a halt in front of the pie and ran one finger lightly over the crust. As light as his touch appeared to be, some of the crust flaked away. It made him smile, and he continued, "When I came in the old woman was just taking the pie out of the oven.

I decided to take that as a good omen and risk it."

Dani frowned at the mention of an old woman, wondering what had become of her, but then his words sank in and she realized how close they must be to the enforcer house. Right next door. If she could just get away- "Your heart rate has picked up," Leo commented with amus.e.m.e.nt, and when she cast a startled glance his way, he explained, "I have very good hearing. We all do. And your heart is racing. What could you be thinking, I wonder?" He leaned close and whispered by her ear, "Could you be thinking of escaping? Running away to your Decker?"

He burst out laughing at the thought, then shook his head and said, "So amusing" as he turned and led her to an archway leading to the next room.

It was a living room. With no lights on it was dark enough that she had trouble making out much. Leo didn't seem to have the same problem, and she was reminded that Decker had said the nanos improved their night vision when he asked with distaste, "Very colonial, don't you think?"

She glanced to his face and thought he was wrinkling his nose, and then he confided, "I despised the colonials. A bunch of jumpy redneck idiots with guns who shot first and asked questions after. It was hard for a self-respecting no-fanger like me to get a meal without getting a chest full of buckshot in the process."

Yay, colonials, Dani thought grimly, although she hadn't a clue what a no-fanger was.

Leo was apparently reading her mind again because he turned on her and said, "Oh, see, now that's the kind of thing that's going to make me have to punish you again. If you don't learn a little self-control, this could be even more painful than I planned."

Dani remained silent. There was nothing else she could do.

Nodding with apparent satisfaction, Leo led her through the dark room to a door. He opened it, flipped a switch to turn on the lights, and then urged her down into a laundry room in the bas.e.m.e.nt.

Dani glanced around at the concrete floor, cheerful pale yellow walls, and then to the washer and dryer against the wall as he led her the few steps to and through an archway into a much larger room. It was obviously the husband's workshop. The wall opposite them was covered with pegboard. Tools of every description hung from hooks slotted into its holes. The wall on the left was taken up with a long workbench. The wall on the right had shelves holding sanders and paint cans lined up on either side of a wide archway into what appeared to be a small, dark room taken up by a large boiler and the other workings of the house. But Dani barely gave all of this a glance. Her attention was on the three chairs set in the center of the room and the elderly couple, each one bound and gagged and tied to an end chair, leaving the one in the center empty.

"Come. Let me introduce you to our hosts."

Dani stumbled forward when he tugged her arm, her gaze s.h.i.+fting between the couple. They were older, perhaps in their late fifties to early sixties. The husband had skin darkened and leathery from years in the sun, and a grimly determined expression that refused to show fear. The wife had wide eyes full of tears, fear, and pleading as she gazed at Dani from above her gag.

"This is Mr. Dani's-Dinner and Mrs. Dani's-Midnight-Snack," Leo announced, bringing her startled glance to him as he explained, "They're my surprises. They're going to help you through the turn, my dear."

"Turn?" she asked sharply. "I thought you were going to trade me for your sons?"

"I am," he a.s.sured her in a soothing voice, and then grinned. "Actually my original plan was to kill you to punish Decker for staking my sons, but then I realized he was only following Lucian's orders and a lesser punishment would do... for him," he added darkly. "Lucian is another matter entirely. He's lorded it over the rest of the immortals for far too long. It's time he-"

Leonius stopped suddenly, his anger falling away. Shrugging, he said, "But I digress. We were talking about you. Come sit."

He urged her toward the center chair, taking control of her and making her sit between the older couple when she resisted.

Dani sank onto the seat and turned to look first at the husband and then at the wife. The husband peered at her pityingly, the wife with despair. She turned back to Leonius and said the first thing that popped into her head, "But I don't want to be a vampire.""I know," he murmured, smiling down at her in a way that suggested that didn't bother him at all. "So sad really. Don't you realize there are women all over the world who would pay good money to be one?"

"Well go turn them then," she said at once.

Leo burst out laughing. "You are so adorable. No. I fear it's you or no one."

"Why?" Dani asked with frustration.

"Because Decker has to be punished," he explained patiently.

That logic just bewildered her. "But I'm his life mate. He'd probably turn me himself if given the chance. He'll hardly think it a punishment for you to turn me."

"He wants to turn you into one of his kind," Leo said. "I'm going to turn you into my kind. You'll be a no-fanger, and he won't like that at all. In fact, I'm afraid he and the rest of them despise our kind, my dear, so don't expect a warm reunion should you be foolish enough to escape. Lucian and his bunch have hunted us ever since Atlantis, nearly to extinction at one point. They killed my father and all my brothers. The only reason I survived is because they didn't know about my mother or that she was carrying me in her womb. So"-he smiled cruelly-"this will be a punishment to Decker. I have taken his beloved life mate and am turning her into one of the despicable no-fangers he and his kind loathe so much. He'll really want to kill me then... and you."

Dani stared at him with a combination of confusion and fear. "I don't-"

"You don't know what a no-fanger is?" he asked, apparently plucking the rest of the thought from her head. "Oh my, Decker has been very remiss. But I suppose he was busy doing other things, wasn't he?"

Dani flushed at the insinuating way his eyes traveled over her, and recalled his saying earlier that he'd seen what they'd gotten up to in the barn.

"Is that a bite mark on your neck, Dani?" He suddenly bent at the waist to bring his face closer to look, and then he asked in a stage whisper, "Are there any other places he bit you, I wonder? More... intimate places perhaps?"

She caught the hand that was suddenly sliding up her thigh and leaned her head back to glare at him. The man was crazy as a loon. One thought could make him suddenly angry, while another that should be insulting amused him. She had no idea what he was talking about when he said no-fanger, but she wanted none of it.

"It's an immortal without fangs," Leo said, apparently poking around in her head again.

Dani frowned at the announcement and asked with confusion, "But you have the nanos?"

"Oh yes. We have the nanos and need the blood."