just to piss her off but he held his tongue, all the while tugging at that thin thread attaching him to Buks. It was like fishing for a very large, stupid toad, the man’s mind sluggish from the large quantities of alcohol he had consumed.
Trystan sighed, looking at his beer, feigning boredom–anything to put Mantis at her ease, to make her overconfident. “It’s too late for you to make it back to Jozi tonight.”
“I’ve got a place down in George. I’m not going up to Jozi until next week.”
God damn it! What was she playing at? The last he’d heard, the Garden Route was still under renegade control, with the Wild Coast and most of the Eastern Cape off the national roads.
He smirked at her. At the edge of his vision, Buks approached. “What, so now you want to take me on a honeymoon along the Garden Route? Shall we take a ride on the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe and play a round of golf down in Plett? I thought I’m too dangerous.” Steady, there, you lumbering ogre. Look at the chick with the black hair and the pert breasts. Not the guy sitting next to her.
“Not quite, but there are some folks down in Knysna you may want to meet.”
“What, you freelancing on the side? The council’s not going to be glad about that.”
Big meaty Buks chose that moment to interpose himself between Trystan and Mantis. The female vampire looked up into Buks’s small-eyed countenance with evident dismay.
“Hey there, pretty lady. Can I show you a good time?”
Now!
Trystan twisted his grip on Buks’s mind and the thug reached out and clamped a fleshy hand on the woman’s arm. Just hold her steady, boy.
He made a dash for the door, drawing on his Essence to lend him a burst of speed. There was no way in hell Buks would hold Mantis for longer than ten seconds at most but those ten precious seconds would buy him a valuable head start while Mantis extricated herself from her would-be suitor’s clutches.
Faces and bodies blurred past him, frozen while he dashed out the entrance. Oh, he’d pay for this abuse of his body later when the hunger struck but right now, his only wish was to get out, to escape the woman he knew would be in close pursuit. He ran toward the church building then took a sharp turn down a side road, doubling back in time to press himself against a pepper tree.
Mantis burst out of the Royal Hotel amid a rumble of angry men’s voices inside.
The vampire stood in the center of the main road, her head lifted and eyes closed. She was reaching . He pulled his Essence as close to his heart as possible. Like sticky fingers her awareness snaked out, probing for him.
In another time, another age, he would have waited in ambush. Now, all he could think of was to put as much distance between him and his own kind as possible. A long night of cat and mouse lay ahead in this small town.
Trystan was patient. He knew of many hiding places.
Chapter 10
All’s not Well
“God, that girl’s a loony,” Damon said when the silver Volvo pulled off. “You’re not seriously going to go with her, are you?”
“She’s kinda cool, I think. I haven’t decided if I’ll take her up on her offer,” Helen said. “If I change my mind, I can still meet her at the gate and tell her no.”
The shadows were already lengthening but the trees provided some relief from the late afternoon heat. Bars of sunlight slid through a haze of dust suspended in the air.
Helen and Damon hefted their bags and opened the gate. Deep within the house, Odin’s deep barks reverberated through the structure and the thump of paws–claws clicking on wooden floors–announced that the great gray beast lumbered toward the front door.
“Brace yourself,” Damon said, reaching for the door handle.
Already Odin whined and scrabbled at the barrier. Anabel had warned them that the dog was, well, enthusiastic in his greetings.
He accosted them with a fury of licking, his long tail thumping legs, furniture and walls in his
Trystan sighed, looking at his beer, feigning boredom–anything to put Mantis at her ease, to make her overconfident. “It’s too late for you to make it back to Jozi tonight.”
“I’ve got a place down in George. I’m not going up to Jozi until next week.”
God damn it! What was she playing at? The last he’d heard, the Garden Route was still under renegade control, with the Wild Coast and most of the Eastern Cape off the national roads.
He smirked at her. At the edge of his vision, Buks approached. “What, so now you want to take me on a honeymoon along the Garden Route? Shall we take a ride on the Outeniqua Choo-Tjoe and play a round of golf down in Plett? I thought I’m too dangerous.” Steady, there, you lumbering ogre. Look at the chick with the black hair and the pert breasts. Not the guy sitting next to her.
“Not quite, but there are some folks down in Knysna you may want to meet.”
“What, you freelancing on the side? The council’s not going to be glad about that.”
Big meaty Buks chose that moment to interpose himself between Trystan and Mantis. The female vampire looked up into Buks’s small-eyed countenance with evident dismay.
“Hey there, pretty lady. Can I show you a good time?”
Now!
Trystan twisted his grip on Buks’s mind and the thug reached out and clamped a fleshy hand on the woman’s arm. Just hold her steady, boy.
He made a dash for the door, drawing on his Essence to lend him a burst of speed. There was no way in hell Buks would hold Mantis for longer than ten seconds at most but those ten precious seconds would buy him a valuable head start while Mantis extricated herself from her would-be suitor’s clutches.
Faces and bodies blurred past him, frozen while he dashed out the entrance. Oh, he’d pay for this abuse of his body later when the hunger struck but right now, his only wish was to get out, to escape the woman he knew would be in close pursuit. He ran toward the church building then took a sharp turn down a side road, doubling back in time to press himself against a pepper tree.
Mantis burst out of the Royal Hotel amid a rumble of angry men’s voices inside.
The vampire stood in the center of the main road, her head lifted and eyes closed. She was reaching . He pulled his Essence as close to his heart as possible. Like sticky fingers her awareness snaked out, probing for him.
In another time, another age, he would have waited in ambush. Now, all he could think of was to put as much distance between him and his own kind as possible. A long night of cat and mouse lay ahead in this small town.
Trystan was patient. He knew of many hiding places.
Chapter 10
All’s not Well
“God, that girl’s a loony,” Damon said when the silver Volvo pulled off. “You’re not seriously going to go with her, are you?”
“She’s kinda cool, I think. I haven’t decided if I’ll take her up on her offer,” Helen said. “If I change my mind, I can still meet her at the gate and tell her no.”
The shadows were already lengthening but the trees provided some relief from the late afternoon heat. Bars of sunlight slid through a haze of dust suspended in the air.
Helen and Damon hefted their bags and opened the gate. Deep within the house, Odin’s deep barks reverberated through the structure and the thump of paws–claws clicking on wooden floors–announced that the great gray beast lumbered toward the front door.
“Brace yourself,” Damon said, reaching for the door handle.
Already Odin whined and scrabbled at the barrier. Anabel had warned them that the dog was, well, enthusiastic in his greetings.
He accosted them with a fury of licking, his long tail thumping legs, furniture and walls in his
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