Helpless (Blue Fire Saga) by Scott Prussing Page B

the woods grew too thick or the snow drifted too deep, the vampires simply took to the upper reaches of the trees, leaping and swinging from branch to branch almost as quickly as they raced along the ground. Though racing through the trees would make following them more difficult, Jarubu did not fool himself into thinking it would thwart their pursuers. Only distance would do that.
    He had no destination in mind. He merely wanted to get far enough south that Maier and his followers would see no reason to chase them. The vampire chieftain would love to catch and punish the rebels, Jarubu knew, but Maier’s first priority would be to insure the safety of his coven. Forcing the rebels hundreds of miles away into another country would certainly accomplish that goal. Jarubu was pretty sure Maier would be satisfied with that. Even so, he meant to flee at least another couple hundred miles to make sure. One never knew with Maier—his anger was prone to linger, especially where Jarubu was concerned.
    Up ahead, the lights of a small town glimmered faintly in the blackness. Lights meant humans, and humans meant blood, but Jarubu veered slightly to the left, choosing a course that would skirt the village. As much as he would like to feast, hunting would only delay them, especially within the confines of a town. The four of them had dined recently enough—it would not be too much of a hardship to pass this chance by, even with Destiratu fanning their thirst. There would be plenty of time and opportunity to slake their thirst when they were safe.
    They continued southward, coming within a few hundred yards of the town’s outskirts, but the sleeping inhabitants remained ignorant of the four deadly creatures passing so near. Jarubu wondered if any of the humans would be troubled by nightmares simply from the proximity of the vampires’ presence. He thought it likely. Awake, most humans were blithely ignorant of anything supernatural. Asleep, their primitive instincts and senses became more heightened, more in tune with the non-human energies that shared their world.
    A faint prickling on Jarubu’s skin told him dawn was fast approaching, though there was still not the slightest hint of light to the east. No matter though. The sun’s rays were weak this time of year, and all four of them wore hooded sweatshirts for protection if the day became too bright. Still, like all his kind, Jarubu rued the ending of the night. He hoped the coming day would be cloudy.
    Distracted by the approach of day, he almost missed the strange scent that teased his nostrils. The smell had a taste of human about it, but was unlike any Jarubu had ever encountered. The only similar scent in his experience—human but not human—was volkaane. This was definitely not volkaane, though. He would recognize volkaane instantly. Too bad it was not, he thought. For a chance to taste the hot blue blood of one of the vampire hunters he would stop, pursuit be damned. But this was something other than volkaane.
    Still, caution was needed. He raised his hand, signaling his companions to halt.
    “Do you smell it?” he asked.
    Conley inhaled deeply through his nose. “Yes,” he said. “Human, but different.”
    “And not too far, either,” Alexi added. He looked off to the right at a forty-five degree angle. “That way, I think.”
    “What is it?” Melissa asked. “This scent is new to me. Is there danger?”
    “The scent is new to me as well,” Jarubu said. “But whatever it is, I smell only one. I do not think one of anything will be a danger to four vampires.”
    “I say we let it alone and continue on our way,” Alexi said. “One of anything might not be dangerous, but it would also not be enough to feed the four of us. We’ve been making good time—why go out of our way now?”
    Jarubu hesitated. He knew Alexi was right, but the smell tempted him. What if this new thing was something as delicious as volkaane? That was not something he wanted to pass