“Are fucking useless against Vampires! They can be mind-controlled. Humans would hand you right over to that master. Now stop stalling and follow me. You either walk or I carry you. That would slow me down. Stick close.” He turned away, stalking into the woods.

“Damn,” Glenda hissed. She followed him though. No way did she want to be left alone on some dirt road in the middle of nowhere.

She put on the backpack and tried to ignore the fact that the socks made her feet hot. They did protect them from hurting as she walked over dirt and dry leaves. The trees grew thicker as they walked. One glance back assured her the cabin wasn’t within sight anymore, nor the road.

“He’s going to get us both lost,” she predicted aloud.

“Stop your complaining.”

“I just think this is a bad idea.”

“I don’t care what you think.”

“I figured that out already since you refuse to listen to anything I have to say.”

He came to an abrupt stop in front of her and she almost bumped into his back. He glared at her over his shoulder. “Can’t you be silent? Do you always feel the need to argue?”

“Only with jerks.”

His eyes narrowed. “At some point we’ll find a place to hunker down before the sun sets. We’ll be enclosed in a very small space to hide our heat signatures from the Vampires if they scatter and try to locate us. Remember that. You are slowing us down with your talking. Stop it and just walk.”

He turned his head forward and took off, increasing the pace.

Glen gritted her teeth and trudged after him. The heavy backpack didn’t help her mood but he carried whatever he’d taken from the shed under his arm and the shotgun, so she couldn’t complain that he’d made her the mule of their trek.

The terrain became rougher when they reached an area where trees had fallen over and a lot of debris had accumulated. It surprised her when Veso turned, helping her climb over and get through some of the worst of it.

“Landslide?”

“Flood,” he corrected. “Probably from when the snow melted at the end of winter.” He lifted his chin, seeming to study the sky. “I don’t see any indication of rain but I want out of this area. We need to reach higher ground.”

“More climbing. Woohoo.”

He actually cracked a smile. “At least we have rope now.”

She glanced at the bulky tarp. “Inside that?”

“Yes.”

“What’s your plan? Just stay out here in the middle of nowhere until you think the Vampires have given up on searching for us?” The idea horrified her.

“They won’t do that. The master has a plan for you. Did he come across as the type to easily change his mind?”

She would never forget the crazy bastard who claimed to be a relative of hers—or why she’d been kidnapped. “No. He’s a lunatic.”

“We’ll keep going in this direction until we find a very remote home with a phone or a vehicle. It’s possible the Vampires are unaware of some of the antisocial humans who live miles from others and don’t use paved roads. Then we’ll either get to call my people to come get us or we’ll drive to them.”

“I still think we should just go to the police. They can protect us.”

“Foolish Glenda,” Veso muttered.

She decided not to respond. He bundled the shotgun with the tarp, reached out, and gripped her arm with his free hand when the incline became steep. He might be a jerk but he kept her from stumbling as she struggled to climb the hill. The trees thickened again, the flood-damaged area left behind.

“I’ll keep you safe.”

She glanced at him, grateful.

He didn’t look at her, instead scanning the woods. “Move faster. You’re slowing us down too much.”

Chapter Six

Glen didn’t think there was any part of her body that didn’t hurt. Her shoulders ached from the weight of the backpack digging into them all day. Her back felt too tense and her calves throbbed. The socks on her feet hadn’t protected her from feeling as if she’d gained a few more bruises after traveling for miles on rough terrain. Sharp pains radiated from her stomach since their breakfast had been the only thing they’d eaten all day. Veso had refused to take a break, pushing her constantly to keep on the move. The only rest times they’d had were for a few drinks of water and bathroom breaks that hadn’t lasted more than a couple minutes.

“This is a good place.” He finally stopped at the top of a ravine, peering down.

Glen moved next to him, gaping at the jagged line where the earth just dropped in front of them, leaving a hundred-foot gap in the ground between them and the other side. “Shit. A good place for what? To die? There’s no way we can climb down and up that. It would be suicide.” She leaned forward a little, staring at the bottom. A lot of rocks sat below. “It looks really steep.”

“It is. I’ll lower you on a rope, and then haul your ass up on the other side once I climb it. You’ll slow me down though, doing that, so we’ll sleep here and tackle it in the morning. I don’t want to be caught at the bottom during the night. This is a strategic place to defend.”

Glen just shook her head. “How do you figure that?”

“Vampires can’t fly. I toss them over the edge if we’re attacked. The fall won’t kill them but that landing will be a bitch. They’ll break bones and bleed a lot. It will take them time to heal enough to come at us again. The sun will rise at some point and they’d need to find shelter far enough away to feel safe from me hunting them down while they sleep. That means if one falls, it won’t attack us twice in one night. They won’t want to die.”

“We’re going to get killed instead if we try to climb down and up that. Why don’t we just head in a new direction and try to get around this?”

“I’m not backtracking. VampLycan territory is in that direction.” He pointed over the ravine.

“You’re insane.”

“Determined. Learn the difference. I want to get home.”

“Even if it kills us?”

“I can climb. You’ve seen me do it.”

Veso drove her nuts. She walked over to a big rock and took a seat, removing the backpack. She decided to change the subject to avoid a fight. “I wish I could take a hot bath right now.”