Love and Blood

6.

I hurtled through the air and into the menacing tree line below. Shadows passed by me in almost perfect clarity, and I was in awe for a second at my newfound ability. I saw the ground before me as I plunged further and further down. Without a second thought, I adjusted my body so my feet were pointing down. In a matter of seconds, I touched down on the soft earth, landing gracefully on the balls of my feet. There was no shock upon impact and at that moment I was glad for my new, impenetrable body. A few seconds later, I heard the soft thud of another pair of feet landing not far from my position. Without looking back, I knew it was the vampire from earlier. I tensed my legs and bolted into the trees, dodging loose rocks and branches as I did. I had to put some distance between us if I had any chance of getting away.

His footsteps followed mine steadily and it seemed as though he was much more graceful than I at dodging his surroundings as he gained distance.

Think Winter, think!

Seeing a fork in the path before me, I made a split decision and turned left. This path was much less cared for, with gnarly roots and rocks jutting up from the dirt. I dodged and weaved as much as I could, but my foot ended up caught in between two boulders I had missed. I fell hard onto the ground, once again scraping my palms. I hissed in pain and yanked my leg free. A sickening crack sounded through the air as I felt my ankle break. Apparently vampires weren't totally invincible, but as quickly as the injury happened, I could feel my bones knitting themselves back together.

The man's footsteps were close, too close for me to get away. Frantically, I looked around for any place that I could hide. Only trees surrounded me, so I hopped up, putting as little pressure as possible on my still sore ankle and scaled the nearest pine.

Just as I reached the top, the vampire arrived. He stopped in the clearing, closing his eyes and listening closely. I held my breath and stayed still as a stone. When he opened his eyes, I could see a glimmer of frustration cross his beautiful features.

Quietly, I adjusted my hold on the branch I was clinging to. As I did, I dug my injured palm into a sharp point. I bit my lip as I held back a gasp, but my blood was quickly dripping to the forest below. The vampires eyes lit up as it's scent reached his nose. His head shot up and I saw his eyes gleaming at me.

"You're a smart one, I'll give you that. How about we stop making things so complicated? Come on down so we can talk."

"Never!"

I began to climb higher just to get some distance between us. He let out a deep sigh and began following me. He was strong, much stronger than I was. Instead of bothering with the branches, he simply pulled himself up the tree, launching about seven feet each time he did. Despite that, I kept climbing higher and higher. It was only when I reached the top that I realized I had no where else to go.

"Damn it," I cursed as the man's blonde head appeared beside me.

He was even more beautiful up close.

"Are you ready to surrender now?" he purred. His gaze bore into mine and I felt a tingle of heat run through my body.

I thought for a moment before answering him. I could go quietly and easily. That would be the logical choice. But I was so tired of these vamps running my life. I'd already let one of them take me, I sure as hell didn't want another one to do it.

Instead, I braced my feet against the branch I was standing on and turned toward the tree on my other side, launching my body toward it. I flew threw the air for a few seconds, before reaching out and grabbing a limb from the other tree. I dropped down to the ground, landing once again on my feet and bolted. I was happy to note that my ankle felt fine now. I kept running and running as fast as my legs could carry me. I didn't hear him pursuing me any longer and a giddy feeling of freedom bubbled up in my chest.

But I knew o wasn't safe yet.

Roman was somewhere in these woods still.

I came to another crossroads and stopped to think. I had no clue where I was, no clue where they were taking me, and there were no signs to indicate my position anywhere.

The snapping of a branch alerted me and as I turned toward the noise, a heavy body slammed into mine. The sound was like two boulders colliding and I landed hard in a small stream. I opened my mouth to scream but a hand clamped it shut. I was almost relieved when I realized it wasn't Roman, but the blonde vampire from before.

I had to commend his tracking skills.

He rolled me onto my stomach and put my hands behind my back, cuffing them with silver chains. He pulled me up to a standing position, still holding tightly onto me.

"You've got a knack for running. That may be useful one day. For now, you'll be coming with me."

I bowed my head and surrendered, letting him lead me away.

We walked in silence for miles. He didn't say a word and he seemed to know exactly where we were going. Finally, curiosity got the better of me.

"Where are you taking me?"

His gaze flickered over to me.

"Back to the palace."

Palace? Vampires had a palace?

A few more minutes of silence passed until I spoke again.

"Who are you?"

He smirked at me but didn't reply.

I furrowed my brow, annoyed that he wouldn't tell me.

"What happens when we get back to the palace?"

"That depends on you."

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said."

I was annoyed with his cryptic answers so I decided to keep my mouth shut.

Dawn was beginning to break over the horizon as we finally made our way back to the site of the car wreck. I was surprised to find that Michael's car was gone, along with the black SUV. Instead, a sleek Audi was waiting for us. I was lead to the passenger side, where he opened the door for me and closed it after I'd sat down. He crossed in front of the car and entered the driver seat, turned the keys, and took off.

"How far do we have to go?" I asked. Apparently I wasn't very good at this silent treatment thing.

"We'll be travelling all day, so get comfortable."

I sighed and leaned my head against the window, watching as the trees passed us by and the sky changed from purple, to orange, to pink. I didn't feel as uneasy around this vampire as I did Roman, but there was something about him that drew me in. I risked a glance in his direction to find his eyes already on me. Embarrassed, I looked away. Who was this mysterious man?

And just what had I gotten myself into now?