She put her fingers to her mouth and blew a hard, loud whistle. Everyone stopped talking and looked at her.

"Not only were they after Sian and possibly her baby, but they were also after her DNA. This entire area is covered in blood. I realize," she said, raising her voice, "that most of it is going to come from these sorry a.s.s vamps, but Sian likely left some of hers behind as well. It needs to be cleaned up. These vehicles need to be impounded and decontaminated. Those a.s.sholes have enough of our heritage. They. Don't. Get. More."

She glared at the shocked surprise in everyone's faces. At the same time, there was an understanding and a growing respect.

In a louder voice, she continued. "Our numbers are dwindling. Theirs are growing through artificial means using our genetics. They don't get any of hers today."

She waited a beat, then added in a harsh voice, "Understood?"

There were loud shouts of agreements as everyone got to work.

"Wow," Ian said. "I didn't know you had that in you."

"I didn't either," she said with a sigh. "But when a cause is worth it..."

"Well, I for one am grateful to you for thinking of that, Wendy." Taz half-supported an exhausted Sian in front of them.

"So am I," Sian said in a faint voice, "But if you'll excuse me, I think I need to go lie down."

"And stay down this time," Ian said in exasperation, coaxing a laugh out of all of them.

Her smile wan but valiant, she said, "I plan to, but one of the men said something before..." She stopped and swallowed heavily. Several of the vamps cleaning up around them stopped and gathered around.

In a heavy voice, she said, "He said something about a secret weapon within that would destroy us all. And he couldn't wait." A dark rumble filtered through the crowd. "I didn't give him the satisfaction of staying around that long."

And d.a.m.n if that look on her face didn't make Wendy want to back up. She was seriously scary.

"But he never said what that weapon was?" asked Taz, his face creasing with worry.

She shook her head. "No. Just that we wouldn't know until it was too late and that one of the ancient lines was now bad news." She shuddered. "The laugh he gave was horrible. He knew something but wasn't prepared to share."

"There are a few men left alive. We'll get it out of them."

With a nod and a grateful smile, she started limping toward her car. "I could use a chance to rest."

As Wendy and Ian walked over with them, Wendy watched as Sian looked around furtively. Realizing they were alone, Sian said, "I'm afraid it's either Rhia or Jewel, considering they've both been drugged."

Chapter 12.

That laughter was something Tessa didn't think she'd forget ever in her life presuming she had a chance to live again past this point. Snaky and sly and freakin' scary, so not a rea.s.suring sound. And from Deanna, in the situation they were both in, not confidence building.

But that blast of energy as it slammed into her body had her gasping in fear. For the first time, she realized she just might be up against something she couldn't handle.

"d.a.m.n right you are."

s.h.i.t. Another blast came out from nowhere and picked Tessa up, slamming her to ground. She groaned, rolled over, and got hit again.

Okay, this was enough of this s.h.i.t. She mentally placed a buffer around herself in this weird s.p.a.ce. She could make them all disappear except for Deanna, apparently.

From the center of that buffer, she dragged her body upward, watching warily as bolt after bolt hit the protective layer. Like what the h.e.l.l? This was her mind. Not Deanna's. It was Tessa's world, and Deanna could take a hike. And given all that, why could she not make Deanna disappear like she could all the others?

"Because I'm stronger than you." Deanna's voice reverberated through the safe hollow Tessa had created for herself. "Besides, you invited me in."

"In that case," Tessa shouted, "consider yourself uninvited." At the silence around her, she wondered if Deanna had left.

Then that nasty cackle came again. She was playing with Tessa.

"Deanna, this is my body. You behave or I'm going to kick you out of here."

That same laughter warbled free, the sound echoing throughout the hollow cavern in her mind. Wait, what? What cavern? Tessa spun around in a fast twirling motion. She was alone, standing in the center of some kind of arena.

She was in a huge cave with a ceiling so high she couldn't tell where it started or stopped. The floor was rock and the place was dark. Empty.

She shifted her vision, wondering that it made no difference. Then she understood that in her mind there was no difference because she could already see everything she needed to see.

She could also switch this up. If this was Deanna playing games, Tessa didn't have to play with her.

This was Tessa's mind. Her playground. She made the rules.

Deanna was the guest. And a s.h.i.tty one at that.

She hated that sense of superiority Deanna wore whenever she brushed up against Tessa. As if she knew so much and Tessa would never get there. Yet Tessa owned all of Deanna's memories, so in theory, she could absorb it at will, and that made her the superior one.

"Never." The whisper was low and dark and purred forth on a growl.

Tessa's back came up and she crouched down, ready for that insidious attack. She didn't know if it was coming or not, but the sense of being hunted was inescapable. The predator and the prey. She hated it. She'd been there before and hadn't planned to be there ever again, yet here she was. And worse, it was in the very core of her own soul.

How the h.e.l.l did that work? And if Tessa worked energy, why was she feeling threatened?

Because Deanna worked energy too. And in a bigger, better way.

Bulls.h.i.t.

That same laughter rippled around the cavern, scaring the c.r.a.p out of Tessa, and that was half the problem. As long as Deanna had her on the run, she was winning this fight before it even started.

She need to put Deanna into defensive mode and get a little of her own back.

"Not going to happen, child." The old voice was hard, brittle.

"There is no fight here, Deanna," Tessa said as calmly as she could. "This is my s.p.a.ce. You are about to get an eviction notice."

She stepped out of her safe bubble.

A blast of white slammed into the side of Tessa's body, picking her up and throwing her down several feet away. Sore but more p.i.s.sed than hurt, Tessa bounded to her feet. She knew this was ridiculous. That d.a.m.n b.i.t.c.h Deanna was attacking her in her own d.a.m.n mind. How the h.e.l.l could she? She still had so much power. Even though it was only residual energy, it had way more power when narrowed into a tightly focused stream than Tessa could ever hope to have.

Stop it, she screamed at herself. You're thinking just the way she wants you to think. Don't get sucked into that c.r.a.p.

Besides, Deanna's energy was in a limited amount and if she was too strong now, then Tessa could drain some of it.

Tessa didn't know why she didn't just turf Deanna out on her b.u.t.t; maybe she cared about her vampire heritage more than she realized. And maybe she was terrified to discover she couldn't turf the b.i.t.c.h out. Because really, how was she supposed to do that? Surely if that was easy it would have already happened. It wasn't like Deanna disappeared when the others did.

Besides, there was information in there that was worth protecting. At least until she could download it onto something else.

Someone else.

That thought scared the c.r.a.p out of her. Do to someone else what Deanna had done to her no way. Not happening. She couldn't physically or emotionally or ethically do that.

But there had to be a way to deal with Deanna. She raised the light inside the cavern. Instantly she could see the corners all around her. Deanna instantly lowered the lighting. Tessa grinned. That had to take up energy, too. Good. She raised the light again.

"We can do this all day if you want to," Deanna smirked from the shadows.

d.a.m.n, really? She so hadn't signed on for this. "What's it going to take to have you disappear, Deanna?"

"Nothing you've got to give."

Or did she?

How many times had she been put to the test and figured out the contest wasn't about strength, or power even...but about inner strength, and as Tessa had found out she had lots of that. And cunning. And a different way of looking at things. All things.

So if she couldn't turf Deanna and no, she didn't know that she couldn't but it wasn't her prime choice, but Deanna need to be stopped somehow. The filing system worked before for all Deanna's knowledge, so maybe Deanna should have her own d.a.m.n filing cabinet. A box all of her own. Made out of something she couldn't open or use power to put Tessa into her own d.a.m.n box one that Tessa could open if and when she cared to.

Would that work?

h.e.l.l yes it would. If she could create anything, then she wanted a prison to cage Deanna so she'd be there if Tessa needed her. Other than that, she'd be incapacitated.

Tessa built a steel box inside her mind, making it thick and strong and able to withstand Deanna's blasts, and she kept it tucked out of sight in the back shadows of the cavern. Now if only she could coax Deanna inside and lock her up forever. Forget about coaxing her that d.a.m.n woman needed to be wrapped up in a tornado of Tessa and tossed inside.

As soon as she thought of it, a huge hurricane of energy whirled around her. d.a.m.n, that was good. She directed it toward Deanna, like a vacuum on steroids, and it sucked out everything in the cavern. Making sure it was a sealed unit, she proceeded to slam the vortex into the container and slammed the door shut.

She waited and listened. Nothing. Just lightness and a breath of fresh air. She grinned. It hadn't been that bad. It just went to prove that Deanna was only a shadow of her former self and although her energy might still by feisty, she had little power to back up that att.i.tude.

That should take care of the old b.i.t.c.h forever.

Goran walked quietly through the hallways, realizing that these corridors were narrow and dark, resembling more of a pa.s.sageway meant only for the maintenance guys who worked on the equipment rather than for actual patients or medical staff to navigate along. That gave him hope that Bart truly was heading for the other canister.

They needed both canisters. They should be able to test the contents at the Council Hall. And if he could ever catch a break and be able to slow down, he'd be able to send out a few text messages to catch up on some information.

Serus had already gone back to Cody and Tessa and had given regular updates as he made his way. The last thing anyone needed at this point was to get captured.

Now he was there alive but busy. Or something like that. These last few weeks, there'd been more instances like that than anything he'd ever experienced before. It was like Serus had put him on hold.

He sent out a call. Serus, any update on Rhia?

Serus's response was immediate. No, none.

Tessa? Or anyone else?

Serus filled him in on the attack on Sian.

He stopped in his tracks. "What the h.e.l.l?"

Goran didn't know what to say. That was beyond bad news. And it wasn't going to get any better if they couldn't put a stop to this bulls.h.i.t. And now. d.a.m.n it. He started running again.

With David racing behind him, Goran came up to a large machinery room and doors that reached way up into the ceiling high above. The doors were open slightly. He snuck up close. There were several vamps talking in a group off to one side. Bart was not one of them.

There was no way to get past these men so...he shrugged and stepped forward nonchalantly.

"Hey, who the h.e.l.l are you?" one of the men asked, a frown on his face. "You don't belong here."

"Maybe and maybe not," Goran said. He motioned at David behind him. "But maybe we should be here and you guys shouldn't. We heard you lost one of the canisters."

Fear whispered through the group as if some kind of major threat loomed. And it did, just not the one they were afraid of.

"We had nothing to do with that. That entire group was taken out."

David snorted. Standing beside him, Goran could hear his labored breathing, but he stood tall and strong. "Like we believe that. Where is your canister then?"

"It's attached." The men pointed down the long wall of equipment. "It's just being hooked up now. It will be ready to go in minutes."

Goran smiled, but the men cringed backwards. So much for making them feel better. "Good then. You guys aren't needed anymore." And he jumped them.

David roared and knocked down the first one, his silver spike reducing the first man into ash. Goran cheerfully spun a few times, loving the feeling of getting his own back, then decided they didn't have time to play anymore and stepped back to watch David dispatch the last of them.

"Good now to get Bart and that d.a.m.n canister!"

Like h.e.l.l.

Bart needed to grab the canister and get back to where he belonged. Without the canisters, he had no leverage. And he needed leverage. He had an agreement with the doctors. This d.a.m.n blood farm business was s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up his life.

He'd been good with everyone going about taking care of their own business. It left him in good shape to take care of what was important in his.

Not now.

Now everything was different. That d.a.m.n kid Tessa. She started this mess.

Well, Bart might finally have to take a stand and finish it, too.