BloodStone: Ice (Book 1)(Completed)

Chapter 3

She stared at the rising sun in her rearview mirror. She hated being up this early. Especially after only a few hours of sleep. Tiredly she shoved another half of a chocolate bar into her mouth, picked up her cell phone and hit the familiar numbers.

"Ella!" the male voice on the other end answered happily. "You're up awfully early. Long drive?"

"Yeah, heading over toward Lafayette. I hate early mornings." Her response was sluggish, drawling out into a yawn. The answering laugh was obviously much more awake.

"Especially after such a long night? I've already seen the bodies. And poor Jean. That man just has the worst luck. That's three bites in the past six weeks."

"Make that five attacks in two months. Those were just the only three bites." She sighed. She could have been too late this time. "That's actually what I'm calling about. Do you think you could talk to Mike about a transfer for him? I'm getting worried that something's drawing him out. I'm not sure what it could be, but I'd hate for him to get killed one of these nights. I know parish to parish transfers aren't easy, but maybe he could be moved to the Northshore. It's a little quieter out there."

"Hmm," the voice pondered for a minute. "I can try. It'd go a lot farther if you called him yourself though."

"Yeah, cause a transfer request from a local vampire hunter is going to go a lot farther than a request from the head coroner?" She laughed sarcastically. She hated having people know what she did. But you couldn't hide some things from certain people. Especially when you needed their help so often. Being on friendly terms with specific members of the police departments and the parish medical staff did make her lifea little easier. "I just don't have time right now. I've got a lot on my plate. Let him know that I'm personally asking."

"Alright Ella. But you owe me a lot at this point. Covering up your handiwork isn't always easy." He laughed, obviously teasing. "Then again, half the state would be run by vampires if we didn't all owe you. So we'll call it even. I'll ask Mike. You'll be careful." It was clearly a demand. She smiled.

"I'll call you later." She hung up. She was pulling off of the interstate now and needed to pay attention to the area. She couldn't afford any slip ups today. This was not just an ordinary master vampire. This one had moved in and started casting protective spells and converting things faster than anything she's ever encountered. It was strong, and ancient, and would put up a hard fight. It would take all her concentration.

She smiled at the creature on her shoulder.

It will all be well Mistress. It grinned back at her.

* * * * *

Quintus felt the disturbance in his head. It felt as if a tiny voice was whispering an urgent demand in his brain. He listened to the unfamiliar voice, trying to tune in more effectively to the speech pattern. He didn't recognize it. It was like water rippling in his mind.

He knew what it was. Who it was. He came out of the earth at the same instant his twin did. They were careless of their surroundings, striding straight to the cellar door. The sun was just setting and the rays poured through the old fashioned leaded windows. They looked at each other grimly. It was not quite dark enough, but Quintus could bring in the clouds to help cover the sun.

"Do you know where she is?" Titus asked him glancing around the room.

"I think so. I can trace her power at least. It's fading though. She must be unconscious."

A tiny face appeared in the window, waving a hand. It gestured them out, hurriedly. They stepped out just as the clouds appeared, covering the sun.