Finding Fire

Chapter 20

Anna tried to force her heart to remain calm as she walked along the long winding path to the compound.

Nicolas had always called it that so casually, and she hadn't thought about it much. Apparently huge ass mansion was the same thing as compound to Nicolas.

The structure was beautiful and sprawling up in the middle of the forest. There were no outside lights to show her the road. That vampire night vision must have rendered lots of lighting useless.

However, lights glowed from the windows of the mansion. It was beautifully made of light-colored brick, with huge white pillars all along the front.

It didn't even look all that scary. She supposed vampires were scary enough as it was. They didn't need their homes to scare people off.

Actually, considering they lived off humans, it would probably be best if their houses were inviting.

She reached to her waist and fidgeted with the hilt of the dagger Nicolas had given her. It had seemed like a good idea to keep it at her waist, but it wasn't too secure. If she had to run, she would have to hold onto it. Not that running would get her anywhere if a vampire was chasing her.

Her nerves increased the closer she got to the house. She took comfort knowing Nicolas was somewhere in the dark forest, looking after her right now. She walked up to a beautiful mahogany door and took a deep breath. This would be her last chance to turn back.

She brushed a hand through her hair. She didn't usually wear it down, but she wanted to cover the two puncture holes in her neck. She looked behind her and told herself again that she needed to do this and was reassured with the knowledge Nicolas was right behind her somewhere.

She just needed to keep the guards outside and not go in with them if she could help it.

With that thought in mind, she lifted her hand and knocked on the door.

Before she could panic, the massive door swung open and two muscular men stared at her. For a moment, she was speechless. Two vampires stood in front of her, and chances were they weren't friendly.

One of the guards was light with a pale complexion and gold blonde hair. The other had darker skin and curly black hair.

She shook off her fear and let her act play along with her nerves. "Oh my gosh! I'm so happy you're home," she gushed out, trying to sound loud and unappetizing.

"I was driving on this road, with nothing and no one for miles and miles, and my car just stops for no reason in the middle of the night and my cell phone isn't working, and I am, like, freaking out that I'm going to die or something." She took a second to breathe. "You know?"

The two men glanced at each other and back at her. She asked, "Do you think you two could come out to my car and take a look at it? It's probably nothing, but I know, like, zilch about cars." She brought up two fingers and held them close together to emphasize how little she knew about cars.

The dark one spoke first. "I'm sorry to hear that. Why don't you come in and we can call someone for you."

Anna shook her head. She couldn't go inside with them. "I don't think I should. Really, if you could just come look at it, I'm sure it's nothing major."

The lighter one made eye contact with her. "I think it would be best if you came inside with us."

For a moment, everything floated away. She took two steps toward the inside of the massive building. Yes, going into the house was a great idea.