“I’ll take you across first, then return for our supplies.”

She bent, gripped her knees, and closed her eyes. “I need to catch my breath. You do that first and come back for me.”

He growled. “I’d rather risk losing our supplies than you. I take you across first.”

She lifted her head, staring up at him. “Give me two minutes. I bet you could swim across there and return in that time. You’re a freak of nature.”

He scowled.

“Do you want me to puke?” She collapsed, sitting down hard, and didn’t even care if it was unladylike. She spread her thighs apart and leaned forward, bracing her hands there. “Give me at least two minutes. I should get bonus points for keeping up and not falling on my face. That had to be two miles I just ran.”

“Damn it. Don’t move.”

He spun around, just trudging right into the water. She watched him as the water got deeper, until it reached his shoulders. He had the backpack on, the tarp locked under one arm. He swam as though he’d been born to do it, making it look easy as he used his free arm and both legs to maneuver through the body of water. She saw stuff floating by him but he swam almost a straight line, seeming oblivious to the current.

“Freak of nature, alright,” she muttered.

Some of the pain in her side faded and she slowed her breathing as Veso climbed out of the river on the other side, hiding their things, and then dove back into the water. He went under, and she tensed when he didn’t come right back up. His head surfaced finally, almost mid-river as he took a breath, and then disappeared again.

“Iron lungs too. It’s not fair.”

Wood cracked, as if a twig had snapped, and she turned.

The sight of a man about eight feet from her had Glen grabbing for a rock as she struggled to her feet.

He was about twenty-two, wore a big backpack, and looked like some clean-cut college kid. He had just stepped out of the woods and his light brown eyes widened as if she’d surprised him too. She moved, backing up and hoping to draw his attention away from the river.

“Glenda?”

She hated when Veso was right. Though, the kid could be part of a search team from the police. It was possible someone had reported her missing. She swallowed hard, remembering there was supposed to be two of them. She anxiously glanced around looking for the other one.

The kid reached up and shoved off his backpack, taking time to remove something from a pocket. He held out a chocolate bar. “Here. I bet you’re hungry. Do you want water? I have some. Come here.”

She scowled. “Really? Candy? My mom taught me better than that by the time I was four.” She gripped the rock tighter in her fist. “Who are you?”

He glanced at the rock and his features morphed to anger. “You try to hit me with that and it’s going to get ugly. King Charles wants you alive but he didn’t say I wasn’t allowed to defend myself.”

That was one question answered. She had another. “Why work for a Vampire? Are you stupid? Nuts? They’ll kill you.”

He shook his head. “I’m never going to die. That’s why. King Charles promised to turn me.”

“You’re a moron. Have you seen those creeper things? Get off the drugs if think that’s any kind of future.” She glanced back, wishing she knew where the second one had gotten to and wondering where Veso was. She didn’t dare look at the water in case the kid followed her gaze. She glared at him. “Why don’t you take that candy bar and choke on it? That’s a far better way to go out than being some insane jerk’s puppet.”

He lunged and she threw the rock, nailing him in the chest. It must have hurt because he dropped the candy and grabbed for his chest as he stumbled backward.

Instead of running, she dove forward, thrusting her elbow out and slamming into him as hard as she could. He grunted as they went down. She landed on him and used her other hand to claw at his face. He cried out as her fingernails raked his closed eyelids.

She sat up, jamming her elbow into him hard enough to hurt even herself, but she ignored the pain to snatch up another rock. She managed to grab one and started to batter him, using her thighs to brace herself when he tried to buck her off. She bashed him hard in the head. He tried to protect his face so she stopped using her nails on his eyes and went for his throat instead, still hammering him with the rock.

Someone grabbed her wrist and she was torn off the man under her.

She tried to throw her head forward, attempting to head butt the person, but she hit solid chest instead. A wet one.

She looked up at Veso, who just twisted, dropping her on her feet. He moved fast and she watched, mouth falling open, as he used his foot to step on the downed guy’s throat.

“How many of you are there? Answer or I crush your throat.”

The guy moved his hands, revealing the bloody scratch marks she’d put on him and a few cuts to his forehead and cheek from the rock. “Fuck you!” He flipped Veso off.

Veso looked at her. “Close your eyes now.”

She did.

The sickening crunching sound had her spinning away, her stomach threatening to heave. Veso hadn’t been bluffing. She didn’t need to look to know that horrible sound had come from neck bones.

Something popped, a slight noise, and she gasped as Veso tackled her, taking her down. He twisted at the last second so he hit the rocky ground instead of her. Glen jerked her head up, staring at a metal dart that had landed by the river’s edge.

Veso must have seen it too. He snarled. “Hold your breath and don’t let go of me.”

She barely understood him since the words came out so gruff. She gulped in air though and then they were rolling. Icy water almost made her gasp when they left the embankment and hit the water. She squeezed her eyes closed just in time and felt the current grab them.

The hold Veso had on her tightened to the point she felt he might break her ribs. She got her arms around his neck by feel and hooked her legs around his waist for good measure. He released her ribs and his body tensed, his muscles flexing.

They were under water and he was swimming. It didn’t take long for her lungs to scream for air. Panic struck and she dug her nails into his skin, trying to tell him she was about to drown. He must have understood because in seconds their heads broke the surface and she gasped in air. He did too, and then the icy cold surrounded them again as he took them back under.