Vampire Mine - Kerrelyn Sparks [56]
“How? Can you fly?”
“I’ll teleport you. I have a tracking device embedded in my arm, so the other Vamps can follow me.”
“How will you know where to go? I don’t know how to tell you.”
“Vampires have some psychic ability, so I should be able to slip inside yer mind.”
Her eyes widened as she gazed at him, stunned. She’d felt so empty and lonesome without the constant voices of the Heavenly Host filling her mind with song and praise. She missed them sorely, yet somehow the thought of Connor being in her mind was . . . troubling. His thoughts would not be angelic. And having only one other person in her mind made it seem too . . . intimate.
She swallowed hard. “That works both ways. If we make a connection, I’ll see into your mind, too.”
His jaw shifted. “ ’Tis a risk I’ll have to take.” He glowered at her. “I’ll expect you to cooperate. When I enter yer mind, focus all yer concentration on the location ye wish to go to. As soon as we’ve teleported, I’ll break the connection. The whole procedure should only take a few seconds.”
“I see.” He was hoping it would happen so fast she wouldn’t have time to peek into his black pit of pain and remorse.
“We need to practice,” he continued. “Every night that Casimir and his Malcontents are allowed to roam free, they will feed and kill.”
She set the bottle down and stood. “All right. Let’s do it.”
He nodded. “We should start off with something easy.”
She gave him a wry look. “An easy death? Tell that to the person who’s dying.”
“I meant a nonviolent death. And one close enough that there’ll be no risk of me teleporting into daylight and getting fried.”
“I understand.” She closed her eyes to slowly access her sense of death. She’d learned years ago not to fling the door open, otherwise she could be overwhelmed by the amount of death that occurred worldwide at any given moment. She reached out gently to the nearest town where a death was occurring.
“I found one.” She opened her eyes and for half a second caught Connor watching her intently before he shifted his gaze. “There’s a town nearby where an elderly man is dying in a nursing home.”
“Can ye focus on a place close by? If we teleport straight into the nursing home, we’ll cause a fright. Or ye might end up accidentally brushing against someone and causing more death. Some place outdoors and isolated would be best.”
She nodded, frowning. She’d never purposely missed the mark before. “I’ll try.”
He checked the dagger in his sock. “We shouldna run into any trouble, but I like to be prepared.” He looked her over and grabbed the hem of her hooded jacket. “ ’Tis a wee bit chilly out here.” He connected the zipper and zipped it up to her chin.
“Oh, I was wondering how that worked.” She smiled sheepishly. “I knew it looked like the fastener on my pants, but I didn’t how to get it started.” She moved the zipper up and down. “I love this. Humans are so clever.”
“Lass.” He covered her hand with his own to stop her. “Are ye ready?”
To let him inside her mind? She swallowed hard. She’d always been an open book before, sharing everything with the Heavenly Host. But she’d never had these quivery feelings of desire before. She didn’t want Connor to know that he was causing them, that even now she wanted him to pull her into his arms and kiss her.
She took a deep breath. She would focus all her thoughts on a place in the vicinity of the nursing home. That would be all he would sense. “I’m ready.”
He grabbed her by the upper arms and pulled her close.
She gasped. Good heavens!
“Ye need to hold on to me,” he said softly. “So I can teleport with you.”
“Oh, right.” She slipped her arms around his neck. Her heart thundered in her chest. Concentrate. Think about the location. Not about being in his arms.
His arms enveloped her and his cheek pressed against her temple. “Open yer mind,” he whispered. “Let me in.”
She shuddered when she felt a cold stab at her brow.
Marielle. His voice echoed in her mind.
He was with her, his presence strong and determined. So masculine. And bold, as if he were staking a claim on