I sat and watched Rush's unmoving form for hours, along with a couple other fighters Connor had set to the task. I did not know much more about them than their names, Lincoln and Chael, and the observation that neither man seemed very comfortable sitting and waiting for a new and unpredictable leech to awaken.
I wasn't thrilled by the task, either, but I was fairly confident we could handle it. Besides my now usual dagger, which I kept in my hand at the ready, I also had a loaded pistol, and two fighters to back me up. If he woke up so unstable that we had to take him out, these were the best odds for dealing with leach hostility I had ever experienced.
Rush would be stronger than me upon waking, but if sparring with Marcel had taught me anything, brand new bloodsuckers were vulnerable in their lack of control. I couldn't beat Marcel in a one on one fight any longer, but if Rush proved difficult to handle it certainly would not be one on one.
Waiting for this bloodsucker to wake up was a lot more tense than when I had been sitting with Vienne, but I did not let the unnerving watchfulness of the others get to me. I did not know Rush well, but I hoped he would wake up similar to how Marcel had, skewed, but not an entirely different person.
Marcel had been Marcel, but damn, he had been cold when I sparred with him now. Gone was the sweat and the heat, leaving nothing but a quiet that nagged at my instincts.
It was almost with relief when I noticed Rush finally start to stir, similar jerking movements to those I had seen the previous night with Marcel. In preparation, I grabbed a bag of blood from a cooler and held it in front of me. No reason to let the leech think the only way to obtain blood was to attack a human.
"Rush? You okay, man?" I asked cautiously.
A low groan came out of the prone body.
"We're right here with you." I was sure he knew that we were there as much to guard him as to help him.
Rush did not respond, his eyes still tightly closed and his face contorted as if in anguish. The two with me shared a nervous glance between them, but did not say anything.
Rush tilted his head up, and finally cracked open his eye for the briefest moment. I couldn't remember his original eye colour, but even the quick opening had been enough to show me that his eyes were vivid red with his bloodlust.
I watched him cautiously. I did not know what new vampires would do, but if he was going to get violent, I was ready.
Instead of attacking, he rolled to his side and opened his eyes again, and met mine.
"Blood?" I asked, holding out a bag. I held the handle of my dagger more securely in my other hand.
"Yes," he said. I moved forward and held it out to him as he sat up, his movements carrying the same unnatural fluidity as Vienne's. He took it with a jerk, and began to drain the bag. When he was finished, he drank the next one I handed him.
Rush looked around as he finished his second bag. "This whole silent watchful thing is creepy." My two companions chuckled nervously.
"Just a precaution. Vienne had to leave," I reminded him.
"Yes, she said she would."
"And apparently turning doesn't take well with some people."
"I need more blood." I handed him a third. The younger of the other fighters, Lincoln seemed pale, maybe because he had really known Rush in life.
"But you should be fine, she said. She wants you to head to her home once you can manage it to back up Marcel, for defense. Do you remember her telling you that?"
Rush nodded, not removing his mouth from the bag until there was nothing left.
He drained two more bags before he finally stood up, looking around the room as if stunned for long moments. I kept careful watch, but he did nothing suspicious.
"I should go," Rush said, moving towards the door.
"I don't think that she meant you had to leave the moment you woke up," Chael pointed out.
Rush looked at him, point blank. "It's better if I get away from you for now, I think. I'm not thirsty, but I'm craving."
I considered arguing, but decided to trust him to get himself there. "We'll walk you out."
We escorted the newest bloodsucker to the hidden tunnel to New Haven.
Rush turned to Lincoln and said, "Tell Marlene and the kids where I went. And tell them that I love them and that I'll see them as soon as I know I'm fully in control of myself."
Lincoln nodded solemnly. "I will."
Rush disappeared into the darkness. I went back into New Haven to call and give Leif the head's up that another leech was on his way.
* * * * *
Newly empty of all vampires, New Haven went back to the state of frenzied preparation it had been in before Vienne had come and announced that she was going to start turning humans. I could understand the strategy of the idea, but the only thing that made me feel better was the haunting hollowness I had seen in her eyes after she had turned Marcel. She had looked sad, as if she was grieving him.
I didn't want her to suffer, but I was glad that she was not turning humans frivolously. She was different in so many ways from the other leeches, and I had plenty of time to consider her as I drove through the wilderness on a four-wheeler.
It was so much faster and easier than walking through the wilds like I had before, although it was far more conspicuous. Normally I would have rejected it, but time was of the essence. I had both guns and knives along, so I would hopefully be able to destroy any leeches if they found me.
My first stop was at Braydon's makeshift inn. I was not at all convinced that the nature reserves would hold once we were in full on conflict with the bloodsucking council, so this family would be in increasing danger. I had checked the registers of humans who had been brought into Vienne's territory since I had last seen them. None of their names had been recorded, so I decided it was worth trying to convince them myself.
I stopped and hid the machine about a half-hour walk from Braydon's. It was the middle of the day so there would be no bloodsuckers around, but it was still not worth the risk of drawing their attention. I jogged through the trees and shrubbery, until I spotted the clearing with the simple structure.
Without any fanfare, I pushed open the door. Lisa was standing with her husband, and she smiled widely when she saw me. "Jamie!"
"Lisa, Nelson. I'm looking for Braydon, is he around?"
"Yeah, he's out back with the horses."
"Perfect, thanks." I rushed out, the door swinging shut on the next thing that she was about to say.
Circling the house, I found Braydon exactly where his daughter had directed me. He was brushing out a horse's flank and I watched as he moved methodically around the animal. He looked up and his eyes widened. "Jamie, what are you doing back here, so soon?"
"I've got news," I said, "And a warning."
Braydon's brow furrowed. "A warning?"
I nodded. "There's a lot to explain, and I don't have much time, but there's a war coming in your direction."
His eyes, which had strayed back to the horse he was holding, jumped back to me in full attention.
"I can't tell you much, but I've joined a group that is working against the ruling class leeches. We're trying to bring the free humans in where they'll be safe."
Braydon frowned in deep though. "I have heard rumours lately, and a lot of people have been on the move."
I nodded. "That's all part of it. I'm hoping you'll consider moving with your family."
"You want me to leave everything?"
"Bring what you can. If you stay here, you'll likely lose it, either way. The bloodsuckers are probably going to come down hard on the free people who are left."
He sighed heavily. "We've had a good life here."
"There were reserves where leeches were not supposed to hunt up until now, and I suspected that you lucked out in your location, but they're probably not going to last when the leeches start starving."
"This is a lot. Let me get this straight, you've joined up with a rebellion?"
"That about sums it up."
"When did that happen?"
"I decided it after I killed the demon, around the last time I saw you."
"And, if we do decide to move, where is it?"
"I'm not sure I should tell you yet, until you know you're going to join."
He frowned. "You're not the first person who has come through here, talking like that, trying to get humans to leave, and they weren't much clearer than you."
"If you decide you want to come, I'll tell you everything I can. I swear I think it's the best plan."
"I need to talk to the kids about it," he said.
I nodded. "While you do that I'm going to go find Hadron. I'll swing back here on my way back."
Braydon laughed at the idea. "You're going to try to convince Hadron to abandon the vagabond lifestyle? There's a laugh."
"I know, but I want to at least give him a warning. I'll see you, soon, in a couple of days at most."
I left, hoping that my words would convince him while I was gone.
* * * * *
It took me two days to track down the cranky old man. While I was impressed at his craftiness, I really did not have time to be wandering around the wilderness exposed and searching for my mentor when there was so much else I could be doing.
"What are you doing here, this time?" he asked, as unfriendly as the last time I had seen him. He spared me a single glance before he turned his attention back to working with a hide from what must have been a recent hunt.
"Came looking for you."
"Oh? Decided to wander with me after all, boy?" he asked.
"Not exactly," I said. I had wracked my brain trying to think of ways to convince him to abandon his nomadic lifestyle, but every idea I had was nowhere to be found. Guess I would have to improvise. "There's another war with the bloodsuckers coming."
That caught his attention. He looked up at me, one bushy eyebrow raised. "Oh? Because the last one went so well for us."
"This one will be different."
"Yeah, this one we don't have all the ancient technology to use against them. We'll lose twice as fast."
His reasoning was sound. We humans had almost no chance, at least not on our own, which we were, as far as he knew. "We have the element of surprise. And other strategies."
Hadron was not impressed. "What the hell have you gotten your fool head into, now? At least I could understand why you would want to get revenge, but I thought you might take a break from risking your neck for now. But you can't go five minutes, could you?"
"I believe it's possible."
He scoffed. "Yeah, and your belief makes it more likely."
"If you don't want to come, you should probably flee further afield, at least."
"Pah. Sit down and have something to eat, boy. I think hunger is getting to your brain."
I ignored his comment and swung my bag off my back. I pulled out a prepackaged bar from New Haven and tossed it to Hadron. He caught it and looked at it suspiciously. "Where'd you get this?"
"From the rebellion. They're well prepared."
He scowled, but he did not give the bar back, instead peeled the wrapper off and took a huge bite. "It's sweet," he frowned.
"Yeah. They have sugar, the brown stuff is chocolate."
"My dad mentioned chocolate, although he didn't really know what it was, either," Hadron admitted before taking another bite.
"Listen, they don't expect you to join the rebellion, but we do want to get as many humans out of reach of the bloodsuckers as possible. We want to starve the leeches and keep them from making more. In the human suppression wars they turned humans, starved them until they lost their minds, and then let them loose on the battlefield. That was how they won, and we don't want to leave anyone."
"I didn't know that," Hadron commented. He eyed me suspiciously. "How are these rebels so in the know? What have you gotten yourself mixed up in, James?"
I could tell Hadron was serious when he pulled out my actual name. I debated telling him the truth. He was good at keeping one step ahead of the vampires. Maybe it would be safe to tell him something, if I were vague. "There's a bloodsucker who has been building the rebellion from inside the council."
He looked at me as if I had just told him leeches ate plants or something equally ridiculous. "It's true."
His response was somewhere between a grumble and another scoff. "I'll believe that when I see it."
I moved closer and forced myself into his line of sight. "I saw her kill three council leeches with my own eyes."
He inspected me. "She? Why would she do that?"
"From what I've seen, she doesn't like most bloodsuckers very much. She enjoyed killing them the way that leeches enjoy killing humans."
"A large feral wolf killing weaker wolves, huh? For territory?"
"Something like that. She's not that bad." I pushed aside the thoughts that reminded me just how not bad she was.
"I have trouble believing that you're you, son. In what world would you ever say anything like this about a bloodsucker? Have you been brainwashed?" His task with the hide had been long forgotten as he inspected me.
"No."
"That's what a person under leech mind control would say."
"You're right. I've got no way to prove to you that I've seen what I've seen, unless you come with me."
"And walk straight into a leech's trap?"
"Do I look like I've been abused?" I asked him.
Hadron chuckled. "Not a bad argument, kid. You do look in good health. But, I'm not going to waste any more of your time. I won't be coming along, no matter what you say."
I nodded. I was not surprised and I wasn't going to try to force him. "Then, at least get as far away from the leeches as possible. When they start running out of humans, they'll put more effort into their hunting. And if you change your mind, come to Vienne's territory."
"Vienne? That leech who was responsible for the wild human branding? She's the one you're talking about?" He laughed, but there was no mirth. "You really are being controlled, aren't you? It would be a kindness if I tied you up and kept you away from her, no doubt."
He was not serious, but I watched him cautiously in case he did decide to try to restrain me for my own good. "I know it looks bad, but there were reasons for that. I probably can't convince you, but if you change your mind, come and see for yourself. It's not bad there."
He shook his head. "The way you speak, it's unbelievable."
"It's the truth. It took me a while to see it, but it is. I've got to get back, but at least move one way or another." The last thing I wanted to see was Hadron sacrificed to the council's appetites.
"I'll think about it. Sure you don't want to stay with me instead? We could head north."
I would love to go with Hadron to get him out of harm's way, but not by sacrificing everything else I could accomplish by staying. "Sorry, Hadron, but I've got work to do." With regret, I left my mentor and turned back to return to the inn.