Chapter 6
The next few minutes are unadulterated chaos. Bogdan manages to keep Tegan from escaping, but with Leo's quickly deteriorating state, we end up needing her help. He's unconscious and rapidly losing blood. Even his pulse is slowing. Bogdan's red eyes sear me as I suggest letting her go.
"She'll kill you, human," he mutters. "Out of the question."
"We need her help!"
Tegan defiantly stares ahead. Even though she's a Secondary, she has the same sense of pride as vampires. She's not angry that she's being held captive. She's angry she slipped up enough to get in that predicament in the first place.
Bogdan shakes his head. "Enough."
Leo is curled into a small heap beside me. I've switched out the clothing in front of his stomach – twice. His paleness takes on a sickly hue, and I know he doesn't have much longer. Bogdan's made it clear time and time again that he doesn't care whether Leo lives or dies, but I do.
And I know if the roles were reversed, he'd be doing all he could to save me. I push myself away from Leo and go to the duffle bag. The picture of Archer Robbins has fallen just a foot beside it, and I hastily swipe it up before walking over to Tegan.
Her dark eyes glower with every step I take, but my need to help outweighs my fear. Bogdan grunts when I've gotten close enough, and my feet come to a stop of their own accord. I would just say it's because I'm used to listening to him, but I know it's more than that. Bogdan and I are connected in a way that's hard to explain.
I sigh and hold the picture up, high enough that it catches the light...and Tegan's attention.
"We're not lying about the picture," I say, hating the tremor in my voice. "We really are...or were...looking for you and the rest of the Secondary population."
Tegan's terrifying gaze scours over the picture. She studies it in silence. Then her eyes flicker over to Bogdan.
"Archer Robbins," she says.
"Yes," I breathe out. "Did you know him?"
She shakes her head a single time. "No, only heard of him. But you know him."
I frown in confusion, turning the picture to face me again. I study the face I've stared at more times than I can count. I almost feel like I do know him. He looks like Bogdan, but not quite. Not really. Then I shake my head.
"I don't know him."
Tegan sighs impatiently and nods her head towards Bogdan. "Yes you do. It's him."
"No it's not. The nose is different. The eyes – "
"When a Secondary changes, it's not like when a human changes," Tegan responds flatly. "Humans look identical. But because the Secondary already has the blood of a vampire flowing through them, when they change and become fully vampire, their human...imperfections...are modified. They look the same, but different."
Bogdan stiffens a few feet beside me. This is news to him, too. I swallow hard and look at the picture again. My heart beats funny staring at the picture of a man for so long I believed was Bogdan's family. But come to find out...it's been him all along.
"Why...why would he have a picture of himself?" I ask quietly.
"Practice of war," Tegan replies simply. "Even though Secondaries are powerful, we're not immune to the loss of memories when we change, either. So before we helped during the first war, we were told to bring a picture of ourselves to carry on us. That way if we died...or changed, we would have our own piece of identification for someone to find."
I recoil at the news and stumble back a step. It makes sense – so much so that I wonder why I didn't think of it myself. I study the uneven, sharp slope of Bogdan's – I mean, Archer's – Secondary nose. A genuine smile is spread across his lips. He looks so happy. So real.
"I had no idea...," I whisper.
Leo twitches from the corner of my eye, and my temporary daze is broken. My gaze snaps back up to Tegan's face and my expression becomes pleading.
"You see for yourself," I say. "That Bogdan used to be a Secondary. He was once one of you. That has to count for something. Please. Please help us. He'll die if you don't."
Bogdan scowls. "Human, there is no – "
"I'll help him, Finn," Tegan agrees, effectively cutting off Bogdan's argument. Then her cold smile turns sinister. "But help comes with a price."
"Anything. I'll do anything."
A small piece of dirt is smudged down the side of Tegan's face from her tussle with Bogdan. It looks so out of place against her pristine, pale skin. She holds my gaze in silent agreement before turning her head to focus on my vampire.
"I think that's your cue to release me," she snarls.
Bogdan's piercing red gaze meets mine. It's hard to look at him. I know this isn't what we agreed upon. No, in fact this is the opposite. But he doesn't understand what Kelly means to me. Leo doesn't fully understand either, but he knows enough to put his life in danger to save him. Not even Bogdan did that.
"How far do we have to travel?" I ask, sliding my arm around Leo and attempting to lift him onto my shoulders.
"Criston isn't just a small, human town," Tegan answers as Bogdan forces her to her feet. "It's the hidden entry to our territory as well."
I glance around, confused. Criston is the only town within miles. There's a forest, but it leads to a mountain. If there were more people around, we would have seen or heard them before now. I tilt my head towards the sky and squint at the mountaintops. It would be unlivable for human, but perhaps...
"On top of the mountain?" I ask.
Tegan smirks. "No. Inside of it."
________________
Tegan gingerly pulls Leo into her arms. She scowls at Bogdan a single time before spinning on her heels and gracefully jogging into the forest. Bogdan watches her every movement as he locks the safety of her gun and tucks it into his belt buckle.
Ever so slowly he turns his smoldering, red eyes to me.
"We could go," he mutters. "We could leave now and never turn back."
He doesn't say it as a question, but I can see in his eyes that it is. This is him asking to walk away from it all. My heartbeat flutters against my chest. This isn't a statement he would have made six months ago. Six months ago he would have attacked Tegan without question, possibly putting my life in danger because of it.
"You don't mean that," I whisper, but selfishly I hope he does.
He closes the distance between us, and his nostrils flare at my scent. A swirl of black mixes into his orbs of red.
"She's dangerous, human," he whispers. "And so is he."
"No, he's not. He tried saving Kelly. He – "
"I heard his words. That doesn't make them true. This is our time to go where we can't be traced."
Everything about his idea are things I've dreamed about myself. When we were traveling, I thought so many times how wonderful it would be to do it forever – to be with him and only him. Just the two of us. But every time I craved it, I thought about what we'd be giving up if we did. Whether they realize it or not, the human population is counting on us.
Plus...
Leo is with her now. Yes, Tegan agreed to care for him, but at what cost? She said the help would come with a price. If I'm not there, who knows what will happen? For all I know they could nurse him back to health just to watch him die slowly all over again.
"You know we can't," I say, but my voice sounds like someone else's.
I swallow hard and stare up at the face I've memorized. A face I see even when I close my eyes. A face I crave and love. Every one of his features are burned to my memory, and I can feel my expression changing as I silently begging him to ask me one more time. Once more, just once more and I'll cave. Because he's right; there's a good chance once we go into that Secondary territory, we may not make it out again.
We stand in silence, and I hold my breath waiting – guiltily hoping – he'll ask one more time.
But he doesn't.
Instead Bogdan's jaw tenses as he scoops me into his arms. He reaches for the duffle bag before sliding it onto his shoulder. The cans clank together at the bottom of it, and the sound reminds me of Leo slurping down pineapple juice. I can almost see a stray drop sliding down his chin, becoming lost to his thick beard.
I can't leave him behind.
Bogdan wordlessly follows in Tegan's path, his footsteps mirroring hers effortlessly. His features have hardened. Without meaning to, I've rejected him. I try to take solace in the fact that he can't feel emotions like I can.
So why do I feel like I've crossed some invisible line that I can't come back from?
Green leaves brush across my arms. My skin revels in the soft touch, so unlike the rough wool coat I've become accustomed to. I clutch myself to Bogdan and peer over his shoulder at our remaining supplies left behind. My wool coat. The tent. Leo's bike.
The land dips and the inanimate objects disappear from view. Ribbons of green and brown flood my vision. Another cool breeze wraps around my torso, whispering to me a message I have yet to uncover. Within minutes the scene of greenery gives way to gray. Rock upon rock build on one another, leading up to a breathless view of an untouchable peak.
Bogdan takes another turn and slows. Loose gravel and rock crunch beneath his feet. I crane my neck and squint until Tegan comes into view. She's crouched down on the side of the rock. It almost looks like...she's talking to it. As we get closer, however, I notice the rock start to move.
And then blink.
I stiffen in Bogdan's arm when the piece of rock moves away from the base of the mountain. It's not a rock at all. It's another Secondary. His clothes are flawlessly camouflaged to match the rocks surrounding him, and he's massive. If I had passed by, I would have never noticed he was real. It's unbelievable.
He whispers something to Tegan before his dark eyes flicker to me. He hesitates a moment before stepping aside, allowing us access to the iron door hidden behind him.
Tegan glances at Bogdan before her gaze narrows in on me. "Don't talk to anyone," she warns. "Follow me."