The easy moves coming up over the lip proved much more difficult in reverse. Not being able to see the footholds under the roof was a challenge. Plus the holds that felt so nice on the ascent felt much worse when lowering her body over the edge. Her left leg dangled under the roof feeling around for the good foothold she used coming up. She knew it was there somewhere, but it was as if it disappeared completely. As she struggled to find something to stand on she made the mistake of looking up. Fog was coming toward her fast. She needed to get under the roof immediately.
Teagan lowered herself even further, dangling both feet under the roof and feeling around. There. A large pocket was her salvation. She felt immediate relief as she shifted her weight onto it. She moved quickly, underclinging to the roof with both hands. Able to see under the roof now, she made a few more moves until she was safe. Sweet relief flooded her as she huddled under the cover of the roof just in time to escape the fog.
She still was in danger though. The fog could still reach her, and now she was trapped half way up the rock face. The roof provided some coverage but the fog was still moving. As crazy as it sounded, it almost seemed as if the fog was hunting her. She needed a plan and she needed to move quickly.
Risk assessment was a common part of climbing and she let that part of her brain take command. Staying put seemed like suicide. She could probably down-climb the next two moves, but after that it would be extremely challenging and she would probably be too slow if the fog kept coming. Two moves and then she would need to drop if the fog was still coming. A ground fall, but a risk she would have to take.
Teagan was gone. Andre’s eyelids snapped open and he rolled to his feet, waving his hand automatically as he’d done for centuries to conceal his identity. Fresh clothes, fresh body, completely clean as if he’d just stepped from the shower and dressed. He was already running and on the third step he shifted, becoming nothing more than tiny molecules streaking through the caves toward the entrance.
He reached for her, the connection strong, and found he was already too late. She had inadvertently strayed almost straight into the hands of one of Costin Popescu’s lesser vampires.
Teagan. Hear me.
He burst into the open. The sun had just set and darkness had not taken over, but he could see the thick, dense fog. It was oily and sticky to the touch. It carried the taint of evil. His heart thudded in his chest and he tasted terror in his mouth.
Teagan, answer me now. He pushed command into his voice.
He felt her then, a small stirring, tentative, following the thread of the path he created between them. She was afraid. She felt the danger surrounding her.
Andre? There was a tremor in her voice.
I am coming to you. He tamped down his fear for her—fear that he would be too late. Just as he’d been so many years ago. He had many memories, but over the centuries they had faded until he had nearly forgotten them. But not the one he wanted to forget. The one that haunted him every rising.
I don’t know if you’re real.
Her breathy little voice tugged at his heartstrings. She was frightened, and he detested that she was. Even more, he detested that she had reason to be.
Look around you, sivamet.
The fog is close. Teagan’s voice wavered as if she was going to lose it but then she continued. Something’s in it. It touched my skin and felt wrong. It felt evil. Where it touched my hand burns. I down-climbed and I’m just under the roof which gives me a little shelter but I can feel the fog reaching for me.
He cursed silently in his ancient language. She was definitely in the path of a vampire’s trap. If the fog had touched her skin, the vampire sitting in the middle of that web had just felt the tug on one of his lures and he would be creeping out to find out what kind of prey he had snagged.
I’m sorry, I know I sound a little hysterical, but I don’t want whatever is in the fog to get me.
She thought he didn’t believe her. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her close. Protect her. But right at this moment, he needed to push those thoughts away and make certain he could protect her.
I need to see around you. Keep your eyes open. I am in your mind and I can see through your eyes. You have to do this, Teagan. You have to be brave and allow me to guide you through this.
He felt her take a breath. Felt her release it.
Okay, but if I’m crazy like my grandmother and you’re just a figment of my imagination, I’m going to be really angry with you.
That nearly broke him. He wouldn’t lose her. He couldn’t. Not to a vampire. Not to anything. She was full of life. Strong. And she had a sense of humor that got to him every time.
Andre knew he was close to her, but close wasn’t good enough, not now that he knew the vampire was also targeting her position. He slipped further into Teagan, using their strong connection, gaining her vision. He felt her first reaction, a revulsion of feeling his presence so strong in her mind.
Her terror mounted. Whatever was coming for her was close and she didn’t know what to do, whether to push off the rock and chance landing wrong, stay where she was and let the fog reach her, or try to down climb to get a little closer to the ground before letting go. Having made it over the roof, she at least had a shot at not hurting herself when she jumped.
No. Do not do anything yet. Do not move.
She clung to the side of a boulder feeling vulnerable and exposed. Her body trembled. She wasn’t certain if he was real or part of a hallucination, yet she remained as calm as possible, even though sharing her mind with him totally freaked her out. He wasn’t altogether certain what the term freaked out meant, but he assumed it wasn’t good.