B. Donna - Blood Pool

He hurled the rope to her. “I don’t suppose you’d tell me what you’re up to?”

Raven laughed. “You know me too well. No, Uncle, I wouldn’t tell, but I’ll be all right.” Despite her laughter, worry lines creased around her eyes.

He let out a hopeless sigh. “You remember how this all works, missy?” He winked in the moonlight.

She saluted. “Aye, captain. I do.”

“Just leave the keys in the boathouse when you return…and be careful. The waters should be calm tonight. But then again, even if they weren’t, you’d convince them to settle down.” He turned with a wave and walked back to his waterfront home.

Raven smiled and turned the motor on, then headed out to the open waters.

As the boat sliced through the ocean, Raven honed in to her newfound sister’s energies. Like the depth finder that aided her in the journey across the waters, her preternatural abilities acted as an echolocation device. Rather than sending out a sound, Raven sent out an energy vibration on the same frequency as her sister’s.

Hannah’s Vineyard was approximately four nautical miles from the island of Mirabelle Cove, and Raven started to pick up on Jade’s energy at two miles out. It came from the southwest corner of the smaller island. Steering the boat in that direction, she pushed the throttle down.

The closer she got to her destination, the stronger the signal she received. Against the night sky’s landscape, Laroque’s home glowed an eerie neon green. A protective shield, no doubt, constructed by the bokur . She cut the engine and let the vessel drift to the docks.

Raven quickly tied the boat to the pylon, took her bag and crouched as she made her way to the house. A light shone through the windows of a room located on the northwest side of the house. Steadily she slipped through the vegetation and peered through the window.

A fire blazed in the fireplace. On the mantle were a dozen photos. Raven could see with her preternatural sight all the pictures looked like Jade at various stages of her life. A cat lay sleeping next to a wingback chair where Jade sat staring into the fire.

There was neither a sign of Laroque, nor a boat docked. Maybe he’s out, Raven thought.

Walking around toward the back of the house she tried to sense if there were any guard dogs lurking in the shadows. There were none. Laroque must have relied on his magick for protection. Locked doors stood between her and Jade as she tried to slip inside the house undetected. Continuing her search for a way in, she noticed a stairwell leading to a cellar entrance at the rear of the house. She tiptoed down and gave the door a nudge. It opened with a creak.

Her eyes adjusted automatically to the dark like a feline’s. Boxes stood all around the perimeter of the room. Some were marked Nicki’s Personal Items. At the far end was a staircase. Carefully, she placed her foot on the bottom step. She listened for any voices coming from the upstairs, but all was silent. She proceeded up the stairs, almost floating.

Raven pushed open the door at the top of the stairs and headed into a kitchen area. She stealthily walked through a small mudroom and into the kitchen. There were no lights on except for in the den. Raven followed the sound of the crackling fire. Standing against a china closet in what seemed to be the dining room, she reached into her bag and took out a syringe of morphine.

She stood behind the chair where Jade relaxed, the syringe ready to plunge into her arm. Her arm moved with such speed, it was a blur. Raven would have surprised her sister if it were not for that damned cat.

“Shit!” Jade screamed. The feline jumped, all four claws extended, lunging toward Raven, hissing and spitting. With one swift move, Raven grabbed Jade by the arm and shoved in the needle, emptying its contents.

Jade went limp within a few moments. Raven caught her before she fell. Raven’s form shimmered somewhere between human and Lamai. Her strength had tripled. She backtracked down the stairs and out into the night.

Gingerly placing Jade on the floor of the boat, Raven untied the lines and pushed off. She turned on the ignition while the boat drifted into the open sea. Jade would be out for a few hours, which was more than enough time to get her back to town. As Raven hurried back, she could see in the distance another boat heading toward Hannah’s Vineyard. A Porsche Fearless.

Laroque.

“ Tracy…” Raven said into her cell phone against the wind. She prayed her phone reception was strong enough.

Tracy sounded as if she were talking into a tin can. “Raven, where are you?”

“How’s Bo?” she yelled above the wind.

“We’ve given him the transfusion, but thus far, no change. No results back from the tests yet, either. His temp’s up a bit and he’s still unconscious-plus we’ve got another patient in with the same symptoms. Another shifter-one of Solaris’s employees.”

Raven’s head began to throb. “Damn. I’ll be there in half an hour.”

“Your father is out looking for you, Raven.”

“I’ll see you soon.” She signed off.

After mooring the boat and leaving the keys for Caleb in the boathouse, Raven carried Jade to her car. She rushed to the hospital, knowing it was only a matter of time before Laroque made his way back to Mirabelle Cove. He would be furious. Raven made two quick calls from her car, first to Solaris then to Julianna, asking them to use their magick to create shields for hiding Jade’s whereabouts. Her next call was to Tracy.

“Don’t ask why, but can you bring a hospital bed to autopsy room one? I’m going to need restraints, too.”

Tracy was silent on the other end. Finally she muttered, “Ah, yeah. Sure thing.”

Raven pulled into the parking lot, entering the hospital through the rear entrance. She brought Jade to the M.E.’s office. She kicked open her office door and plopped her sister onto the couch.

Jade was the only hope for helping Bo and the others. Raven wasn’t too thrilled with having to threaten her, but her options were limited. For Bo, she would do whatever she had to in order to save his life.

A sudden chill filled the air. Raven sensed that her father was there. He burst through the doorway. His gaze went directly to the couch where Jade lay unconscious.

His silver eyes widened. Fury enveloped him. “What did you do?” he yelled.

Raven was just as fierce in her reply. “I’m trying to save Bo. I saw no other way. Laroque will have to give me the antidote, or else…”

Tobias towered over her. His eyes bore into her. “What? You’re going to kill her?”

Suddenly, inner peace filled her. “No, I’m going to infect her. It’s called karma.”

Tobias’s expression was stern. “I guess you are your father’s daughter after all.”

She stared at him. “I suppose I am.”

“What are you going to infect her with?”

“Lamai blood.”

Tracy walked in. “The gurney’s in the exam room,” she said, stopping as soon as she caught sight of handsome Tobias Strigoi.

Raven’s father lifted Jade and carried her into the exam room. He placed her on the bed as Tracy strapped her in the arm and leg restraints.

“She’ll be out for another hour or so. Can you stay here while I go check on Bo?” Raven asked her father. He was staring at the young woman, no doubt amazed at her likeness to Nicolette.

“Of course,” he answered.

His guard was down and Raven could read him. He secretly wished Laroque would show up, and then they could settle this score once and for all. He did not have to keep his word to Nicolette any longer. And to protect his daughter, he would do anything. Raven smiled to herself. It figured her father could feel certain emotions, but was unable to verbalize them.