Blood Moon Ch. 08

Over the Pacific Ocean

Elizabeth sank into a chair and let out a long sigh. She unzipped her bag to check on Slim and he appeared to be sleeping. She had bound Derek and Lilith on the car ride over to the airport. They would wake up about halfway through the flight. By then, they would have to make a stop to change planes at LAX and continue on to New York. They would lay low for a week or so and then continue on to England where she had a country estate in Hampshire.

The plane was airborne and she relaxed just mildly. At least they would be in the air for hours. Inhaling deeply, her breath caught when she tasted something salty. Sweat. She knew that distinct smell and taste because she was incapable of producing it. Just then, she heard a cell phone ring. In less than two seconds, she was at the back room and had crashed the door open.

Her eyes widened momentarily before she narrowed them. "You."

Keo had tried to keep quiet. He had pulled away from the door and was still trying to steady his breathing. He felt the plane lift off and cursed that he was now even more fucked. He pulled out his cell to call Casey before the signal cut, but just as he did so, Casey was calling him.

He had pressed the end button in a bid to silence his phone, but it was too late. The next thing he knew, Elizabeth was in front of him and looked capable of murder. He gave her a smile that only made her eyes narrow further.

Her lips pursed as if she was wondering how to get rid of him. "If I recall correctly, you're an excellent swimmer." She commented.

Keo felt himself grinning although he really should be worried about where her thoughts were headed. "Got my lifeguard license and all, but I'm not sure I would survive a fall into the ocean at this height."

"The likelihood of the water acting as a solid from this altitude is high, but you could survive with the proper entry technique. Though, if I dispose of you a little farther out, I won't have to worry about your corpse washing up on a shore anytime soon, if ever." She replied.

Keo was smart enough not to comment. The way she said it...so matter-of-factly left little room to doubt she would rather than could do it. When she pinned another look at him, she let out long sigh. He would say that she seemed exhausted. Then again, kidnapping and plotting murder probably did tire out a person.

"Is Derek and Lilith safe?" He finally asked after a long moment of silence.

Elizabeth snorted delicately. "Of course they are safe. I need them. The same cannot be said for you. Although, I may yet have use for you."

Given a different circumstance, Keo would have found that a bit provocative. He always thought she had an almost too perfect beauty to her. The symmetry in her features and form were otherworldly. He entertained some very naughty ideas now that he was pretty sure she wouldn't toss him to his likely death.

"What are you thinking? I can't read you and I don't like that." She broke into his thoughts.

Keo answered her question with a question. "What do you mean, read me? Most people say they know exactly what I'm thinking by the look on my face."

"If I were to go by the look on your face, you don't seem half as afraid as you should be. But there's something about you that every time I try, I come up against a cold and solid wall." Elizabeth said cryptically. She was usually good at reading other's thoughts when she tried hard enough, but with Keo, it proved impossible.

He gave her a quizzical expression. He had no idea about half of what she said and he told her that. "I'm pretty sure I'm missing something and until you tell me what the hell is going on, you're going to keep saying things that will just keep going over my head."

"It's better if you know less." She decided. If she couldn't read his mind, there would be no way she could erase his memory. To avoid a whole mess of needing to kill him afterwards, she just wouldn't tell him anything.

"What do you plan on doing with Lilith and Derek?" He asked as she mulled over some thoughts.

With an exasperated sigh, Elizabeth ignored his question and headed back to the main cabin. Of course, he just had to follow her. When she took a seat, she heard Keo's quick intake of breath at the sight of Derek and Lilith. He kneeled down and was checking their pulses.

"They'll be fine. I have no plans to hurt them. If you even think about unbinding them, I will have you knocked out and tied up as well." She warned.

Keo looked up at Elizabeth. "The tying up part sounds fun, not so much the unconscious part." He just couldn't help himself. She made it far too easy and he wonder what she would look like caught off guard.

"If you're so enthused to be tied up, I'm sure that can be arranged." She replied pointedly.

The human was foolish enough to smile at her and take a seat. She didn't like how at ease he appeared. She wanted him scared and silent. Instead, he got comfortable and opened his mouth to speak again. The temptation to knock him over the head or even drug him grew stronger, but she resisted. Perhaps if he got even more bothersome, she would resort to such methods.

"So...what do you plan on doing with me? Letting me go once we stop somewhere?" He continued to plan out his escape with Lilith and Derek. Two dead weights were going to be tricky; neither looked like they'd be waking up anytime soon. "Did you drug them?" He wondered aloud, finding it hard to imagine a big guy like Derek going down any other way.

"Are you always this annoyingly inquisitive?" She shot back. "They weren't drugged. I merely induced them to-" She cut off and scowled. "If you keep asking questions, you'll know too much and I will have to kill you by the time we reach the first stop."

"Hey, I'm just asking questions. You're the one answering them." Keo pointed out.

Elizabeth did agree with him on that. "Then, it would be in your best interest to stop asking questions."

It was Keo's turn to let out a sigh. "I've always been bad at keeping my mouth shut. It's gotten me into a lot of trouble. But it's too quiet in here. We can talk about something other than...business." He motioned over at the two sleeping bodies.

"I prefer silence."

Keo shrugged. "Well tough. Sadly for you, you're stuck with me."

Elizabeth blinked at him a few times. No one ever spoke to her like that. It was insane. If anyone tried, she could bring them to their knees in unbearable pain. Pain was perceived by the brain and she had access to anyone's brain, except his it seemed.

"You're adorable when you're shocked." He grinned. She honestly was cute just staring at him with her mouth parted slightly in disbelief and indignation. He wondered if he could get her to blush. Her pale skin would look lovely with a little pink.

"I'm certain I don't like that look." Elizabeth said breathlessly. There was no reason for her to sound breathless since breathing wasn't even necessary.

An eyebrow went up at her tone. "I'm curious. What about my expression don't you like?" He was getting pretty ballsy now that he was certain she wasn't going to hurt him.

Elizabeth quickly regained her composure. "That you think you can handle me."

San Francisco

Although Casey had just gotten off a five hour flight, she was restless. Someone was waiting for her at the San Francisco International airport and brought her to the MidKnight Tilt San Francisco branch building. Rowan was in San Francisco, a headquarters for one of the many businesses he and his brother owned. She rode the elevator up to the top floor and was told to have a seat in the waiting room. The receptionist left after asking if Casey wanted anything to drink. Casey had been tempted to say some strong alcohol, but settled on water.

Pacing around the room, Casey still couldn't figure out what she would tell her parents. They were supposed to visit that night for dinner and neither she nor Keo would be at home. Everything was such a mess. She did text her mother to say the dinner was off and that she and Keo would be out, but Casey didn't give a reason why.

She took a seat and tried to calm down. The leggy receptionist was back with the bottled water. Casey took the bottle and thanked the woman before she breezed out. Sipping at the water, Casey told herself to calm down.

The door opened again and she jumped to her feet when she saw Rowan. Her heart skipped a couple beats at the sight of him. He didn't look so good. His hair was a mess and he had bags under his eyes. Usually he was smiling and always so jovial, but this time, he looked angry and exhausted. Even so, Casey couldn't help thinking he was still the most gorgeous man alive.

His expression softened. "Casey," he started, "how are ye holding up?"

She had expected for him to ask about his brother. When she called him, she had been near hysterical. After she was able to form a few sentences, he told her to head towards the Hawaiian Airline desk and he'd have a ticket ready for her by the time she reached the front. He asked if she had her ID, which she did. Since the Seattle branch was running smoothly, Rowan had returned to San Francisco where most of his work involved server security for the online gambling site, MidKnight Tilt.

"I-" Casey paused and bit down on her lower lip. She was so relieved to see him. There wasn't anyone she could speak to who would even remotely understand what was going on. She took comfort in the fact that Rowan could sympathize.

When he came up in front of her, she looked up at him with watery eyes. She wasn't sure if he put his arms around her or if she had hugged him first. They were holding onto each other tightly when she broke down and started to cry. His hand was moving on her back in a soothing circle as she cried.

Letting out a shuddering breath, Casey pulled away after several minutes. She needed that cry and now she needed to be strong. Rowan led her to a seat and reached over to grab the box of tissues for her. After she wiped at her eyes and nose, she inhaled deeply and exhaled.

"I was going to say that I'm doing pretty good, but that's obviously a lie. I have no idea what's going on, Rowan." She let out another shaky breath. "I was waiting at home for Lilith to come back. She called me earlier that day to tell me that Derek was going to drop her off. Then I got a call from Elizabeth. She sounded frantic and needed to know where Lilith was. Next thing I know, Derek and Lilith pull up in the driveway and then Elizabeth is there."

She paused to take a sip of her water. Rowan was waiting patiently.

"Elizabeth started to tell Lilith that they had to go. She did that weird mind control thing so I couldn't move. She made Derek pass out then Keo arrived. I don't know why, but Keo was immune to Elizabeth's mind control. She shoved Lilith in the car and took Derek too. Then she drove off and I could move again. Keo and I figured if she was going into hiding, she'd get off this island." Casey stopped again and fought the urge to cry. She was so stupid to involve her brother.

Rowan reached for her hand and squeezed gently for her to continue. "We went to the airport and split up at the private hangers. I think Keo boarded the plane. By the time I spotted Elizabeth's car, her plane was taking off."

"Doona worry. We'll figure something out." Rowan gave a small smile. He impulsively leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Let's head tae my office. I need tae make a call."

They stood and walked the short distance across the floor to Rowan's office. He closed the door and Casey took a seat while Rowan grabbed his phone and dialed a number. Casey was caught off guard when Rowan started to converse in French. There were a few words she caught as Rowan mentioned the Lihue Airport. The phone call lasted less than five minutes.

Rowan took a seat behind his desk and powered up his computer. He glanced over at Casey and noted that she looked as if she lost some weight and sleep. Something must have been bothering her before today.

"I talked tae my friend earlier about pulling up the flight plans for the private planes leaving Lihue Airport in that time period. He's going tae send it tae me now." He had tried to call in a kidnapping, but he wasn't taken seriously. He could have made a big media fuss over it, but that would draw unwanted attention. "Casey, did Elizabeth say anything about why she was taking Lilith and Derek?"

Casey quickly shook her head. "No, she didn't. She just grabbed Lilith and said she would explain later, but they had to leave. Do you think Lilith is in danger?" She was afraid to think that others would want to harm Lilith.

A silence fell between them as Rowan thought over it. "There's the chance that certain vampires and werewolves doona want a cure. There are also humans who are aware of our existence and take it upon themselves tae 'rid the earth' of such abominations."

With a dismayed cry, Casey covered her mouth. "So not only are demented humans wanting to kill Lilith, but so are vampires and werewolves?" She asked rhetorically. Poor Lilith. Her friend had already suffered so much and it was all starting up again.

"I want tae ask...yer brother, why do ye think Elizabeth's mind control doesn't work on him?" Rowan hadn't been there, not that he would have been much help had he been there. He tried to use telepathy between him and Derek, but his brother's mind was blank. Rowan couldn't even feel where Derek was.

Casey honestly didn't know why Keo was immune. "I...maybe..." She kept trying to come up with an answer for that, but couldn't. Then it dawned on her. "He has a metal plate in his head. Do you think that is why? Six years ago, he got into a car accident. Drunk driver swerved into the oncoming traffic and it was a head on collision. Keo was in the hospital for months. I just thought maybe it's like X-Men. Magneto wears that metal helmet so Professor Xavier can't get into his head."

Rowan felt a smile tug at his lips. "That could be the reason." Now he had to figure out how to use that to their advantage. An image of him and Casey wearing metal helmets much like Magneto's flashed in his head. It was a ridiculous thought, but the only viable solution at the moment.

Looking down at his computer when it chimed, Rowan saw his friend was forwarding him a file. He accepted the incoming file and opened it up when it was loaded. There were three private flights leaving Lihue Airport between 11AM and 12PM. One was headed to Tahiti, another to Los Angeles, and the other to Portland.

Rowan ruled Tahiti out because it was a moot point to leave one island in exchange for another. He typed off a message to his friend about pulling up any flight plans for any other private plane leaving soon after the jets to Portland and Los Angeles touched down. He nearly groaned when he saw that there were seven private flights out of Portland within an hour of touchdown and eighteen for Los Angeles.

He asked for the final destinations for all twenty-five flights. After receiving it, Rowan thanked his friend again and then sighed off. He printed out the list and showed it to Casey. They were going to have to go through it and figure out which leads to follow.

"Can't we just pull up who owns the private planes?" Casey asked as she scanned the list.

"I doubt Elizabeth used her name for the plane and she could have chartered a private jet, again, under a pseudo name. I'll look them up anyways; maybe we can cross some out." LAX had a lot of celebrities coming and going, perhaps Rowan could knock those off the list.

Salt Lake City, Utah

Gerald Smith was not a man anyone paid much attention to. He was of an average height, had non-descript brown hair and blue eyes that were neither piercing nor intense. Where some men might wish they were taller or had the kind of body women fantasized over, Gerald Smith did not. He liked that he could blend into the crowd.

He wasn't ugly, but neither was he handsome. His looks were average, maybe even dipping to slightly below average. Even in his late thirties, he had a full head of hair with barely any grays or whites. He wore fake wire rimmed glasses since his vision was 20/20. He thought it gave him more of a studious look. As a tax accountant, he wanted to look the part of a trustworthy and serious man.

No one from the office would have thought that Gerald Smith was anything but predictable and average. Everyone who thought such definitely didn't know Gerald Smith.

Gerald had a strict upbringing. His father, a man stuck in a time long passed, had beaten his beliefs into his only son. Gerald's mother was a quiet woman who preferred to let her husband take out his frustration in their son rather than find herself at the end of her husband's fury. Not the most maternal woman, Gerald often heard from his mother that he provoked his father's anger. When she ran away with her lover, Gerald suffered even more.

Looking back, Gerald couldn't blame his mother. Women were the weaker sex and often giving into temptation easily. It would have been even harder for her to resist the enticing vampire who took her as a lover. The fault didn't fall to his mother. No, it was the vampire's fault. Like a cancer among the humans, they slowly corrupted those with whom they came into contact.

Gerald had killed his first vampire when he was seventeen. The euphoric feeling of sending that monster back to Hell had triggered something in him. He knew from then what he had to do. Contrary to what his father had said, Gerald wasn't useless. He had a purpose now.

Though the years, he met many like-minded individuals. Many powerful and wealthy members to their secret society, all having in common their devotion to saving mankind from nature's mutations. It had only been in the last ten years that he knew about werewolves.

Now the vampires and the werewolves appeared to be working together. Gerald had a feeling they were creating some new hybrid of monsters to unleash on the unsuspecting humans. The information they had gotten from the destroyed lab hinted as much.

He shouldn't have rushed the way he did, but his excitement got the best of him. His sponsor was not happy with the way he handled things. Most of the data was lost and it would be a long while before anyone cracked the code on the piece of undamaged hard drive they recovered.

"Good night, Jen. See you next Monday." Gerald smiled at his plump co-worker as he passed her cubicle.

He didn't bother waiting for her reply. He itched to get home and do some research. Then he was to meet with one of his sponsors. The vampires and werewolves were up to something.

In the air

Before Elizabeth and company landed at LAX, they were alerted to a search by airport security. Seemingly a kidnapping had been called in and they just needed to check the plane. Elizabeth had immediately made a deal with Keo before security boarded. She would let him follow her on the next flight if he kept his mouth closed and played along. If she caused another headliner, she would undoubtedly make the top of the VPA's 'hit list'. The Vampire Nations went through great lengths to keep their kind a secret.

Lilith and Derek had woken by then, but scarily enough, both were absolutely still as Elizabeth unbound them and took her kitten out of her huge bag before she threw the ties in there. Keo asked Derek and Lilith if they were alright, but neither answered. Elizabeth cut him a look and quickly took her seat before the jet touched down smoothly.

Since Elizabeth couldn't successfully control more than two minds at a time, she had to improvise. It would be dangerous to put Lilith and Derek back to sleep. Last time she had someone sleep indefinitely, she put the human in a coma. The more time she spent with someone, the easier it was to control their mind. With the new security guards, it would take more time than she had to break down the barriers to gain dominance.