Octavia's War Read Free Page B

killed him had mysteriously disappeared.
    That was the last time he had heard from Remmy or had heard about him, either. He had assumed that whatever the older vampire was doing, it would be on the right side of the law. Moral correctness was built into Remmy’s bones. It wasn’t a great surprise that Remmy was down here, sorting out the cartels.
    If he wanted to go chasing off after his lady friend, Alex wasn’t going to stop him. He didn’t have to. The Trinities had their own ways of sorting things out. They used the power of the thing that Beth had started calling Terra and sometimes Gaia. The power of the world.
    So Alex nodded. “Fine. Go sort it out,” he told Remmy. “You can track me down once you’re done.”
    Remmy looked at him suspiciously. “No argument? You always ran at the tongue a mile faster than anyone I knew.”
    “I’ve learned a thing or two since then,” Alex assured him.
    “And what are you going to do while I’m gone?” Remmy asked. His suspicions were still high.
    “I’m going to round up the locals, wherever they are out there, then find them a safe place and seal them in. That will force the vampeen to find something else.” It was the truth, just not all of it. Alex gave Remmy a sincere smile.
    “Very considerate of you,” Remmy said dryly. He backed up a step, blending back into the shadows. “Don’t even think of following me,” he added.
    “I’m not,” Alex said, glad he could be truthful about that. He didn’t have to follow him. The compulsion that had brought Alex to Mexico would tell him where to go next. It was also guiding Remmy, even though he didn’t know it.
    Time to let the bonding do its magical and powerful work.
    * * * * *
    The open-topped jeep that Ángel drove was a battered vehicle with a powerful engine and good tires. Octavia gripped the roll bars and hung on as Ángel drove it over the stony ground. In the still night, the engine seemed to roar, making her wince. From how far away could it be heard? Were they drawing attention?
    They weren’t alone in the night, that was for sure. Whoever had done the screaming had woken up the entire town. In the magical way that word of mouth worked, the news about the slaughter spread. Soon, there was a heavy line of people hurrying out of Manuel Benavides , heading for the rocky hills and bluffs of the Santa Elena Park. Out here, it was easy to get so lost that no one would find them. The townsfolk all knew the land well for a few miles beyond the town. They could find a place to hunker down and wait out the danger they knew in their bones was coming.
    When Ángel had driven the jeep two miles out of town along the dusty road the townspeople were using, he’d pulled it off the road and headed into the wilderness. Their speed had dropped down to a crawl. He used the low gears to climb in and out of gullies and over stones and hillocks.
    He seemed to know where he was going, so Octavia instead considered what lay behind them as she looked around the stark, dry and beautiful country. The high bluffs ahead were coated with snow at the top. The snow was glowing in the moonlight and she could almost smell the crisp coolness of it, even though down here on the valley floor it was a mild night.
    Would Severo come after them? Would he be able to track them? He was not a hunter…at least, not of game out in the wild. Only, the big treads of the tires would leave distinct tracks that would be easy to trace in this dusty and sandy country.
    “We should get rid of the jeep,” she said.
    “And fly there?” Ángel asked, sounding amused.
    “Walk. At night. It’ll take us a couple of nights, but it’s easier to hide out here without a bright blue vehicle flagging where we are.”
    Ángel fought the wheel as the jeep climbed over a big stone and jigged sideways. Octavia clung to the bars as the jeep tried to shake her out of her seat.
    “We’d probably make better time, too,” she observed.
    He tapped the dashboard