Grandma Redbird screamed and fell forward across Kevin’s body, blocking Dragon’s next, fatal blow.
“Sylvia! Move away from him!” Dragon ordered.
“Smell his blood!” shouted Sylvia. “Smell it, Dragon! His isn’t like the rest of the red vampyres!” Pressed against her grandson’s bleeding body, Sylvia’s anger was almost palpable. “You will have to kill me to get to him!”
“Bryan, wait.”
Through a haze of shock, Kevin watched a woman step to the Swordmaster’s side and gently touch his arm. Her beauty was ethereal, making her look like one of the ancient fey. Kevin thought her long blond hair seemed to hold a light of its own. And a huge raven perched serenely on her shoulder.
“My love, our friend Sylvia is correct. This boy’s blood does not smell of death.”
That had Dragon’s sword wavering. The Warrior drew a deep breath, and his eyes widened. He moved forward, easily plucking Grandma Redbird away from Kevin and depositing her on the side of the path near the raven woman, before Dragon pressed the sword against Kevin’s neck.
“Is this dark magick? Has the Red Army learned to cloak their scent?” Dragon demanded.
“No,” Kevin gasped, trying to speak through the pain blazing across his back. “Not dark magick—love. Nyx interceded and returned my humanity. Please don’t hurt my grandma.”
And then the ethereal beauty was there. Easily brushing aside the killer sword, she touched Kevin’s face, smiling sweetly at him, and he realized who the beauty must be—Anastasia, Dragon Lankford’s mate. “Bryan, look beyond your anger and see this boy.”
Dragon smoothly sheathed the longsword in the scabbard strapped across his back. Then he stepped up to within a hand’s distance of Kevin, who was trying his best not to slump over the steering wheel. The Warrior sniffed at him and studied his Mark.
“What are you?” he finally said.
“A vampyre boy you almost killed,” said Sylvia Redbird as she pushed past Dragon. “This wound needs to be bandaged. He’s losing too much blood.”
“We will tend to him. Can you walk?” the beauty asked Kevin.
Dragon spoke before Kevin could make his voice work. “No, Anastasia. Different or not, he is still a red vampyre, and therefore our enemy. I need to make an end of him.”
“My love, we must not lose our ability to show mercy or, as Sylvia so succinctly said, there will be no difference between us and Neferet’s monsters. Trust me. I have a feeling about this boy.”
Dragon looked at his mate for a long moment before nodding. It was a curt nod, but it was still a nod. “We will tend him and hear his story. We are not monsters.”
Anastasia kissed Dragon’s cheek as the raven on her shoulder watched Kevin with dark, intelligent eyes. “Of course we are not.” She turned back to Kevin, repeating, “Can you walk?”
“Yeah. I think so.” He started to slide his legs around and get out of the Polaris. Before he could stop himself, Kevin gasped at the flood of pain. Bright specks of light blossomed in his vision. He would have fallen had Anastasia not caught him. “I’m—I’m s-sorry,” he said through chattering teeth.
“Bryan! This boy is wounded badly,” said the beauty while her raven took flight, squawking indignantly.
“There are blood and blankets in the container with the rest of the supplies Tina sent.” Grandma Redbird hurried to the carry-all in the rear of the Polaris, returning to Kevin’s side with two rolled up blankets and an armful of blood baggies. She rolled out a blanket onto the path in the space between the Polaris and the fallen tree, and tossed the second blanket at Dragon. “Use that sword for something besides hurting children. Cut this into strips.”
Kevin thought he heard Dragon mutter, “Yes, ma’am,” but it was hard to tell through the ringing in his ears.
“U-we-tsi, Anastasia and I are going to help you lay down on that blanket. Then we’re going to bandage that cut. But first drink a couple of these. They’ll help.”
“A-Anastasia?” Kevin stuttered. “Y-you are Dragon’s mate, r-right? M-my sister told me to f-find you. She d-d-didn’t say anything about you having a bird, though.” His hands were shaking too badly to hold the baggie, so G-ma held it to his lips as he drank first one, then a second and a third.
“Yes, of course I am Dragon’s mate, and Tatsuwa isn’t a bird. He’s a raven. If he hears you calling him a bird he’ll never forgive you.” Anastasia spoke to Kevin in a calm, soothing voice. “Okay, let’s move him.” She sent her mate a pointed look, and the next thing Kevin knew a wash of pain and surprise threatened to drown him as the compact Warrior pulled him from the vehicle as if he weighed no more than a toddler, and carried him to the blanket, plopping him down on it, face-first.
Determined not to cry out, Kevin bit a bloody hole in his cheek as his grandma and Anastasia pressed strips of blanket against the weeping wound and then helped him sit so they could tie the bandages into place around his chest and upper arms.
“I feel weird,” Kevin said. “Kinda like I’m floating.”
“The cut is long and deep, but you will recover,” said Anastasia. “I will sew it closed as soon as we get you back with us.”
“You’re really pretty,” Kevin blurted.
“Hrumph,” said Dragon from where he stood close beside his wife, still watching Kevin warily.
“Thank you. And you are being a very good patient,” said Anastasia, ignoring her mate.
“There. That is as good as we can do here,” said Grandma Redbird. “I don’t think he should try to walk. The bleeding hasn’t actually stopped. The more he moves the worse it’s going to be.”
“Agreed.” Anastasia looked up at her mate and raised one arched blond brow. “Bryan?”
Dragon Bryan Lankford sighed. “Johnny B and Erik—get the rest of the supplies from the Polaris.”
“Erik?” Kevin turned his head so that he could see the tall, young vampyre. “Erik Night?”
Erik glanced his way. “Yeah, I’m Erik Night.”
“I loved you as Superman! But, uh, I thought you’d died. That’s the rumor in the Red Army.”
Erik snorted. “The only thing that’s dead about me is my acting career—killed by Neferet’s bullshit.”
“Hey! That’s enough chitchat. You two get the supplies like I said.” Dragon sent Kevin a dark look before turning to Grandma Redbird. “Sylvia, I assume you are coming with your grandson and not returning to Tina’s ranch tonight?”