Page 64 of The Vanishing
“Stand still,” Haruka says. Nino turns to meet his gaze, but then does as instructed. Unmoving and with their eyes locked, the gentle reverberation of energy Nino feels pulses. It swells, not all around him like it usually would—free-flowing through the air. No. The hum is… moving up through the soles of his feet, triggering his awareness as if the purebreds are somehow part of the earth. Orinthe earth.
Nino’s eyes widen as he inhales. “They’re underground—”
“Someone is coming.”
They both turn their heads toward a wooden door at the opposite end of the kitchen. It looks like the opening to a pantry or closet, but a dim pulse of purebred energy is growing and closing in from behind it. Haruka moves closer to stand at Nino’s side, never taking his eyes off the closed door. The silence of the room is palpable, so when the door slowly creaks open, Nino’s spine stiffens and his eyes alight.
The door bangs open wide and a thick stream of yellow-green light darts out and straight toward them. Nino conjures the sphere of his aura to cover them just as the light makes contact and ricochets off the surface, hitting and shattering the glass window at his side. In the same moment, the crimson haze of his mate’s essence unfurls, stretching out toward the darkened door like a thick viper. It grabs hold of something—someone—because the room is immediately filled with a blood-curdling scream. Torturous and loud, it overwhelms Nino’s senses. He slams his palms to his ears as he maintains the protective bubble around them.
Haruka’s energy draws inward, carrying with it a frozen figure from the shadowed door. He’s floating, arms and legs straight. His eyes are wide as he screams.
When he’s closer, Nino recognizes him as the one-eared purebred from his captivity. Lajos’s sidekick is thin, disheveled and horrified. His clothes are soiled and ragged. Nino turns to his mate, focusing through the ruckus.What are you doing to him?
Nothing. I am just holding him still!
Try letting him go—
He attacked us, unprovoked.
I know, but he can’t do anything if I hold this shape.
Nodding, Haruka unwraps his aura from the male’s body, making him stumble onto the floor. They both stare at him from behind Nino’s sunset-colored shield. The vampire stops screaming. He looks up at them in an uncertain moment, terror planted on his face. But then he scrambles, tripping and running back toward the darkened doorway from which he came.
Twenty-Nine
“They’re here,” Nino explains. “Underneath the house.”
“Like, in a basement?” Detective Cuevas frowns.
“We are not certain,” Haruka says, his arms folded as he leans with the small of his back against the kitchen counter. “The pulse of energy we feel is underneath our feet, but the sensation is muffled. Likely, they are far beneath the surface—much more so than a shallow basement.”
“So that awful screaming we heard… The guy just ran away?” the deputy asks.
“Yes,” Haruka confirms. “I did nothing to harm him.”
The detective shakes her head. “It sounded like you were literally murdering him.”
“I was not. I only held him still because he attacked us without warning.” Haruka exhales, bringing his fingers to the bridge of his nose.What the hell is this place?
The geography, desolation and remoteness of this realm are jarring enough, but seeing that purebred—an emaciated and ragged creature with his bulging eyes and shallow cheeks—screaming and scattering away like an oversized cockroach…
Haruka has met a diverse assortment of purebreds in his travels. From different cultures, ethnic and indigenous backgrounds, varying social-economic statuses and ranging in all ages. He has never seen a purebred like this: existing in such a horrific, malnourished and terrified state.
“Well?” the detective says, walking toward the door where the purebred retreated. “Are we following or what?”
“We’ve come this far.” Haruka shrugs. He looks up to see Nino staring out the window. The apprehension set in his expression is heavy—his anxiety rolling all throughout his tensed body. Haruka pushes up from the counter and takes a few steps forward to meet him. When he’s standing in front of him, he lifts both hands, running his fingers into the back of Nino’s hair to cradle his head. Haruka pulls him close so that their foreheads touch. Nino closes his eyes.
You do not need to do this,Haruka assures him.I can go with the detective, and you can remain here with Marcus?
Nino lifts to look into Haruka’s eyes. “I can help protect you with our aura. It’s better if we’re together, right? Offense and defense.”
“I agree.” Haruka rubs his fingertips against his scalp, rustling his coppery waves. “But it is your choice.”
Tilting his head, Nino leans into him, his lips parted but his eyes open. Haruka drops his jaw to receive the swift kiss, reveling in the unexpected heat and sweet-smoky flavor of his mate’s mouth and tongue. Nino sighs and raises his head, his gaze heavy with affection. “I have to go with you—I’ll just be worried otherwise. But thank you for giving me that option.”
“Of course,” says Haruka, lowering his hands and grasping both of Nino’s between their bodies. “Shall we?”
“Mm.” Nino nods.
