Marlena arched a darkly penciled eyebrow. “We hardly have need for that, iubitu. Not when she is wandering through the corridors alone.”
“Bingo,” Scout muttered.
“Let go of me!”Veronica screamed again, yanking at her arms as she attempted to break free.
Marlena had apparently had enough. She turned and slapped Veronica across the face, leaving a red welt across her cheek. “Silence!”
Veronica’s howls turned to silent weeping. Scout took a precautionary step forward.
“Marlena, if you have issues with us, you need to let her go. She’s not one of us, and has nothing to do with this. She will only bring attention to your kind.”
Marlena’s expression faltered for a second, but then went stone-cold again. “Liar.”
“She’s a normal,” I confirmed. “You keep her down here, and things get very, very ugly for you.”
“Uh, ladies, speaking of ugly, we’ve got a problem.” We turned to see Detroit looking behind us.
I hated to turn around, but I wasn’t exactly in a position to run. Slowly, I glanced back as well.
Vampires. An entire crowd of them, moving in from behind us.
But these were a different kind of vampire. They were Nicu’s.
Nicu stepped through them to the front of the horde. He nodded at me and Scout and Detroit, then took in Marlena.
“They are children,” he said. “Let her go.”
“She is mine. My catch. My bounty. My prize.” She rolled the R in ‘prize’ like an opera singer, and the sound sent a chill down my spine.
“She is not part of this world, and your bringing her into it will not help.” He inched closer, as did the vampires behind him.
“When it’s time,” I whispered, “I’ll grab Veronica. You two jump to the right, and then we make a run for it.”
Detroit nodded, but Scout looked worried.
“Firespell,” I reminded her. “If they get me, I take them out.”
She blew out a breath and nodded, then turned her attention back to the vampires and the turf war we’d gotten stuck in . . . again.
Marlena put her hands on her hips. “You choose children over your own kind?”
“They have offered their help. They have come to us with information and have treated us as equals. In this, yes. We choose children over those who would forsake us.”
In the silence, Nicu and his vampires took another step forward, then another, until they were directly behind us. I wasn’t thrilled about the proximity, but I trusted him a lot more right now than I did Marlena.
“Then let us decide this once and for all.”
“Not liking the sound of this,” Scout said.
“Detroit,” I whispered, hoping the myths about vampires were true, “when I give the word, point the locket at the vamps holding Veronica.”
“Got it,” she said with a nod.
“On one,” I said, leaning forward just a bit to prepare myself for the steal. “Three . . . two . . . one!”
Detroit popped open her locket, light flashing into the corridor as she aimed it toward Marlena’s vampires. They raised their hands to their faces, hissing at the light, releasing Veronica. I jumped forward and grabbed her, then pulled her back behind the half wall, Detroit and Scout behind me.
I dumped Veronica onto the floor, looking her over for wounds. She was quiet now, shock obviously setting in. In the vacuum behind us, the covens of vampires rushed together, Nicu’s vampires scratching and clawing as they fought for the right to exist, Marlena fighting back the vampires who’d tried to escape her.
Nicu ran through the fray to reach us, stopping as he stared down at Veronica. She looked up at him with wide eyes, and his own widened in surprise.
I glanced over at Scout, who shrugged.
A second later, Nicu blinked, then looked at me. “Run,” he said. “As fast as you can. Get her to safety and then find the monsters. Dispatch them.”
We ran.
Detroit led the way back to the Enclave. Scout and I each had an arm around Veronica, half walking and half carrying her through the dark tunnels, the light of Detroit’s locket guiding the way. Detroit used Scout’s phone to send a message to Daniel. By the time we arrived at the Enclave, we found Katie, Smith, Daniel, Michael, Jason, and Paul waiting. The twins must have still been off on their own mission.
The mood wasn’t exactly light, and seeing Veronica didn’t help. But Daniel stayed calm. He directed Katie and Smith to help Veronica, then clustered the rest of us together.
“The vampires are missing one of their coven,” he said. “The Reapers have, perhaps, used the sanctuary to build these monsters. They have put Adepts and vampires, the Pedway and St. Sophia’s—the whole city—at risk. This ends tonight.”
Scout and I looked at each other, but nodded. We knew what needed to be done. We had to find them, and we had to take them out.
“We’ll deal with the girl,” he said. “You start at the sanctuary. God willing, it will still be empty of Reapers. Either way, destroy the monsters.”
“We’ll do it,” Jason said.
“You’ve got to,” Daniel advised. “If you can’t, we’re all in trouble.”
Jason took the lead, and Paul was at our back. The rest of us—Michael, Scout, Detroit, and me—were clustered into groups in the middle.
This time, we needed speed, so we decided to try the shortcut, hoping the vampire squabble had played itself out. We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary until we made it to the Pedway. But when we emerged from the janitor’s closet—one careful Adept at a time—things got more interesting.
“Bingo,” Scout muttered.
“Let go of me!”Veronica screamed again, yanking at her arms as she attempted to break free.
Marlena had apparently had enough. She turned and slapped Veronica across the face, leaving a red welt across her cheek. “Silence!”
Veronica’s howls turned to silent weeping. Scout took a precautionary step forward.
“Marlena, if you have issues with us, you need to let her go. She’s not one of us, and has nothing to do with this. She will only bring attention to your kind.”
Marlena’s expression faltered for a second, but then went stone-cold again. “Liar.”
“She’s a normal,” I confirmed. “You keep her down here, and things get very, very ugly for you.”
“Uh, ladies, speaking of ugly, we’ve got a problem.” We turned to see Detroit looking behind us.
I hated to turn around, but I wasn’t exactly in a position to run. Slowly, I glanced back as well.
Vampires. An entire crowd of them, moving in from behind us.
But these were a different kind of vampire. They were Nicu’s.
Nicu stepped through them to the front of the horde. He nodded at me and Scout and Detroit, then took in Marlena.
“They are children,” he said. “Let her go.”
“She is mine. My catch. My bounty. My prize.” She rolled the R in ‘prize’ like an opera singer, and the sound sent a chill down my spine.
“She is not part of this world, and your bringing her into it will not help.” He inched closer, as did the vampires behind him.
“When it’s time,” I whispered, “I’ll grab Veronica. You two jump to the right, and then we make a run for it.”
Detroit nodded, but Scout looked worried.
“Firespell,” I reminded her. “If they get me, I take them out.”
She blew out a breath and nodded, then turned her attention back to the vampires and the turf war we’d gotten stuck in . . . again.
Marlena put her hands on her hips. “You choose children over your own kind?”
“They have offered their help. They have come to us with information and have treated us as equals. In this, yes. We choose children over those who would forsake us.”
In the silence, Nicu and his vampires took another step forward, then another, until they were directly behind us. I wasn’t thrilled about the proximity, but I trusted him a lot more right now than I did Marlena.
“Then let us decide this once and for all.”
“Not liking the sound of this,” Scout said.
“Detroit,” I whispered, hoping the myths about vampires were true, “when I give the word, point the locket at the vamps holding Veronica.”
“Got it,” she said with a nod.
“On one,” I said, leaning forward just a bit to prepare myself for the steal. “Three . . . two . . . one!”
Detroit popped open her locket, light flashing into the corridor as she aimed it toward Marlena’s vampires. They raised their hands to their faces, hissing at the light, releasing Veronica. I jumped forward and grabbed her, then pulled her back behind the half wall, Detroit and Scout behind me.
I dumped Veronica onto the floor, looking her over for wounds. She was quiet now, shock obviously setting in. In the vacuum behind us, the covens of vampires rushed together, Nicu’s vampires scratching and clawing as they fought for the right to exist, Marlena fighting back the vampires who’d tried to escape her.
Nicu ran through the fray to reach us, stopping as he stared down at Veronica. She looked up at him with wide eyes, and his own widened in surprise.
I glanced over at Scout, who shrugged.
A second later, Nicu blinked, then looked at me. “Run,” he said. “As fast as you can. Get her to safety and then find the monsters. Dispatch them.”
We ran.
Detroit led the way back to the Enclave. Scout and I each had an arm around Veronica, half walking and half carrying her through the dark tunnels, the light of Detroit’s locket guiding the way. Detroit used Scout’s phone to send a message to Daniel. By the time we arrived at the Enclave, we found Katie, Smith, Daniel, Michael, Jason, and Paul waiting. The twins must have still been off on their own mission.
The mood wasn’t exactly light, and seeing Veronica didn’t help. But Daniel stayed calm. He directed Katie and Smith to help Veronica, then clustered the rest of us together.
“The vampires are missing one of their coven,” he said. “The Reapers have, perhaps, used the sanctuary to build these monsters. They have put Adepts and vampires, the Pedway and St. Sophia’s—the whole city—at risk. This ends tonight.”
Scout and I looked at each other, but nodded. We knew what needed to be done. We had to find them, and we had to take them out.
“We’ll deal with the girl,” he said. “You start at the sanctuary. God willing, it will still be empty of Reapers. Either way, destroy the monsters.”
“We’ll do it,” Jason said.
“You’ve got to,” Daniel advised. “If you can’t, we’re all in trouble.”
Jason took the lead, and Paul was at our back. The rest of us—Michael, Scout, Detroit, and me—were clustered into groups in the middle.
This time, we needed speed, so we decided to try the shortcut, hoping the vampire squabble had played itself out. We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary until we made it to the Pedway. But when we emerged from the janitor’s closet—one careful Adept at a time—things got more interesting.
