"They've separated," Clay murmured. "But not for long."
I turned to Paige. "Can you cast that cover spell?"
"Sure," she said.
"Does it work… reliably?"
Her face darkened. "Of course-" She stopped herself and nodded. "It'll work. It's a level-three spell. I'm a level-four apprentice. Binding is fourth level, which is why it gives me some trouble."
"Good. You three wait here in the doorway. Paige will cast her cover spell. Stay still and they won't see you. Don't cover me, Paige. I'll be the decoy and lead them past you three. Clay and Adam can attack from behind. Once the guards' attention-and their guns-are off me, I'll join the fight."
Paige shook her head. "I'll be the decoy."
"We don't have time to argue," Clay said.
"You, Adam, and Elena are fighters. I'm not. Better to have you three attack. Besides, Elena may not look too threatening, but when these guys see me, the words 'kick-ass bitch' won't even enter their minds. They won't expect a fight."
"She's right," Clay said.
I hesitated.
"We'll be right here," Clay whispered to me, too low for the others to hear. "She'll be okay."
"Places everyone," Paige said. "Here they come."
***
In the ensuing battle, Adam took a bullet to the shoulder. Painful, but not incapacitating. The guards died. All of them-the four who'd come around the corner, plus the two who'd stayed behind to check Tucker, plus three more who showed up before Paige finished casting a healing spell to stop Adam's bleeding. Nine guards. All dead. When it was over, Paige stood amid the dead guards, looked down at the bodies, and excused herself. She spent the next few minutes in an empty room. We didn't bother her. She wasn't the only one who'd seen enough death that day. As I thought of all the killing still to come, the guards and other staff we hadn't yet encountered, my own resolve began to falter. It was all too much. Yes, I'd killed before, but those had been mutts, stone killers themselves, and their deaths had been spaced out over all my years as a werewolf. To kill so many people, in so short a time… I knew I'd have nightmares about this day, that I'd see their faces, wonder if they had wives, girlfriends, children. I told myself I couldn't think about that. They had to die to protect our secrets. They'd understood the danger when they signed on to this project. Knowing that didn't make it any easier. The bodies piled up, and I desperately wanted to find some way to avoid the killing. But there was no other way. Everyone had to die.
Adam, Clay, and I didn't exchange a single word while Paige was gone. When she returned, her face was pale but grim.
"Let's get this over with," she said.
Adam blinked and looked around in confusion, like a sleepwalker waking up in the backyard. His face was as pale as Paige's. Shell shock. Clay looked from Paige to Adam to me. He rested his fingertips on my arm and half-turned from the other two, facing me.
"I'll finish," he said. "You guys have had enough. Show me where to look and cover my back. I'll do the rest."
I met his eyes. He looked as tired as I felt. Not physically exhausted, but mentally wiped out. He'd had enough, too. When I touched his hand, he squeezed my fingers.
"Let's find a safe place for them," I murmured, too low for Paige and Adam to hear. "Then you and I will finish."
Clay hesitated.
"Jeremy told us to stay together," I said. "I'm not letting you fight alone."
Clay searched my face, then exhaled slowly. "Okay, darling. Let's get this over with so we can go home."
***
We left Paige and Adam behind. Paige agreed without comment. Adam protested, but I took him aside and explained that we were worried about Paige and didn't dare leave her without someone to stand guard. I think Adam knew better, but after seeing a way to exit the action with his dignity intact, he accepted the change in plans and escorted Paige into an empty room.
Clay and I covered the whole second level twice. When we found no sign of Winsloe, we went upstairs, exited the compound, and checked for potential escapees. All four vehicles were still in the garage. We killed two guards frantically tinkering with a busted Bronco. Then we circled the perimeter of the compound, listening and sniffing for anyone who might have bolted into the woods. Nothing. No trace of Winsloe either.
When we returned to Paige and Adam, I asked Paige to go ahead and contact Kenneth. Time for Jeremy to join us. It would take at least thirty minutes for the three of them to get through the woods. By then, we'd be ready for their help cleaning up and destroying the evidence. First, though, we had one last task: Clear the cells.
EMANCIPATION
Paige and Adam insisted on accompanying us downstairs. By my count, most of the guards were already dead, so we let them come along. As I expected, there were only the usual two men manning the cell-block guard station. Clay and I dispatched them, then we headed into the cells. Adam's work disconnecting the system meant all the security doors were now open, so we were able to discard the bag o' body parts Clay had retrieved from outside.
Before entering the cell block, Clay and I split up. Yes, Jeremy had warned us not to, but I understood that he didn't mean we weren't to leave each other's sight at all. He trusted me to use my discretion, and that discretion said it would be better for the two of us to enter the cell block from opposite doors. We were out of contact for only a few seconds as we passed from the corridor to the cell block. Entering through separate doors meant no one could escape out the other side as we went in. An unnecessary precaution. Winsloe wasn't hiding in the cell hallway. No one was. Paige and I entered from the guard-station side, and, as we walked through the door, Adam and Clay were already heading toward us from the other end.
"We should let everyone out," I called as they approached.
Clay nodded. "Gives us a chance to check the cells for Winsloe."
"That's her?" Paige whispered.
I turned to see that she'd stopped at Savannah's cell. Inside, Savannah played on a Game Boy, nose scrunched in concentration.
"She's okay," I said. "Good."
"Can we let her out?" Paige said, still whispering, as if Savannah could overhear us.
I shook my head. "Let's check on Leah first. Make sure she's secured in her cell."
Leah's cell was still next to Savannah's, and unfortunately she was also alive and well, sitting in her chair, feet propped on a table, reading Cosmo.
Adam peered into the cell. "That's her? The evil Leah? Doesn't look very dangerous to me. I could take her."
Paige rolled her eyes. "Unbelievable. One disintegrated door and fire-boy thinks he's king of the demons."
"Boy?" Adam sputtered. "I'm a year older than you."
"Move along," Clay said. "So long as she's secured, we'll leave her there until Jeremy decides what he wants done."
Adam cast one last, longing glance at Leah, then turned to me. "Now what?"
"You and Clay can check how many other cells are occupied while Paige and I talk to Savannah."
As Clay and Adam headed down the hall, Paige and I approached Savannah's cell. Inside, she was still playing her video game. We paused outside the door.
"Did my mother tell Savannah about me?" Paige asked.
I nodded. "She knows what to expect, that you're going to look after her. Or, that was the plan, though I suppose as long as you take her back to your Coven, that would be good enough. I doubt Ruth really expected you to adopt a twelve-year-old."
"She did," Paige said. "Though I'm not sure what Savannah will think of the idea."
"Oh, she'll be fine." I reached for the door handle. "Ready?"
Something akin to panic flitted across Paige's face. Then she exhaled, straightened her shirt, and ran a hand through her curls, as if prepping for a job interview.
"Okay," she said. She stretched past me, opened the door, and walked inside. "Hello, Savannah."
Savannah leaped up, Game Boy crashing to the floor. Her eyes flickered past Paige and saw me. Grinning, she raced over and threw her arms around me.
"I knew you'd come back," she said.
Ouch. That hurt. Really hurt. But I had come back, hadn't I? I only wished I'd had enough faith not to abandon her in the first place.
"This is Paige Winterbourne," I said. "Ruth's…"
"Daughter," Paige finished.
Savannah turned to Paige. They were the same height.
"This is the witch who's supposed to take me?" Savannah looked from me to Paige, then back to me. "How old is she?"
"I'm twenty-two," Paige said, smiling.
Savannah's eyes widened in horror. "Twenty-two? She's barely older than me!"
"We'll discuss that later," I said. "Right now-"
"Who's that?" She pointed at Clay, standing in the doorway, then realized she was pointing and turned the gesture into a wave.
"Clayton," I said. "My-"
"Ruth told me about him. Your husband, right?"
"Uh-right."
Savannah gave Clay the adolescent girl's version of a once-over, which didn't extend lower than his neck. She nodded approvingly, then leaned forward, nearly tripping over me.
"Who's that?"
"Adam Vasic," Adam said, stepping into the room with a mock bow.
Savannah stifled a giggle. "Ruth mentioned you. The fire-demon. That doesn't sound too bad, but what can you do? Besides start fires?"
"We really should-" Paige began.
"It's Savannah Levine, right?" Adam asked.
Savannah nodded. Adam extended his hand with a flourish, paused, then put his finger to the wall. The drywall smoked. Using his finger, he scorched S. L., then drew a heart around it.
Savannah's face lit up, but she struggled to hide it under a veil of indifference. "Not bad. But anyone can do that with a magnifying glass. Don't you have any real powers?"
"Later," Clay said. "We have two more cells to empty."
Adam stepped aside to let Savannah pass, holding the door open for her. She pretended to ignore him, but couldn't hide a tiny smile and one last glance at his artwork on the wall. Poor Xavier. So easily ousted from Savannah's affections by a younger, more powerful half-demon. How fickle the heart of a twelve-year-old girl.
As Savannah walked past Adam, she collided with Clay blocking the exit.
"She stays here," he said. "Paige can look after her."
Savannah yelped.
"We should have released her last," Clay said. "There could still be some guards left. I don't want her wandering about."
"I won't wander-"
Clay cut her off with a look. They locked eyes, then Savannah dropped her gaze.
"Fine," she said. She turned on her heel, stalked to her bed, and threw herself atop it, arms crossed, facing the wall.
"Adam, stay with them," Clay said. "Stand guard."
"I don't need anyone to protect me," Savannah said, flipping over and sitting up, pique vanishing as Adam approached. "But you can look after her." She jerked her chin toward Paige. "She looks like she might need help."
"This is going to be fun," Paige murmured under her breath. "Couldn't you have found me a sweet little eight-year-old witch?"
"It could be worse," I said. "She could be sixteen."
"Someday, she will be."
***
Two prisoners left. Curtis Zaid, the Vodoun priest, and a new captive in the cell across from my old one.
"What do you think he is?" I asked Clay, tilting my head to study the newcomer. "I heard they were trying to capture a vampire, but this guy doesn't look too anemic, does he?"
That was an understatement. The man in the cell was at least six foot three, with broad shoulders and plenty of muscles, shown off by a sleeveless sweatshirt and well-worn jeans. Definitely not anemic.
"You can stop drooling, darling," Clay said.
I made a face at him and looked back at the stranger. "You think he's a vampire?"
"Want me to stick my neck in and find out?"
"Maybe later. For now, I think we should leave him where he is. Just to be safe."
We walked to Curtis Zaid's cell. I watched him through the one-way glass, trying to assess his mental stability.
"He looks okay," I said. "No ranting and cursing. I think the poor guy's lost it, but he isn't dangerous. He doesn't have any true power. More likely to be a nuisance than a threat."
"Let's get him out, then," Clay said, opening the door.
As we stepped into the cell, Zaid turned and pulled something from his head. Earphones, connected to a CD player on the table. He closed his book and laid it on top of a VCR. CDs? Videos? Hell, all I ever got were old books and a television with two fuzzy stations. Maybe I should have taken up cursing.
"We're here to let you out, Curtis," I said.
Zaid didn't appear the least bit surprised. Maybe he was too far gone. Ignoring us, he stood and headed for the door. We moved back to let him out. He stepped into the hall, stopped, and looked around, as if expecting a trap. Then he started for the exit.
"Uh, you don't want to leave just yet," I called. "It's a long hike to the nearest town."
Zaid kept walking.
"Let him go," Clay said. "He won't get far. We'll find him before we leave."
I turned to Paige. "Can you cast that cover spell?"
"Sure," she said.
"Does it work… reliably?"
Her face darkened. "Of course-" She stopped herself and nodded. "It'll work. It's a level-three spell. I'm a level-four apprentice. Binding is fourth level, which is why it gives me some trouble."
"Good. You three wait here in the doorway. Paige will cast her cover spell. Stay still and they won't see you. Don't cover me, Paige. I'll be the decoy and lead them past you three. Clay and Adam can attack from behind. Once the guards' attention-and their guns-are off me, I'll join the fight."
Paige shook her head. "I'll be the decoy."
"We don't have time to argue," Clay said.
"You, Adam, and Elena are fighters. I'm not. Better to have you three attack. Besides, Elena may not look too threatening, but when these guys see me, the words 'kick-ass bitch' won't even enter their minds. They won't expect a fight."
"She's right," Clay said.
I hesitated.
"We'll be right here," Clay whispered to me, too low for the others to hear. "She'll be okay."
"Places everyone," Paige said. "Here they come."
***
In the ensuing battle, Adam took a bullet to the shoulder. Painful, but not incapacitating. The guards died. All of them-the four who'd come around the corner, plus the two who'd stayed behind to check Tucker, plus three more who showed up before Paige finished casting a healing spell to stop Adam's bleeding. Nine guards. All dead. When it was over, Paige stood amid the dead guards, looked down at the bodies, and excused herself. She spent the next few minutes in an empty room. We didn't bother her. She wasn't the only one who'd seen enough death that day. As I thought of all the killing still to come, the guards and other staff we hadn't yet encountered, my own resolve began to falter. It was all too much. Yes, I'd killed before, but those had been mutts, stone killers themselves, and their deaths had been spaced out over all my years as a werewolf. To kill so many people, in so short a time… I knew I'd have nightmares about this day, that I'd see their faces, wonder if they had wives, girlfriends, children. I told myself I couldn't think about that. They had to die to protect our secrets. They'd understood the danger when they signed on to this project. Knowing that didn't make it any easier. The bodies piled up, and I desperately wanted to find some way to avoid the killing. But there was no other way. Everyone had to die.
Adam, Clay, and I didn't exchange a single word while Paige was gone. When she returned, her face was pale but grim.
"Let's get this over with," she said.
Adam blinked and looked around in confusion, like a sleepwalker waking up in the backyard. His face was as pale as Paige's. Shell shock. Clay looked from Paige to Adam to me. He rested his fingertips on my arm and half-turned from the other two, facing me.
"I'll finish," he said. "You guys have had enough. Show me where to look and cover my back. I'll do the rest."
I met his eyes. He looked as tired as I felt. Not physically exhausted, but mentally wiped out. He'd had enough, too. When I touched his hand, he squeezed my fingers.
"Let's find a safe place for them," I murmured, too low for Paige and Adam to hear. "Then you and I will finish."
Clay hesitated.
"Jeremy told us to stay together," I said. "I'm not letting you fight alone."
Clay searched my face, then exhaled slowly. "Okay, darling. Let's get this over with so we can go home."
***
We left Paige and Adam behind. Paige agreed without comment. Adam protested, but I took him aside and explained that we were worried about Paige and didn't dare leave her without someone to stand guard. I think Adam knew better, but after seeing a way to exit the action with his dignity intact, he accepted the change in plans and escorted Paige into an empty room.
Clay and I covered the whole second level twice. When we found no sign of Winsloe, we went upstairs, exited the compound, and checked for potential escapees. All four vehicles were still in the garage. We killed two guards frantically tinkering with a busted Bronco. Then we circled the perimeter of the compound, listening and sniffing for anyone who might have bolted into the woods. Nothing. No trace of Winsloe either.
When we returned to Paige and Adam, I asked Paige to go ahead and contact Kenneth. Time for Jeremy to join us. It would take at least thirty minutes for the three of them to get through the woods. By then, we'd be ready for their help cleaning up and destroying the evidence. First, though, we had one last task: Clear the cells.
EMANCIPATION
Paige and Adam insisted on accompanying us downstairs. By my count, most of the guards were already dead, so we let them come along. As I expected, there were only the usual two men manning the cell-block guard station. Clay and I dispatched them, then we headed into the cells. Adam's work disconnecting the system meant all the security doors were now open, so we were able to discard the bag o' body parts Clay had retrieved from outside.
Before entering the cell block, Clay and I split up. Yes, Jeremy had warned us not to, but I understood that he didn't mean we weren't to leave each other's sight at all. He trusted me to use my discretion, and that discretion said it would be better for the two of us to enter the cell block from opposite doors. We were out of contact for only a few seconds as we passed from the corridor to the cell block. Entering through separate doors meant no one could escape out the other side as we went in. An unnecessary precaution. Winsloe wasn't hiding in the cell hallway. No one was. Paige and I entered from the guard-station side, and, as we walked through the door, Adam and Clay were already heading toward us from the other end.
"We should let everyone out," I called as they approached.
Clay nodded. "Gives us a chance to check the cells for Winsloe."
"That's her?" Paige whispered.
I turned to see that she'd stopped at Savannah's cell. Inside, Savannah played on a Game Boy, nose scrunched in concentration.
"She's okay," I said. "Good."
"Can we let her out?" Paige said, still whispering, as if Savannah could overhear us.
I shook my head. "Let's check on Leah first. Make sure she's secured in her cell."
Leah's cell was still next to Savannah's, and unfortunately she was also alive and well, sitting in her chair, feet propped on a table, reading Cosmo.
Adam peered into the cell. "That's her? The evil Leah? Doesn't look very dangerous to me. I could take her."
Paige rolled her eyes. "Unbelievable. One disintegrated door and fire-boy thinks he's king of the demons."
"Boy?" Adam sputtered. "I'm a year older than you."
"Move along," Clay said. "So long as she's secured, we'll leave her there until Jeremy decides what he wants done."
Adam cast one last, longing glance at Leah, then turned to me. "Now what?"
"You and Clay can check how many other cells are occupied while Paige and I talk to Savannah."
As Clay and Adam headed down the hall, Paige and I approached Savannah's cell. Inside, she was still playing her video game. We paused outside the door.
"Did my mother tell Savannah about me?" Paige asked.
I nodded. "She knows what to expect, that you're going to look after her. Or, that was the plan, though I suppose as long as you take her back to your Coven, that would be good enough. I doubt Ruth really expected you to adopt a twelve-year-old."
"She did," Paige said. "Though I'm not sure what Savannah will think of the idea."
"Oh, she'll be fine." I reached for the door handle. "Ready?"
Something akin to panic flitted across Paige's face. Then she exhaled, straightened her shirt, and ran a hand through her curls, as if prepping for a job interview.
"Okay," she said. She stretched past me, opened the door, and walked inside. "Hello, Savannah."
Savannah leaped up, Game Boy crashing to the floor. Her eyes flickered past Paige and saw me. Grinning, she raced over and threw her arms around me.
"I knew you'd come back," she said.
Ouch. That hurt. Really hurt. But I had come back, hadn't I? I only wished I'd had enough faith not to abandon her in the first place.
"This is Paige Winterbourne," I said. "Ruth's…"
"Daughter," Paige finished.
Savannah turned to Paige. They were the same height.
"This is the witch who's supposed to take me?" Savannah looked from me to Paige, then back to me. "How old is she?"
"I'm twenty-two," Paige said, smiling.
Savannah's eyes widened in horror. "Twenty-two? She's barely older than me!"
"We'll discuss that later," I said. "Right now-"
"Who's that?" She pointed at Clay, standing in the doorway, then realized she was pointing and turned the gesture into a wave.
"Clayton," I said. "My-"
"Ruth told me about him. Your husband, right?"
"Uh-right."
Savannah gave Clay the adolescent girl's version of a once-over, which didn't extend lower than his neck. She nodded approvingly, then leaned forward, nearly tripping over me.
"Who's that?"
"Adam Vasic," Adam said, stepping into the room with a mock bow.
Savannah stifled a giggle. "Ruth mentioned you. The fire-demon. That doesn't sound too bad, but what can you do? Besides start fires?"
"We really should-" Paige began.
"It's Savannah Levine, right?" Adam asked.
Savannah nodded. Adam extended his hand with a flourish, paused, then put his finger to the wall. The drywall smoked. Using his finger, he scorched S. L., then drew a heart around it.
Savannah's face lit up, but she struggled to hide it under a veil of indifference. "Not bad. But anyone can do that with a magnifying glass. Don't you have any real powers?"
"Later," Clay said. "We have two more cells to empty."
Adam stepped aside to let Savannah pass, holding the door open for her. She pretended to ignore him, but couldn't hide a tiny smile and one last glance at his artwork on the wall. Poor Xavier. So easily ousted from Savannah's affections by a younger, more powerful half-demon. How fickle the heart of a twelve-year-old girl.
As Savannah walked past Adam, she collided with Clay blocking the exit.
"She stays here," he said. "Paige can look after her."
Savannah yelped.
"We should have released her last," Clay said. "There could still be some guards left. I don't want her wandering about."
"I won't wander-"
Clay cut her off with a look. They locked eyes, then Savannah dropped her gaze.
"Fine," she said. She turned on her heel, stalked to her bed, and threw herself atop it, arms crossed, facing the wall.
"Adam, stay with them," Clay said. "Stand guard."
"I don't need anyone to protect me," Savannah said, flipping over and sitting up, pique vanishing as Adam approached. "But you can look after her." She jerked her chin toward Paige. "She looks like she might need help."
"This is going to be fun," Paige murmured under her breath. "Couldn't you have found me a sweet little eight-year-old witch?"
"It could be worse," I said. "She could be sixteen."
"Someday, she will be."
***
Two prisoners left. Curtis Zaid, the Vodoun priest, and a new captive in the cell across from my old one.
"What do you think he is?" I asked Clay, tilting my head to study the newcomer. "I heard they were trying to capture a vampire, but this guy doesn't look too anemic, does he?"
That was an understatement. The man in the cell was at least six foot three, with broad shoulders and plenty of muscles, shown off by a sleeveless sweatshirt and well-worn jeans. Definitely not anemic.
"You can stop drooling, darling," Clay said.
I made a face at him and looked back at the stranger. "You think he's a vampire?"
"Want me to stick my neck in and find out?"
"Maybe later. For now, I think we should leave him where he is. Just to be safe."
We walked to Curtis Zaid's cell. I watched him through the one-way glass, trying to assess his mental stability.
"He looks okay," I said. "No ranting and cursing. I think the poor guy's lost it, but he isn't dangerous. He doesn't have any true power. More likely to be a nuisance than a threat."
"Let's get him out, then," Clay said, opening the door.
As we stepped into the cell, Zaid turned and pulled something from his head. Earphones, connected to a CD player on the table. He closed his book and laid it on top of a VCR. CDs? Videos? Hell, all I ever got were old books and a television with two fuzzy stations. Maybe I should have taken up cursing.
"We're here to let you out, Curtis," I said.
Zaid didn't appear the least bit surprised. Maybe he was too far gone. Ignoring us, he stood and headed for the door. We moved back to let him out. He stepped into the hall, stopped, and looked around, as if expecting a trap. Then he started for the exit.
"Uh, you don't want to leave just yet," I called. "It's a long hike to the nearest town."
Zaid kept walking.
"Let him go," Clay said. "He won't get far. We'll find him before we leave."
