"If anything happens to her—"
"What? I die? Get in line, brother!"
Christian turned on his heel and stalked out of the room. On his way out, he remembered the frightened girl who remained sitting on a settee in the hallway. He grabbed her by the arm, and her entire body pitched forward like a dead weight. Fresh red streaks stained her skin, and crescent-shaped gouges disfigured her limbs. She was dead. The scavengers had gotten to her.
Christian noticed a white face staring at him malevolently from a doorway further down the hall, and he snarled. The face disappeared. Untold horrors lurked in every shadow of that house; things that made the most gruesome stories told about vampires seem like fairy tales. He felt a twinge of pity for the girl's wasted life but maybe it was for the best, she would have suffered far worse at Lucian's hands. He couldn't get out of there fast enough.
In the car, he tried Victoria's phone again and got a busy signal. Either her phone was dead or she still didn't have service. His next phone call was to Enhard to let him know that the witch was an exile. With any luck, the witch clans could use the information to narrow down possible options and to help to contain the situation.
The car drove onto the airfield as he stared impatiently out the window, knowing he could run faster and almost deciding to do it, when his phone rang. The number came up as private.
"Yes?" His voice was terse.
"Christian? It's me ..." He collapsed back into the seat, his relief palpable. "Look I'm really sorry if you tried to call, I don't have any service here. I'm calling from a landline at the lodge with a calling card."
"I did try to call, several times," he said hoarsely.
"I was really worried that something had happened with Lucian when I didn't hear from you, not even a message," she said. "Is everything okay? What happened with the Council?"
"I'm sorry I didn't leave a message. Everything is okay, I'll explain later. I'm leaving, on my way back."
"Home?"
"Yes." He didn't want to scare her but he needed to make sure that she was alert and wary of possible danger. "Listen, Tori, there's been a complication. Remember the woman who attacked you in Canville? Well, she may be back. You need to be careful, stay with people at all times until I get to you. I will come for you, okay?" His voice was urgent, compelling. He needed her to listen to him at all costs. He knew that the likelihood of Lena attacking in public was low, but he also knew how far Lucian would go to get what he wanted.
"Does this have anything to do with the barrier around you and the reason we can't communicate?" Victoria asked.
"Yes, it does," he said. "Promise me you'll stay with your friends!"
"I will."
"We're taking off now. I'll see you soon. Be safe, Tori."
"Bye, Christian."
VICTORIA WALKED BACK to the condo, relieved. Her phone had had no service and had been completely unusable. She couldn't believe how good she felt after hearing Christian's voice. Being so shut off from him for the last few days had been torture. She had tried to communicate with him mentally and all she'd sensed was a strange wall between them, a sort of impenetrable but flexible barrier, which meant magic. It worried her, and for good reason now that she'd spoken to Christian.
She went into her room and closed the door, where she sat on the bed and tried for the tenth time to summon her pendant. She couldn't believe that she had left it in Canville, and she cursed herself again for doing such a stupid thing. Leto would be furious if he knew. She'd put it in the music box at Christian's, and somehow it had been forgotten in the rush for the mountain despite Leto's and Holly's repeated warnings about always keeping it with her.
Victoria tried every place where it could be, but each time she performed the spell, all she got was a stinging headache and no amulet. She had learned from experience that to make the summoning charm work, she had to pinpoint the exact location of what needed to be summoned.
Foreboding rested like a weight in her belly but she refused to consider that somehow someone might have discovered and taken it. She felt naked without it, especially given what Christian had told her about that woman probably showing up again. And now, against his strict orders, here she was, alone, in the condo.
She heard the front door to the apartment open and close. She strained to hear anything, footsteps or voices, and almost jumped out of her skin when she saw the handle on her bedroom door beginning to turn.
"Who's there?" she said. The door swung open.