She strained to hear whatever it was that he heard. Do you think it’s one of the ferals?
Yes. Justine would be more quiet. He wrapped a hand around her forearm.
Pushing the gate open, he stepped out. He kept a strong grip on her so that she nearly tripped on his heels. For once, she didn’t mind his highhandedness. The tunnels seemed extra dark and menacing outside the protection of the locked gate.
Reluctantly, she said, You have to let go. I can’t use my stake when you’re holding on to my arm like that.
He frowned at her. I’m taking point, but I still want you to stay as close to me as you can.
Don’t worry, she told him grimly. I have no intention of lagging behind.
When his fingers loosened, she missed the comfort of his touch immediately and grew annoyed with herself. As they came to the first intersection, she remembered her first foray out into the tunnels, before she had known anything about the ferals. It seemed like it had happened ages ago.
She told Julian, When I first got out, I went exploring and I found a large, cavernous room. The ferals were there, feeding on a couple of people. They chased me back to my cell. I barely got it locked in time.
He shook his head. The thought makes me shudder.
It was the worst few minutes of my life. She paused, thinking. But here’s the thing – if Justine and Anthony have been bringing victims in for the ferals to feed on, then doesn’t it sound logical that one of the tunnels leading from that room can get us out?
It does, indeed, he told her. It might take us a while to find the right tunnel, but if we keep the room as our reference point, sooner or later, we’ll be able to find the right one. Can you get us back there?
She nodded. I kept mental track of my turns.
There was approval in his gaze when he glanced at her. Good job.
When he started forward again, he followed her directions. Right, right and across. At that latest one, he cocked his head. Why didn’t you go right again?
She shook her head with a shrug. I didn’t realize at first how big the tunnel system was, so I was making decisions on instinct instead of some kind of well-thought-out plan. I was afraid if I took too many rights, it would lead me back to where I started.
Fair enough. He shone the flashlight both ways down the intersecting tunnel.
What happened to the stealthy someone? she asked.
I don’t know. There’s an echo down here. It could have come from farther away than I thought. Or he might have stopped moving.
That sounded a lot more sinister than she would have liked. If the feral had stopped moving, that might mean he was lying in wait somewhere.
She glanced over her shoulder. Beyond the range of her flashlight, the darkness looked as solid as a curtain. It seemed to have personality, like it was watching her. She studied the darkness carefully but saw nothing.
For the first time, she realized the ferals had to exist in total darkness most of the time. The cavern where they had been feeding had been lit, but she suspected the torches had been more for Justine and Anthony’s benefit, whereas the feral Vampyres would know every nook and cranny in the tunnels like the back of their hands.
After checking both ways, Julian stepped forward, and she followed.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a flash of movement. Even as she turned her head to look at the feral that had dropped from a shadowed hollow in the ceiling, Julian sprang forward to engage.
Another feral dropped down and leaped after Julian. They had coordinated an ambush.
As soon as the realization hit, she whirled in a complete circle, her stake out and ready as she looked for the third.
He rushed out of the darkness, not from behind her, but from the tunnel ahead. She had never faced one without the barrier of bars between them. Terror flared, followed by a surge of rage.
She was done with being scared of these things. Done.
He came at her so fast, she wasn’t sure she could stake him accurately in the heart – and she didn’t dare get into such close quarters with him and miss, or risk getting her stake caught in his chest.
Leaping and pivoting at the hip, she went into a roundhouse kick that clipped the feral in the chin and knocked him back against the tunnel wall. He rebounded immediately – but that time she was ready for him. Even as he reached for her, she grabbed him by the wrist and hauled him toward her while she drove the stake into his chest.
For a moment she stared into the feral’s red gaze. She found herself searching for any sign of the personality he had once had, yet she saw nothing but madness in his eyes. As he bared his fangs at her, he collapsed into dust.
She turned just in time to see a snarling Julian in midlaunch toward her, easily two-hundred-plus pounds of deadly Vampyre male, complete with red eyes and fangs.
Flinching back against the wall, she gasped, “Holy shit.”