She pushed me away. “Goodbye, Gabrielle Fiori, the last of the sirens, the first born vampire, the future queen of the Underworld.”
I slid on the slick stone as I fled, going down on one knee as I turned a corner. Scooby ran alongside me. We fled through the castle back to the trap door. My surroundings were tinted in shades of pink, and it took me a moment to realize that was because I still had tears in my eyes.
I skidded to a halt in front of the door cut into the floor. The smell of mold and decay emanated from it.
I really didn’t want to go back down. I didn’t want to wind my way through the darkness only to find Andre on the other side, waiting to hear how I convinced this fate to tip the scales in my favor. I didn’t want to tell him that she wouldn’t help—that she couldn’t.
I shut my eyes. The sound of footfalls was moving closer. I could hear the shouts of officers. I winced when Maggie, the woman I’d once worked under during my time with the Politia, yelled something.
My coworkers were here, hunting me like I’d hunted killers. I could still hear that last monster’s words echoing in my head. They came from the cambion I’d killed.
The good guys? she’d said. The ones you think you represent? They will hunt you down and steal your life from you. The saddest part of all is that they will think the world is a better place because you are no longer in it. That will be your legacy.
“Gabrielle.” The hairs on my forearms rose at the familiar, masculine voice at my back.
I swiveled around in time to see Caleb.
Chapter 21
I jolted at the sight of him. He still had the same gorgeous features that were responsible for half the school crushing on him and the ruffled, golden hair that made me think of long days out in the sun.
I might never stand under the sun again.
He looked tired, and I could smell the sadness wafting off of him even from the other side of the hall.
Next to me, Scooby growled low in his throat. For once, my demonic companion didn’t dissolve into mist. I hope that had more to do with my presence and less to do with the dog being a death omen.
“Caleb?” My voice broke. He wore the Politia’s official uniform.
Because he’s here on official business.
Caleb’s wide eyes traveled to the dog, then back to me.
This was what I’d tried to explain to him all those times he minimized my nature. He’d been convinced that we were not so different; that there wasn’t some insurmountable chasm between creatures deemed good and creatures deemed evil. But he’d never understand what it felt like to be hated—and to be hunted—for simply existing. To consort with the things of nightmares and superstition—things spoken of in whispers and told only late at night.
He just had to kill them.
We stared each other down—former partners turned enemies. This felt like a bad rendition of The Fox and the Hound, one with an even shittier ending.
Beyond him, I could her the Politia officers getting closer. One spoke in low tones to Lydia, and the others moved through the library, down the hall. A couple more turns and they would be on us.
The trap door was behind me. I edged back—
“Wait!” Caleb lunged forward.
As soon as he shouted, I heard a flurry of movement far behind him. Officers now knew where we were.
Time to go.
I stepped back into the hole, letting my supernatural reflexes take over as I dropped. I landed in a crouch, water splashing out on impact. Above me I heard Scooby snarl and Caleb shout.
I really hoped the dog didn’t kill him.
Forgoing my phone’s flashlight, I reached out a hand and touched the slimy wall. I bit back a cringe—now was not the time to be squeamish—and began sprinting down the tunnel, using the curve of the wall to direct me.
The encounter had my heart picking up speed. I gasped out a breath, feeling healthier than I had in a while.
The only way out is through.
The footfalls and shouts sounded more distant now, and I paused to grab my phone from my pocket and switch on its flashlight.
As soon as it clicked on, I moved the beam of light over the walls and began running again. Strange shapes danced in the shadows. It didn’t take long for my mind to return to the demons that had peeled off the walls, their shadowy limbs filling with flesh as they reached for me.
“Miiiiine,” the air seemed to hiss.
Oh hell to the no. I lengthened my stride and moved it. As soon as I hit the intersection, I hung a left and splashed through the puddles.
I burst through the persecution tunnel and body-slammed Andre, which was like tackling a wall. A.k.a., I lost.
His arms wrapped around me as I drew in ragged breaths, and he shoved me behind him, his eyes locked on the exit. Vines and plants hung over the entrance, obscuring the passage, but even so, it didn’t take long for Andre to realize that no other heartbeat followed me out.
He turned to face me. “The devil?” he asked.
I caught my breath and shook my head. “Just scared of my own shadow—oh and the Politia paid a visit.”
He captured my jaw in his hand and pressed a kiss to my lips. “I heard them but could do nothing. Luckily, they are incompetent fools. You were the best thing that ever happened to them.”
Even as he spoke, Andre directed me back to the car. Flattering as his words were, we both knew that it wouldn’t take long for the Politia to retrace my steps—incompetent or not.
The persecution tunnel let out to a rocky outcropping that overlooked the ocean. Peel Academy was off to our left, sitting on a tiny piece of land that jutted out into the water. A narrow, grassy trail cut through the sloping bluffs we stood on, and we clambered up it like billy goats to get back to Andre’s car.
Okay, I clambered up it like a billy goat. Andre just looked like the badass mutha-effer he always was.
“How did it go?” he asked when he swung into the driver’s side of the vehicle, sliding the key into the ignition. The engine roared to life.