Blood Prophecy

CHAPTER 44



Lucy


There were bodies everywhere.

Jenna and I had run out of arrows and we were leaning against the tree, shaking out our exhausted arms when the sun shot its first rays between the bare trees. Fires belched smoke and heat. The bats had finally flown away to some nearby cave. The snow was red with blood.

I searched the bodies for familiar faces. Unconscious hunters lay next to sedated vampires. Hunter still refused to let anyone near the body of her grandfather. Bellwood’s leg was broken. Jenna made a strange sound. I glanced at her. “What?”

She shoved past me, sliding down the rope so fast her hands must have chafed raw. I ran to the other side of the bridge and saw her grab Tyson and try to lift him up. He didn’t respond. When she looked up at Chloe, Nicholas and me, she shook her head, tears running down the soot and dirt on her face. I felt my own eyes burn hotly in response.

Night faded slowly, lightening from black to gray until finally a warm glow seeped between the trees.

Solange was the first to fall.

Kieran caught her up in his arms and dashed over bodies and ashes to get her to the safety of the bunker under the Drake tent. Helena followed behind, pulling a hood up over her head to shield herself. Her footsteps dragged and I knew it was strictly force of will that made her able to run that fast. She’d be fine under the cover of the tent, but the bright sunlight reflecting off the snow was too much for her. It was too much for most of the vampires. Liam and Uncle Geoffrey searched for the brothers, finding Quinn, Logan, and Isabeau. Connor stumbled out of the woods, carrying a passed-out Christabel before he fell over himself. Marcus and Duncan were helping each other, stumbling like drunken college students as I shimmied down the rope.

I didn’t even know how to feel until Nicholas collapsed.

Logically, I knew he wasn’t hurt. It was just the dawn, taking him away. But I reacted as if he was Tyson or Hunter’s grandfather or any of the piles of unidentified ashes blowing over the churned-up snow.

I leaped over bodies to land crouched beside him, bow in hand, snarling protectively. Aunt Hyacinth was the one who came to take him away, being the eldest and the most able to withstand the sun. There were gashes in her corset and her bustle had long since deflated. She put Nicholas over her shoulder and stalked away as I watched, panic receding slightly.

Jason stood next to Sebastian, looking worried. Sebastian was slurring his words, trying to stay upright. Aunt Hyacinth stopped momentarily and frowned at Jason. “Well? Bring him, boy!”

Jason hurried to comply, putting an arm under Sebastian’s shoulder and supporting his weight. Chloe joined Kieran, who now had his arm around Hunter. Her eyes were red but dry, like embers. “Bruno found Spencer,” Hunter told us. “He’s all right. They took him to the Drake tent.” Numbly, we watched new hunters arrive down the path. Jenna stood next to us, in shock.

Hart was in the lead, snapping his gaze immediately onto Kieran who had just returned from the tents. “Are you all right?”

Kieran just nodded, exhausted. Hart took stock of the area, swearing wearily. He sent the Helios-Ra agents who’d come from town with him to help the others. There were the sounds of struggles and swearing behind us. The hunters who hadn’t been sedated and had started coming out of the woods to finish off any vulnerable vampires were being blocked by Hart’s unit. I felt sure anyone attempting to storm the Drake tent would get a fangful of Helena.

Paramedics picked their way through the mess. Theo was already stabilizing Bellwood’s leg. Ms. Dailey hadn’t survived the gunshot to her belly. More teachers came to help. Mr. York arrived to relieve the rest of the Black Lodge, still guarding the drugged hunters, some of whom were stirring awake.

I took notice of everything, but nothing made sense. I was running on the last sour dregs of adrenaline and shock. There was blood on my jeans and I didn’t even know whose it was.

Liam doubled back to join us, covered in a thick coat with a hood. Blood trickled from various wounds and the sleeve of his coat was ripped, but from fang or knife, I couldn’t tell. He was pale as glass but perfectly upright and coherent. “Everyone’s accounted for,” he said, after kissing the top of my head. “You’re grounded,” he said as an afterthought, before turning to Hart.

“Is it done?” Hart asked.

Liam nodded. “We’re ready for you.”

“Are you sure it’ll work?”

“Sure enough,” he replied.

“And how long will it last?”

“Until the new moon,” Liam said. “That should give the authorities plenty of time.”

“Anyone know what’s going on?” I asked Hunter, Kieran, and Chloe. They all shook their heads, as confused as I was. When Liam and Hart walked away, we followed. They led us to a pile of boulders on the edge of the battleground. Bruno and his men had Hope handcuffed and her guards tied up on the ground. Hart motioned to a woman with a small camera. She switched it on to record and aimed it at Hope.

“Okay, that’s weird,” I whispered. “I mean weirder than usual. Right?”

“Hope,” Liam said, his pupils dilating dangerously. Hope shrank back from the compulsion cast by his pheromones but she had nowhere to go. Bruno held her in place. “Do you have anything to confess?”

She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. It opened again, as if she couldn’t help herself. Her eyes rolled in her head like a wild, panicked horse. “I, Hope MacAllister, confess to killing Roarke Black. I also organized the kidnapping of Kieran Black and Lucy Hamilton. I confess to other kidnappings and forcible confinement and the draining of blood from several victims taken from Violet Hill, attributed to the Dracula Killer.” Sweat beaded on her upper lip. She shook her head desperately. “No,” she moaned.

The woman switched the camera off. Liam approached Hope, pulling paper and a pen out of the inside pocket of his coat. We blinked at him. I, for one, had expected a sword or at the very least a Taser. I’d lend him mine. “Sign here.” He pointed at the document.

She struggled, sweat now rolling off the side of her neck. “What is that?”

“Signed confession.”

“No,” she moaned again. “What did you do to me?”

Liam leaned in very close. I didn’t see the change in his expression but I saw the fear suddenly shooting off Hope. “Sign here or I will remember in very great detail how it felt to know that you had my son kidnapped and tortured while trying to frame my daughter. Not to mention the innocent humans you’ve killed, and your treatment of Lucy Hamilton, who is under our protection.”

“You won’t kill me.” Hope swallowed. “Not the peaceful Liam Drake.”

“No, “ he admitted with a sudden smile that made her flinch. “But I will turn you into a vampire.”

She went gray, then green. She grabbed for the pen, awkwardly signing the confession with bound hands.

“Remember what I said, Hope,” Liam added silkily, before stepping away. “You’ll be tagged, just like my son was. I will always be able to find you. You’ll only be safe in prison. Am I clear?”

Fear made her gag on whatever else she’d been about to say.

Hart gestured for his men to take her away.

“Isabeau worked a truth spell on her,” Liam told us with a brief smile. “Now go home, all of you. Hart has a van waiting on the road, if you think you can walk that far. Or we can find a tent for you for a few hours.”

“I just want to go home.” Chloe shivered.

I glanced at the torn-up field and the burning ropes swinging from the trees.

“Me too.”