Immediately, I wished I hadn’t. The cautious hope in Katie’s gaze nearly brought me to my knees. I wanted to smother her with assurances that she’d never, ever be alone again, then I wanted to hug her until she forgot what it was like to feel afraid. The only urge stronger was my need to kill the filthy creature who threatened her.
Since I had to do that before the other, it gave me the strength to turn around, facing my enemy instead of my daughter.
“The old man lied. I am your mother, and I’m not leaving you again,” I said, my voice strong despite emotional walls breaking everywhere inside me.
Tate nudged me, glancing to the side. I followed his gaze, seeing a small door in the farthest corner of the room. Trove blocked the way we’d entered into the boiler room, but we weren’t trapped. This must lead to the tunnels Bones had mentioned. I didn’t think it was an accident that his moseying had placed Bones right in Trove’s path. Should the renowned politician attempt to stop us, he’d have to get through Bones first. Even if Bones’s telekinesis was ineffective against him, that would still take some doing.
Trove glanced behind us, as if guessing our intention. And then he smiled.
I felt the whoosh before that familiar earthy scent filled the room. Katie let out a small gasp.
When I turned around, over two dozen ghouls blocked the other door. From their power levels, they weren’t random guys Trove had teleported from some local undead bar. They were trained fighters, and their muscular builds only added to their air of menace.
“Did I forget to mention?” Trove asked with false innocence. “I decided to bring some friends with me.”
Thirty-four
This keeps getting better and better, I thought jadedly. We hadn’t brought anyone with us because we didn’t want to draw the Law Guardians’ attention, and now we were outnumbered by a lot.
The leader of the group, a tall African-American with biceps thicker than my thigh, stepped forward.
“Give us the child,” he ordered.
“Fuck you,” flew out of my mouth before I realized that (a) I seriously needed to watch my language now, and (b) diplomacy would be the better tactic. I might be able to wipe the floor with them if I utilized my borrowed powers, but we were trying to prevent a war, not start one.
“Um, I meant fudge sticks,” I backtracked quickly, “and you don’t need to take the child. Your queen agreed to call you off.”
Trove appeared more shocked than the ghouls. “She what?”
I couldn’t resist a smug smile. “Oh, so you weren’t following us when we went to see Marie? We came to terms. All we have to do is hold up our end of the bargain, and she and the ghouls leave us alone.”
Our end was to release a video of Katie supposedly being killed—Marie had said nothing but a public execution would cut it, and the Internet was public—but I wasn’t about to tell Trove that. Or the other surprise we had in store for him.
The burly ghoul pulled out his cell phone, dialing.
“My queen, it is Barnabus,” he said moments later. “I am with the vampires, and they have the child. They claim that they . . .” Pause. “Yes, I understand . . . if that is your command, Majestic.”
He hung up. The other ghouls looked at him expectantly. Trove almost hopped up and down in impatience. My fangs slid out, ready to draw blood, if needed.
“Well?” the demon demanded.
Barnabus stared at me, frustration stamped all over his features.
“The Reaper speaks the truth,” he said, almost spitting out the words.
I didn’t move, but inside, I was letting out a whoop and pumping both fists in the air. Marie had come through! She was renowned for keeping her word, but to say I was worried that she’d make an exception in this case was to put it mildly.
“We have been ordered to leave,” Barnabus continued.
Can I get a Hell Yeah? rang in my mind, though again, I stayed perfectly quiet. I didn’t even crack a smile. Go me.
Trove, however, reacted like he’d gotten a face full of salt.
“You have to be kidding me!” the demon seethed. “After decades of planning, the same thing your species nearly warred over twice is right here, and you’re agreeing to walk away instead of fight?”
Grumblings from the ghouls agreed with his assessment. My good mood vanished. Maybe, despite Marie’s keeping her word, this wasn’t over yet after all.
“I’ve said it forever—if you want something done right, you need to do it yourself,” Trove went on in disgust. Then he approached the ghouls while his arm flung out in Katie’s direction.
“Even if your queen is too blind to see it, that child is your doom. Vampires already have more abilities than ghouls, but you’ve kept them from subjugating you because you’re harder to kill. She changes that power dynamic! Through her, vampires can create a new race. One loyal to them, with all your immunity to silver and all their fancy tricks! When that happens, how long do you think it will be before your people are in chains? One century? Two?”
“Bollocks.”
Bones’s voice rang out, covering the louder grumblings from the ghouls.