5. Transformation
“Thirty-two days, Sofie!” Mortimer groaned. “Thirty-two days, penned up in here.” He waved his arms around the atrium, now an urban war zone, thanks to my temper tantrum. “How much more of this can we bear?”
Thirty-two days and counting since the day Evangeline had returned with an army of vampires. It felt like thirty-two years. I had done six more blood runs since the first, all at night, all uncoordinated, all old-fashioned thievery. The several trucks that had gone missing had made it to the news, only building on the speculation regarding the explosion and multiple deaths outside Reggie’s Red Cross. I couldn’t do much about it. Compelling and erasing paperwork took time and required the freedom to move about. I had neither. Not that it mattered anymore. That first run to Reggie had made it clear that the Sentinel was aware of us, and they had at least one witch—likely Ursula—helping them. They had to be wondering what was happening within these walls that would require so many trucks of blood. Maybe if we stayed in here long enough, they’d get bored, I thought sardonically. Fat chance. That group had lingered from generation to generation, passing on secret truths and missions, breeding hatred for us. They knew how to lie in wait.
Ileana was locked in the parlor, quietly working on her spell casting, Viggo driving her to exhaustion daily. I couldn’t see what she was doing. The clever little witchling had learned how to mask her weaves well. But just having someone’s magic so freely circulating through the building set my neck hairs on end. I could see it bothered Mage as well, showing daily in her strained features. But as long as Ileana caused no one any harm, she wasn’t breaking the truce. Mage’s diplomacy wouldn’t allow her to kill the little girl out of personal displeasure.
For now, the Merth’s powers still confined the vampires to the building, so things were okay. Tense, with a jealous and volatile Rachel lurking at Viggo and Mortimer’s side, with me ignoring Caden and his friends while keeping watch twenty-four hours a day, but okay. They spent most of their time in the cellar, feeding nonstop. Mage seemed to think it was a good idea; that, if they could hold their resolve, feeding more would help them. It was counter to everything I knew, but I wanted so desperately to believe her that I readily supplied it as needed.
And they needed it. Again. I would be making another trip any night now—another random truck hijacking. The spontaneity was safer in one regard—it made it difficult for Viggo to execute any of his clandestine plans. Who knew what else he had up his sleeve? He had become so distrusting, so secretive, that even Mortimer appeared uneasy around him.
I recognized the soft footsteps approaching on my right as Mage’s graceful glide without looking. We had spent much of the last thirty-two days together. I wasn’t sure what was happening—were we becoming friends? Friends who openly declared their distrust for each other; who were prepared to strike the other dead for any reason. Yet a mutual, unspoken respect seemed to be growing—downright sinister for any other species and yet for us, a requirement. I hadn’t had a friend in over a century, aside from Leo.
Our closeness was driving Viggo insane, I could tell—me allied with someone far superior to him, to the leader of a horde of dominant vampires. Several times, he stealthily slid a comment or question into conversation, fishing for information on Mage. He seemed determined to know about her lineage, where she sat in the pecking order. Was she the original vampire? The one whom the witches on Ratheus created just as the witches had created Earth’s? For some reason beyond my understanding, it was important to him.
Mage remained civil but tight-lipped, divulging nothing. So now Viggo kept his distance. Mortimer and their snaky sidekick, Rachel, followed suit. I was fine with that.
“I think it may be time to time to test our venom,” Mage stated.
Everywhere in the atrium, vampire ears perked up. Viggo and Mortimer, previously flanking the statue, suddenly appeared beside us.
“It’s only been a month,” I reiterated.
“Yes, but they’ve been feeding nonstop.”
“On plastic bags. Bags don’t run away.” The chase of a warm, flowing body was as much the addiction as the end result. Just talking about it stirred excitement within me.
“We may find ourselves short on time soon,” Mage said softly. Unlike me, she was convinced the Sentinel were already planning something big. “Wouldn’t you like to know that this was all for something?”
I was secretly desperate to find out. I wanted to witness a transformation, something I had never done. But I wouldn’t turn this place into a slaughterhouse. “How many people will we go through in trying?”
“Who cares!” Viggo exclaimed.
“I am capable of resisting the urges,” Mage continued, ignoring Viggo as she typically did. “I will be the one to do it.”
I caught a flicker of contempt in Viggo’s eyes and couldn’t help but pause for a vindictive little smile. But then I quickly brought myself back to reality. “And what about the others?” I retorted, my eyes roaming over the group of vampires listening to the conversation, their eyes wide with anticipation. Caden and his friends had resurfaced from the cellar and now stood off in a corner, as usual, listening without appearing to care too much about anything.
Mage turned an icy glare toward those milling around the ruined atrium. “They will listen.”
So sure of her authority over them. Why? “And if they don’t?”
She chuckled. “They will listen to me. And if they don’t,” her voice turned hard, “burn them.”
The dramatic gong of the doorbell announced that our guinea pig had arrived on time, ignorant that the invitation from Viggo was in fact his death sentence as a human.
“Now remember, none of you are to so much as step toward our guest,” Mage called out in a stern schoolteacher-like voice, her eyes on the door. “And if you do, you will die where you stand.”
A chorus of hisses and grunts rose from the cowering group, who likely feared that their lack of control would inadvertently get them torched. My eyes flicked over Caden and the others. Please don’t be the ones to test Mage’s threat.
The doorbell rang a second time. Our guinea pig was impatient. Reaching the exterior door as only I could, I punched in the code that only I knew. The door lock released and the door creaked open. “Good afternoon, Mr. Adesina.” I shot one of my flashiest smiles at the towering Nigerian.
He peered over his sunglasses to appraise me from head to toe, intentionally keeping his expression indifferent. But I knew otherwise. Lewis Adesina—his first name wasn’t really Lewis but that’s what he went by—was very much interested in what this address had to offer him. Lewis was an astute businessman and a high-end drug dealer now residing in the wealthier part of Queens, looking for ways to expand his enterprise. He had piqued Viggo’s interest years ago and Viggo kept tabs on him, silently channeling business his way, watching the man’s wealth grow. That was how Viggo worked. He nurtured the up-and-coming, all while extorting pertinent information needed to swiftly clean out accounts—both local and offshore—once his subject amassed greater wealth. Doing this for two thousand years had garnered an obscene return on Viggo’s investment and efforts. Lewis was now valued at somewhere around eight digits. He made the perfect victim.
“Right this way,” I said warmly, gesturing down the tunnel.
He removed his trench coat and folded it over one arm of his custom-tailored navy pinstripe suit. “What’s this about?” His eyes roamed the tunnel as we walked.
I chuckled. “Do you normally accept invitations to strange places with no idea why you’re going?”
He threw a contemptuous glare my way. “When the address is Fifth Avenue, I’m willing to be surprised.”
That earned another sadistic laugh. “Oh, you’ll be surprised, alright.”
Wariness edged into his aura. Not fear. Guys like this didn’t scare easily.
But soon it would come.
Lewis nervously adjusted his draped coat and the sparkle of a diamond-encrusted watch caught my eye. I couldn’t help myself. “So the meth business is quite profitable for you, I see.”
Lewis pursed his lips and shot me a look of smug disapproval, but said nothing.
“It takes an exceptionally revolting kind of person to nurture fourteen-year-olds into addicts and prostitutes,” I prodded, thoroughly enjoying the moment. It was like poking a cornered rabid raccoon with a long stick.
Lewis sneered. “I don’t know who you are, lady, but don’t mess with me . . . ” His voice faded as we reached the gaping hole that opened onto the destroyed atrium. And his death. His eyes widened with surprise. “What the hell happened in here?”
“Someone messed with me,” I answered flippantly. His deep laughter filled the tunnel. He thinks I’m joking. He lifted long legs over fallen bricks and followed me into the atrium. A new wave of his wariness filled my nostrils.
Mage was waiting. “Hello, Lewis.”
I glanced to my left, where the others huddled in a far corner, shifting their weight from one foot to the other as they watched intently, their eyes morphing. It was as if they could sense the blood pumping through millions of vessels nearby, but they couldn’t figure out how to get to it.
Lewis gave Mage the once-over, as he had done to me. “I’m a busy man. What can you do for me?” he answered, peering arrogantly from his greater height at the diminutive woman before him.
Her coal-black eyes lit up. “Oh, something very important. We can give you immortality.” Mage smiled sweetly as she glided forward. “You’re here to test our venom, so let’s get started. I’m going to inject my venom into you and we’ll see if you survive or not.” Mage’s announcement was so simple, it was as if she were explaining a basic dental procedure.
But Lewis wasn’t distracted from her words “What the—”
Mage was instantly beside Lewis, her leg flying out to knock him to his knees, her dainty hand seizing his chin and effortlessly forcing his head back. Hideous, pulsating veins engulfed the whites of her eyes as she leaned forward—and sank her fangs into his neck.
A wave of terror hit me as Lewis’s fear overwhelmed his aura, followed closely by the unpleasant scent of urine. He jerked wildly, attempting to fight off his tiny assailant. In response, Mage’s left hand moved to his spine and twisted. I heard a sickening snap and his body slackened. There was no more fight from Lewis.
Mage took her time, slowly draining him of his blood. His face grew chalky, his eyes glassy. He would die if she didn’t complete the process soon.
“Mage,” I warned. Bloodshot irises rose and locked with mine. “The test,” I reminded her in a slow, even voice.
She blinked. And then her lip curled slightly—a sign of the pain that came with the release of her venom.
Lewis Adesina’s limp, unresponsive body dropped to lie in a heap on the ground as Mage retracted her fangs, finished. Now sated, her eyes quickly reverted back to their normal coal black as she called, “Someone—a towel, if you please?” Blood covered her chin and hands.
Neither Viggo, Mortimer, nor I moved, our focus riveted on Lewis. Luckily, whatever had kept the Ratheus vampires pinned in the corner no longer held them; Jonah instantly appeared beside her with a white cloth.
“Thank you, Jonah.” She dabbed at her face. “It’s been so long since I’ve changed a human . . . I forgot what it felt like.” With a black high-heeled boot—one of Evangeline’s that, though two sizes too big, I had grudgingly given her—she nudged Lewis in the ribs. A feeble moan escaped him but he remained motionless. Intrigued, I moved closer to inspect our test subject.
“Ah, that’s right. Our Sofie is a virgin!”
I shot an annoyed glare at Viggo, who returned it with a smug grin. He was right, but he didn’t need to announce it. I had never witnessed a transition and, having not experienced the typical method myself, I didn’t know what to expect. Mortimer had described the stages to me once, about seventy years ago. If it worked as planned, Mage’s venom was snaking through every vein in Lewis’s body, spreading like wildfire to infect every inch of him . . .
Suddenly his body spasmed. Like a skittish cat, I jumped back several feet, earning a chorus of chuckles from the audience. I giggled nervously, embarrassed at being surprised so easily but also filled with exhilaration. Few things surprised me. I crouched and crept in slowly again. His eyes were still closed.
“It’s beginning,” Viggo whispered, pointing to a bead of sweat running down Lewis’s forehead. Ten more beads followed in quick succession. Then, with another violent spasm, the half-digested contents of his stomach shot out of his mouth, barely missing me.
“Thanks for the heads-up,” I muttered dryly, deciding to observe from a safe distance. Was it really working? I wonder if . . . With one eye on Mage, I plucked a magical helix and let it slowly float toward Lewis, ready to probe. Coal-black eyes flew to me instantly. She could see it! Would she say anything? Would she complain that I was going against the truce? The slightest nod and the shadow of a smile told me she wouldn’t. It would be our little secret.
My magic invaded Lewis, burrowing through walls of tissue and muscle without reservation to reach his vital organs. Like microscopic probes, the strands found his kidneys, his liver, his heart, all shutting down, hardening into ornaments without purpose. I tested his body temperature. It was plummeting. I flashed the smallest smile back to Mage, my only indication to her that things were going as planned. One step closer . . .
For the next hour, a ring of vampires circled Lewis’s corrupting body, watching the violent spasms and shivers with interest. An hour that felt like ten. The shivering finally stopped. The color began to return to his dark skin, bringing with it a more youthful, healthy look, wiping away blemishes and imperfections—subtly, the awkward bump on the bridge of his nose smoothed and his left nostril, wider than the right, evened out. It was mesmerizing, watching the birth of a true predator.
Lewis’s eyelids suddenly flew open. Rich hazel irises rolled as he gazed around the atrium, studying the smallest movements and details. In a split second he was on his feet, taking in the audience who watched him as if he were a prize animal at a zoo.
Mage’s venom had worked. We were no longer an endangered species.
“It worked!” Viggo whispered, echoing my thoughts. He gave Mortimer’s shoulder a friendly slap. Normally Mortimer would shake it off, but today he was too busy sharing his rival’s cheer to even notice.
Mage smiled triumphantly. “Satisfied?”
“Oh, immensely!” Viggo exclaimed. I had never seen him this genuinely giddy, ever.
“Good.” Mage’s hand shot forward. Loud gasps and cries erupted from the onlookers as it drilled into the vampire Lewis’s chest and wrenched his heart out. His body dropped straight to the ground. She tossed the bloody, unbeating thing to the cobblestones beside me. “Sofie. Would you mind? We don’t need another mouth to feed right now,” she explained as I gaped at her, caught completely off guard.
I realized she was right—callous, but right. With a pull of a magical thread and a flick of my wrist, the former New York City drug lord and his detached heart were engulfed in flames. Every vampire, including Caden and his friends, scattered to the far corners of the atrium, leaving behind only a silence bred of fear and shock. For me, this was so much more than one new vampire. This was my one hundred and twenty-year-old blunder, finally corrected. This was the fear of spending the rest of eternity with Viggo and Mortimer breathing down my neck—gone. It wasn’t over until I got that pendant off Evangeline’s neck, but it was one enormous step closer. And when I got that pendant off . . . I could keep her.
For the past eighteen years, I had dreaded the day Evangeline’s mortal human body withered and aged, the day I was forced to lower her into the ground—a mother’s worst nightmare. But now, I could keep my sweet little girl with me forever. Once I figured out how to get that pendant off her, she was free to become one of us. And as long as Caden survived, I knew there was nothing she’d want more.
Mortimer’s booming voice disrupted my reverie. “Do you know what this means?” His tone was heading in a direction I knew very well: fury. He moved to tower over me. “Veronique could be released right here—right now!”
“If it meant Evangeline wouldn’t die then yes, that’s what it would mean,” I answered coolly, meeting his glare. “But that’s not possible and so you will wait.”
He wasn’t backing down. “You can’t keep us within these walls forever.”
“Oh, but I can,” I answered with cold certainty.
“You have to give in soon,” Viggo’s voice joined Mortimer’s like an echo. “You can’t protect everyone all the time.” His calculating eyes flitted toward Caden, who only glared back. “Accidents happen.”
He’s planning something and it involves Caden dying. My stomach tightened. The very idea terrified me. “Give in?” I repeated, feeling my lips stretch into a malicious smile. I would not allow him the satisfaction of rattling me. “Never,” I hissed.
“We’ll see,” Viggo sang, pulling out his cell phone. “Until then, I have some money to move . . . Ileana!” he bellowed, heading toward the library.
The grandfather clock gonged once. One a.m. “Where are you, Caden?” I whispered, wandering aimlessly, the size of this palace more daunting than usual. Since Viggo’s overt threat earlier today, I was especially vigilant in knowing the whereabouts of Evangeline’s friends at all times.
Viggo would have to be insane to do something to Caden or the others, I reminded myself. He needed me to get out of this building. He needed me to free Veronique. If he killed Caden, he was as good as dead. He realized that, didn’t he?
The truth was, I suspected Viggo was in fact insane. And now I couldn’t find Caden. Not in the cellar. Not in Evangeline’s room. Not in the atrium.
I wove in and out of rooms, stumbling upon Ratheus vampires everywhere as they inspected technology, rooted through closets, soaked in Jacuzzis, or otherwise distracted themselves with luxuries long since lost to them. It had taken almost a month of constant feeding, but finally they had ventured out to other parts of the building besides the cellar and the atrium, their thirst somewhat sated. Now most lingered in the inner rooms, keeping as far away from the paralyzing Merth boundary as possible. I was fine with that.
I pushed open the solid mahogany door leading into Leo’s quarters, a large room decorated with eighteenth century masculine flair. It sparked renewed frustration. I hadn’t talked to him since Viggo’s witch showed up a month ago. I had no idea how Evangeline was doing and it was driving me nuts. But at least I knew she was safe from this mess.
Leo’s room was empty. I turned to leave . . . and froze, my eyes noticing a pair of man’s black dress shoes poking out from the edge of the bed. A nauseating wave of déjà vu washed over me and I had to grab hold of the door frame for support. Please, no . . .
I ran and dove over the bed, coming face to face with flat, death-filled eyes. But not jade eyes. Not Caden’s eyes. They belonged to one of the other Ratheus vampires. A small sigh of relief escaped me. Only a small one, though, because I now had a new problem, I realized. Rolling off the bed, I squatted beside the male vampire and spotted two gaping holes in his neck where fangs had entered.
Murdered by his own kind. His own kind, who was now a mutant.
“Why would someone do that with all this human bl . . . ” my words drifted off.
To escape.
Oh, God. A mutant running loose in New York! Could it be? Had it gotten out yet?
Eyes wide with panic, I bolted out of Leo’s suite. How could I stop it? Where would it make its escape? Oh, God. I don’t know what to do. Overwhelmed by desperation, I did the only thing I could think of. “Mage!” I called out in a harsh whisper, hoping it wouldn’t attract Viggo or Mortimer’s attention. None of the Ratheus vampires would come—they seemed happy to keep their distance from their Council leader after witnessing her ruthlessly ending Lewis’s life.
No response. “Mage!” I called, a little louder.
“Yes?”
I whirled, teetering slightly as I lost my balance. I never lost my balance. Mage frowned as I stumbled. Jerking my chin toward Leo’s room, I grabbed her arm and led her to the body, afraid that any words would be overheard.
I watched the fire of rage alight in Mage’s black eyes as she stared at the body. “Jonah. He’s behind this,” she whispered hoarsely, adding, “I was afraid of this!”
“What? Why? Jonah’s already a mutant,” I said, confused. “He can already get out and you promised he wouldn’t try!”
“No, he wouldn’t defy me on his own. But if he could coerce a group to join him—”
“A group?” A new wave of panic hit me. “You mean there may be more mutants?”
“There most certainly are,” Mage answered. Her voice held no room for doubt.
“I have to find Caden.” What if someone targeted Caden? Or the others? Now it wasn’t just Viggo after him. It could be anyone!
“They’re in the theater,” Mage said. “Go find them and bring them back. We need all the help we can get. I’ll check around the building to see if there are any more bodies. I hope we can stop them before they escape.” I nodded, glad that Mage had swiftly and expertly taken control of the dilemma. She crouched down and shoved the body under the bed. “We’d better keep this under wraps for now. Who knows what Viggo and Mortimer will do when they find out.”
I knew. It would set them over the edge. It would be an excuse to break the truce, a way to force me to drop the Merth wall. Viggo would blame me for all this. He would punish me. He would attack.
I had to get to Evangeline’s friends before anyone else did.
I ran for the theater, bursting through the heavy black doors to see a curly blond head in the front row, giggling hysterically at the comedy on the screen. Three others flanked her. “Oh, thank God!” I exclaimed.
All four were instantly up and facing me, their eyes wide with concern. “Sofie! We’re not supposed to be talking to each other!” Amelie whispered. It was the first time she had spoken directly to me.
I took a deep, calming breath. “We have a problem.”
The icy breeze of a chilly December night caressed my cheek as I stood in the third floor room, staring at the gaping window. The wrought iron grill had served as nothing more than a minor inconvenience; the two center bars had been torn free.
The mutants had escaped.
“How many?” I asked, my voice hollow.
Beside me, Mage let out a heavy sigh. “Five.”
Five bloodthirsty, hideous mutants running loose in New York City. “What a disaster,” I moaned, rubbing my temples with my fingertips as if soothing a headache. If a vampire could actually develop a headache, this nightmare would certainly cause one. “I should have killed him when I had the chance.” I shot a reproachful glare at Mage.
“I agree. This is my fault. Jonah’s allegiance to me over the years was unwavering, which is why I protected him. But now . . . I’m sorry.”
Sorry wasn’t going to cut it. I threw my hand toward their escape route. “But now I have to go out there and hunt down five mutants before they wreak havoc on the city. Before the Sentinel finds out about them!” I was practically yelling now. “How the hell am I going to do that?”
“Get me past the Merth and I’ll help you,” Mage answered calmly.
I snorted. “Are you nuts? I’m not letting you out there!”
“You don’t have much choice, Sofie,” Caden murmured from his spot in the corner, where he’d been quietly observing our exchange. All four of Evangeline’s friends were there, their backs against the far interior wall as if lined up for a firing squad, their faces a row of grief-stricken masks.
“I think I have proven that I can control myself.” Mage folded her arms over her chest, her expression turning icy, eyes as dark as night holding mine. “Get me past these walls and I’ll help you. You have my word.”
“And what value is your word, exactly?”
Rage froze her face. “It is binding and unbreakable.”
I believed her. Instantly. And that terrified me. In the month that I had known her, she had exuded nothing but integrity. And I wasn’t easily fooled. Not like my na?ve, sweet Evangeline, who would approach a mewing lion caught in a trap. But still, to let Mage out . . .
“You can’t take on five mutants, Sofie,” Mage added softly. “You will fail. And you will die.”
And then none of you would see the outside of these walls and Veronique will sit in her tomb forever. She was right. Even with my magic, I’d be an idiot to think I could take on five desperate mutants, born from vampires each at least seven hundred years old. I had no choice. I had to take her with me.
I opened my mouth, about to concede, when the door suddenly flew open. I turned. Great. Stalker Barbie, I thought as Rachel stormed in.
“Quite the party in here!” Rachel exclaimed, tossing lush, jet-black hair over her shoulder. Her citrine eyes drifted over Amelie and Caden, oozing raw hatred as they touched her former lover. “Viggo will be happy to know you’re conspiring together. Breaking the truce—”
Fabulous. Another volcanic mess to clean up.
Luckily, the gaping window distracted her from spinning on her heels and running to tattle. She hesitantly stepped toward it, careful not to cross into the Merth perimeter. “I knew that bastard would get out eventually,” she muttered.
Was I the only one surprised by this?
“Rachel,” Mage began, stepping slowly toward the volatile vampiress, her head cocked innocently. “You should take a seat over there. Relax for a bit. Viggo has you working too hard.” Mage pointed to the red and burgundy-striped chair in the far corner. The one within the Merth boundary.
I studied Rachel’s pinched face, expecting to see her throw her head back, waiting for the cackle to fill the room. Instead, Rachel’s eyes drifted over toward the chair as if contemplating the idea. I watched her take a dozen steps forward—directly into the Merth. She dropped to the carpeted floor to lie in a heap, like a wet towel.
Dead silence followed as five vampires gaped at Rachel’s still body, shocked. Five vampires gaped. Not six, I noticed as I looked over to see Mage eyeing me guardedly. She wasn’t shocked that Rachel had taken her suggestion. She had expected it.
A strangled gasp escaped me, the answer suddenly so obvious. There was only one reason why Rachel would do something so stupid. She had been compelled. Compelling a vampire! That’s unheard of! “My, someone’s been keeping secrets after all, haven’t they?” I hissed, shifting my stance, suddenly on the defensive.
Mage’s mouth twisted. “I didn’t tell you because you wouldn’t trust me.”
“No shit,” I spat.
“Didn’t tell her what?” someone asked from the corner, either Bishop or Caden; I couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter. My attention was glued to the treacherous vampire who had just turned more deadly in the blink of an eye.
Mage answered with an exasperated groan. “We don’t have time for this. Viggo and Mortimer could be following any second—”
“Well then, you can just compel them into the Merth as well, can’t you!” Gasps of comprehension came from the others. My eyes remained locked on Mage’s. “So they don’t know what you’re capable of.” Interesting.
Mage pressed her lips together. “We’re wasting time.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and planted my feet firmly to the floor. I wouldn’t get another chance to force the truth out of Mage. It was now or never.
She exhaled in annoyance. “There are things I can do that no other vampire can. It’s because I am the first one. The vampire created by the Fates.”
“Things like what, exactly?” I pressed, silently muzzling my shock over her admission.
“Well, I can see and sense magic. You already know that, though.” There was that crooked little smile again. “I can also compel vampires.” Her black eyes roamed over to the others as they stifled exclamations. “I don’t do it often, though. I prefer not to.”
“No, you can’t,” Bishop said confidently, as if calling her bluff.
As a response, Mage waved her hand toward Rachel. It quashed further rebuttal.
“How could we not know this?” Fiona asked. Close beside Bishop, she clung tightly to his biceps.
Mage smiled again. “That’s part of the magic. You can’t feel it. It’s not like a human coming out of a daze. You feel perfectly normal. You feel as if the idea is yours. It’s a different type of compulsion. It’s more like I’m . . . originating . . . an idea in your head. One that becomes yours that you can’t possibly ignore. You have no idea that it’s actually mine.”
All five of us shuddered in unison.
“So all this time . . . ” I wracked my memory of the last month, searching for anything I had done out of character, choices I had made that may have been planted by Mage.
Mage was already vigorously shaking her head. “No. I stayed out of your head.”
“Bull!” the retort flew out of my mouth faster than even I had intended.
“I did!” Mage insisted. “Partly because it’s harder to influence a cross-breed such as yourself and Jonah. Partly because I knew you’d never trust me if I did.”
“And you think I’m going to trust you now?” I snorted mockingly.
“It doesn’t matter now.”
“How does you being able to insert thoughts into our head not matter?” Caden interjected before I could ask, his tone low, threatening. To say no one in the room was happy would be an understatement.
“Because . . . ” Mage paused, resignation settling on her face. She wasn’t used to divulging her secrets and it was clear she didn’t enjoy doing it. “Once you’re aware of what I can do, it’s no longer possible for me to do it without you seeing it for what it is, rendering it useless.”
Did I believe her? I wasn’t sure . . .
Mage smiled. “Why do you think Viggo has been so anxious to find out if I’m the original vampire? He knows what the original vampire can do.”
It made sense . . . Viggo evaded any questions I had about the first vampire, including what had happened to her. That sneaky bastard. He knew what Mage might be able to do to me and he didn’t warn me! I’d pay him back for that one.
“Speaking of Viggo,” Mage pressed, “we need to get going. Now. Before this mess gets any bigger than it already is.”
As usual, Mage was right. There were bigger issues to deal with for now. We both turned to stare at the window. My attention couldn’t help but drift over to Rachel lying on the floor. “You know I could leave you in limbo, caught within the Merth’s hold. Powerless,” I murmured.
“Yes, you could. But you won’t. You’re not an idiot. You realize having me as an ally is a better position to be in than otherwise,” Mage answered without missing a beat.
Check mark. Another right answer, Mage. “Fine.” I glanced back at Evangeline’s friends. Viggo could stumble on this at any moment, as Rachel had. If they duked it out, one of them would die. I couldn’t risk it, I decided. I guess it’s time to test out your blood theory, Mage. “We’re all going.”
“If I so much as think you’re getting out of line, I’ll instantly have you bound and gagged with magic,” I warned the five vampires standing in a row behind me, dressed head to toe in black to blend into the night like cat burglars. Purpose and exhilaration shone in their vibrant eyes. And fear. Such an uncommon emotion for a vampire, but we were all acutely aware of the consequences if we failed. Mage and I more so, given we knew the real truth behind Ratheus. I’d have to tell the rest of them eventually. Now was not the time.
“We’ll be fine!” Bishop assured me, waving away my concern. “Let’s go! I’m ready to kill some mutants.”
“I hope that’s all we kill,” Fiona muttered from his left side, not nearly as confident as her partner.
I glanced back at Caden and Amelie. “We’re good, honest!” Amelie exclaimed with a nervous smile. Caden attempted a reassuring grin but it came out looking like a grimace. No one was sure of this—except Mage. She seemed to hold confidence in them. They had been feeding nonstop for weeks now, gorging on enough blood to last most new vampires a year, at least, and that paralyzing lust that first consumed them did seem to be slowly vanishing. Now I glimpsed Amelie’s bubbly personality, Bishop and Fiona’s affectionate nuzzles, Caden’s gentle smile—the vampires Evangeline had fallen in love with. It was heartening to see what I thought forever gone now suddenly here and real. But could they handle what lay outside these walls?
Impatient, I glanced at my watch. Only a few hours until the city comes to life. The darkness would help hide the mutants. But with the sunrise . . . We needed to stop them. Tonight.
“How long before Mortimer and Viggo discover this window?” Mage asked.
I shrugged. “Soon. Or never.” They rarely toured the building. But now, with others wandering about, it was going to be hard to hide. “They will notice we’re gone as soon as they decide to go looking for us. Let’s get out before they start looking. Okay . . . you guys ready?” I asked Caden and his friends, feeling oddly elated. Hunting did that to me.
“Hell, yeah!” Bishop grinned boyishly.
“Yeah!” Amelie cheered, earning a groan from Caden.
“We’re not going clubbing, Amelie!”
Her plump lips turned down in a pout. “I know. It’s just . . . ”
Caden wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her an affectionate squeeze, smiling wickedly. He would be happy to see Jonah dead. Their pasts held a secret, I was sure of it.
I stepped to the edge of the Merth boundary. Rachel lay unmoving on the tiles nearby. Exactly how I should have left you from the beginning. I glanced back at Mage. She nodded and moved to stand beside me. Like two amiable women, we clasped hands and stepped forward.
A prickling sensation like a thousand tiny electric shocks instantly permeated my skin as I entered the Merth barrier. It wasn’t comfortable, but I knew it was nothing near the agony Mage was feeling right now. Like razor blades cutting into skin—that’s how they all described it.
The power of the Merth overwhelmed Mage’s body and it slackened and crumpled to the floor. I looked down at her frail little body. I could leave her here. It was a once in an eternity chance, and for a short second, I considered rolling the powerful, manipulative vampire over to lie beside Rachel. She’d never have the chance to insert anything into my head again.
Instead, I leaned forward and grabbed hold of her slender waist, heaved her up, and tossed her tiny body over my shoulder. I stepped onto the window ledge and paused, inspecting the dark alley below for any witnesses. None. Thankfully the mutants hadn’t busted out of a room facing onto Fifth Avenue.
At three storeys up, it was a long way down. For a human.
I jumped.
The heels of my boots cracked against the pavement beside a dumpster, the impact jarring my knees. Almost immediately, Mage was fully functional, pushing free of my grasp to stand beside me. She smoothed her black, mock turtleneck sweater. “Thank you for not stabbing me in the back.”
Despite myself, I grinned. “Anytime.”
Her eyes scanned the dark alley. “No bodies here. Good start.”
“Okay, wait right here. I have to get the others.” I hesitated. I had just unleashed a five thousand-year-old vampire with unique powers upon New York City and was about to leave her unchaperoned.
Mage rolled her eyes, such an uncharacteristic act for her. “Stop wasting time!”
I nodded once, then scaled the wall to get Evangeline’s friends.
True to her word, Mage didn’t abandon me while I transported the others down. Soon they stood with me in the dark alley, the ability to satisfy their insatiable thirst lying open ahead of them. No Merth held them back; nothing kept them from bolting. And yet each stood frozen in place. In control.
Fat snowflakes began floating from the sky to speckle our clothes and hair. The temperature was dropping rapidly. It was December, after all; almost Christmas. It would have been beautiful, if not for the situation. But at least the streets would be relatively quiet.
“Okay, so now what?” Amelie whispered, her large, emerald-green eyes widening as a late-night reveler passed the entrance to the alley.
“If you’d just escaped prison and were looking for fresh blood, where would you go?” Caden asked.
Great question. I began walking toward the street, the five of them trailing me like shadows in a V-pattern. I stopped when we reached the sidewalk and scanned the vicinity, analyzing every structure, every object, every movement. Across from us stretched Central Park. The trees along the edge were lined with thousands of twinkling lights to mark the holiday season but beyond them, the heart of the park was vast, shadowy, and concealed. The perfect place for a massacre. Would there be one there tonight? There had already been one small massacre in Central Park recently, the day Ursula and the Sentinel attacked Evangeline.
My stomach instantly twisted into knots, remembering the day I almost lost her. Had it not been for Max, I would have. I was busy appeasing Viggo and Mortimer, toiling with my magical weaves to give the illusion that I was trying to solve Evangeline’s next steps on Ratheus. I wasn’t doing that. I already knew the answer to that. I was busy trying to dismantle the entire spell when the normally obedient girl hoodwinked Leo, turned Max’s allegiance, and snuck out.
Would Central Park appeal to the mutants? Every direction one turned was crawling with fresh, warm blood. Did the mutants have the sense to hide their faces? I pricked my ears, listening for the bloodcurdling screams I expected to come from any human encountering those demonic white eyes. Nothing. That was a good sign. But it wouldn’t last long.
“Let me try something,” I murmured, calling on my magic for a spell weave I had discovered in my regular witch years. It was the result of a moment of madness, after I’d accused Nathan of cheating on me because he refused to convert me. He had taken off in a huff. In a fit of fear-filled rage, I’d concocted a tracker spell and used it to find him in the woods nearby, feeding on a coyote. I wasn’t sure if it would work on mutants, but it was worth a shot.
I stepped back into the alley, not wanting to attract attention. Gathering a hundred helixes together, I held my hands out in front of me. The tiny purple coils appeared between my fingers for all to see. I began weaving them together in an intricate figure eight pattern until both sides were perfectly symmetrical. There. Now for something to track. To find Nathan, I had used his scent as the target—easy, because his scent lived on everything I owned. But now I had no scent to track the mutants. An idea struck me.
“Quick. I need blood,” I called out. Mage’s hand was there in an instant, a sharp piece of metal in her other hand. “On the links. Lots of it.” She ran the jagged edge across her wrist without flinching, opening up a wide gash. Blood streamed out onto the magical links, saturating them before her wrist naturally healed over. “That’s good. Thanks.” I hoped it would work, given I had used vampire blood instead of human. There was a chance the links would pick up on regular human-to-human violence in the city. Still, it was the best option. I broke the figure eight in half, flinging one bloody, glowing half outward.
“Wow,” Fiona and Amelie murmured in unison, watching it float away. The guys were busy surveying the streets, Caden with his arms folded tightly over his chest and Bishop with his hands deep in his pockets, rocking back and forth. Both looked anxious but completely in control. This was a good sign.
“It’s a tracker,” I explained. “Not exactly subtle, but anyone out at this time will be too drunk or high to be suspicious.” Unless they recognize magic. My eyes shifted nervously to the trees across the street, watching for movement within the shadows. The foliage had long-since disappeared into a mass of blackness—perfect cover.
“Pretty, isn’t it?” Mage observed, interrupting my paranoia. “Should you make a couple more, just in case?”
I nodded. A regular sorceress would be foolish to use her magic in this way, knowing she was going into battle. It took a significant amount of magical reserves. But I had more than enough helixes floating around my body. I went to work, sending two more tracker links out within seconds to do our bidding. “There. When the links find fresh blood, they send back a message to their sister-half.”
“So, now what?” Mage asked, hawk-like eyes surveying the street.
I drew the three links from my hand around my wrist. To anyone without a clue, they looked like purple glow-in-the-dark bracelets, the kind teenagers wore to raves. Except they were covered in blood. “Now we wait.”
Approaching heels clicked against the sidewalk. We all turned to see a young woman in a long dark trench coat and woven red beret hurry past, her furtive eyes glancing down the alley to see six people staring back. She sped up, casting a worried glance over her shoulder at us. That was the worst thing a person could do with a group of vampires behind her. I shifted my weight, ready to ground them with magical ropes if necessary. But they remained still, Amelie admiring the woman’s leather boots. Not even one vein pulsated in their eyes. I began to relax. Maybe Mage was right . . .
Bright purple light began flashing in the alley. I looked down at the helix links. One’s identical twin had found fresh blood; it was pulling me to the right. “Come,” I hissed, magical bolts of fire ready at my fingertips as I set off at a brisk pace. The streets were nearly empty at this hour. Thank God. We passed ten people in the first block. Each time, my attention bounced from the passerby’s face and hands—looking for signs of a Sentinel spy—to the five vampires traveling with me, assessing everyone’s level of control. Each time, Mage turned to meet my gaze, to assure me, “They’ll be fine.” It wasn’t much, but it was the support I needed.
As if we’d walked into a solid wall, all six of us suddenly stopped, hit with the pungent scent of freshly spilled blood. Both Amelie and Fiona let out cries of pain, the crushing urge to feed catching them unprepared. Caden and Bishop each threw their hands out to grab them by their shoulders.
“I’m okay!” Amelie cried, though her emerald-green eyes were morphing. I checked all of their eyes. They had all morphed, but none were quite so full of veins as before. That was a good sign. It meant they had some level of control.
I moved ahead, hugging the wall so closely that my shoulder grazed the bricks, gaining distance from the others as they hung back. The link was pulling me to an alley ahead. What would I find there? Jonah and his posse of mutants? No; trapping and disposing of them all in an alley would be too easy. I slowed to a creep, edging forward until I could peek around the corner into the darkness. No mutants, from what I could see. Two fire sparks instantly ignited at my fingertips, though. I wasn’t taking any chances.
Caden and Bishop came up and flanked either side of the alley. With boyish, commando-like signals, they waved me through.
“How about we stay on guard out here,” Mage suggested, her arms linked through Fiona and Amelie’s.
I nodded and entered the alley alone, heading toward the dumpster in the back corner. My stomach sank as I spotted a trail of red leather, torn and bloodied. It led to the far side of the dumpster, to a pair of long, pale, female legs, lying in a pool of blood. Evangeline’s precious face flooded my mind then, paralyzing me for a moment. I forced myself to continue to the other end of the dumpster and looked down. My teeth clenched so tightly, I thought they would crack.
There could be no doubt: this was the work of newborn mutants.
By the silky material around the woman’s thighs, I could tell she had been out enjoying New York’s nightlife. Her last night out. From what I could see of her face, she looked young, no more than eighteen. My heart instantly swelled for her parents. This girl was someone’s Evangeline.
Mage suddenly appeared beside me to observe the body, but only lasted a second before turning around and stalking to the other side of the alley, the blood no doubt the cause of that. “We need to keep moving,” she said through tight lips, adding, “fast. If anyone finds that . . . ” She didn’t need to finish. I knew what would happen. It would make front page news.
I sighed, then muttered, “We can’t leave her here.” We couldn’t have this much attention this close to Viggo and Mortimer’s place. The Sentinel would certainly put two and two together, if they hadn’t already.
“Then you had better do something, and quick. They’re likely still traveling in a pack. They wouldn’t think to do otherwise right now. But soon enough, they’ll scatter.”
And then we’d have five mutants heading in five different directions. I brushed away the giant snowflake that had landed on my nose as I weighed my options. I couldn’t burn the body; the smoke and flames would draw too much notice. And cloaking spells were temporary. I didn’t have time to weave the spell that would mask the evidence properly. Those kinds of spells took more time than we had. I looked at the dumpster. A very unimaginative, human way of disposing of a body.
“I’m sorry for this,” I whispered, throwing open the top of the large green bin. Delicately, careful not to soil my clothes—I enjoyed blood as much as the next vampire, but I didn’t enjoy bathing in it—I hoisted the body up and tossed her in, rubbing my hands to get all evidence of blood off afterward. There. At least when she was discovered, it would take time to trace her back to here. I assessed the blood pool on the pavement. Perhaps I could lift it all—
The second link on my wrist began flashing brilliantly. More fresh blood. The third one went off immediately after. A lot of fresh blood. All thoughts of this crime scene vanished, driven out by fear of what lay ahead. I ran to the others.
“Where to now?” Mage asked, faint red lines still marring her almond-shaped eyes.
“This way. Quick,” I ordered.
We followed the pull of the links for thirteen blocks, ending up in another alley, in front of a gray steel door, where the scent of blood infused the air. My tongue curled, the coppery taste filling my mouth. I turned to see five sets of eager eyes. “Whatever is behind this door could be hard to handle,” I warned.
Fiona and Amelie clasped hands. “We’re ready this time,” Amelie said with stoic conviction.
Caden reached out to grasp the handle. “It’s locked.” With a nod to me, he swung his long leg at the door. It caved in with a loud creak, the frame twisting so badly that the door simply fell over. We stepped down a set of stairs and into a dank concrete hallway. The weak fluorescent bulbs shook violently with each beat of the music pounding in the underground club ahead. They illuminated four large, mangled male bodies sprawled on the dirty concrete, their freshly spilled blood splattered along the walls like abstract art. Their size identified them as the bouncers. The mutants had carved through them effortlessly.
“Keep moving!” I shouted, grabbing hold of Fiona and leading the way to a second set of doors at the end of the hall. I looked over my shoulder to find the rest following, struggling but somehow bypassing the bloodied bodies, Caden with steely eyes and a hand hooked around his sister’s arm.
Swallowing the lump forming in my throat, I listened intently at the doors. I heard no screams, no moans, just hammering music. What would we find on the other side, a mass killing ground? These late-night parties held hundreds, if not thousands of young people. Thousands of fast-beating hearts pumping fresh, warm blood through millions of veins—could the mutants control themselves?
I squeezed the metal door handle. The door popped open, the previously muffled music now exploding through the crack as I peered inside—at a sea of moving, gyrating bodies. I breathed a sigh of relief. No mass killing here. Yet. It was a late-night rave in the giant, low-ceilinged basement of a building, complete with a smoke machine, kaleidoscopic light show, and a dense crowd of wasted revelers. The perfect plucking ground for a hungry vampire.
The six of us quickly slipped through the entrance. Bishop closed the door behind him, bending the door frame to jam it so no one could exit through that doorway and find the bouncers’ bodies. I spent a few moments scanning the crowd for our repulsive targets but soon realized it would be impossible to find them while standing here, even with our abilities.
“We need to split up,” Caden yelled, echoing my thoughts.
Mage gestured to Bishop and Fiona and pointed to the right. Caden and Amelie followed me as I headed along the left perimeter.
“See? We are going clubbing after all!” Amelie chirped as we wove through the edge of the crowd. I couldn’t help but smile.
The place reeked of sweat, booze, and vomit but no one seemed to care; all were too engrossed in bumping and turning into each other. As a human teenager growing up in nineteenth-century France, my nights had consisted of reading books by kerosene lamp and the occasional ball or late evening picnic—nothing like this. I’d quite happily kept Evangeline away from this scene, not wanting her exposed to deadly drugs. Ironic, really, given all the other deadly things she was now exposed to, thanks to me.
A young girl of no more than seventeen, dressed in a tight, microscopic white dress, suddenly flew out of the crowd to throw her arms around Caden. “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on!” she shouted, her voice slurred.
Caden smiled politely while gently extricating himself from her arms. “I’m flattered, but I already have someone.”
Unwilling to take no for an answer, the girl leapt at him. I think she tried to lay a kiss on his mouth but, in her drunken state, missed and buried her face in his shoulder instead. A tiny hand reached out and grabbed a handful of the girl’s long, straight brown hair. “He said he’s taken. Back off!” Amelie yelled. With a flick of her delicate wrist, she sent the girl flying backward into the crowd; she took several revelers down like dominoes as she plowed into them.
“Come on!” I grabbed them both and pulled them ahead of me, hoping to get away before a fight broke out. Only ten feet away, we passed a group of young men leaning against the wall, and I sensed their despicable intentions as their eyes appraised Amelie and me. I recognized their type immediately—they would lure a woman into a quiet location to have their way with her. Normally, I’d respond by batting my eyes—I enjoyed baiting my meal. But not tonight. Tonight I needed to deal with five other vile creatures, and it wasn’t for pleasure. It was for survival.
Amelie read their lewd intentions as well and, unfortunately, she wasn’t as focused. Lunging at one of the men, she easily pinned him up against the wall and bared her teeth in a snarl. Caden yanked her off before she could take a chunk out of the guy’s neck; before anyone could see her eyes morph.
“Amelie!” I barked, pushing her forward. “We don’t have time for this! I’ll put you on a leash if you don’t behave.”
“Sorry,” she muttered with a sheepish smile, her irises quickly reverting to their girlish green. We continued along the perimeter of the room, Caden now with one hand firmly locked on his feisty sister’s shoulder.
My own eyes roamed the crowd, searching in vain for any sign of the mutants. Happily, there hadn’t been an attack yet. They were showing restraint. But I knew they were here. There was no way they could pass up a thriving scene like this.
We passed a young blonde man and my eyes locked with his as he attempted a covert look-over while taking a drink. It was enough for me to catch the small mark on his hand—a deformed cross. The Sentinel were here, too. They must be watching us. Too coincidental to be otherwise. Great. Well, as long as they remained watchful and nothing more, we would have no trouble with them tonight. I continued shifting through the crowd, marking the Sentinel’s location for future reference.
And then I spotted them—two people hunched over in the shadows of a dark corner, their black hoodies pulled up to conceal their faces. But their eyes couldn’t be hidden. Demonic white eyes peered out from the darkness, delightedly studying the crowds, scouting their next victims. Mutants. There were only two, though. Where were the other three? I grabbed Caden’s arm. “To your left. By the speakers.” Caden’s eyes quickly zoned in and his body jerked forward to attack. I squeezed his arm, stopping him. “If the others see us, they’ll escape. We need to find them all first.”
“I’ll watch from here,” Amelie offered, her eyes shifting over to the group of lewd guys by the wall.
“Amelie!” I warned sternly.
“I know, don’t kill them,” she drawled, rolling her eyes like a petulant teenager.
With that, Caden and I slid through the crowd toward the mutants, separating as we got closer and surveying the area around them for the others.
I was perhaps twenty feet away when the first waves of magic hit me. Someone was casting a spell. I searched the crowd for the source, and immediately locked eyes with Mage as she pushed her way toward me. Her panicked expression told me she could feel it too. “We have to get out of here,” I mouthed to her. She jerked her chin toward the nearest exit. I nodded, and turned to locate Caden and Amelie.
I came face to face with cloudy irises. A man stood two feet away, average-looking and on the smaller side, staring at me with empty, dead eyes—not dazed as if compelled; dead.
I turned in a full circle, seeing the others closing in, encircling us—eight zombie-like men in total. I watched with odd fascination as three hands floated up to seize my shoulders and arm. The instant their fingers made contact, I felt it—magic, oozing out of them. No emotions. No intentions. Magic. They were under a witch spell. What kind, I had no idea. Something hypnotic and very powerful.
I reached up and picked off one of the hands, quickly scanning it for markings before I dropped it. No Sentinel cross. These were just plain old humans under the spell of a witch, obviously intent on getting to me. It had to be Ursula.
I twisted and shook my body to toss the other two hands off me. I began moving forward, trying to push through the circle. The man directly in front of me reached toward the back pocket of his jeans. His hand returned, brandishing a knife. I couldn’t help it, I laughed. What did that idiot Ursula think a knife would do?
I prepared for the zombie’s clumsy lunge, one I could easily outmaneuver. Only it didn’t come. Instead, he turned the blade toward his own wrist and slid it across his flesh. Just as Mage had done earlier. Blood immediately poured out—fresh human blood. Ursula’s trying to get me to attack, cause a scene, reveal myself for what I am. My control was too strong for that. But there were ten vampires in here who could not say the same.
“No!” I screamed, sensing someone rushing in from my left—Amelie, unprepared for the sudden rush of fresh blood. Caden was immediately behind her, and gripped her in a headlock to restrain her. Her arms flailed wildly, her clawed hands scratching the air as she screamed in frustration.
The crowd was moving back as people sensed the commotion, saw the man’s wrist, the blood. If we could just get out of here . . . The glint of a new blade caught the corner of my eye. I turned to see the other zombies brandishing knives as well. With quick, intentional movements, seven more wrists were opened. The overpowering scent of blood hit me like a blow to the face. And then a shrill scream cut through the deafening music.
On the other side of the zombie circle, Bishop was holding back an equally ferocious Fiona. By the pained expression on his face, he was fighting his own urge. He wouldn’t be able to hold himself off much longer. We had to contain this mess now.
And just like that, it was too late. Four mutants dove into the circle before me, the fresh blood luring them. They attacked the bleeding men like hungry wolves, tearing and slashing with their teeth and hands. Drunk and stoned patrons stampeded toward the various exits, crawling, pushing, and screaming the entire way. Most couldn’t know what was happening, what with the strobe lights still pulsating and the music still pounding, the effects challenging their eyes and ears. But their human instincts told them to run and so they ran. Pandemonium had officially broken out.
Mage stepped in behind two of the mutants, too distracted by their victims to notice her. Her hands reached toward their backs, and their bodies arched, then toppled to the ground, leaving Mage with fists full of bloody hearts. Quick and definitive. Purposeful, that was Mage. Throwing the mutant hearts to the ground by my feet, she swiftly dispatched the other two mutants, equally engrossed and oblivious to what was happening. She tossed their hearts to join the others then, looking up at me, mouthed the order, “Burn it all.”
So much for a covert operation. But it needed to be done. All of this evidence needed to disappear without delay. Pushing Caden and Amelie back, I pulled forward a few dozen helixes and wove a fire spell, one hot enough to incinerate bones. I blasted the pile of bodies—both mutant and zombie. In seconds, nothing but ash remained.
A vast, empty basement now surrounded us, the music and lights still playing but no humans left. Caden and Bishop had their arms wrapped around the girls, who had calmed considerably. Everyone observed the bonfire with faces filled with quiet worry.
The music suddenly cut off, and I turned to see Mage stepping away from the speakers, still gripping torn power cords. “Jonah wasn’t here,” she announced. One mutant was still loose. Better than four, but still. He was free to roam New York City, to be noticed. “Did you see the witch?” Mage asked me. “I couldn’t find her anywhere.”
I shook my head. I had assumed it was Ursula before, but something about this told me it was bigger than a jealous witch out to get me. Whoever it was, they were clearly intent on revealing vampires to the world. “It’s time we got back home,” I said. Home. What a strange term for our Fifth Avenue vampire asylum. But it was the safest place for us to be right now. We needed to strategize. We needed an escape plan. And it was time everyone learned the truth about Ratheus.