I hesitated, then thumped at the window.
Neither of them seemed to care. He sucked more and more. Was she becoming pale? I thumped the window again, harder. Nothing. She wrapped her hands around his head, pulling him toward her, instead of pushing him away. What the hell was happening? Horrified, I watched the vampire about to drain my friend dry. My heart beat wildly, my breathing shallow, a bitter taste in my mouth.
The fear pulsed in me, in my hands, and before I could stop it, my right hand burst into flames, burning the glove off instantly. I quickly let go of the rope, clutching it only with my left hand and my legs. An orange glowing spot materialized where the flame had touched it, a wisp of smoke rising from it. But it held.
My left hand became infernally hot as well. Pulling back my burning fist, I hit the window as hard as I could. I heard the glass crack slightly.
Sinead’s eyes sharpened. She glanced at the window, saw my face, my blazing hand, then gaped downward, at the head of Maximillian Fuchs.
She yanked him back and pushed herself away. I let out a small breath of relief. The vampire seemed dazed, confused. My potion had done its job.
Sinead fumbled at her ear, and suddenly I could hear her heavy breathing in my earphone. She had unmuted the chat.
“I’m fine,” she mumbled, sounding far from fine.
Her voice calmed me down enough to quench the flames on my hand. I could only hope none of the guards below had seen this momentary flicker of fire. I glanced at the vampire. “He isn’t,” I said. “He drank much more than he should have. He’ll fall asleep in a few seconds. Get the combination from him, now!”
She nodded at me through the window, then turned her eyes to Maximillian.
“Maximillian,” she said. “I have a question for you.”
“Wha…?” His voice was heavy, sleepy.
“There’s a combination to the vault’s door, Maximillian. I want to know what it is.”
“I shouldn’t have drunk so much,” he mumbled. “But you tasted so good. I need more.” He fumbled toward her.
She gently held him back. “Soon, darling,” she said. “But first I just need to know this one small thing. And then you can drink your fill. What’s the combination to the vault door?”
“The combination?” His eyes were closing.
“That’s right, darling. Just give me the combination.”
“It’s four digits.”
“Okay. What are they?”
“It’s… hang on. The room is spinning.”
“You’re very tired, Maximillian. Just give me the combination, and you can sleep.”
“It’s… six… three…”
He tumbled to the floor, his arms spread to the side, a trickle of Sinead’s blood on his lip. He was unconscious, and he had given us only half the combination.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Through the glass pane, my eyes met Sinead’s. For a second, it seemed as if she were about to cry. Then her jaw clenched firmly, and she studied the unconscious vampire at her feet.
“Do you think we’ll be able to wake him?” she asked, her voice soft in my earphone.
“Not likely. That was a powerful soporific, and he ingested a lot more than I had intended. Can you stand up?”
“Sure.” She rose to her feet and then gasped, and wobbled.
“Sit down before you faint,” I hissed at her. “You lost a lot of blood.”
She sat back on the sofa. There were twin puncture marks on the top of her breast, and a trickle of blood ran down from it to her dress. She was definitely pale, and her eyes fluttered. She looked like she was about to faint, and my heart plunged. But then she stilled herself, palms on the sofa, and began breathing deeply, shutting her eyes.
“Take your time,” I said.
“Said the girl hanging ten yards above the ground, waiting for me to move,” she mumbled.
“I’m very comfortable here, don’t worry about it.” But now that she mentioned it, I suddenly noticed how tired my muscles were. I shifted my grip on the rope, transferring some of the weight to my legs. I would have to climb up to the roof soon.
“Okay.” She opened her eyes. Very slowly, she stood up, stilling herself against the bedpost. She approached the unconscious Maximillian, and crouched by his side. Her movements were slow, and her fingers trembled. She began going through his clothing, finally retrieving a keycard from his right pants pocket.
“Okay, got it,” she said.
“Good.” Harutaka’s voice buzzed in our ears. “Sinead, the door to the greenhouse is not far from where you are. There is no one on your floor, you’re good.”
“See you in a bit.” I smiled at her encouragingly. Then I began climbing again. My muscles were trembling, but it was still an easy climb. In the background, I heard Harutaka guiding Sinead through the house, and her answers. Her voice sounded a bit more firm, or at least that’s what I wanted to believe.
I reached the ledge of the roof in three seconds. Kane crouched above me and offered me his hand. I took it, and he hauled me up. For a moment we stood facing each other, him holding my right hand, his breath heavy and warm. Then I pulled away.
“Thanks. I need another glove.”
He wordlessly produced a pair of gloves from the bag, and I took the one for my right hand. I’d anticipated this sort of accident as well, though this was the only spare we had.
I looked for the edge of the rope. It was attached to a small pipe on the roof’s surface, my chain coiled tight around it. I grabbed the rope, and touched my chain gently. It quickly slid up my hand, and twisted back into a bracelet. I retied the rope to the pipe, this time without my chain. Then I began pulling it up.
“What will we do about the password?” Kane asked me.
“Plan B,” I said shortly.
Isabel cleared her throat. “I told you, I don’t know if it can be done.”
“You can do it.” Coiling the rope calmed my frayed nerves. I began feeling a bit better. The password was a small setback, nothing more. “Did you find the greenhouse door?”
“It’s over there,” Isabel said, pointing in the darkness.
I followed her finger with my eyes, saw the large glass dome of the dragon’s greenhouse about twenty yards away. I finished coiling the rope and put it on the roof’s surface. “Let’s go.”
I led the way, Kane and Isabel walking silently in tow. We reached the door and I peered inside through the glass. It was hard to see anything in the dark, but I spotted a murky figure making her way to us slowly. It was Sinead. She reached the door, and searched around her. Finally, she pressed a button on the wall, and the door clicked, opening slightly.
The way into the mansion was unlocked.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The greenhouse was humid and warm. The relief of being away from the cold night air evaporated almost instantly, replaced by a sense of stuffiness and discomfort. The others shuffled past me as I hugged Sinead gently.
“How are you holding up?” I asked in a low voice.
“A bit dizzy,” she answered. “I’ll be good once I rest a bit.”