Chapter Six
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Just before dusk, the group gathered in a covered parking lot, several blocks from the warehouse identified by Dr. Deats. A recon team, which included Viper, Calum, and Quentin, had already confirmed the vampires were inside, with human guards patrolling the outside of the building.
Ginnie fought the need to fidget. Her nerves were stretched to the point of breaking.
Clouds muted the intensity of the sun while rain fell steadily around them. All was quiet while vampires, wearing protective gear to ward against the waning sun’s rays, settled into positions on the roofs of neighboring buildings with crossbows, ready to eliminate any who tried to take to the sky, and dart guns to neutralize any humans who got in the way of Navarro’s small army.
Calum’s packmates were already stripped, ready to move out in wolfskin once the order to attack was given. They’d be among the first to enter the warehouse, with orders to take out as many of the vampires inside as they could—a command that already had them eagerly snarling.
The waiting vampires were armed with a variety of weapons—guns, bows, and wooden stakes for close-in combat.
Ginnie hoped the wolves would know who was friend and foe. Calum had suggested all the vampires in their group wear sashes soaked in lavender, a token wolves in his clan provided the humans who lived among them when they ran as a pack.
For the moment, Ginnie stood beside Calum. Also gathered nearby were the O’Haras and the Albermarles, along with Navarro and Viper—all looking sober, their jaws taut.
The last of the day’s lethargy leached away. Ginnie’s heart thudded faster. She turned to watch through the entrance of the garage as dusk deepened. Any minute now, Navarro would give the order to move out. She wondered why he waited at all. The combatants were alert. Ready. Cloaked against the sun. They wouldn’t have an advantage for much longer.
A car turned into their garage. Doors opened. Navarro strode toward two men as they climbed out.
He reached out his hand and grasped the first man around the forearm, then turned to the other to offer the same strange shake.
Both of the newcomers were talk and dark. Their hair was long, stretching past their shoulders. Their clothing was black, and at their sides, they wore swords in scabbards. Old school, she mused. Friends of Navarro’s, so likely more vampires. From Navarro’s greeting, she wondered if they were masters, and why they hadn’t attended the meeting the previous night.
The three strode back to their group.
“This is Magnus,” Navarro said, waving a hand toward the very tall, very handsome man.
The man nodded, and his eyes flashed a deep, glowing blue.
“And Garron…” Navarro indicated the more rugged-looking man. “Garron Albermarle.” His gaze went to Quentin.
“Garron…” Frowning, Quentin shook his head. “A Garron was—”
“We’re related. A tale for another night,” Garron said, a small smile curving the corners of his mouth as he stared at Quentin. “Suffice it to say, my wife is as eager as I am to speak with you. Maddie will be ready to swoop in the moment the child is recovered.”
Darcy’s lips lifted, and she snarled.
Navarro reached out and gripped both of her wrists. “You have more friends than you know. We’ll do everything we can to save your son.”
Viper cleared his throat. “Everyone’s here, then?”
After a final scan of the group, Navarro nodded. “Give the order to move out.”
Viper blurred away. Vampires gathered at the different street-side exits lowered the visors on their helmets.
Ginnie quickly flipped down hers, and then waited as Calum gave the order for the wolves to transform. Then he tugged off his shirt and closed his eyes. Inside one breath, fur sprouted, and his snout lengthened. On two feet, he ran toward the head of his pack and led them out the door.
A soft explosion sounded, and Ginnie swung around, just in time to see Magnus bare-chested and popping wings. Her breath caught as he stretched them then quickly furled them together. Old school, indeed.
He gave her wink.
Then the group moved forward, the leadership running in front of the first wave, the women just steps behind—Emmy on Darcy’s heels. Ginnie would keep close to the two women in case anything went wrong. She’d have to trust that Calum could handle himself and his wolves.
They raced toward the warehouse at the end of the block, spreading out as they drew near. The sleeping bodies of the human guards were piled in front of the entrance. The wolves and first vampires moved them aside to clear the way.
The wind kicked up, sending rain like a battering wave against them. Soaked through, Ginnie shivered and pressed closer. She carried stakes in a notched belt and a crossbow slung over her left shoulder. She’d trained with both, but knew the fight would be closer and more personal—probably hand-to-hand. She felt no fear, only a slow dread that built the closer she drew to the darkened warehouse.
Navarro positioned himself to the side of a big sliding door.
The wolves stood ready, heads low to the ground, growls building in their chests. The moment Navarro pulled back the door, they shot through the opening and disappeared into the darkness.
Calum gave her a quick, hard glare with his mirrored gaze—a warning to be safe—and ducked through the opening.
The vampires swept inside the moment the pack disappeared.
The interior of the building was huge and cavernous, with offices near the back, enclosed spaces where they knew the creature was being held and hoped the child might be found.
The vampires flooded the interior of the building, moving toward the darkened back, and glass broke above them as vampires crashed through the high windows to fall to the floor below.
From deep inside the warehouse came a rumbling roar—many voices, a frightening pounding of feet. A dark horde of shadowed figures emerged from the darkness, guns and stakes raised in fists as they met the intruders.
The shouts and screams lifted the hairs on the back of her neck. Ginnie hugged the side of one wall, keeping just a step behind the two women as they rushed around the edge of their force. Several of the enemy peeled away to pursue them.
Ginnie ripped a stake from a belt loop and faced two. One circled around her back, while the other smiled at her face. She took deep breaths, aware of the movement of air behind her, because the roaring sounds made it impossible to track the one behind her. The one in front, who wore spiked hair and too many earrings, darted toward her, then back, goading her and laughing as she jerked forward then back.
They circled, and she felt air puff against her cheek. She crouched, balancing on one foot and struck out the other foot, hitting the one behind her in the knee with a boot. He went down, clutching his knee, and she jumped upward to land in the center of his chest then drove her stake toward his heart. His body poofed beneath hers, his clothing falling against the concrete empty. She turned to give his friend a narrowed glare.
He swallowed then bared his teeth and roared. When he ran for her, she stepped aside, turning slightly and struck out her arm, her stake dusting him.
She glanced to the other women, who’d just ended their own adversaries. They continued skirting the action, then shot past into an empty area toward the rear lit by a single bulb on a dangling cord.
Darcy pulled ahead and rushed toward a doorway in the partitioned-off area of the back. The door splintered beneath her boot as she kicked it open. She disappeared inside.
Emmy took a deep breath and followed.
Ginnie turned to make sure no one was behind them, and then entered a narrow hallway, passing empty, glassed-in offices. Above them, the ceiling was open to the high rafters.
She pulled her bow forward and pointed it toward the ceiling, worried a creature might swoop in from the shadowed space above. Still, she moved on stealthy feet behind the women toward a chain link wall that stretched across the back of the office area.
Darcy yanked on a padlock and tore open a gated doorway. Then she sped forward into the caged area.
Ginnie touched Emmy’s back, to keep moving forward as she scanned the ceiling, listening for any sounds other than the scuffling of their own booted heels as they moved deeper into the space.
At the end of the cage, tucked into a corner, stood a large Plexiglas enclosure.
They paused, staring into the darkness, noting thick chains descending from the rafters and passing through two square openings in the top of the Plexiglas prison. Following the chains, Ginnie saw the huddled figure on the far side of the enclosure and knew they’d found the ancient creature Zachary had used to produce his evil formula.
“The baby’s not here,” Emmy said. “Leave her for now. Let’s keep searching.” She pulled on Darcy’s arm.
As one, the three women turned, ready to explore the other end of the large caged area, marked off with gates—separated storage areas, perhaps. Ginnie began to have doubts they’d find the child here.
Then a flap sounded from above.
Tensing, she raised her bow and sighted into the darkness, looking for the outline of wings.
Another flap sounded behind them.
Whirling around, she saw two winged vampires crouching on the edge of the Plexiglas. With no time to perfect her aim, she blindly let the first arrow fly.
Laughter echoed as the creatures darted back toward the rafters.
Darcy lifted her head and howled.
“Not now, baby,” Emmy said, her voice soothing. “Keep yourself together.”
But Darcy’s howl stretched into a bloodcurdling roar. Her body began crackling, fur sprouted, and her snout thrust outward. White fangs gleamed in the darkness as she leapt onto the top of the cage and crouched there, her snout pointed toward the rafters, no doubt pulling in the vampires’ scent.
“Fuck,” Emmy muttered. “I’ll stay with her. You have to check the rest of the cages.” She shoved against Ginnie’s shoulders.
Knowing Emmy was right, that she didn’t dare leave Darcy to her own devices, Ginnie still dreaded continuing on by herself. This plan wasn’t smart, splitting up like this. But then she caught a couple of faint odors—ammonia and baby talc—and she knew the risk was worth the danger. She moved past what appeared to be large storage lockers, filled with shelving units, all the while noting her surroundings.
At the same time, thoughts of the past surfaced. Every breath she’d taken since the night her family was savaged had led to this night. If she could save the small boy, then maybe she could shed some of the guilt that weighed her down from her failure to keep little Denny alive. That terrible night, she’d tried so hard, had hidden him at the back of his closet underneath a pile of clothing, and then distracted Zachary’s minions by giving them another target—herself.
But after bleeding her, they’d heard Denny’s whimpers. He hadn’t lasted a minute—a blessing, she supposed. While she’d been too weakened to protect him, she’d watched as his thin body had been shredded.
Darcy’s son wouldn’t die this night. Not when she could do something to save him. Her resolve firm, she sped to the cage at the end. The space was as dark as midnight on a moonless night. Even with her vampire vision, she couldn’t discern shadows inside the small, cramped space. But she did hear a beating heart. No…two. She tensed and drew in a silent breath.
Dropping to her knees, she removed her helmet, set aside her bow, snatched a stake from her belt, and crawled silently inside.
The battle raged all around him, but Zachary’s youthful crew wasn’t a seasoned fighting force. Nor were they intended to win this battle. Something Calum concluded as soon as the fight began. They were merely a screen, a diversion to keep the wolves and the vampires busy while something else was afoot.
Above! Look above!
He heard the shout inside his head, but he didn’t have time to curse the fact one of the vampires used his special gift. Casting a glance upward, he stilled, his heart thudding against his chest, as he saw first one, then another and another winged creature drop from the rafters above.
He cursed the fact wolves, when fully turned, weren’t reasoning creatures. Too busy milling through the vampires in front of them, they eagerly crunched through bones, mauled skin, and howled as their victims’ screams filled the air.
“Where the hell did the women go?” Quentin shouted above the din.
Calum spotted the women skirting the battle and heading to the rear, but he couldn’t relate that message, not while partially turned. So, he ran to Quentin, wrapped his long, taloned fingers around the vampire’s forearm, and jerked him away from the fight.
Quentin scowled but didn’t question him. The two sped toward the offices in the back just as bodies dropped from the rafters—winged vampires, who swooped above their heads, handguns and machetes drawn.
One flew toward Calum. He dodged a swinging blade, and then jumped upward to bite, tearing at a leathery wing and sinking into bone.
The creature fell sideways to the ground.
Calum was on him, straddling his back while he tore into his neck. When the body slumped limp to the floor, he thrust his fist through his back and squeezed his heart. The body beneath him exploded into dirt. Calum glanced up in time to see Quentin speeding through a splintered door.
Maniacal laughter from the creatures in the air added to the roar of growls and screams below. Once inside the office area, the sounds were more muted. He followed the faint glint of Quentin’s blond hair as he rushed toward the very back. Before he reached the end of the corridor, he heard screams and pounding to his right.
A being inside a glass box beat at the sides of its enclosure.
A partially turned wolf had pounced on the chest of a winged vampire and its nose was sunk deep into the vampire’s chest.
“He’s not moving, Darcy,” Quentin crooned, his hands spread and stretching toward the wolf. “Just end him.”
A hand reached out and touched his arm.
Calum spun and growled, but it was Emmy, wearing her lavender sash. She pointed to the far end of the storage area. “Ginnie’s down there. She might need help.”
With her grip firming on his arm, he moved quickly along the dim corridor, passing empty cages, until he caught the scent from farther down of a baby…and blood. A howl built in his chest, but he quickly stifled it. With a shake of his fur, he pulled on his humanskin, turned his head toward Emmy, and leaned close to whisper in her ear. “They’re inside the last storage unit—a baby, Ginnie, and another vampire.”
Nodding, Emmy drew a handgun from her holster. “If I can get a clean shot…” She handed him a flashlight. “Blind them first.”
He frowned. “You any good with that?”
She patted his cheek. “Sweet cheeks, I’ve been training every night for months for just this moment. That bastard, Powell, is in there. I’ll stake my fangs on the fact he’s hiding behind that baby. I won’t miss.”
Knowing the bullet would only stun the vampire, he pulled a stake from his belt and nodded. “Let’s do this.”
Even with the sounds of the battle outside, echoing through the corridor, Ginnie heard the soft cries of the baby, coming from deep inside the storage unit. Keeping silent, she moved stealthily closer, knowing someone else was there in the dark—someone with a slow heartbeat…a vampire. He’d moved away from the baby and was likely setting a trap, but she couldn’t let that fact unnerve her. She’d deal when he struck and do her best to survive long enough for Darcy or Emmy to finish him.
Deep inside, she realized whomever waited in the dark was one of the amped-up vampires. Smarter, though, because he’d come straight here when the battle started. He hadn’t given into the bloodlust that made most vamps stupid in a fight. She hoped like hell it wasn’t Zachary Powell, because he was the smartest and the most cruel.
She bent low and peered between the empty shelving to the far side of the wall. She spotted a faint shape, small and bundled. The baby.
From the top of the shelving unit, a soft thud sounded then another lower, behind her. She lunged forward, through the shelf, but strong hands gripped her ankles and yanked her backward.
A body settled against her back. Ready to push up and roll, she felt a sharp point enter her back and froze, pain taking her breath.
The vampire who’d trapped her leaned over her and stroked his tongue the length of her cheek. “Ginnie. Sweet Ginnie,” he whispered.
She recognized the voice. He’d killed the previous bartender at The Cavern before popping his wings. Scraggly-haired Dirk. A dirt bag who was one of Zachary’s minions. Not that smart. Although she was an inch from eating dust, she took heart from the fact her captor was him, not his master. “Dirk, right?” She kept her voice as light as she could manage.
“Remember me, do you?”
“Of course. You were in the club.”
He chuckled. “Don’t remember the first time we met?” He licked her again.
She held still, not understanding for the longest moment, but then she went rigid. She’d never known for sure who had led the attack against her house. She’d been human. They’d come in darkness. “It was you?” she whispered through a throat tight with rage.
“Thought I’d left you for dead. Do you know how hard I got, knowing you watched what I did to your little brother?”
A shudder worked its way through her. She wouldn’t cry—wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “You screwed up. Took too long. I’d called the cops when you broke through the front door. My mom and dad…delayed you…but I had time to call. To hide my brother. After you left, time remained for me…not to die. Viper got to me first.” Dirk twisted the stake, and she couldn’t help gasping as pain radiated through her back.
“Won’t screw up this time. That baby you’re so hot to save… After you’re dead, I’m gonna carry it high and let it drop. Zachary was all keen to keep it—see if it was a hybrid. Said we’d let the old guys cut it up and harvest cells and see if we could make ourselves stronger.”
Ginnie’s belly roiled, but she refused to lose it. If she could keep him talking long enough, Emmy might arrive in time. “Where is Zachary? Did he leave you here to die?”
He laughed. “That asshole wanted to leave. Said to keep you all engaged. That we had the greater numbers and the wings. We’d win. But he wasn’t willing to fight for us. He wanted to leave…”
“What did you do?”
“He thought I was his bitch. That I’d just let him sneak out. Dude didn’t even see it coming.”
At the scorn in his voice, she couldn’t still another quiver. “Did you kill him, Dirk?”
“Didn’t think I had the balls, did you? I got him from behind. Wish’t I could have seen his face when he realized I’d killed him. It’s fast, you know,” he said, his whisper going softer.
She snorted. “You saying that because you’d care if I suffered?”
“Nah. I hate how fast it is, but I can do this a while, can’t I?” He twisted the wood again. “I’d really like your friends to watch you die. They’re close, you know. Since they aren’t likely to let me live, I want to make sure they remember me.”
At another twinge of pain, she sobbed. “If you kill me right away…they won’t know…about Zachary. How you bested him.”
He grunted, and then slipped his arm around her neck. “We’re getting up now. Let’s collect the baby.”
He pulled up his arm, high enough she could push up from the floor with her arms. She came to her knees, thinking of a way to stall him from going anywhere near Darcy’s son. If she made a move, he’d simply shove the stake through her body, ending her life. Then he’d have the baby anyway, and he might make good on his threat to drop it from high above to the concrete floor.
He forced her down the length of the shelving, and then turned into the empty area behind it.
The baby lay quiet on the floor in front of her.
“Pick it up.”
“Him,” she said through gritted teeth.
“It doesn’t even have a name.”
“He’s Denny,” she whispered.
“Pick up Denny,” he said, speaking slowly, like she was stupid.
With him still holding her neck and the stake against her back, she bent slowly toward the floor and gathered the baby close. When she straightened, she held the baby low in her arms. If he shoved the stake through her, he’d miss the baby.
Then he turned them, heading back the way they’d come. They moved toward the doorway then out into the corridor. There, in front, she could make out shapes that grew more defined as she stared. Emmy’s rounded figure…Calum’s large frame.
A whimper escaped. She had so many things she wanted to say. That she was glad for the time they’d shared. That she would have liked more. Ginnie was sure if she’d met Calum before she’d been turned, that she would have been drawn to him regardless. His quiet, intense, inner strength made her feel so many things…safe, cherished. Loved.
A low growl sounded behind them, and she sensed Darcy approached. Her heart thudded. As feral as she’d been ripping into that vampire’s chest, how would the hybrid control herself now? Would she even realize Ginnie held her child? She had to get her attention and make her pause. “I have Denny.” She kept her voice even. “He’s safe.”
“He needs to move away from you, sweetie,” Emmy’s voice called from the shadows.
“He killed Zachary.”
“That’s good,” Emmy said. “Maybe we won’t have to kill him right off.”
Ginnie wished Emmy could see her scowl. Not helping, sweetie!
“Do you hear that?” Emmy asked.
Outside the enclosure, all was silent. Ginnie realized they’d defeated Zachary’s army.
“Keep moving,” Dirk said, bumping his hips against her ass.
“The battle’s over,” Emmy said, still in the shadows. “Only thing keeping you alive right now are the two souls you’re holding hostage. Don’t you think it’s time to make a deal?”
Dirk snorted. “Like you’re gonna let me just walk out of here.”
“Oh, we won’t let you go. But if you’re smart, you’ll make a bargain for more time.”
“And have you lock me up?”
“Maybe we could use that glass box back there,” Emmy said.
“It’s occupied,” he sneered. “And you don’t want to let out that creature.”
Dirk bumped her again, forcing her to take another step.
Light flashed in Ginnie’s eyes, blinding her. The arm cinched around her neck relaxed as Dirk raised a hand to shield his eyes.
Ginnie was just about to fall forward and hope the stake pulled free, when she heard a thud behind her and felt an explosion against her back. The pain eased. When she breathed, she coughed…on ash. She held still as footsteps ran toward her.
Outstretched hands took the baby. Strong arms enfolded her.
She breathed again and drew in Calum’s spicy musk. With a cry, she wrapped her arms around him and held on tight.
Pulse still racing, Calum looked past Ginnie to Magnus, who stood with a stake in his hand, his dark wings still unfurled. The winged vampire had dropped silently behind the one holding Ginnie and taken him out while Emmy distracted him.
He gave Magus a solemn nod then slid his face against Ginnie’s cheek and hugged her with all his might. He’d almost lost her. Her ragged sobs shook her body. His grateful relief shook his own.