Grabbing some food for lunch, I joined Alena and Hunter in front of the video screens. Marcus and three other men sat opposite two vampire guards, Orm, and Chalondra, in the van.
Marcus’s eyes cut around the space. “Orm, I’m surprised to see you here.”
“I could say the same for you. We thought you weren’t flying in till later today.”
“I want to reassure Anne of my good intentions.”
Orm cleared his throat. “Yes, we would like to be assured of your intentions before we proceed.”
“You mean so you can kill us now?”
“Your words.” Orm folded his hands in his lap, and I wondered if that would be the only solution if we decided we didn’t trust Marcus. I guessed he knew too much.
“Why is Anne calling off the mission?” Marcus pressed.
One of Orm’s eyebrows shot up. “The better question is, do you know where Camille is?”
“All my intelligence indicated she was being held at the castle compound. Do you have different information? Can you tell me where you think she is? It may be a trap.”
“This is Chalondra.” Orm ignored Marcus’s questions.
“A seer I’m guessing?” Marcus shifted in his seat.
“Yes.” Chalondra stretched out her hand to Marcus.
His eyes cut to the men beside him. “This is Elia, my brother, and two of his sons, Orthos and Pantos.”
“Gabrielle is our sister,” Orthos supplied.
Marcus’s shoulders rose and sank, but he extended his hand to Chalondra. She took his hand, and closing her eyes, Chalondra’s lips moved as she chanted a silent incantation.
Over an hour passed, and she didn’t budge from her trance. I paced the area behind the row of desks, thinking this show was taking time away from searching for an entry point to Camille’s location. I approached Hunter.
“Is someone searching the satellite data?”
“Yes, they set up an algorithm. It will alert us if there is something of interest.”
Five minutes later, Chalondra opened her eyes. “The short answer is he has no ill intentions or plans against us. He only wants to prevent his coven from melding with Michael’s. He doesn’t know more than he’s told us.”
It felt like a yoke had been lifted from my shoulders. We hadn’t compromised Camille, Alena, or Hunter by taking Marcus’s offer of help. I’d worried we’d jumped too quickly because I’d pushed for any non-violent way to get in the castle. With Camille already in jeopardy, I couldn’t have another life on my conscience. But hopefully, Marcus would know of the location in northern Sardinia and give us some guidance on how to rescue Camille.
It took an hour more to clear each of the other witches in the van, and it was almost time for the evening meal before the group entered the compound. As soon as they exited the vehicle, the vampires locked metal bands onto their wrists.
“I thought we were allies,” Marcus noted.
“You understand we can’t take any chances,” Orm responded.
“And you realize you are holding a council member hostage.”
“You came of your own free will. You may leave any time.”
As they progressed to the entrance, Marcus stopped in front of me. “Jude.” His eyes blinked in rapid succession, and the corners of his mouth turned up. “Good to see you’re in one piece. Everyone had taken you for dead.”
Grady entered the garage. “I’m sure you thought me dead too.”
“They did assume you hadn’t made it. But there isn’t time for pleasantries. We need to get Gabrielle out today, as planned. How do you know Camille isn’t on that site?”
“You already asked that, friend.” Orm motioned for him to proceed inside.
“The trinity bond is very strong.” Alena fell in step with him. There was no doubt the girl lied well. I made a mental note and tucked her mother in the same category in my mind.
“A distraction at the main compound could help us,” Fahim put in.
Marcus stopped and turned to face him. “I was hoping there would be no footprint at all, that Gabrielle would just disappear. We’ll both be implicated if Camille is rescued the same night. But if you leave no trace, then the list of potential suspects would be long. I have officially embraced and outwardly appeared happy for Gabrielle’s union with Theron and our coven’s with Michael’s. Many other witches and vampires don’t want to see Michael’s coven multiply by almost two-fold.”
“Let’s move to the conference room so we can video conference with Anne.” Hunter directed the group to the meeting room.
Once seated around the table, we connected with Anne via video feed.
“Do we know who he would choose as a replacement?” Anne asked once she’d been brought up to speed.
Marcus spun to face her image. “I don’t know who made his short list. I’m guessing they were all from my coven though.”
“You seem to know a lot about Michael’s coven. Why can’t one of your people extract Gabrielle?” Hunter asked Marcus.
“I like to keep all of my business separate.”
“That way no one person knows too much?” Alena questioned.
“I am not trying to be duplicitous.” Marcus’s shoulders rose and fell. “Everything I do, I do for the good of my family and the witch community.”
“I believe you in that.” Anne turned away from the camera as if in thought.
My brain turned over and over the various scenarios. Marcus’s assumption that we’d be implicated if Camille and Gabrielle were taken the same night sounded spot on. What if we made it look like we thought Camille was still at the compound? Stage a rescue attempt at the castle as a distraction? Marcus could take Tyler, as planned, and Grady and I could go to the northern site to rescue Camille. Alena and Hunter wouldn’t have to be involved at all.
Ideas and strategies proposed by team members were recorded on the electronic screen. In the end, we didn’t have the intel to stage Camille’s rescue that night. My knee bounced with frustration, but I didn’t want to rush into anything. We wouldn’t get two shots. We agreed to lend support for Gabrielle’s extraction as planned that evening. The team removed Tyler’s role as he wasn’t needed. Marcus would handle getting Gabrielle to her waiting father and brothers, and they would escape via boat. Anne assigned six vampires from her guard to go on the point boat and six to follow on each of two more boats.
It surprised me that she was willing to commit so many resources to Marcus. Perhaps she assumed they had become true allies. Maybe Anne felt if she went all in, he would too. I wondered if she were investing a lot in a prophecy that might or might not help her people. Did she really believe vampires had no souls? How could any being not have a soul? Did I think toads had a higher consciousness? Not really. But my mother? If she were half vampire, half human, did she have a soul? Did I believe in this prophecy? I wasn’t sure, but I knew Camille did, and I would do anything for her.
My thoughts wandered to Anne’s predicament. Masses of vampires believing they were soulless meant they believed they were damned from the beginning. They had no chance for an afterlife, therefore no reason to be a good citizen. Would performing a ceremony with a magic ritual, that supposedly granted her people souls, rein in a wild vampire community? I wondered if my mom felt empty inside because she was soulless. She’d battled drug and alcohol addiction since puberty. She’d tried every spiritual fad that came along. Of course, I figured being half vampire and unaware would put anyone over the edge.
“Do we know how Gabrielle feels about this?” Alena’s voice brought me out of my thoughts, and my eyes cut to Elia and his sons.
Elia shook his head. “She’s seventeen. She thinks Theron walks on water, that he’s the prize bull.”
“A bull is a good metaphor,” Hunter chuckled.
“Has anyone tried to talk with her? Will she be willing to go with you Marcus? Or will she put up a fight?” Alena asked.
Marcus cleared his throat. “She won’t suspect me. I can get her to the exit point.”
Hunter stood. “Then we’re all set. We should get you to the boats. Dimitri will take you.”
Anne stood too. “May the spirits be with you, soldiers.” She pushed a button on the desk, cutting the feed from her location.
“Do you have specs for other safe houses Michael’s coven may keep?” I shadowed Marcus as he made his way to the helicopter pad.
“We’ll talk about this tomorrow. I’m expected for dinner, and I’ll be late as it is.”
I watched him get in the helicopter, praying he had some intel for us. When I spun to go back inside, I slammed into Tyler.
“He know anything?” He fell in step with me.
“I don’t know.”
“I hope so.”
I held the door for him. “At least you’re not bait anymore.”
Inside, I tried to rally the troops to talk about Camille’s rescue.
Alena wrapped her arm around Hunter. “They haven’t found anything on the satellite images yet. I’ve got to get something to eat and blow off some steam. You with me?” She kissed his cheek.
“Sure.” Hunter smiled at her and then looked back to me. “We’ll get on it first thing tomorrow.”
Grady, Tyler, and I took our meals to the tech room and studied the maps, listing possible scenarios. Without intel on the structure, we couldn’t get far, and we joined Alena and Hunter in the communications room to monitor Gabrielle’s abduction. I’d tried not to think of the mission that way, but after hearing that she was perfectly happy with her situation, it seemed to fit better. I got that you didn’t want Michael’s coven to have that much power, but I figured they’d replace her with another from Marcus’s family. I wondered how he would play the kidnapping. He’d have to fake being upset and enraged.
The team arrived with the girl after midnight. She kicked and screamed as they led her handcuffed into our building.
Alena approached Elia. “She doesn’t look happy.”
“No. She’s been completely brainwashed by Theron. He’s told her he’s been watching her for months, couldn’t wait to finally meet her, and now that he knows her, she’s even better than he imagined. She sees a white wedding dress, being adored by everyone, and she’s bought it how do you say? Hook, line, and sinker.”
“I’ll talk to her.” Alena skipped ahead.
“Don’t take the cuffs off. She’s quite powerful,” Elia called after her.
“Got it.” She followed them into the room we’d arranged for Gabrielle. Elia and his sons exited to her screamed accusations of them treating her like a prisoner.
Tyler and Hunter posted themselves outside the door, but I followed Elia. “When will Marcus return?”
“He has his part to play.”
“We need him.”
“I’ll contact him tomorrow. I need rest.”
Finding no one in the halls, I made my way to the satellite room. Orm sat watching the screens.
“Any word on how Marcus is doing?” I asked.
“No one has noticed Gabrielle’s gone yet. The signal that they knew was to be a call from Marcus to Elia.”
“Where’s Marcus now?”
“Sir.” A tech guy motioned to Orm. “Marcus is leaving the compound.”
“Stay on him. We can’t bring him back to this base yet. We’ll extract him tomorrow.”
I took a deep breath. Marcus was my best hope for rescuing Camille sooner than later.
Orm placed his hand on my shoulder. “You should get some sleep. You look like hell. We have our best tech people searching the satellite images.”
“Thanks, I think.” With my adrenaline rush wearing off, I stood and walked out of the room.
Navigating to my quarters, I contemplated sleep. I hated it. Every time I lay down, Camille’s image appeared behind my eyes. My chest ached with her absence. You need rest, I told myself. You have to be at the top of your game. Lying in bed, I rattled off prime numbers in my head until I fell asleep.
In the morning, I wound through the base looking for Orm. Finding him in the cafeteria, I bent down to speak to him. “Where is Marcus?”
“Good morning, how are you? I’ve been better, thank you.” Orm patted the seat beside him. “Sit down and eat, son.”
“Sorry, but we need to get moving.”
“He’s sleeping. Something I would love to do more of.”
“He’s here?” I spun around, thinking to go knock down his door and demand information.
A chair slid out, blocking my way. “Eat something, I said.” Orm’s voice came from behind me.
“Not bad for an old man.” I smiled at him.
“You better watch it. I’ll old man you.” He ranted as I walked away.
Joining the food line, I loaded my plate, and sat down beside Alena and Hunter. “Were you guys up when Marcus came in?”
Hunter nodded. “Yeah, he wasn’t happy that we’re keeping him.”
“I say Marcus, Elia, and the sons go nowhere until Camille is safe.”
“That’s a little extreme,” Alena commented.
“We helped him. How is the girl anyway?”
Alena shrugged. “Probably the same as I’d be if I were her, angry.”
“I guess Theron didn’t try to impress her by killing her friend.” Hunter stuffed a bite into his mouth.
“Do you have to remind me of that?” Alena frowned.
“Sorry.” Hunter wrapped his arm around her. “Just want to keep fresh who he is.”
“We’ve talked about this before. He’s a pawn.”
“No, if he wanted to help you, he would be here instead of there.”
“Why would you think Theron is a pawn?” I cut in.
Alena dropped her fork to her plate. “Because, he wants to be free, doing their bidding gives him power. Once he’s in power, he’ll be free. That’s the only out he sees. He doesn’t see that if he joined us he’d be free.”
Hunter leaned towards me and pointed at her. “She’s deluded herself into thinking he can be saved. She feels bad for him because he’s a hybrid with a deranged father.”
“How do you know he wants to be free? Maybe he wants power like Sonia and Thanatos. How will fulfilling the prophecy help him?” I looked past Hunter to Alena.
“Once the witches are free, and the vampire’s souls united with their bodies, everyone will see that witches aren’t a threat to vampires, vampires aren’t a threat to witches, and hybrids aren’t a threat. Then we’ll be free, both of us, all of us.” Alena lifter her fork and made a circle in the air.
“You’ll still be the most powerful beings on earth. You’ll always have a target on your back.”
“Once Theron’s free, he won’t feel the need to create an army of hybrids.”
“What did I tell you?” Hunter picked up his bagel. “Hopeless optimist.”
Alena stood and walked away. I caught Hunter’s arm as he rose to follow her. “Why is Alena so adamant? Why does she think she knows him?”
Hunter’s eyes grew hard. “They went out a couple of times, dated sort of.” He turned and walked away.
I was batting zero for the morning, so I took my tray and headed to the satellite room.
“Any luck?” I asked the technician.
“There’ve been no changes since the twenty-first.”
Realizing we’d need to compare the pattern before and after the winter solstice, I pointed at the display. “Mind if I give it a try?”
“Go ahead.”
I went back to the prior month, noting the traffic to and from each residence surrounding the sites we slated for Camille’s location. Remembering the pattern, I started examining the satellite footage for each day following the winter solstice. Several people came and went behind me, but I lost track of time.
“Thank goodness he found something to do,” I heard Alena’s voice behind me.
“I can hear you, you know.”
“Don’t forget to eat.” I heard the door close behind me.
Eight days after the solstice, the movement changed. Instead of one trip from the house to the east of the target, there were two. Checking the footage for the next few days, the traffic renamed the same. A vehicle arrived at seven and, a few minutes later, a similar vehicle—I couldn’t be sure whether it was the same one or not—left. The same thing happened twelve hours later.
“This is it.” I jumped up. Realizing I was the only one in the room, I checked my watch. It read six thirty, and I made my way to the dining hall. Seeing Alena and Hunter, I pulled them to the far wall. We passed Janine and Grady, but I decided not to get their hopes up until I was sure.
Alena put her hand to her hip. “You’re trembling. Eat, and then we’ll talk. They said you didn’t leave that room all day.”
“I found it. I want you to look at it to confirm,” I whispered to them.
“Good, because Marcus hasn’t been any help.” Hunter’s eyes cut to the table where Marcus and his family sat.
“Where’s Gabrielle?” I asked.
Hunter rolled his eyes. “She won’t come out of her room.”
“Let’s not tip off Marcus. We’ll review the footage with you after dinner.” Hunter slapped me on the back. “Good work.”
I filled my plate and took a seat next to them. While eating, I ran through the various ideas for getting to the location in my mind. A plane would be fastest but more dangerous. A boat in the dark water could be easier to hide, but it was slower and there was the ocean factor. The vampires Anne had sent to transport Gabrielle seemed to know the area. Perhaps their knowledge should be the first place to start.
We need to get everyone together. I pushed the words to Hunter’s mind.
“Alena and I are thinking of going to the gym tonight. Want to come?” he asked.
“Sure, sounds good.” I agreed.
Finishing my meal, I made my way back to the satellite room and studied the maps while my food settled. Alena and Hunter joined me a few minutes later. They agreed that the change in routine at the eastern structure indicated it was most likely the coven’s building. They agreed to let everyone know to meet in the gym, and left to change. I waited a few minutes, switched clothes in my room, and made my way to the gym.
“I think we should call a midnight session,” Hunter whispered as he spotted me. “I don’t want Marcus to know anything.”
“Works for me,” I told him, thinking I might literally crawl out of my skin before then. At least we had some options from the research I’d done.
Tyler and Grady joined us, and after exercising our muscles, we worked on our magic. Grady taught Tyler a cloaking spell, and after two hours of working on it, Tyler could hold the shield for five minutes.
“I’m going to get a shower. I’ll catch you later,” I told them after my three-hour workout. Then I communicated via my telepathy. You heard about the midnight meeting, right? You should make sure Janine knows.
“Yep.” Grady nodded. “Catch you tomorrow.”
Our core group—including Fahim, Dimitri, Aaron, Anne’s head guards, Orm, Chalondra, Janine, Grady, Tyler, Alena, Hunter, and myself—met in the tech room at midnight. Anne’s image appeared on the screen minutes later.
“So, Jude, I think this is your show,” she said.
“Yes.” I stood, clearing my throat. “Thanks to all of you for coming.” I started by explaining how I’d noticed the changes.
“But we can’t be one hundred percent sure that the location is the correct one?” Grady asked.
“I went back two months in the satellite data. There was only one time a day that a vehicle traveled to or from that location. Since the twenty-ninth, there are two at twelve hours apart. All the other residences are consistent. There weren’t any changes in their travel patterns.
“And you double checked that your blood”—Tyler’s shoulders shuddered—“stopped at those coordinates?”
“Yes, we blew the image up to get a precise location.”
“The intel is solid,” Alena stated.
“So, the question is, how do we get there, how do we get in to get Camille, and how do we get out? And when do we go?” I made three columns on the board.
After two hours of deliberation, we’d come up with a solid plan. It would take two days to gather all our resources and coordinate travel, but I felt confident that within three days I would have Camille back. At nearly three, I made my way to my room. Too wound up to sleep, pulled out my laptop and found a map of Sardinia. I pricked my finger and let a small drop of blood fall on the screen. Again, it traveled north to the open space just south of the coast. I cleaned the screen and lay on my bed, feeling more connected to Camille than I had in weeks. I reached out to her with my mind praying she’d have some sense or feeling that I was close. As it’d been since I’d left her in the castle, there was no response. This time, I didn’t fret knowing we would be together soon.
I was responsible for the gear, ground team, and travel arrangements. We needed a vehicle on Sardinia, and a flight to get six people into the nearby airport. There was a charter from Rome that flew twice a day, and I reserved seats for the five o’clock landing time. I haggled with the rental car company until they agreed to have a black sport utility vehicle with tinted windows available when we landed.
After making those arrangements, I focused on the tools we might need. I met with Grady, Tyler, and Alena to assess their skills, I packed a backpack for each of them filled with weapons most suited to their strengths. Tyler would carry the tools, Grady the chemical weapons, and Alena the knives, nun-chucks, and first-aid items. I packed my martial arts weapons and blades. Each of our bags included a wetsuit, breathing masks, and three ready-to-eat meals. Mine contained double of each for me and Camille.
It took me a day to prepare, and then it became a waiting game. The team held workout and mission planning sessions that evening and a final mission review the next morning, but it still left me enough time to be anxious. My focus shifted to thoughts of Camille and the condition she’d be in. She’d been in pretty good shape before, and I prayed she still was. I didn’t let myself entertain thoughts that they harmed her. I couldn’t, or I’d go crazy.
“Did everyone double check their gear?” I asked as we loaded our bags in the vehicle.
“Yes, Jude.” Alena rolled her eyes and crossed to where Hunter stood. “Be careful.” She kissed him, and I diverted my gaze. With my ear turned their way, I continued to listen in.
“You be careful. And don’t do anything stupid,” Hunter whispered.
“I think I have five guys making sure of that.”
“Come on, we’ve got to roll,” Grady called.
“Everyone ready?” I looked Alena’s way again in time to see Hunter plant a long kiss on her lips.
Throwing the last pack in the van, I climbed in the back seat. My knee bounced, and with no view of the countryside to occupy us, we rode in silence to the airport.
Alena’s persona switched to our tourist cover mode the second her shoe hit the pavement. “Antonio, make sure you get all my bags. And don’t drop them. It comes out of your paycheck if anything is damaged.”
I fitted my sunglasses on my nose as I exited the vehicle. My collar itched my neck, and I fit my finger in the small space.
Alena hooked her arm through mine. “I can’t wait to see Sardinia. I’ve heard it’s amazing.”
“It won’t be green for a couple of months.” Escorting her to the terminal, I played my part.
Tyler and Grady followed behind, while Antonio and Mario trailed with the luggage. We’d packed our backpacks inside expensive bags that would be left with the car on the island.
Inside, we walked straight to the first-class counter gathered our tickets, and then found the gate. Alena’s voice grated my nerves as she played the rich, spoiled traveler, but I smiled and patted her hand when she spoke to me. It wasn’t long before our plane arrived, and we made our way down to the ramp. It was a small jet seating only twenty passengers, and I wondered how Antonio and Mario would manage being scrunched in the small seats.
“What, there’s no jet way?” Alena complained.
“There are stairs up to the door, look.” I motioned to the plane.
“Still, what about my heels?” She looked down at her shoes.
“I’m sure they’ll be fine.” I fought rolling my eyes.
On the plane, we took our seats. As the aircraft taxied and took off, I watched out the window, seeing the last light from the sun fade to black. A short flight, we weren’t in the air fifteen minutes before the crew indicated to prepare for landing. Alena phoned Hunter as soon as the captain indicated use of mobile phones.
“Hi, love.” She continued to play her part. “I’m just checking that all the arrangements for the house are in order.” Listening to him, she shot me a thumbs up, and I made a mental check beside that item on my list.
Deplaning, we made our way into the small terminal and to the rental car counter.
“Mr. Spiros, of course, we have your car waiting outside.” The representative motioned to the exit when I showed him our rental confirmation papers. We followed him to a black sport utility vehicle with dark tinted windows. “I trust this is to your liking?” he asked in a heavy Italian accent.
“Yes, it will do nicely. Do you agree, love?” I spun to face Alena who trailed behind the luggage cart.
“As long as all my bags fit.”
“You heard the madam. Let us make sure there is enough room for the luggage.”
Antonio and Mario fit the suitcases in the back while the attendant watched. “See, it is good, yes?” He wrung his hands.
I agreed and signed the contract he held out to me.
“Have a good holiday.” He waved as we loaded into the car.
With Antonio in the driver’s seat, the rest of us removed our outer costumes to reveal fitted black suits. We retrieved our bags from behind the back row, fitted utility belts around our waists, and weapons to our backs and legs. Finally, I slipped on my boots. Checking my pack again, I turned on each radio to make sure all were working. We arrived at the drop-off point within fifteen. Swabbing black powder on our faces, we fitted black hoods over our heads.
“We look like a bunch of thugs. Camille is going to freak out,” Tyler said as we shouldered our packs.
I said the same words I’d repeated over and over in my head out loud. “She’ll be fine.”
We’d picked a copse of trees as the drop-off and rendezvous points. Mario stayed with the vehicle, and Antonio hiked with us the last mile to the structure. At one hundred feet out, Alena took Antonio’s hand, and we cloaked ourselves to proceed unseen. I marveled at how we could weave a spell that would hide us from everyone else but our own party. Huddling outside the garage, we waited until it opened, and the vehicle exited. My watch read seven, which meant they were following the same pattern as the previous days.
Seeing the second set of headlights, I communicated now to the rest of the group. Antonio lay flat on the ground, and the rest of us filed into the garage, hugging the wall. I reached the door first and turned the knob. It opened with ease, and I relayed to Antonio that we were going in.
I briefly wondered if our entrance seemed too easy. Praying we weren’t walking into a trap, I took stock of our surroundings. We’d entered a room with lockers and hooks for coats. I guessed right that the next would be locked. Waiting with our backs to the walls, I watched two guards enter.
We take them out? I asked the group.
Alena tilted her hand in the air, signaling for us to wait and see.
The men shed their outer coats and slid into uniform jackets. One waited near the door while the other smoothed his shirt. “All right already, it’s not like we’re going to a ball.”
I was surprised to hear the man speak English as if it were his native tongue but figured his statement confirmed we had the right house.
“Fine, fine.” The second guard approached the door.
The first guard walked through it, followed by the second. Close behind, I slipped in after them with Alena and the others on my heels.
“What’s wrong with the door?” The first guy stopped and turned around.
Moving in the other direction down the hall, I prayed Grady and Tyler made it through. I felt a tap on my back and stopped. The second guard pulled the door shut.
“Just closing slow, I guess. It may need oiling.” He rejoined the first guard.
Following Grady and Tyler, we tailed the guards as they made their way to a room with a small kitchen, sofa, and television. After stowing their food, they continued down the hall to an elevator.
If we get all the guards together, we take them out at one time, I told the team.
I confirmed by getting a thumbs up from each member as we waited for the doors to open. In the small space, I dared not breathe and pulled my blood flow to my core as Alena had taught me. Fortunately, the elevator car moved fast. There was only one floor, but we traveled too far for it to be a single flight down, and I guessed we were some distance, perhaps thirty or so feet, underground.
Pressed against the elevator walls, we waited for the guards to exit and jumped out of the cart before the doors closed. Trailing the guards down the hall, we approached another two guards seated at a desk in front of a door.
From the silence, I guessed there weren’t any others in the structure but knew I could be wrong. The walls might have been constructed of soundproof material. Still, we’d gotten this far. So, either we waited until the extra two guards left, or we took them all out. Thinking I didn’t want to waste too much energy cloaking, I indicated to the team we should shock the four guards. Each of us positioned ourselves beside one guard to take them out, and I counted down: three, two, one.
Alarms sounded the second they fell. I wasn’t about to stop and discuss what that meant, because there was no way to know. I slid a crowbar from Tyler’s pack and ran to the locked door. It took me prying with all my might and Alena using all her force to get it open. Inside, another hall stretched out in front of us.
The doors lining the hall were solid with no windows. We split into two teams, prying the doors open and checking inside.
“This is going to take forever.” I ran to the next door and banged on it. “Camille.”
The others started doing the same, but there was no answer.
“Back to the other strategy, I guess.” Grady lifted the crowbar and slammed it against a doorknob. I ran the length of the hall. The end was a concrete block wall that matched the rest of the walls.
“We have to get out of here sooner rather than later.” I released my magic, throwing a blast of energy at the nearest door. The hinges popped, and it fell into a dark room.
“What if Camille is in the path of that?” Grady yelled.
“There’s got to be a better way. We have no idea when we’re going to have company, and not the good kind.”
“Use your blood. It will lead you to Camille.” Alena handed me a blade.
I sliced my palm and let the drops fall to the floor. It rolled to the edge and up the wall.
“She’s upstairs.”
Jogging back the way we’d come, I removed the guards’ keycards.
“I think we better make these guys a little more permanently unable to do us harm,” Grady noted.
“Tyler and I will lock them in a room.” Alena grabbed one of the men by the arms and pulled him down the hall.
Grady and I bolted for the elevator, using a keycard to open the doors.
“There’s got to be a control room, somewhere we can access some intel, maybe get this darn alarm off.”
“Good thinking. I don’t think we should split up though.”
“Or we could use this.” Exiting the elevator, I reopened my wound and let the drops fall to the floor. The trail moved forward, away from us, and we followed it past the door to the garage. “Control room.” I stopped at a room lined with monitors, all dead. “The alarm must deactivate their systems,” I told Grady as he caught up with me.
“Use the keycard.” He grabbed it and held it up to the scanner. The alarms silenced, but the monitors were still black. “I’m going to play around with this.” He ran his hands over the keyboard, punching buttons.
“This is wasting time.” I went back into the hall and cut my hand again. The blood traveled in a straight line in front of me.
I darted to the first door and then the next three. They were all locked as were the rest on the hall. No light shone from underneath any of them, so I dropped my blood on the floor again. It moved away from me, and I followed it until it stopped. There was a door on either side of me.
“Grady!” I yelled.
He helped me open one door. Inside, I felt for a switch. Flipping it did nothing, and I held up my flashlight and panned it across an empty floor. Crossing the hall, I prayed the vampire blood-mate bond hadn’t steered us wrong. Using my magic, I popped the door from the hinges. As the echo of the metal door hitting the floor ceased, I heard a voice calling for confirmation from the control room.
Incoming, I pushed to Alena and Tyler, hoping the message would make it downstairs. I turned to Grady. “Maybe you better go try to slow them down.”
“On it.” Grady jogged away.
Refocusing on the room, I moved the light across the walls, stopping when I found a cot. A human form lay curled up under a blanket. Seeing long dark locks, my heart sank. Still, I darted towards the girl. As soon as I touched her shoulder, she roused. Even through the blanket, I could feel her cold skin. Her face turned towards me. “Camille?” Her skin looked ghost white, and dark circles replaced the warm glow of her cheeks.
“Jude?” Her eyes opened halfway, and her tongue ran over cracked lips.
Sliding my arms underneath her, I scooped her up. “It’s okay. I’m here. We’re going to get you out.” I’ve got her, I announced to the group.
Her head fell limp on my chest. Taking fast strides down the hall, I reached the control room. “Grady.”
His eyes grew wide as he took in her form. “Is she?”
“She’s alive! Let’s get out of here.” I cocked my head to the exit.
Tyler jogged towards us. Seeing Camille, he stopped short. “Is she…?”
“She’ll be okay. Where’s Alena?” I looked over Tyler’s head.
“She said she sensed something and wanted to check it out. She’ll be right up.”
“Is she crazy? Are you crazy?” I spat at him. “Come on. Let’s get Camille out of here.” I motioned to the garage, and Grady took point. Hearing vehicles in the distance, my heart thudded in my chest.
Cloak, I sent to them.
As we exited the garage, I remembered Antonio, and I slid over to him. “Alena’s—
He jumped at my voice. “Sweet mother earth, you’re as quiet as a cat.”
“Alena’s still inside. We’re taking Camille to the car. I’ll be back to make sure Alena gets out. Wait for me here.”
We took off across the field to the trees where’d we’d left the vehicle. Mario jumped from the driver’s seat, opening the back doors for us. Grady got in, and I slid Camille into his arms.
“If I’m not back in five minutes, or if things go south, leave without me.”
I used the wind to fly back to the building, stopping beside Antonio.
“Heavens,” he exclaimed. “I’ll never get used to witches.”
“Go back to the vehicle. I told them to leave in five minutes if I’m not back with Alena.”
“My orders are to stay with Alena.”
“Fine, but I don’t have enough juice left to cloak me and you, so stay here.”
Cussing the female vampire hybrid under my breath, I reestablished my masking spell and jogged into the garage. The sound of approaching motors grew in the distance and I wondered why this place didn’t have better security. Maybe they thought we’d never find it. Inside, I checked the main floor but there was no sign of Alena. The elevator was disabled, but I found a stairwell at the back of the control room. Jumping over the rail, I let myself fall the three stories, calling the wind to buoy me at the bottom. When I inched the door open, I found I was in the middle of the locked portion of the hall. Hearing Alena speak and a male voice respond, I froze.
Aiming my ear their way, I held my breath to make out their conversation.
“You’re drawn to the sword. That’s why you’re still here. You know you’re close. Why do you think I’m here instead of out looking for Gabrielle?” the man said. “I knew you’d find Camille eventually and come for her. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Theron. Theron was here. My mind raced.
“What about Gabrielle? Don’t you even care that someone kidnapped her?” Alena asked.
“No, I love you. We should be together. We’re the only two of our kind. We are the god and goddess.”
I turned my head and saw him take her hand.
She pulled her fingers from his grip. “Theron, come with me. Join us. We can make history. There won’t be any more fighting. Our peoples will be at peace.”
“What, go back and admit to my brother that I was wrong? Watch you two drool all over each other?”
“Yes, I like Hunter. That’s not the point. We are the future of our kind. We need to lead our people in the right direction.”
I had to get Alena away from him. Alena, we’re out of time. Camille is in the vehicle with Grady and Tyler. They’re going to leave with or without us in three minutes.
Her head cocked to the side.
“What?” Theron asked.
“Come with me.” Her hand wrapped around his wrist.
“You don’t understand,” he insisted.
“We have to go, come and explain.”
“No.” His voice hardened. “You stay with me.”
“I can’t do that. I have to go.” She released his arm and stepped back.
“I could lock you up like I did Camille.” He matched her step, his face a mere inch from hers. A thin smile spread across his face.
NOW! I yelled at Alena.
Before I could blink, he dug his teeth into his wrist and pressed the wound to Alena’s lips.