He opens the driver’s side door of one vehicle and steps in. “Come on,” he says, motioning to the other trucks. “There’s enough for each of us.”
“Oh, no,” I say. “I’m not letting you go on your own. I’ll drive. Smithson, you stay in the back with Paul. Keep an eye on him. Victoria, you can take the second vehicle if you want.”
“If I want,” she sniffs under her breath, as she turns around and gets in.
Paul raises his arms without protest and changes seats. “As you wish, James.”
I climb behind the wheel. I run my hands over the hard leather.
“Not bad at all,” I mutter.
I put the key in, switch the engine on. The moment I do, another set of garage doors rise upward, exposing us to pure night.
“Well, isn’t that convenient,” I say and drive into the darkness.
Chapter Seven
Eleira
The Haven.
I stalk the woods of The Haven, trailed by ten of the guards.
I am on high alert. We are traversing every last bit of land, trying to find the screechers. I have offensive weaves ready to be unleashed at a moment’s notice: great balls of fire, more of those horizontal, deadly portals, and all sorts of other nasty surprises.
At the same time, I have weaves ready that would erect an instant barrier around us, shielding us from their screams.
My hunter’s instinct tells me that things are too quiet. It feels wrong. We are supposed to be stalking prey, but it feels like all we’re doing is wandering around, without aim, without purpose, waiting for an ambush by the damn things.
It does not help that they are able to run over the earth without disturbing it one bit. They are almost like ephemeral ghosts, existing on a plane parallel to ours.
Almost, but not quite. I’ve seen how easily they succumb to fire.
In the back of my mind, a vague, nagging worry pesters me. Should I have left all The Haven vampires in one place, alone, to be easily attacked by the screechers?
I know I gave them the best protection I could. The soundproof barrier will shield them from the screams. If the screechers are dumb enough to venture past the border, they will quickly be picked apart by the more vicious vampires.
Still, after all I’ve done to ensure the safety of The Haven, it troubles me to be away from where the fight might be hardest.
Yet that is precisely why I’m here now. To find the screechers, to destroy them all, before they can attack.
“My Queen?” one of the guards says.
I look back at him. “Yes?”
“Over here, look, I think I have found something.”
I step over to him. He’s looking at a boulder that’s been recently upturned.
“It’s been flipped over,” he says. “But I don’t see any holes in the ground to explain why.”
I focus my gaze on the ground. All of it looks solid enough. The same mix of dirt, rocks, leaves, as is found anywhere else.
But then, from the corner of my eye, I catch the barest flicker.
“Don’t move!” I exclaim, throwing my arm out in front of the guard.
He goes totally still.
I approach the spot warily. Carefully, I direct a thin stream of Fire at it.
Immediately, the illusion vanishes, and a gaping hole the size of a large dining table is revealed.
“Magic,” the guard whispers. He visibly swallows.
“Yes,” I say. I probe at the forest with an intricate set of weaves. I don’t feel a trace of residue anywhere else. “But I am not sure of what kind.”
“What do we do?” another guard asks. “The traps could be dotted all over The Haven.”
“They undoubtedly are,” I say. I hesitate. “There is a possibility that the creatures all retreated.” I peek into the never-ending hole. “They could be all congregating down there, biding time until the next attack.”
I turn away. “If that’s the case, then I want to take the offensive to them. I will not rest until The Haven is well and truly secured.
“But… if I’m wrong, and they’re still hiding somewhere in our midst, going down would take me away from wherever I’m needed most.”
“What do you suggest we do?” the guard asks.
I shake my head. “We’ve been looking for them for hours. We’ve found nothing yet.”
I take a deep breath. “I think the best thing, now, is to go back to where we left the others… and wait for the imminent attack.”
“It’s your decision, my Queen,” the guard says.
“I just wish there was some way to lure them to us. To coax them out of hiding.”
“How would we do that?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “But I bet there is one person here who does.”
“Who?”
“Morgan.”
***
We quickly make our way back to the others. I find the vampires all exactly as I left them, albeit significantly more antsy than before.
Felix approaches the barrier, takes a look around, decides the path is clear, and takes the risk to leave the safety of the magic enclosure.
“Finally, you’re back,” he says. “The vampires are growing restless. They don’t like feeling as if they do not have freedom to move.”
“They know what’s out there,” I say tersely. “Left to their own devices, they stand no chance.”
“They say the only reason they fell the first time was that they were caught unaware. They vow, to the man, that they will not let those creatures get the better of them again.”
I bark a laugh. “Please tell me you did not encourage that.”
Felix snorts. “Of course not. Do you not remember what I sacrificed to bring them all from the brink?”
“I remember,” I say softly. “And they should, too.” We step inside the safety of the barrier. “They owe their existence to you.”
“Don’t let them hear that,” he deadpans.
I give a thin smile in reply.
As soon as the vampires see me approach their attention falls instantly on me. One of the Royal Court Elite speaks up.
“So? Is it done?”
“Sadly, no,” I say. “We went around and around but could not find them. Those creatures have certain gifts that make tracking them impossible. Our senses do not catch them. They are invisible to us. And somehow, they are able to move without leaving a trace.”
“So then, what?” another vampire demands. “We’re all to be held hostage here? The Haven was supposed to be safe after the wards were put up!”
“This is a threat that has been festering underground for God-knows-how-long,” I say tightly. “Don’t blame the wards I made, which are impenetrable, with the failings of your past Queen. She is the one who let these creatures spawn and gather strength underground.”
“So, then what do we do? We’re not going to be fenced in here like sheep forever!”
“Of course not,” I bristle. “That’s why we need bait. Something to lure the screechers out—”
“My Queen,” Geordam interrupts. I look at him. He’s pointing at the far crest.
I follow the direction of his fingers.
There, miles and miles away, I see a swarm of the white creatures galloping over the land.
“Careful what you wish for,” Felix whispers in my ear, as I turn to ready myself for the horde.
Chapter Eight
Raul
Beneath the mountain of the Forsaken Sisters.
My entire body feels numb, as if it’s not quite mine but borrowed from someone else.
I guess that sort of explanation isn’t all that far from the truth.
I hold my arms stiff at my side as I plod on, following Phillip and the three witches. I do not trust the alliance he’s made with them. Something about it strikes me as rotten.
At the same time, I think I have to be grateful. Were it not for them—and him—I’d be dead.
I think I should be grateful, but I am absolutely not.
The only thing I really feel is an all-encompassing rage, an evil sort of hatred, that boils inside me with each step I take.
If this is the same sort of darkness that took me before, so be it.
It is beyond time that I accept it.
My body is numb, but my instincts are raging.
We’ve been walking a long time in silence. Not once have any of them glanced back at me. I should be up there in the lead, but this borrowed body is not capable of overcoming them without a supreme display of effort.