“Goodbye,” I laugh. “I haven’t even gotten started with you yet.” I pull back all the way and Reece drops his hands. Our faces fall back into the focused steel they need to be.
It’s go time. The other vampires and I step away from Reece and then we’re in full sprint, heading toward a thick forested area to the back of the building. We hunker down, watching, waiting, scoping out the perfect moment. It’s a feat, to say the least. The vamps here, have their eyes everywhere, which is expected. This is a maximum security prison, after all.
I speed a short distance to the left, then back. “The window is facing east. He’s likely to be facing it as well but we can’t be too sure. We need a diversion.”
“On it.” In the blink of an eye, Katie is gone. It takes me a moment to see that she actually went up. It takes a few more seconds for her to come back holding a fat, brown bird. Without hesitation, she breaks the bird’s neck, then it’s wing.
I get the gist of what she’s about to do. It’s a small distraction and not one that has ‘intruder’ written all over it. Still, if we’re quick, then there’s a slim chance we’ll be able to make a move before their eyes are back in our direction. I nod for Katie to go ahead. She turns and disappears. I hone my vision in on her form, seeing her as more than just a blur of movement as she races up the side of the wall and throws the bird at the guard post. Even from the distance I hear the thud.
I move away from my hiding spot, maximizing on the chance she’s given me. I know she’s right behind me, as are the others, but it doesn’t make what we’re about to do any less risky. We’re still out in the open. Despite how quickly we move, someone could easily see or hear us as we scale the wall and hop over the side.
Luck is our only hope and it seems to be on our side. I was wrong before. There are windows on both sides, and I glance at the guard post just in time to see his back turned to us, no doubt wondering what just banged against the pane. The windows on the sides are transparent but the one in front and behind are dark. A trick, I realize. To fool whoever might be watching into thinking that the guard’s vision is limited. I bet those are one sided mirrors. But there’s also something Reece said that comes to the forefront of my mind at that very moment – no matter how many eyes you have, you can’t see everything. It’s not a lie. And I try to use it to my advantage right now, seeking out whatever blind spots the guards have. The others are taking care of guards on the other side of the building. There’s no sign of a commotion which means success.
I quickly dig into the small backpack strapped around my body, pulling out one of the many tiny cameras given to me by Reece. I put one against the wall, in view of the entire yard and a bit of the guard post. Katie waits by my side, on alert.
She taps her thigh twice, indicating that I hurry. I move as quickly as I can without breaking the tiny thing and once I’m done, I pat her shoulder, taking off to the nearest blind spot.
There’s a door to the side, manned by two guards. They stand at attention, eyes focused. I narrow my eyes, focusing on the first man and then the second. This time, my hand goes to my belt and I pull out one of the cocktails Augustus created. I pass one of the syringes to Katie and then we make our move.
We rush out our blind spot, quick as lightning. As soon as we’re within a foot of them, we attack. If they so much as sneeze, they’ll have heads spinning in their direction. They never see us coming and in the next second, they’re knocked to the ground. Two down, about a hundred to go. We remove their uniforms and slip into them, tying cord through the waist to keep the pants from falling to our ankles. This is progress, even if it doesn’t feel like it.
We move to the door, and crack it open a bit.
The hallway we step into is brightly lit but empty. We slip inside, closing the door with a soft click.
We come a stop in another hallway that leads to a single door.
“Keep watch,” I say to Katie though I know I don’t have to. She’s more at ease now that we’ve worked our way into the building. I plant another camera as quickly as I can. As soon as someone notices something is off, Reece will notice it too and we’ll be alerted. When I’m done, I touch her shoulder and we’re off.
We pause behind the door. Though we know who we’re dealing with now, we have no clue what’s on the other side of the door. I signal to her that I plan to rush in there and, hopefully moving so quickly that I’m barely a blur, find a blind spot. Once I know the coast is clear, I’ll come back for her. She nods in agreement and steps back, giving me the space to take off.
What I see on the other end nearly makes me come to a stop. I count ten guards walking around before I finally find a blind spot large enough for Katie and me. I pause there, panting.
The room is large and deep. Cells upon cells are wrapped around the expanse, and I count at least twenty floors. It’s a huge fall to the bottom but the guards roam without fear. I’m on the third floor, and I make sure the coast is clear before I peer over the railing.
Xander could be in any of these. It looks like there are about one hundred cells in this place. With the guards and the time it would take to look through the narrow slits of each of them it feels like a mission more than just impossible.
Another group of guards rush forward, so quickly that I have no choice but to walk past them, shoulder against shoulder. The chill of fear that lashes through me is impossible to describe. I’m one hundred percent certain that they’ll be attempting to rip me to threads in just a second. But that second comes and it goes and seemingly, despite the ill-fit of it, the uniform manages to be a good enough disguise. I continue down the corridor and see exactly what we’re looking for. Just the way it was in the blueprint Reece had stolen, there’s a small door on this corridor. Blink and you might miss it. I don’t have to see Xander to know that that is exactly where he’s locked away.
I make my way back to Katie.
“There’s a door down there.”
“A door?”
“I’m pretty sure Xander’s on the other side.”
“Pretty sure isn’t certain. You’re willing to risk it?”
“I’m willing to do what I need to do to find him.”
She nods. We take a few breaths, preparing ourselves for the run to come. Then we take off. We manage to charge through the hallways with no obstruction. Of course, that rings the deafening kind of alarm bells. This seems too easy. Way too easy. But no matter how easy this is, something deep down tells me it’s about to get worse, that I’m about to walk into something I might not find my way out of.
I can’t let Katie get a whiff of my fears and so I come to a stand, making my way to the door with a bravery I don’t feel. I only nod at her this time and she catches on. Same plan, hopefully with the same results.
The instant I go through the doors, I know this is different and it’s luck, sheer luck, that keeps me from getting caught. The layout is the same, except it’s only three floors instead of twenty and I know instantly that this is where Xander’s being kept. The guard by the door zeroes in on me and it’s by the grace of something much, much bigger that I manage to jab a syringe into his neck before a single word passes his lips.
Only three floors. Not many, which means there aren’t as many guards to deal with, but it doesn’t make me feel any better.
If I get caught, I won’t be able to get away. I’ll have to stand and fight.
The smart thing to do is to leave. Yes, backtrack, get out and prepare for this when we’re coming back.
But this is so easy. The words in the back of my mind are not logic. They’re stupidity. It’s the things you don’t see that you should fear. It’s the invisible that’s impossible to beat.
Xander has to be here, I know that. He has to. Hunched down, I’m scanning the area like a madwoman. I know Katie’s head is spinning just as fast as mine. There aren’t nearly enough guards here. Why?
On my command, Katie switches spots, following right behind me, moving as quietly and as discreetly
as we can manage. We round a corner and again, it’s as still and as silent as the one before. Looking up is when real chaos ensues.
Boering.
The anger comes hard and fast. I immediately know why he’s here.
A second goes by. I let it. Another one goes by. I think about what to do. By the time the next second has gone, I’ve made my decision.
Without hesitation, I reach into my bag and withdraw the small device Reece gave me. I press the screen and a second later, it lights up, displaying the word ‘SENT’.
“Go back,” I whisper to Katie.
“Mariella.”
“Go back.” My voice is a whisper, but it’s harsher this time. She wants to rebel, I know it. I can feel it. But she’s also not going to disobey me.
When I look back up at Boering, the fear is gone. So is the nervousness. I walk out of my blind spot. I know that at any second, a guard could see me. And a second later, one does.
“Hey!” he shouts. “How did you get back here?”
Before he finishes the sentence, I move. I grab his hand and twist it back then jab my hand lightly into his throat. He has no power against the tranquilizer and within a few seconds, his body hits the ground. I throw him aside, continuing on my way, now the center of attention.
Before I know it, alarms are being raised, the other guards getting into action. A red light goes off and I hear the sound of metal doors being slammed down. I’m trapped in, but little do they know that I am exactly where I want to be.
They try to rush me, batons raised. I know that if I so much as touch one, I’ll be weak for hours. I duck under the fist that swings at my head, ramming my own fist into the guy’s stomach so hard it breaks through to the other end. With a roar, I twirl, using his body like hammer as I slam into another. I whip his body off my arm, grabbing the two fallen batons and it seems to bolster me.
No matter how charged up I am though, I see the baton in my peripheral a second too late. I tense, preparing myself for its impact when a sudden foot to the jaw has the wielder shooting five feet away from us. Katie lands in a crouch, whipping out her knives. “I couldn’t leave you alone,” she says by way of apology.
More guards charge forward and Katie’s grin widens at the sight of them and I grimace as she slashes the first one right through the center, splitting everything down to his cock in two.
Evidently she can handle herself and I don’t allow myself to doubt her. The longer I spend out here, the more time Boering has to get away.
“Reece and the others should be here soon,” I say to her, twisting the arm of the man beneath my boot and breaking it with a snap. “I’m going after Boering.”
“Wait.” She pauses. Someone sneaks up behind her and she elbows backwards, sending him to his knees. She doesn’t take her eyes off me. “Boering is here?”
I only nod at her. I whip my leg to the side, knocking half the teeth out of one guard. I use his fallen body as a footstool to jump higher into the air. The baton I wield slices through the neck of three vamps by the time I make it to the ground. I race away, leaving Katie to fend for herself, blood trailing in my wake.
With the noise and chaos around me, I have to fight way to the bottom. Body after body falls around my feet and I’m stepping over one to move on to another. The base grows closer and closer and closer until I finally make it, panting, covered in human blood, and welding bright batons in both hands. The moment I spot him, I get excited. Hungry, even.
“Mariella,” he greets, his eyes wide with surprise. “Are you the one causing all this mess?”
His shocked tone bothers me, angers me. As if he doesn’t already know why I’m here. But if he wants to play that game then,so be it. “It’s a smaller mess than the one you’ve created, Boering,” I say finally.
“Mariella, what you’re doing is crazy.”
“I think we both know I’ve never been thinking more clearly in my life.”
A shadow passes over his face, gone so quickly that I wonder if I imagined it. He straightens, looking at me more closely. “Are you here for a purpose? To free the prisoners?”
“I have one person in mind.”
He smirks, huffing a laugh I hear amidst all the noise. Slowly, he looks behind him, at the cell door he’s standing in front of. Then he looks at someone to his left, someone I haven’t been paying much attention to until he steps forward, into a swath of light. Buillard.
He’s grinning from ear to ear, staring at me as if I’m his next meal.
“I wish you all the luck with your endeavors, but I think you know this is as far as you get.”
Boering takes off. I see the moment he does and I do too. He can’t get away. I won’t allow him to get away. But his lackey steps in front of me, with that sickening broad grin. He blocks my path and Boering slips right by.
I roar in outrage. The fury that lances me has me throwing the first punch. Buillard blocks it, following with an uppercut that’s so fast, it brushes against my chin as I jerk backwards.
I notice the guards around me, the ones watching us as we circle each other. He’s still grinning, looking so confident I want to tear his mouth clean off his face.
“You grew up nicely,” he comments. “But you’ve lost your edge. Shacking up with a human will do that to you.”
He strikes first this time and he’s quick with it. I don’t have the time to dodge so I block and the force of it sends me careening into the cell door. The metal bends under my pressure, but I’m quick to get to my feet. I charge after him, claws out, swiping at his face. He grabs my hand, his other arm whipping around but I whirl out of his grasp, get behind him and send him careening into the metal door. Except, I don’t give him the time to get back up. I pummel him in the face, denting the metal even further. Then again in the stomach. I don’t give him the space to lash out in retaliation. All he can do is block my punches and my kicks. Some land where intended, others don’t. But I don’t stop. I’m screaming now, roaring as I shove Buillard into the metal door behind him.
The metal bends and bends until it folds under pressure. He goes flying through the cell, colliding into the opposing wall.
Buillard isn’t smiling anymore, his forearms bruised and bloody. He staggers to his feet, but I don’t give him much space to move. I ram him back against the wall, nails digging into his neck. He grabs me and tries to pin me to the ground but I expect it. I slip out his grasp, get behind him and sink my teeth deep into his neck. His blood is sickly sweet, filling my mouth instantly. I continue to bite down until my teeth touch each other, then I rip his neck out.
Blood spurts out, staining the unpainted walls. It drips down my chin, slick on my hands. He slips to the floor, eyes open. I stare at him, spitting his flesh out.
Then Reece appears. He’s also covered in blood — though not as much as I am — and for a second I fear that it’s his. He rushes in, stepping over Buillard’s body, grabbing my shoulders. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I assure him.
I look over to the corner where a man watches us. His beard is full, his hair long, dirty blond, and unkempt. He’s in a grimy brown jumpsuit, watching Reece and I as if he can’t believe his eyes. Despite his rugged appearance, he’s impossible not to stare at wide eyed. I feel something shift in my chest and I shake my head, not understanding what the hell is going on.
Reece looks where I’m looking and his mouth falls open. “Xander…” He rushes over to him, envelops the other man in a strong hug. Xander hugs back but his eyes are on me. I don’t move.
“You’re alive, Reece,” he says. His voice is very deep. “Good to know you’ve been taking care of yourself all this time. Is that who I think it is?”
Reece pulls away and looks back at me. I swear I see something flicker in his eyes but it’s too quick to put my finger on. “That’s her.”
Xander makes his way to me. His eyes are wide in awe and when he’s finally before me, I notice how tall he is. How bright his eyes are. And even bu
ried behind the beard there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s breathtakingly handsome. So much so that I struggle for enough breath to introduce myself.
“You’re alive,” he whispers, relief stark in his voice. “Oh, thank God.”
Before I know what’s happening, Xander sinks to his knees. He takes my hand, kissing the back of it a million times over.
At the touch of his lips, it feels like fireworks exploding in every inch of my body. His touch is electric, setting me on fire and turning my tongue to cotton.
Fuck.
Xander looks back up at me. He meets my gaze, seemingly staring into my soul and I can’t look away.
Reece breaks in. “We have to go. The reinforcements will be coming soon and we don’t want to be caught here. Xander, can you keep up?”
Xander rises. He stares at me a second longer than necessary before he turns to Xander. “The question is, can you keep up with me?”
He grins, as does Reece. We can hear the shouts now, the thunder of boots, and a split second later, Katie appears at the door. Her mouth is free of blood, surprisingly, but her knives are dripping. “I think it’s time to go,” she says.
Xander breaks into a run, jumping into the air. Before he lands, his clothes are torn apart and, in a matter of a second, the man becomes a large, brown wolf. He lands right in front of Katie who’s staring at him wide-eyed. I understand the feeling.
Xander looks back at Reece, who takes the hint and climbs on his back. I follow behind him, still a bit too dazed to say much.
“Shall we?” Katie says before we all race out of there.
Xander is faster. I don’t know how, but he’s always one step ahead, and I have a feeling he isn’t even putting out his full speed. Reece scoops up one of the fallen batons as we run and he uses it to barge through the reinforcements we cross paths with. I don’t stop to do maximum damage and neither does Katie. They aren’t expecting our speed, and we rush through them, leaving those behind that didn’t come in our path. At long last, we make it out.
The sirens follow us. As do the guards. They level guns at us, silver bullets flying everywhere, and one goes through my arm. I don’t let it slow me down. I push through the pain, making sure to keep up with the others until we make it back to the car.
Rogue Academy: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Academy Romance (Rogue Vampire Academy Book 1) Page 14
