by M. K. Dawn
Tito laughed. “These are my men. The other packs will find their own way inside. That way if one group fails, there are others to back them up.”
Nikko joined the group with Leo by his side. “Sorry for the delay. It took longer to find where Leo had the pack hidden.”
“Thank you, Nikko.” Ethan turned to Leo. “And thank you for coming.”
“When our pack leader calls, we come.”
Ethan patted Leo on the back. “It wasn’t an order. Any of you could have refused.”
“None refused, but we only allowed fifty to make the trip.” Leo pointed to the men and women hovering around the vehicles. “The rest stayed back to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”
Darrien scanned the large group of people who gathered closer. “That’s probably for the best. I don’t know how the hell we’re going to get all these people into the Immortal Realm unnoticed, let alone make it to the banquet hall.”
Tito scoffed. “Ethan said you needed as many men as we could spare.”
“To be honest with you, Tito,” Darrien clicked his tongue, “I didn’t think you and the other packs would show.”
“Why?” Tito’s eyes glowed. “You think we don’t care about the fate of our people?”
“No, because you’re a dick.” Darrien took a menacing step forward. “And because you held us captive, drained my blood, tried to kill us, and cursed your own kind so we’d turn against each other. Should I go on?”
“You’re still alive,” Tito grinned, “and you came to me for help. I respect that. But we can leave if you want.”
“No,” Evie interjected, “we need all the help we can get. Between the witches and the vampires, none of us can do this alone.”
Darrien’s eyes caught the sun peeking over the trees. He held his breath until the first ray of light touched his skin, afraid Silvaria’s spell would break at any moment. “The sun’s up. The one thing we know for sure is the vampires inside those walls cannot greet us as long as we stay in the light. Can’t say the same for the when we reach the banquet hall.”
“How do you expect us to get to the banquet hall?” Tito asked. “Not like we can drive our vehicles through the club.”
“Last time we were here, they shot the whole place up and killed all the patrons.” Darrien gestured towards the trees, to the line at the vehicles. “Just like on this side of the wall, I’m guessing the cars are still there. We hot-wire them and we’ll be on our way.”
“And if they’re not?” Tito asked, his questions grating on Darrien’s nerves.
“Then we walk until we find cars to steal.” Darrien examined the faces of the men and women who’d moved closer. “Is that going to be a problem?”
No one answered.
“Good.” Darrien rotated around and headed towards the entrance that looked to be nothing but a storm door. “Then lets get going. We don’t want to be caught outside when the sun goes down.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
“You think it was smart to split up?” Darrien, with Evie on his lap, squirmed in the passenger seat of the mid-size suburban they’d found outside of Blood Lust. With a shortage of vehicles, they had to squeeze to make everyone fit. “How do Tito and the others know where the banquet hall is?”
Ethan kept his eyes on the road. “It’s not a secret. They’ve been broadcasting the location for a week. It’s like they’re daring humans to show up.”
“We have detailed maps of every city in the Immortal Realm,” one of ten wolves in the back said; the mouthy one with the long beard. “Guarantee we know where we’re going better than you do.”
Like with all the comments the wolves had been making on this tedious drive, Ethan ignored him and focused on staying neutral. “Good to hear.”
Darrien snorted but kept his mouth shut.
Ethan steered the conversation to a more useful topic. “Darrien, you mentioned you’ve been to the banquet hall before. Is there anything you can tell us about the building or the surrounding area that can help?”
“I’m sorry,” the more vocal of the pack said. “You don’t have a plan?”
Darrien whirled around as fast as he could manage with Evie on his lap. “What was your name again?”
“Jett,” he said will a little less attitude.
“Jett,” Darrien repeated his name a half a dozen times. “I know this might be difficult for you to understand, but since we’ve found out the witches’ true intent—about a week ago—we have been shot at, separated, and forced to ask our enemy for help. So, no, we haven’t formulated a plan. We figured we’d wing it. That okay with you?”
Jett nodded.
“Good.” Darrien jerked his chin towards the rest. “Anyone else have a problem with the way we’re running things, we can pull over and let you out. You might even make it to the other side of the wall before sunset.”
Ethan laughed at the silence, but his amusement was short-lived as they turned down the street that led to the banquet hall. Dozens of locked metal storage building lined either side. “What the hell are those? Are those supposed to be there?”
Darrien shifted to his left. “They weren’t last time I was here.”
They slowed as they passed the conspicuous buildings. “Should we stop and check them out?”
“Maybe they’re remodeling the banquet hall,” Jett suggested, “or brought in stuff for the ball.”
Evie narrowed her eyes. “What kind of stuff?”
“I don’t know,” Jett rolled down the back window, “but something smells off.”
Ethan took a whiff of the air. “What is that? I can’t…I don’t think I’ve smelled anything like it before.”
“I think the actual smell,” Darrien said, “is being masked by another. What either are, I can’t tell.”
“I have a bad feeling about this.” Evie lowered her voice. “We should get set up for tonight. Even though we’re hours from sunset, we don’t know when they’ll start.”
Ethan hit the gas and headed to the back entrance of the banquet hall that resembled a castle. The empty lot did little to calm his nerves. “When did the Forsaken say they planned on arriving?”
“They had a longer drive.” Darrien opened his door and helped Evie out. “But they also planned to leave in the middle of the night and drive the back roads until they reached the city by daybreak.”
“They could have been delayed,” Evie suggested. “Got a late start, hard car trouble, traffic—”
Darrien kissed her forehead. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do. I’m not worried. Not yet.”
Ethan moved to the front of the SUV with Darrien and Evie, the wolves close behind. “Should we wait for the others or go in?”
“We’d be less noticeable going in a few at a time.” Darrien stared at the entrance. “On the other hand, if an ambush is waiting, we’ll be outnumbered and essentially screwed.”
“We can handle anything that awaits us inside,” Jett said.
Ethan had seen what a pack of werewolves could do against vampires, but that had been before the restoration of the vampires’ natural instincts. “As confident as you might be, we need to be smart about this.”
“No offense,” Jett planted his hands on his hips, “but how is standing out here in the open smarter than going inside?”
“He has a point.” Darrien turned to Ethan. “It’s your call.”
“Why is it my call?”
Darrien shrugged. “Your woman, your call.”
“Fine.” Ethan locked the SUV and jammed the keys in his pocket. “We go inside, but we stay together. Check each room one at a time. Find a place to set up.”
Ethan led them to the back entrance and cracked the door. “I don’t hear anything.”
Darrien pushed past him and stuck his head inside. “Let me. My hearing is better.” He paused for a moment. “Nope. Not a sound.”
This wasn’t the time for a pissing match between the two, so Ethan held his tongue. Kind of. “Thanks
for the verification. Why don’t you go first since you’re the only one who’s been here before.”
“Technically,” Darrien lowered his voice as they entered the building, “Evie’s been here too.”
“True,” Evie whispered, “but I wasn’t allowed to do any exploring.”
“Ah,” Jett slapped his thigh, “that’s where I’ve seen you before. You’re that reporter. The advocate for equality between vampires—Sanguines—and humans.”
“Blackmailed to be an advocate,” Evie corrected.
Jett leaned closer. “Blackmailed?”
“The Council threatened to kill everyone close to me if I didn’t comply.”
“Damn.”
Even though Ethan had heard this story before, it still killed him that Evie had gone through that alone. Worst yet, most humans—even people who had known her since she was a child—branded her a traitor. Ethan had even denounced her publicly. It had been Evie’s idea to do so, but looking back, he wished he had fought harder to find out why she would go to such lengths to push her family aside.
Darrien paused in front of a set of swinging doubled doors, raised a finger to his lips, then pointed inside.
He could hear it too. The sounds of metal clanking and fire burning. A kitchen, perhaps.
Ethan glanced down the hall. They could turn back, but he didn’t notice any other halls. Just doors. If they led somewhere other than rooms, he couldn’t tell. He wasn’t sure it was a smart idea to take such a risk.
Evie started to speak but Darrien covered her mouth and pointed to his ears. If it was vampires on the other side—which seemed like the most logical conclusion—then they could hear even the slightest sound they made.
Ethan met Darrien’s eyes and tried his best to communicate with him. With limited, the one thing they had going for them were the ten—no, twelve counting him and Evie—werewolves. If there weren’t too many on the other side of the door, they’d be able to take them without a problem. Maybe without bloodshed. They probably should have discussed no killing unless necessary beforehand.
Before Ethan had a chance to share, Darrien inched open the door. The room fell silent except for the sound of food cooking.
Darrien hadn’t moved in a couple of seconds, which in itself was a bit unnerving. There wasn’t much that stopped Darrien in his tracks.
Ethan moved closer to get a better look. He couldn’t be sure behind the chef hats and jackets, but some of them looked familiar; he couldn’t figure out from where. Or what side they were on.
“Darrien?” A man with black-rimmed glasses moved from behind a severing station. “Are you okay?”
“Oliver?” Darrien staggered closer. “Jesus. What the hell are you—all of you—doing here?”
Ethan didn’t care; he could have hugged each of them for being...well, them—and here.
“Back to work, everyone,” Oliver directed as he joined their group. “Darrien, you’re pale. Do you need to sit?”
“You scared the shit out of me.” Darrien regained his composure. “I wasn’t expecting to find you all here.”
Oliver furrowed his brow. “What do you mean? You knew we were meeting you here.”
“Here!” Darrien looked to Evie and then Ethan. “Here yes, but not in the kitchen playing Betty Crocker.”
“Oh.” Oliver cleaned his glasses on a white handkerchief he pulled from his pocket. “I see. By here you mean here.”
Ethan wanted to laugh but thought better of it. Darrien already hung on the edge of an outburst and Ethan didn’t think it wise to push him over.
“Yes, here!” Darrien jabbed his finger towards the exit. “How…where?”
“I think what Darrien is trying to say is,” Ethan clasped his arm, “is we didn’t see any vehicles in the back parking lot.”
“We parked in the underground garage.”
Darrien dropped his head into his hands. “Son of a bitch.”
“Guessing you didn’t know about that?” Ethan asked.
“Nope.”
Oliver fiddled with his glasses. “Well, yes. Even before the spells were broken, being out in the sun was exhausting. It makes sense they’d have a way to get inside where the sun wasn’t a factor.”
“That explains why we didn’t know you were here.” Darrien’s eyes scanned the kitchen. “Doesn’t explain what the hell you’re doing cooking.”
“That also has a simple explanation. When we arrived, the chefs had already begun the prep work for tonight’s non-human feast. We knocked them out and took over. Figured it would be a great way for us to wander around without being noticed.”
For the first time in days, Ethan felt like this plan might actually work. That was until Darrien opened his mouth.
“What if someone figures out you’re not the catering company they hired?”
“As far as anyone knows,” Oliver tugged at the emblem on his stolen jacket, “we are the catering company. If anyone asks for the head chef or owner or whoever runs the damn thing, we’ll stall.”
“He’s right, Darrien.” Ethan said, “Once the witches show up, the party will be over and no one will care who is who. They’re just going to be trying to get out alive.”
“If you think it’ll work.” Darrien turned to Evie, who offered a supportive smile. “What about the rest of the castle?”
“It’s secure. A group of our men searched the place from top to bottom. There’s no one else here.”
Evie scratched at her arm. “They’re a cocky bunch, aren’t they?”
“Or they have a reason to be confident.” Ethan thought back to the storage buildings along the street. “Did you happen to inspect the metal containers outside?”
“Nope.” Oliver rocked on his heels. “It was already daylight when we arrived. Plus, there’s not much we can do about them now.”
“If the catering already arrived,” Darrien rubbed his chin, “that probably means others won't be too far behind. We need to go get set up.”
“Take the upstairs. That’s where we’ve stored the gear. From what we can tell, they won’t allow the regular guests up there. I’ve replaced the guards with our own. If someone is on their way, you’ll have plenty of notice.”
“Thanks.” Ethan motioned for the wolves to make their way up. “There are more wolves on the way. A hundred or so. Can you direct them upstairs when they arrive?”
“Of course.” Oliver jerked his head at the sound of pans crashing to the ground. “I’ve got to go. If we’re going to pretend to be the caterers, might be a good idea to have food to serve.”
Once out of earshot, Ethan turned to Darrien and Evie. “If guests aren’t going to be allowed upstairs, there’s a good chance that’s where Guinevere will take the heirs to perform the spell.”
Evie’s eyes widened. “Chance isn’t good enough. We need to make sure that’s where they’re going to be. That way we’re the ones in control of the situation, not the other way around.”
Darrien pulled Evie into his side and kissed her cheek. “Beautiful and tactical.”
Ethan tapped his foot. “Can we focus? What do you have in mind?”
“When Samantha arrives, we get a message to her; let her know when they have the heirs, they need to bring them upstairs. Give a specific room.”
Ethan liked the idea, but he didn’t know what the execution would look like. “Do you have a plan?”
“Well,” Evie looked to Darrien, “the waitstaff is ours. We attach a note to a drink and the waiter will present it to Samantha.”
“I like it,” Darrien grinned, “but it depends on Samantha being allowed to roam the party unescorted.”
“They’ll have no other choice,” Evie said. “Samantha’s the bait that will lure the others into the witches’ web.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Samantha stared down at the white ball gown laid out on her bed and shuddered. It wasn’t a coincidence they would wear white tonight when the vampires had planned to slaughter humans on live TV
. No matter how hard Samantha had tried to not drip any blood when she drank from the vein, it always happened. Tonight, when the feeding began, there would be no such courtesy. The heirs would want their clothes stained in blood—a sight that was truly horrific in the eyes of the humans who watched.
“Are you ready?” Laras called from outside her bedroom.
He had been one of the assigned guards keeping her imprisoned in her hut—not that she had any intention of running. The witches were her only means of getting out of Brazil and meeting up with her friends at the banquet hall. If she fled, they couldn’t perform the spell, but that would mean putting her friends’ lives in danger. She had no doubt Guinevere would send someone to kill them out of spite.
“Hurry up!” Laras banged on the door. “We are to meet the others in less than five minutes.”
Samantha wanted nothing more than to stall a bit longer, but what good would that do her? They were going whether she was dressed or not.
She slipped on the dress and heels to match and marched out of her bedroom, passing Laras on her way to the front door. “I’m ready. What are you waiting for? Let’s go.”
He stalked behind her, slamming the door as she sauntered down the stairs. If they thought she would break—show fear—they had another thing coming. As scared as she was, it helped to know it wouldn’t be long before they were all reunited again. That her friends would be there not to save her, but to help her stop the madness of the witches.
Samantha paused at the bottom step, the skirt of her gown bunched in her hands. “Which way?”
“Follow me.” Laras headed left without a single glance back. He either could hear Samantha’s heels scraping against the gravel or he knew she wouldn’t dare defy Guinevere a second time.
The trauma they had inflicted on Silvaria had been horrendous. Even though Samantha hadn’t seen her since that night in the town square, she could imagine the swelling along her cheekbones and the bruises that marked her skin had only gotten worse.
“A few minutes late,” Guinevere sneered when they reached the outskirts of the village. “Do you still not know what I am capable of?”
