by E. M. Moore
Nic’s husky voice spoke next. “We won’t be able to see you until you get over the wall and even then, none of us is sure which place you’re talking about. We may not be able to see you until you get closer to the building. Again, there are four vampires around the perimeter. I have two of them on screen now just walking back and forth. The other two we don’t have visual on.”
“Gotcha,” I said, spotting my limb in front of me. “I’m at the spot in the wall. About to pull myself over.”
Butterflies swarmed in my stomach, mirroring the reaction I had when I went out on the scouting trip with Lex, Matthews, and T.J. Only this time, it was double. I was out here on my own. The decisions were all mine and I’d deal with the consequences myself. There was something relieving and terrifying about that at the same time. At least I wasn’t putting anyone else in danger, but if I made the wrong move, that was also on me too.
I hefted myself over the wall, grabbed the tree limb and swung myself down like I’d done once before. I landed in a crouch and took in my surroundings. I couldn’t see anyone nearby. Staying in the shadows as much as I could, I ran across the lawn toward the door I knew would bring me near the kitchen area in the trainee building.
“We got you on the feed,” Nic said, his voice tense. “Be aware. Rogue to your right.”
I looked right and saw a vamp coming around the side of a building. I crouched down low, but it was too late, he’d seen me. At the same time, Connor said, “He’s seen you.”
I sprung forward, eating up the distance between us as fast as I could. The quicker I could dispatch him, the less chance he would have to signal any of his rogue buddies that I was here. “Stop there,” he called out, his hand coming up in a stop sign motion.
I still came forward, his hand went to his belt and I realized I didn’t have enough time to get a close up shot. I pulled one of the stakes from my pants and flicked my wrist just like T.J. had shown us. The stake turned end over end through the air all the while I still made my attack on him. It sunk into his upper chest, closer to his shoulder than his heart. Shit. I grabbed for another stake. Even though he’d stumbled and fallen to the ground, I knew it hadn’t been a kill shot and I couldn’t afford to leave anyone alive to call for help. I tackled him, my stake coming up and then arcing down, finally sinking into its target.
I watched as the life drained from his eyes. Blood pooled on his shirt just like it had with Christian that night. Without dwelling on it, I pulled the two stakes out of the vamp, wiped them on the grass and then placed them back into my pants. “How am I doing now?” I asked.
Four collective breaths released. Nicolai grumbled something, but Connor was the first one to speak up with any information. “No other rogues on screen. Be careful.”
I slipped back into the shadows, making my way toward the back entrance. “Remember,” Nic said, we have no feed of the staff areas. You’ll be entirely on your own until you make it into the cafeteria.”
“Let’s just hope I have help with me by then.”
Since the door was an exit only, I used my fingernails to pry it open from the outside. It was a heavy metal door, but once I’d made enough room to slip my fingers through, I pulled it open. It made a whining noise the whole way and then a hard smack hit me in the cheek. I fell backward, grunting, as the plain bloomed and blossomed out.
“What’s going on?” Christian asked.
I blinked, trying to regain my vision. In a second, a figure stood over me, his face coming closer, and closer. It wasn’t until he was almost on top of me that I recognized who it was. “T-T.J.,” I said. “It’s me. It’s Ariana.”
He pulled in close. Then he swore, and hauled me up to my feet. “Shit. What the hell are you doing here? The rogue vampires attacked us. I thought you were in the cafeteria with everyone else.”
I shook my head. My hand immediately cupping the tender skin on my cheek. I hissed in a breath, then said, “No. I was out.”
He looked behind me. “Is anyone else with you? Lex?”
“No one. They’re on their way, but it’s just me.” I pointed to the wires on my chest. “I’ve got the princes and Gregor in my ear and they tapped into the security footage so they can see what’s going on.”
He pulled me into the shadows, the door closing uneasily behind us. “So, what’s your guys’ plan?”
“I’ve brought weapons. If we can free some of the guards, they can fight with us.”
T.J. rubbed the back of his neck. “Gregor agreed to this?”
“Did we really have another choice? They were feeding on a trainee in there, T.J.. We could see it from the footage. We could wait another hour for the rest of the guards to get here or we can do something about it now.”
His voice came from a dark blob in front of me. “Can they make contact with Samuel?”
“No. Phones are cut off. They think there are others there as well up at the main house.” I pulled out a few stakes and knives and handed them to him. “From the footage, it looks like the trainees are being restrained. If we can cut them free, they can help us attack.”
T.J. flipped a stake in the air and then slid it into the back of his pants. He kept one knife for himself, and one stake securely in his right hand. He gave me the rest of the knives back. “We’ll head in. I want you to start freeing the trainees, I’ll head for the vamps. Once you free some, give them knives and tell them to start freeing one another, then come help me. Better yet, I’ll head in first and make a scene. You slip in afterward.”
I took a deep breath, my stomach roiling. Though it was silent where I was, I could hear the breaths of my princes through my earpiece. “Did you hear that?”
“Yes,” Nic said. The tension smothered me from the outside in.
I pictured the cafeteria in my mind. “Alright, if we’re coming into the cafeteria from the back of the room. Where’s the closest vamp?”
“He’ll be to your right. There’s two of them.”
T.J. looked at me expectantly. “Two to your right,” I said, repeating Connor.
“Okay. We’re going for the element of surprise,” T.J. said. With that, he turned around and burst through the door.
My heart skipped a beat, and I forgot how to breathe. I was by myself in an instant. Whatever was happening on the other side of the door couldn’t be heard from this side. I was alone, my heart beating in my throat, my ears, ticking down until it was game on.
Chapter Thirty
I tried to wait five seconds, but the truth of the matter was, as soon as I heard yelling, the panicked cries, I ran in behind T.J.
“To your left,” Connor said.
I immediately ducked down, and pulled a knife from my waistband. I yanked the first arms I could find and tried to see how they were restrained. Zip ties. The person squirmed, but I yanked harder. “Calm down. It’s Ariana. I’m going to free you, then you’re going to help me free the others.”
I slipped the knife between the wrists and the zip ties split instantly. The person scooted around. Liv. “We were wondering where you were,” she said.
I handed her the knife and moved on to the next person. It was Evan. “Jesus. Where have you been?”
“Later,” I said before freeing him and handing him a bunch of knives. I dumped some stakes on the ground. “Free two more and then start fighting.”
Hands clasped my shoulders and pulled me back roughly. At the same time, the voice in my ear said, “Behind you!”
Using my momentum, I kicked up and back, catching the vampire on the chin. He sprawled backward. I reached for a stake, but he wasn’t out of commission for that long. He flew at me again and we grappled on the floor, his teeth getting dangerously close to my neck. I kicked with all my might, but he was strong. “You’re going to taste so good,” he said, his breath searing my neck.
I cried out, trying as hard as I could to push him off me when he went lax. At first, I though he’d overpowered me and I was done for, but it wasn’t until the body fell aw
ay from me that I saw Evan’s hand outstretched toward me. He’d saved me. I smiled at him, briefly, then we both spun. I grabbed the stake out of the vamp’s back Evan had dispatched and moved in the direction T.J. had gone.
“He’s holding his own,” Connor said.
In front of me, the room was in chaos. More and more trainees were being freed on our side of the room while the ones on the other side were looking around in fright, wondering what the hell was going on. I ran forward, slamming my weight into a vampire who was making a meal out of one of the trainees. He growled as we skidded across the floor. I punched him in the face until he was a little less enthusiastic about fighting back and then sunk the stake into his chest before pulling it out again. I hadn’t saved the trainee he was feeding off of, but at least I stopped him from doing it to anyone else.
“T.J. needs your help. Back right corner.”
I moved toward that direction, dropping a couple of knives by a group of trainees who looked a little lost. “Free yourselves,” I said, “Then fight back.”
“Right!” Connor yelled.
I turned, and found two vampires had T.J. surrounded. He had only one stake and they were looking at him as if catching T.J. would be their greatest triumph. With a yell, I ran forward and hopped on one of their backs. At least from behind I wouldn’t have to worry about any biting business. The first weapon I could get my hands on was a knife. I used it to slit her throat, which wouldn’t kill her, but at least it would hurt like a bitch. She cried out and clawed at me, catching me in the face and neck. It stung, but because of Stephan’s salve, it didn’t hurt as badly as last time. She threw me over her head and I landed on the floor with a crack. She took her time eyeing me, almost circling like a hawk, and I, her prey. Slowly, I pulled the stake out of its hold on my right calf and held it up. It was just in time for her to fly at me. Her eyes widened and I knew as long as I had my aim correct, she’d be gone in a second. She slammed down, and within three seconds, she went limp.
“Nice one,” T.J. said. He hauled me to my feet and we looked on as a couple of trainees were in hand-to-hand combat with one vampire. Even more trainees were just standing around looking frightened, most likely in shock.
“How many left?” I asked, knowing they’d hear me over the mic.
“Two in the room and three are more than likely headed your way from the perimeter. Still not on screen.”
In front of me, the whole world paused as I saw one of the perimeter vampires enter the room and head straight for Zeke. He was searching the floor for a weapon and hadn’t realized he was in danger yet. “No!” I yelled. In that moment, Zeke looked up at me and then immediately spun. The vampire caught him by the throat and hoisted him into the air. I slid a stake from my back pocket and threw it. I hadn’t hit my target when I was outside. I wasn’t the best at long range stake fighting yet, but then, right then, I really needed it to hit home. A fellow trainee was two seconds away from losing his life.
The stake soared through the air and sunk into its target. At first, I couldn’t tell whether I had hit where I needed to, but it didn’t matter. It gave us just enough time so that T.J. was there. He gripped Zeke and pulled, but he hadn’t needed to. The vampire slumped backward, falling like a dead log, his head crashing off the tile at our feet.
Zeke rubbed at the claw marks on his neck, his eyes meeting mine for just a second before he pulled the stake out of the vamp and ran off, at least now with weapon in hand.
“Ariana,” a voice said in my ear. It was the stern, clear voice of Gregor. “Take T.J. with you and go to the Rajyvik’s main house. The trainees can handle the remaining vampires now.” I hesitated, looking around me. There were more trainees freed, some just looking around rubbing at their wrists. The fear and surprise was palpable in the room.“Now!” Gregor screamed.
I jumped, wincing as his words reverberated around my brain. “T.J.,” I called out. “Gregor wants us to head to the main house.”
He nodded, pocketing a stake and holding one out in front of him as I followed him through the chaos. Near the back entrance, I found Shannon helping free a pack of three trainees. I touched her arm, and she looked up at me, startled. “When everything’s over here, send as many trainees as you can to the main house.”
She nodded, her red hair wild around her face, and then went back to work, sawing through zip ties.
I hurried after the more experienced guard. We slipped through the back door and immediately, T.J. was swept off his feet and soaring through the air like a torpedo. They landed in a heap and I paused for a moment, taking in their struggle before I could tell myself to react. Moving forward, I stompkicked the side of the vamp, sending him sprawling to the ground beside T.J. who was then able to gain the upperhand, sinking his stake straight into the vamp’s chest.
He got to his feet, smiling. “We make a good team.”
I choked on a laugh. Adrenaline still coursed through my veins. My stomach flipped continuously like it was on its own personal rollercoaster and my whole body shook with a flood of emotions. Somewhere in the back of my head, I knew I’d have to dissect and analyze this day’s events at a later time, but right now, while we were stuck in the middle of it, I only had one objective. Gregor had told us to check on the Rajyvik’s and that was exactly what we needed to do. I felt sick when I thought of something happening to Natalie, Alexander, or Christopher. Samuel, either. I hadn’t agreed with his decision making, but that didn’t mean I wanted him to suffer because of it. If anything, when all this was over, we could use it as evidence on how to react differently next time.
My breaths came in short intakes and outtakes as we sprinted across the lawn, under the archway, and then onto the Rajyvik’s personal property. “What do we know about what’s going on here?” T.J. asked.
“Nothing,” I said. “No cameras. No communication whatsoever.”
“Great. So we’re going in blind.”
We didn’t have a chance to make plans. The front door opened and T.J. and I both skidded to a stop. The sound of a walkie talkie sounded, but I knew it wasn’t from our side. Something about the voice triggered my memory though. A thick, male accent. Gasps sounded from my earpiece. “Dumont,” Gregor cursed.
“Watch out, Ri,” Nicolai shouted a second before the guy barreled toward us. I ran out of the way and tried to kick out, wanting to trip him and save myself at the same time, but he was so fast. Too fast. He pushed T.J. out of the way and kept going. Like a blur of black, he ran across the lawn and I lost sight of him in the shadows.
There were too many voices in my head now. Way too many. I tried to concentrate on the ones I knew, but others kept forging themselves through. Mostly Gregor, but I recognized others, too. Lex. She was alerting them that they were at the front gate to The Fort. Connor was telling her to help secure the guard building and then head over to the Rajyvik house where she’d find us.
At the same time, T.J. and I leapt to our feet and started for the main entrance, the door to which was now wide open. There were voices inside, cries. T.J. and I hurried through, making sure to take in our surroundings. There was a body on the floor, a vampire I recognized from the alleyway that one night, the same one who clawed me. Samuel and another man towered over him while a woman and Natalie and her family stood off to the side, Christopher tucked in her arms.
Samuel spun as soon as he heard our footsteps. His rigid shoulders drooped when he recognized us. “T.J.,” he said, his eyes only stopping on mine once before going back to his. “Is everyone at The Fort okay?”
“There are casualties,” T.J. informed him. “But more were saved than lost.”
“Lex and the other guards just got here,” I told him, my heart finally settling down into an easy rhythm with the threats gone and more help on the way. “They’ll be helping there before coming here.”
“Status at the Rajyvik’s?” Gregor asked in my ear.
I half-turned. I held a finger to the earpiece and said, “All looks okay. One d
ead rogue vampire. The vampire who barreled out of the house disappeared, but Samuel and his family are fine.”
“I’m on my way there,” Christian said.
“Don’t.” I turned my back even more on T.J. and Samuel. “Wait until you get the all clear.”
A scream tore through my center. I turned to find the older gentleman next to Samuel fall to the ground. Behind him stood the vampire I assumed was dead. He bared sharp, white teeth at the rest of us, and winked at me, sending a gross shiver down my spine. T.J. stepped back into his battle-ready stance while I inched closer to the group on the other side of the room.
“Dumont left me, did he?” The vamp coughed and spit blood on the carpet next to him. A stake jutted out from his chest, but it was just off-center. It hadn’t killed him, obviously. Stunned and probably hurt like a bitch, but didn’t kill. I should’ve noticed that.
“Christian?” Nicolai growled.
“Already on my way,” he said.
I closed my eyes and swallowed. I didn’t want him anywhere near here.
The rogue vamp pulled the wood stake from his chest and pointed it at me. Blood dripped from the end, staining the carpet. “Stop,” he warned, his eyebrow raising at my continued steps toward the huddled group in the corner. “You seem to be always around.”
I shrugged. “So do you.”
The corner of his mouth tilted up into a sly grin. “You’re the one, aren’t you? The one destined to be the Ravanas’ guard.” He shook his head. “I definitely don’t envy you.”
I watched closely, keeping him talking so T.J. might be able to surprise him. “Oh yeah, why’s that?”
“I’m afraid the Ravanas are a dying breed. You’re going to have your work cut out for you.”
I smirked. “Who? By you? Please. You’re practically dead already.”
He waved the stake around casually. “I know things.” His tongue flirted with the tips of his fangs.
