by Alicia Rades
Finally, I reached out for the door I needed. Just as I twisted the knob, the door at the end of the hall swung open wider.
“Hey!” a deep voice shouted.
Instinct told me to spring into action, but instead I froze. Plan B: If caught, just play the part. According to Venn, so many people milled around this place that most wouldn’t give it a second thought, but they would come after you if you ran.
“What are you doing down here?” A huge guy emerged from the room and locked eyes with me. Even in the dim light, I could make out his pale skin and silver eyes.
I could totally take him. Maybe. Probably not. He was built like a bodybuilder.
“Laundry, sir,” I lied, using my best submissive tone. I dropped my gaze to the guy’s chest. Venn told me not to look the vamps straight in the eye.
Bodybuilder glared down at me disapprovingly. “Laundry runs during the day. You should know that.”
“Sorry, sir,” I said, improvising. “I’m new. I came in with the last group of blood slaves and was assigned to laundry duty. I just wanted to learn my way around.”
“I thought they had a tour yesterday.” Bodybuilder inhaled, as if searching for my scent. When he didn’t find it, a smile crept across his face. He could tell I was a shifter, and he knew I’d make one heck of a meal.
“There were some reassignments,” I lied. “I missed the first tour.”
Bodybuilder stepped forward, gazing at me like he wanted to eat me. Which was probably true. “So, you haven’t been assigned to anyone yet?”
I stepped back, still clinging on to my submissive act. “I thought you weren’t supposed to feed off anyone but your own. Isn’t Maliya strict about that?”
Bodybuilder scoffed. “She doesn’t care unless you’ve already been assigned.”
“I’m being assigned soon,” I said. “I’ll need my strength.”
I loved how frightened I sounded. It was damn convincing.
“Assignments won’t be for another week.” Bodybuilder said, taking another step closer to me. “You’ll regain your strength by then.”
“Won’t you lose your job?” I pulled at any strings I could. Not because I was scared, but because I didn’t want this to get messy.
“I’ll bring that up with Maliya myself,” Bodybuilder snarled. “You should really learn to keep your mouth shut, shifter girl. You’ll not want to ever forget your place here.”
Bodybuilder lunged for me so fast that I didn’t have time to react. His strong arm gripped my wrist, and his fangs elongated. I quickly calculated my options. On the one hand, I could play the part. On the other, this sure fell into the absolutely necessary category.
I’d already been bit once. And damn, it felt great. No one ever told me it would feel so good, like all the worries in the world didn’t matter. If I’d let that vamp feed on me any longer, I might’ve never wanted him to stop. Maybe there was a reason blood slaves didn’t run. It was like a drug. But I wasn’t a druggie. No one got anywhere near my blood without my consent.
I swung my elbow upward. It connected with Bodybuilder’s nose with a sickening crunch. His hands flew to his face. I didn’t waste any time swinging my knee into his groin as hard as I could. He let out a grunt and sank to the ground, but not before reaching out and grabbing my arm, pulling me to the floor with inhuman strength. Pain shot across my shoulder as my body slammed into the ground. Bodybuilder jumped on top of me, his fangs heading straight for my neck.
I struggled against him, my breathing ragged. Maybe attacking was a bad move. A vamp of Cowen’s size I could handle, but I didn’t have the strength to combat this guy. He held my wrists against the ground and used his weight to keep my hips against the floor. It all happened so fast, and I mentally screamed at myself for letting him get me in this position. Rule one of fighting vampires: Don’t ever let them get the upper hand. If you do, you’re dead.
Shifter magic tingled through my body. My wrists shrank out of Bodybuilder’s arms, and within a second, I was free. Bodybuilder nearly squashed me, but he caught himself. I managed to squeeze out from beneath his giant belly. I dove for him and slashed my talons across the top of his head. It was enough to make him pause, though he didn’t cry out in pain as I expected him to. I was about to go for his eyes—always the eyes; those were the best part—when Bodybuilder’s arm shot out and he scooped me out of the air.
For the first time all night, my heart pounded not from the excitement but from fear. Bodybuilder drew his arm back and whipped me against the wall. My small raven body slumped to the ground as I gasped for air, my back throbbing. Bodybuilder stood and stalked toward me, a triumphant smirk fixed to his face.
I didn’t have time to catch my breath. If Bodybuilder got ahold of me, he was going to suck me two pints from dry. I was sure of it.
Not today, asshole!
He loomed over me and reached down. Before his hands could touch my feathers, I sprang out of his reach. Within a second, I was already shifting back into human form. Using all my strength, I jumped and kicked off the wall then spun mid-air, my leg aimed at his face. My heel cracked against the side of his head.
Bodybuilder’s entire body flew sideways. His head slammed into the wall, and he slumped to the ground, unconscious.
I gazed down at him for only a second, trying to decide if I should leave him, kill him, or hide the body. I didn’t know how long I had before someone else came down here, so I didn’t want to leave him. Venn made it clear I wasn’t to kill anyone, so that was out of the question. If we kill one of them, they’ll come after us with an army, he’d said. If I left him here, I only had to worry about one vamp with a vengeance. Which meant I had to hide him and hope he didn’t wake up anytime soon.
I hooked my arms under his. With all my strength, I dragged the huge dude down the hall and dropped him into a storage closet.
A moment later, the sound of footsteps reached my ears. My whole body tensed, alert. Without another thought, I raced into the room I’d intended to enter earlier. It was so dark that I couldn’t see. Instinctively, I ducked into the first hiding place I could find with my hands. Fabric brushed by my face as I crouched in a narrow cubby space. Curtains, maybe?
“Dave?” I heard a deep voice outside the room. “Where’d you go? I brought you a soda.”
My guess was soda was code word for “fresh blood.”
Footsteps continued down the hall, and then I heard the sound of a door swinging open. Every inch of my body tensed as the footsteps neared the room I hid in. I held my breath, and my fingers curled into fists. Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea. We should’ve just forgotten about the locket.
Retrieve the locket, and Venn will help you get to Cowen, I reminded myself.
The door swung open. I squeezed my eyes shut, like that might make me invisible.
Don’t be scared, Rachel. Vampires don’t scare you.
True. They didn’t scare me… when I had a chance at escape. But here, my only chance at escape was the door I’d come through, the door a vampire was standing in right now.
“Dave?” the vampire called loud and clear.
I pictured him glancing around the dark room, but I didn’t open my eyes to check. I just held my breath, feeling like my lungs might explode. Thank God I wasn’t human. He’d hear my heart pounding for sure.
The door clicked shut, and I finally let my breath out. It felt like the first breath I’d taken in the last five minutes. Slowly, I emerged from my hiding spot.
My eyes finally adjusted to the darkness. A small window set high in the wall let in a small amount of light. I noticed several large appliances lining the far wall. When I glanced back to where I’d been hiding, I realized I’d been behind a row of clothes hanging off a closet rod. I’d known I was headed for the laundry room, but I pictured a small room with one washer and dryer, not a huge room fit for a resort. Then again, I suppose they needed it when they had a house the size of a hotel.
I crossed the room and stopp
ed when I reached the opposite wall. Just inches above my head, a square tube came down from the ceiling.
Bet they thought their laundry chute was safe. They should know better than that.
I shifted into raven form and flew up to the laundry chute, wedging myself in. Like the chimney, it wasn’t large enough for me to spread my wings in, but I was able to wiggle my way up by digging my talons into the wood on one side and pressing my back against the other.
The chute was cramped and stuffy, and I swore I only moved an inch a minute, but eventually, I reached the top. I kicked at the door, and it popped open. It took a crazy ninja move to launch myself out of the chute without falling all the way back down. Somehow, I managed to rustle my way out, though a couple of my feathers were now crooked.
I shifted and glanced around the room bathed in darkness. It was vast, with doors heading off in all directions. I guessed one of them had to be the bathroom, and another a closet. The two double doors must’ve led out into the hall.
A king bed stood at the center of the room, with a plush chasse situated at the end of it, and a chandelier hung from the tall ceiling. A long line of windows lined one wall, all covered in dark black curtains that had been pulled aside to offer a view of the garden.
Voices in the hall reached my ears, sending another surge of adrenaline through my veins. Getting caught was not part of the plan. I wouldn’t be able to talk my way out of what I was doing in Maliya’s bedroom. I scurried under the bed and tried to control my breathing, but it was shallow and ragged. I covered my mouth to keep from making any kind of noise.
To my relief, the voices continued down the hall. I still waited at least another minute before I crawled out from under the bed and got to my feet. I rushed over to the glass doors leading onto the balcony and twisted the lock. Ryland, Fiona, and Venn hurried over from where they hid in the shadows when I opened the door.
Venn’s hands were on the side of my face immediately, his eyes roaming mine for sign of injury. When he didn’t spot any in the darkness, he pulled me into a hug, sending my heart pounding so quickly that I was sure he could feel it. His breath rushed across my face, and my chest pressed against his. My whole body warmed in his arms. He held on to me protectively, and for a moment, I truly felt safe in his arms—albeit at risk of a heart attack.
This was the perfect time to make some snarky comment about how he could at least take me on a date first, but I held my tongue. I rather preferred the comforting embrace.
“Thank God,” Venn whispered. “We thought you’d been caught.”
“What took you so long?” Ryland hissed.
“I fell in,” I deadpanned.
“What?” He looked completely confused.
I shook my head as I drew away from Venn. “Never mind. Let’s find that locket.”
We all split off in different directions. I headed straight for the jewelry on the vanity across the room, Fiona silently opened drawers on a dresser nearby, and Ryland felt around on the bed.
Because she’s totally keeping it under her sheets. It’s not a freaking diary.
“Over here,” Venn whispered. He cocked his finger for us to follow him.
Venn led us over to a door with a keypad above the knob. He took a deep breath.
“How can he know the combination?” I whispered to Fiona.
She just gave me a shrug, but something told me she knew exactly how. Venn knew way too much about this mansion, about Maliya. It wasn’t hard to figure out why, but I didn’t want to believe it. And that wasn’t exactly the kind of thing you just brought up in casual conversation.
The keypad beeped twice. Victory surged through me, but the feeling didn’t last long. Venn cursed under his breath. My face fell. Those weren’t the beeps of a successful combination. It was an error message.
“I thought you knew the passcode,” Ryland whispered.
“I did.” Venn scowled at him. “But I also told you it could’ve changed. There was more than one reason I didn’t want to go through with this plan.”
“So we can’t get in?” Ryland sounded less than pleased.
I was feeling pretty much the same way. This plan was never going to work in our favor. How could I have thought it would?
“I get three tries. Let me try something else.” Venn placed his fingers at the corner of his eyes, like he was thinking really hard.
Seconds ticked by. The room was eerily silent apart from everyone’s breathing. I was half considering jumping forward and entering a random combination myself—even though there were probably a million combinations.
Finally, Venn opened his eyes and input a four-digit code. To my surprise, the lock disengaged. Venn twisted the knob, and the door swung open. When Venn said we’d have to break in to Maliya’s vault, I pictured a bank vault with safety deposit boxes or something. I didn’t picture a freaking room full of treasure.
Soft lighting illuminated the room when we stepped inside. It was the size of a large walk-in closet, with display cases lining the walls. Expensive jewelry sparkled beneath the glass. When I said expensive, I meant expensive. Like, probably in the millions. There was even a tiara placed in the center of the display case on the left, embedded with hundreds of shining diamonds. It wasn’t just jewelry, either. I spotted a knife and an old coin, too. I wasn’t sure of the significance of it all, but everything either looked old or worth a fortune. It took my breath away.
“Be quick,” Venn warned.
I stepped further into the room, searching for any sign of a locket. My heart leapt in my chest when the door beeped. I whirled around. We all exchanged a quick, alarmed expression, but it only lasted a split second. The door began swinging shut on its own.
“Run!” Ryland commanded the same time Fiona cursed under her breath.
Everyone sprang toward the moving door at the same time. Ryland made it out first, followed by Venn. I sprinted behind Fiona. Just before I made it to the door, my eyes caught sight of a golden locket in one of the display cases. I didn’t think twice of my next move. I reached for the glass and flipped the top up. I snatched the locket out of the case.
Fiona cried out in pain. The door had caught her on her way out, pinning her shoulder to the frame. There was no way I was fitting through the opening behind her. I shifted in a flash and scooped up the locket in my beak. Fiona managed to wiggle herself free, no doubt thanks to someone on the other side tugging at her.
I didn’t question my chances. I jumped for the crack in the door. The edge of the door brushed by my feathers. I thought for sure it would squash me and cut my head off or something, but by some miracle, I slipped out of the door with my head still intact.
Venn had stopped in the middle of the room and was ushering everyone toward the balcony. Fiona held on to her shoulder and sprinted behind Ryland. Venn’s eyes met mine, and I spread my wings. Venn took it as a cue to whirl around and follow behind everyone else. He knew I was right behind him.
We did it!
I couldn’t believe it.
Doors banged open behind me. I didn’t have time to react before something wrapped tightly around my leg and dragged me out of the air.
I spoke too soon.
The blood drained from my face as my eyes connected with Venn’s. Horror washed over his expression, but he’d already taken the leap over the balcony. His hands reached out, desperate to grab on to anything to come back for me, but his body betrayed him. Within a mere split second, he was gone.
Somebody grabbed me by the back of the neck so hard I couldn’t move. I feared whoever had ahold of me might crush the vertebra in my neck if I did. Strong hands lifted my raven form until I dangled several feet off the ground. My vision began to blur due to lack of blood flow, but I saw enough to count at least five male vampires surrounding me. One of them rushed past me and leapt from the balcony, pursuing my friends.
And then a woman’s voice reached my ears. A thin figure with wide hips that swayed with each step entered through the double d
oors. “What do we have here, boys?”
Maliya.
I swallowed deeply and locked my jaw tight. The necklace hung from my beak.
Never let a vampire get the upper hand, I repeated. If you do, you’re dead.
I didn’t know what would happen next, but one thing was for certain: No matter what, I was already dead.
16
I had a rule about death. If I ever faced it, I was fighting back until my last breath.
My eyes darted to the lamp on the bedside table mere feet from me. Within a split second, I shifted. My hand shot out and clamped around the lamp, and I swung it above my head with as much force as I could. It slammed into the vampire’s head behind me and snapped at the base.
Big Bad Vamp released his hold on me just enough that I was able to duck and spin out of his grasp. I sprinted for the balcony doors, but a shadow leapt in front of me. All I saw was orange hair glistening in the moonlight before strong hands slammed into my chest, sending me flying backward across the room. I landed on the bed, bouncing across the mattress as all the wind left my chest.
Before I had a chance to process what had just happened, another vamp with dark hair and a square jaw was already on top of me, reaching out for the locket hanging from my mouth. One hand pressed down hard on my throat while the other pulled at the necklace. I bit down on the chain as my fingers reached for the other bedside table, blindly searching for another weapon. My left hand curled around something cool and hard. I swung it toward the vamp’s head.
Before it could connect with his skull, the ginger guy leapt onto the bed. His hand shot out of the darkness and grabbed my wrist. He threw my arm sideways with such force that I couldn’t control my own body’s momentum. The object in my hand crashed into the edge of the table, and the sound of breaking glass met my ears. Cool water rushed over my hand, and I realized it was a vase.
Ginger plunged his fingers into my hair and wrenched the strands backward as he squeezed my lower jaw, trying to force my teeth apart. I refused, welcoming the fire across my skull and the intense pressure on my jaw more than I welcomed failure.
