by Dannika Dark
“In here!” Blue shouted. “Hurry!”
I raced into the room and gripped a wooden post on Cristo’s four-poster bed. He had some nerve tucking himself away in a room surrounded by wood paneling, gaudy paintings, satin sheets, and a liquor cabinet. Meanwhile, children were ripped away from their mothers and sold as slaves—all so this man could have a flat-screen TV. Where had all the money gone from his crimes? Had he blown it on vacations and prostitutes? Truth be told, I didn’t care. I’d tracked down criminals for years, and most of them either hoarded their money or wasted it on expensive restaurants and extravagant cars.
Blue yanked on a brass picture frame to the left of the bed. “Nobody bolts an ugly painting of a bridge to a wall. He doesn’t have any other paintings in the house but in here. Can you help me?”
When she dragged the nightstand away, the table lamp fell to the floor.
“Try pushing on it,” I said. “It’s probably a simple trick.”
Christian walked into the room, his stride purposeful. “Let me have a look.” He gripped the frame and effortlessly flung it across the room.
“Show-off,” I muttered.
We stared at a keypad on the wall, a handle to the right of it.
Blue swept her hair back and leaned in. “Six one six, nine five nine.”
Christian took his time pressing each number carefully. When finished, three beeps sounded, and a mechanism clicked behind the wall.
“That was too easy,” he muttered.
When the door opened, we slowly walked inside. A battery-operated lantern hung from a hook by the entrance, casting light on the mint-green walls and mahogany floor. To the left, a single-size bed and white blanket. Across from the door, a toy box overflowing with dollies, blankets, and stuffed animals. Crayons and drawings were scattered on the child-size table in the corner—the ghostly remnants of children.
Blue hurried to the crib on the right and peered in. I watched with bated breath as she bent over and reached inside. A foul stench burned my nose from the open trash can to the right, dirty diapers wide open inside. No wonder he’d hired someone to watch the children. He was completely incapable of caring for another individual. Just knowing he’d shut up some kids in here—no toilet or fresh air to breathe—made me want to haul ass back to that room and drive a dagger through his mortal heart.
Blue turned around, angry tears glittering in her sapphire eyes. She cradled the baby in her arms and gently rocked him as he stared listlessly. His dark golden skin lacked a healthy glow, and the only thing he had on was a baggy diaper.
“The mattress is soaking wet,” she said, her jaw clenched. “I bet he’s been crying for hours in here… all alone.”
The little guy made a dramatic grimace and began to wail. It broke my heart because I knew he was crying for his mother. Blue set him down on the bed and found a clean diaper.
The safe room was essentially a prison cell. Cristo must have used this room as a temporary holding tank until his female friend took the children off his hands.
Christian tapped his finger against the wall. “He soundproofed the walls.”
My eyes fell to the handle on the door. “Christian, why is there a keypad on the inside?”
“Perhaps he was afraid one of the children would shut him in.”
“The handle’s too high for a child to reach.”
“You’re going to be fine,” Blue said, her voice motherly and soothing. “Shh, shh. Everything’s all better now.”
The keypad suddenly began beeping, and a red light flashed. Christian stepped out of the room and punched a series of numbers. When the beeps drew closer together until they were a flutter of sound, a chill ran up my spine.
The lights in the building shut off. Seconds later, red lights popped on in each room.
Blue stood up with the baby in her arms. “What’s happening?”
“Feck me,” Christian growled. “Get out!”
Blue went out first. As I followed behind her, I noticed the panel above the keypad had digital numbers that were changing.
“What the hell is that?”
His nostrils flared. “A countdown.”
According to the numbers, we had less than five minutes to escape.
As they ran through the study, I pulled out my phone.
“Raven!” Christian’s black silhouette turned in my direction.
Viktor needed to know what was happening, and I didn’t have time to send a text to the team. I called him, and he answered immediately. “It’s a bomb, Viktor! We have four minutes before this place blows up. Get everyone out!”
My heart raced as I jogged toward Christian. Instead of descending the ladder, he opened a heavy door to the left, revealing an outside tunnel.
The baby screeched as Blue jostled him with each step. She cradled his head to reduce the bouncing, and when we reached the end of the hall, she stopped and tucked him inside her coat.
“Be quiet, sweet baby,” she said, putting a pacifier into his mouth.
“Is this how you guys came in? Are there any traps?” I asked Christian.
He pulled the collar of his shirt aside and showed me a stain of blood on his chest, the wound healed. “I took one for the team. Left is a dead end. To the right is an open room, but it’s black as night.”
“Sounds familiar. Any pillars?”
“None straight ahead. But there’s an opening in the floor in two places. Traps to the left and right, so we’ll have to jump over the holes.”
I swallowed hard. “How far of a jump?”
“Christian, I can’t jump with the baby,” Blue said. “It was hard enough by myself.”
He reached out. “Give him to me.”
She recoiled.
“For feck’s sake, I’m not going to drop him.”
When Christian collected the baby in his strong arms, my nonfunctioning ovaries sprang to life. He held the infant as if he’d held one a million times. When he brushed his thumb tenderly across the little guy’s cheek, that protective image made my heart clench.
“I’ll go first,” he said. “Follow behind me, and keep running until I say otherwise.”
We followed his lead, and the heavy door behind us eventually closed, immersing us in darkness. I could vaguely make out the grainy image of his shape in front of me.
“Stop!” he shouted, and then silence when he jumped. Christian landed with ease, the soles of his shoes sliding across the dirty floor only a fraction. “It’s fifteen feet in front of you. There are traps on either side, so there’s no way around it. Raven, you go first.”
The hole in the floor looked like an inky pool of water.
“Time’s ticking, lass.”
I pushed down my fears and ran to the edge before jumping. I was suspended in the air for only a second or two before my boots hit the ground and I rolled over my shoulder.
“Tell me when,” Blue said. She surged forward, her cloak flapping behind her.
“Jump!” Christian shouted.
She sailed over the hole, and when she landed on the other side, she stumbled and fell flat on her face. “Thank the fates,” she breathed.
“Maybe you should shift and fly over the holes,” I suggested.
She rose to her feet, her eyes wide in the darkness. “I don’t shift until I have to. The tunnels are too dangerous, and I could be captured.”
We continued running until Christian shouted out again, signaling the next hole. This time when Christian vaulted over the hole, the baby wailed, his voice raspy. It was a terrible sound—one of fear. Christian clutched him to his chest, cradling his head with one hand.
“Are you sure there isn’t another way?” I asked, looking left and right. The rest of the room appeared passable.
“I can see better in the dark than you can. Trip wires everywhere.” As he spoke, he swayed his body to calm the baby.
I made it safely across, though my nerves were even more rattled than the last time. Blue began her attempt, and when s
he jumped, it was a foot too soon. I could already see she wasn’t going to make it. She hit the edge of the floor with her chest and clawed desperately as she began slipping into the hole. Though her animal was a bird, Blue’s falcon wouldn’t be able to fly in the dark.
I reached behind her arms and pulled as hard as I could, but the floor had no traction, and my shoes slid across slippery dust. “Christian, I can’t hold her!”
He walked up and bent over, the baby cradled in his left arm. “Take my hand.”
A worried look crossed her face.
“We don’t have time to argue,” he said. “You’re not going to fall.”
As soon as she reached out with her left hand, she slipped. Christian caught her wrist just as I lost my grip, and Blue dangled over the abyss. Her eyes grew wide, legs kicking at the void.
He lifted his arm up and stepped back until she was on solid ground again.
I’d seen Christian display his strength numerous times, but it never ceased to amaze me how effortless it was for him, especially with a baby in his arms. Though I didn’t care for my Vampire nature, a small part of me envied him for those gifts. Why couldn’t I have been given what all Vampires had when it came to strength and perfect sight?
Blue collected the infant and quickly wrapped her cloak around her body to conceal him.
“Hurry! We don’t have much time.” Christian shadow walked out of sight.
I flashed forward and suddenly slammed on the brakes when a door came into sight. While he held it open, I peered into an empty hallway. There were dim lanterns along the rock walls and puddles of water on the floor.
Blue finally caught up and positioned herself between us, Christian in the lead. We had an unspoken plan to protect the person carrying the baby.
A rumble sounded, followed by a loud explosion.
The bomb.
My eyes widened when I looked back. A fireball erupted from the doorway, heading straight for us.
“Run!” I shouted, fire licking at my heels.
We took a sharp right into another hallway, and the flames roared past us and quickly dissipated.
I reached for my phone.
Christian turned on his heel and kept going. “We don’t have time. There’s an elevator up ahead.”
My phone suddenly rang, and I fumbled with it while jogging. “Yeah?”
“It’s Niko. I’ve fallen out of touch with Viktor. Where are you?”
“In the tunnels,” I panted. “We’ve got the baby, and we’re heading to the elevators.”
“Single body?” he asked.
“Huh?”
“Tell him yes,” Christian shouted from up ahead.
“Yes.”
“Who has the baby?”
“Blue.”
“It’ll take me time to get out. I’ll call Wyatt and tell him the exit location has changed.”
“Do you know where we are? I don’t even know where we are.” I slowed down when Christian stopped in front of a metal box affixed to the wall.
“I rarely get lost. See you soon.”
I gaped at the narrowest door I’d ever seen. It was rusty and had no knob. “What the hell is that?”
Christian knocked his knuckles against it. “The elevator. Most prefer not to take it for the obvious reason.”
“And what reason is that?”
When the metal panel opened, I stared inside at a small cylinder just big enough for one person.
“Single body,” he said as Blue stepped inside. When he pushed a button, the door closed. “Someone built it a few years ago as an emergency escape.”
I laughed. “A skinny woman?”
Christian folded his arms. “Perhaps. You won’t find Shepherd squeezing himself in there. The ascent is slow, and there aren’t any lights.”
I bent over, hands on my knees as I took a moment to catch my breath. Sucking out Cristo’s dark energy was the worst decision, but I also had no idea we’d be dodging more traps and running for our lives. A cold sweat came over me as that murky light mixed with my own. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Why did you do that back there? Pop his cork and render him human.”
“I was afraid Viktor was going to stop Shepherd,” I admitted. “Who’s to say if Cristo would have gotten the death penalty? They don’t keep people locked away for all eternity. Maybe I didn’t want to give him the opportunity of a possible parole in five hundred years. I’d rather he grow old behind bars and wither away until nothing remains but a dried-up husk of a man, but maybe cutting off his head is the better idea.”
Christian’s eyebrow arched. “I think it’s safe to say you won’t be winning any congeniality awards this year.”
“Bummer.”
His eyes flicked behind me. “Trouble’s coming. They must have heard the explosion.”
“Who?”
He gripped the back of my neck and led me away. “Men who don’t like trouble in their territory.”
“How many?” I asked, looking back at the empty hall.
He quickened his pace, his hand still behind my neck. “More than three.”
“What Breed?”
“Definitely not Mage, or they’d be flashing.”
The tramping sound of footsteps sent chills up my spine, and when I glanced over my shoulder, five men were barreling toward us. They looked as if they’d lived their entire lives underground. Their alabaster skin made their black eyes appear demonic, and every one of them had ebony hair.
“Jaysus wept. Vampires. The lot of them. Run!”
I flashed and left Christian in the dust. Maybe he could fight off Vamps, but I sure as hell couldn’t. They didn’t react to Mage energy, and I didn’t have any impalement stakes on me. When I reached an intersecting tunnel, I stopped, uncertain of which way to go.
“Left!” Christian shouted, his fists pumping hard as he gathered speed behind me. His lips peeled back, his expression fierce.
I flashed to the left, but as the crowd thickened, I had to weave around them and run normal speed. Despite how sick it made me feel, Cristo’s light had given me a boost of extra energy that I might not have had otherwise.
The hall widened, and I skidded to a stop in front of a vendor with a rock display on his table.
“Care for a trade?” the old man asked. “Every stone has a power.”
I laughed in disbelief, still out of breath. “Got any fireballs in there?”
“Trade me that pretty necklace, and you can have anything you want.”
I glanced down and tucked my pendant back inside my tank top. “Not for sale. Sorry, I don’t have any money.”
Christian finally came into view at the far end of the tunnel, as did the men chasing behind him.
The old man leaned over to follow the direction of my gaze. “Looks like you need some Vampire repellent.”
I snorted. “Does that come in a spray bottle?”
He held up a round stone the size of a grapefruit. “This will solve all your problems. Those are some nice shoes. Yes, yes they are.”
I glanced down at my lace-up boots.
“You don’t have much time,” he said. “I bet you can run just as fast without those shoes, little Mage. I’m not so sure about your friend. This stone is guaranteed to fight off Vampires. Guaranteed. Yes, indeed.”
I flicked my eyes at him and then bent down. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I muttered while unlacing my boots. I could almost hear Christian mocking me. But hey, I had enough money to buy a new pair of shoes, and this old man in his raggedy clothes could probably use some business.
I tossed them onto the table. “What do I do with it?”
He carefully set the stone in my hands. “Throw it at them. Careful not to drop it.”
My jaw set. “I gave you my boots so I could throw a rock?”
He lifted my shoes and cackled as he set them into a cardboard box and sang, “Fair and square. Fair and square. The boots are mine, and they’re in there.”
/> I stared down at my socks. This just added a new level of fuckery to the situation. Stone in hand, I turned on my heel and flashed until I reached another intersection.
People were staring, genuinely intrigued. I could hear Christian’s words in my head, reminding me to blend in and avoid eye contact. Strangers moved around me, scrutinizing me with their gaze.
Christian passed the old man and glanced at him before finally reaching me and skidding to a stop.
“Now which way?” I asked.
He glared at my rock, and I could hear the profanities firing off in his head. But all he said was, “This way.”
I ran at normal speed as we cleared from the crowd and descended a spiral staircase. My blood ran cold at the idea of Vampires tearing me apart, limb from limb.
Christian smashed in a door without wasting time to open it. He sprinted down a dark hall that traveled in a continual curve to the right.
My lungs were on fire, and even after flashing ahead of him, I needed to stop and breathe. “I can’t keep going.”
He raked his fingers through his hair from back to front. “I can’t fight off all of them. Maybe three, but not five.”
“Pussy.”
His eyes narrowed. “And what are you going to do? Throw a rock? I can’t believe you fell for a hustler.”
“Have a little faith. Maybe there’s something to it.”
“I bet he has a penthouse suite somewhere in here. You’re so gullible.”
Vampires appeared, coming at us like a plague of demons. I shoved the stone at Christian since he was stronger. “Throw it!”
He swung his arm back like a baseball pitcher and hurled it at them. It rolled across the floor before coming to a stop.
“Brilliant,” he said tersely.
The men didn’t break stride, but just as soon as they reached the stone, it exploded.
Christian and I fell to the floor as the air whistled around us, pinging off the walls.
When I sat up, all five of the Vampires were immobile on the floor. There was nothing left of the rock but a pile of pebbles and a small plume of smoke.
I spied a tiny spike of wood on the ground next to me and pinched it between two fingers. It was larger than a toothpick and looked like the same wood used for impalement stakes. The size of the wood didn’t matter much, but people preferred larger pieces. If you’re going to get close to a Vampire, you don’t want your stick snapping in two as soon as it hits their jacket.