A horde of demon children serving as guards tried to contain her as the others hauled ass to our final destination. A vampire yanked open a large metal door, with a tiny window, leading to the prison’s former death row. Death row. Awesome. Irony had a way of spitting in my face. I only wished I could punch back.
Only four cells and a short hallway composed death row. Our captors shoved us into one cell together, but they didn’t shut the barred door right away. One of the werewolves lugged me to my feet by the front of my T-shirt. He sniffed my neck in a way that made my stomach roil.
“Leave her alone!” Shayna screamed.
“No! Please no!” Emme begged.
I was too scared to move.
“What are you doing, Bryan?” one of the vamps asked.
The wolf’s breath was hot and nasty. “I want to taste Aric’s whore.”
Terror gripped me when he licked my neck, and I began to hyperventilate. But when he groped my breasts, my fear turned to rage. I swore once I’d never let anyone hurt me that way again, so I leaned back and slammed my head hard into his face.
Blood spurted from his nose like a jet stream. His fist drew back, but my dulled reflexes slowed my response. His blow launched me into the cinder block wall, where stars exploded in my vision and my body collapsed like sand.
A sick throbbing sound pulsated behind my left ear before a rush of fluid seeped out. I tried to stand when I saw him coming, only to immediately topple over. Shayna and Emme scrambled in front of me in a pathetic attempt to shield me. But I knew they were powerless to stop him.
Just when I thought he would kill us, the vampire twisted the were’s arm behind his back and pulled him away. “Tribemaster wants them alive,” he told the were.
The were growled. “That whore is mine! No one hits me and lives.”
The vampire rolled his eyes. “Relax, idiot, you’re already healing. Besides, do you really want to be fed to the demons over this stupid bitch?”
The were stormed away, foaming at the mouth and swearing. The threat of death by hungry demons proved a suitable deterrent. The others followed, slamming the metal door behind them.
The bleakness of our situation hit Emme and Shayna all at once. They collapsed against each other and sobbed. The room swayed and turned repulsing colors, yet my sisters’ despair compelled me to gather my senses.
I scooted toward them, although my body begged me not to move. “I have a plan.”
“What?” Shayna stammered.
“We’re going to cut these ropes. Shayna, you have to sharpen something—anything—no matter how small.”
Shayna let out a shaky breath. “I don’t know if I can. I’m so busted up.”
“Emme suspended Taran in midair after being shot. You can do this. I know you can. Start looking for anything you might be able to transform.” I turned to Emme, sounding more optimistic than I felt. “Can you use your force to manipulate the locking mechanism?”
“I’ll try.” She shook her head. “But, Celia, what good will that do? There are hundreds of Tribesmen and only three of us. We’ll be slaughtered.”
“There won’t be just three of us, Emme.” I swallowed more pooling liquid in my mouth. “You see, we’re going to release the infected vampires.”
CHAPTER 30
Shayna went to work following her initial shock. She tried a faucet from the old broken sink and the chains supporting the beds, but the alloys proved too thick and she remained too weak to transform them. Emme thought to use a piece of broken bedspring. I pried it loose and dropped it in her hands. After several efforts to draw her power, Shayna’s gift triggered and released between her fingers. A glimmer of light spiraled along the metal, changing its shape into a tiny sword, slightly larger than the plastic kind used in cocktails and with a blade thick and deadly enough to slice through stone. Yes, that will do.
Shayna panted and paled, immediately slicing the ropes that bound my wrists. I freed her and Emme, and then Emme unlocked our cell. Their efforts wiped them out, but there was no time to waste. We hugged each other quickly and headed for the door leading out of death row.
I peered through the small window. Only four vampires stood guard by the door. The lockdown unit boomed loudly with manic cackles and famished hisses, loud enough to distract the vamps from noticing me. Uncertainty punctured through to my skull until I spotted the locking mechanism closest to where the infected vampires were housed.
Emme stood at my urging and nodded when I pointed to her target. I held my breath and watched, praying she had enough strength left. Her face reddened from her grueling effort, but the latch did move, inch by agonizing inch. Finally she gave one last mental heave and about thirty cells popped open.