“Quick. I need blood,” I called out. Mage’s hand was there in an instant, a sharp piece of metal in her other hand. “On the links. Lots of it.” She ran the jagged edge across her wrist without flinching, opening up a wide gash. Blood streamed out onto the magical links, saturating them before her wrist naturally healed over. “That’s good. Thanks.” I hoped it would work, given I had used vampire blood instead of human. There was a chance the links would pick up on regular human-to-human violence in the city. Still, it was the best option. I broke the figure eight in half, flinging one bloody, glowing half outward.
“Wow,” Fiona and Amelie murmured in unison, watching it float away. The guys were busy surveying the streets, Caden with his arms folded tightly over his chest and Bishop with his hands deep in his pockets, rocking back and forth. Both looked anxious but completely in control. This was a good sign.
“It’s a tracker,” I explained. “Not exactly subtle, but anyone out at this time will be too drunk or high to be suspicious.” Unless they recognize magic. My eyes shifted nervously to the trees across the street, watching for movement within the shadows. The foliage had long-since disappeared into a mass of blackness—perfect cover.
“Pretty, isn’t it?” Mage observed, interrupting my paranoia. “Should you make a couple more, just in case?”
I nodded. A regular sorceress would be foolish to use her magic in this way, knowing she was going into battle. It took a significant amount of magical reserves. But I had more than enough helixes floating around my body. I went to work, sending two more tracker links out within seconds to do our bidding. “There. When the links find fresh blood, they send back a message to their sister-half.”
“So, now what?” Mage asked, hawk-like eyes surveying the street.
I drew the three links from my hand around my wrist. To anyone without a clue, they looked like purple glow-in-the-dark bracelets, the kind teenagers wore to raves. Except they were covered in blood. “Now we wait.”
Approaching heels clicked against the sidewalk. We all turned to see a young woman in a long dark trench coat and woven red beret hurry past, her furtive eyes glancing down the alley to see six people staring back. She sped up, casting a worried glance over her shoulder at us. That was the worst thing a person could do with a group of vampires behind her. I shifted my weight, ready to ground them with magical ropes if necessary. But they remained still, Amelie admiring the woman’s leather boots. Not even one vein pulsated in their eyes. I began to relax. Maybe Mage was right . . .
Bright purple light began flashing in the alley. I looked down at the helix links. One’s identical twin had found fresh blood; it was pulling me to the right. “Come,” I hissed, magical bolts of fire ready at my fingertips as I set off at a brisk pace. The streets were nearly empty at this hour. Thank God. We passed ten people in the first block. Each time, my attention bounced from the passerby’s face and hands—looking for signs of a Sentinel spy—to the five vampires traveling with me, assessing everyone’s level of control. Each time, Mage turned to meet my gaze, to assure me, “They’ll be fine.” It wasn’t much, but it was the support I needed.
As if we’d walked into a solid wall, all six of us suddenly stopped, hit with the pungent scent of freshly spilled blood. Both Amelie and Fiona let out cries of pain, the crushing urge to feed catching them unprepared. Caden and Bishop each threw their hands out to grab them by their shoulders.
“I’m okay!” Amelie cried, though her emerald-green eyes were morphing. I checked all of their eyes. They had all morphed, but none were quite so full of veins as before. That was a good sign. It meant they had some level of control.
I moved ahead, hugging the wall so closely that my shoulder grazed the bricks, gaining distance from the others as they hung back. The link was pulling me to an alley ahead. What would I find there? Jonah and his posse of mutants? No; trapping and disposing of them all in an alley would be too easy. I slowed to a creep, edging forward until I could peek around the corner into the darkness. No mutants, from what I could see. Two fire sparks instantly ignited at my fingertips, though. I wasn’t taking any chances.
Caden and Bishop came up and flanked either side of the alley. With boyish, commando-like signals, they waved me through.
“How about we stay on guard out here,” Mage suggested, her arms linked through Fiona and Amelie’s.
I nodded and entered the alley alone, heading toward the dumpster in the back corner. My stomach sank as I spotted a trail of red leather, torn and bloodied. It led to the far side of the dumpster, to a pair of long, pale, female legs, lying in a pool of blood. Evangeline’s precious face flooded my mind then, paralyzing me for a moment. I forced myself to continue to the other end of the dumpster and looked down. My teeth clenched so tightly, I thought they would crack.