“What a bastard. Holing up in my house!”
We were crouched in the back garden. Ten feet away were the French doors that led to an informal entertaining area.
“You call this a house?” asked Larsa. “This place has its own zip code.”
Team One of the Save Dove and Patsy effort consisted of me, Drake, Larsa, and Gabriel. Other teams lead by Braddock, Patrick, and Darrius were surrounding the house at various locations. I knew only what our goal was: Get to Dove and Patsy. I believed the goal of everyone else was to kill as many bad guys as possible before dawn.
“Do you know if my staff is okay?” I asked.
“I’m sorry,” said Gabriel. “We have to assume there have been human casualties.”
Meaning, the vampires had probably snacked on the people who’d been in my employ for years. Guilt scraped me like rusty razors. I had never thought to protect them. It had never occurred to me that Karn would make an assault on my house! Damn, damn, damn.
We waited.
Then we saw the first flash bomb.
We all had guns, and they were loaded with special bullets designed to maim vampires. We stood up from our hiding place, crouched low, and ran down the concrete path to the doors. One swift, brutal kick from Drake busted them wide open.
And the three bullets from his gun took down the vampire coming for us. Larsa decapitated him with her sword.
We moved on.
The consensus was that Karn had holed up in the basement with his prisoners simply because it was the safest place to be, and because he knew he held the trump card so long as he had Dove and Patsy (mostly Patsy from the paranormal perspective).
While the Broken Heart teams fought with Karn’s minions, we made our way to the kitchen—to the door that led to my basement.
The door was open, and the invitation—or rather the demand—was clear.
Karn expected us. And he no doubt thought he had his bases covered. I really wanted to punch him in the throat.
What? We’ve established my unicorn anger issues.
“Shit,” said Larsa. She gestured for us to split up and take either side of the doorway. Drake and I took one side. Larsa and Gabriel took the other. Then Drake and Larsa craned their necks to peer down the lighted stairwell.
“Oh, do come down,” called Karn. “We have so much to talk about.”
“I really hate him,” I said.
“I heard that, Moira,” he singsonged. “It’s not a good way to begin negotiations for your darling Dove’s life.”
Drake swung around and started down the stairs.
Karn yelled, “Drop your weapons down the stairs first. All of them.”
Drake stopped, and shared a look of frustration with me. Everyone grimaced, but we began the toss-down of guns, swords, daggers, and every other piece of dangerous equipment that we had attached to our persons. Eventually the rain of weaponry ended, and we heard the sounds of everything being gathered.
“Impressive,” said Karn. “Come down now.”
Drake moved down the staircase; then I, Larsa, and Gabriel followed. We had no idea what we were in for, but what else could we do? Dove was depending on me. I’d be damned if Karn won.
The basement was well lit. This part was walled off, a storage area used for party supplies. Other parts of the basement had other uses, but I wasn’t sure about the setup. Mr. Keyter handled that. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d ever really had cause to be in the basement. I made a mental note to have Mr. Keyter vampire-proof everything once we’d dealt with Karn. If the house was still standing and all—and if Mr. Keyter was still alive.
Rescue now, guilt later, I told myself.
Patsy was manacled to the wall, her mouth duct-taped. Her entire body vibrated with fury, and when she saw Gabriel, the look in her eyes was a blend of relief and fear.
Dove lay on a table, looking too pale and shatteringly vulnerable.
A knot clogged my throat.
“She’s alive,” said Karn. “Mostly.”
He sat on a folding chair. Two other vampires were in the room, too. One near Patsy and one near Dove. I couldn’t believe that Karn wouldn’t stack the undead favor in his odds, so I was sure other vampires lurked down here as well, hidden in the shadows and crevices. My suspicions were correct. As we gathered in a semicircle near Karn, several vampires appeared behind us.
Fear slicked my spine and made my stomach spin.
“You are such a clever one, Moira. I knew you were the key to getting to the ambrosia. Ah, but you didn’t kill the Ancients, did you?” He wagged his finger at me. “Somehow I knew you wouldn’t. You’re stubborn. But that is, of course, part of the nature of your kind.” He slipped a hand into his jacket and brought out the white blade that had ended the lives of my parents. “I’ve never seen one before. No one has . . . not in several lifetimes.” He held up the blade by the beaten copper handle. “Unicorn horn.” He shook his head. “Amazing.”