“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 she 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.