Edna exclaimed, “Oh, shit, we’re dead!” as McDonald’s accomplice jabbed Pearl’s arm.
Feeling suddenly light-headed, Pearl watched Edna collapse on the sidewalk moments before everything went black.
Pearl woke abruptly, instantly aware that thick silver chains bound her to a chair. Wide eyed, she glanced around. A small gray room. No windows. A single door.
There was no sign of Edna.
Lou McDonald stood before her wielding a slender, long-bladed dagger. “I want answers,” McDonald said. “And I want them now.”
“Where’s Edna?”
“I’m asking the questions here. I want to know Mara’s whereabouts.”
“Mara?”
“Answer me!”
Pearl hissed as the silver blade opened a thin gash in her left arm. Blood flowed in the wake of the blade.
“I can do this all night,” McDonald said. “And all day tomorrow.”
“You’d torture me while I’m at rest?”
“You bet. Where is she?”
Pearl frowned. “You found us. Why can’t you find her?”
“If I could, I would. I think she’s using some kind of ancient vamp glamour to shield herself from hunters.” The blade scraped down Pearl’s right arm. “Now, where is she?”
Fighting the urge to cry out, Pearl sniffed the air. Edna was nearby. Pearl tugged against the chains, but there was no escaping bonds made of silver.
“Just tell me what I want to know and I’ll make your death quick and painless. Otherwise . . .” The blade opened another gash in Pearl’s left arm. The wounds, which normally would have healed almost instantly, were slow to close. Dark red blood dripped onto the cement floor. The smell of it filled the air.
“I’ll tell you,” Pearl said, stalling for time, although she couldn’t think of anyone who would come to their rescue. “But only if you tell me why you’re after her.”
“Are you as stupid as you look? Why do you think I want her? She’s the most powerful vampire on the planet. I’m a hunter. You do the math.”
“She’ll eat you for breakfast.”
McDonald dismissed the idea with a wave of her hand. “Maybe. But I’m about to retire and . . .”
“And you want to take down the biggest, baddest vampire of them all before you do?”
“That’s right. One of us is going down.” McDonald tossed the blood-stained dagger from one hand to the other. “Whatever happened to her son? Is he still alive?”
Pearl glanced past McDonald, her eyes widening. “Oh, yes,” she said, smiling. “He’s very much alive. He—”
“Shit!” McDonald whirled around, the dagger tightly clutched in her fist as she came face-to-face with Mara’s son.
“Are you looking for me?” he asked mildly.
“Actually, I’m looking for your mother.”
“If you’d found her instead of me, you’d be dead now.”
“Where’s Edna?” Pearl asked.
Derek’s gaze remained on McDonald while he answered the other vampire. “She’s feeding.”
“My sister!” Lou McDonald’s eyes went wide. “Where’s Cindy? What have you done to her?”
“I didn’t do anything to her. I simply compelled her to free her prisoner.”
“Edna.” Pearl’s brow furrowed thoughtfully. “Of course! She brought you here, didn’t she?”
Derek nodded. “I heard her call for help.”
“And you came!” Pearl’s smile was radiant. “Thank you, dear!”
“Turn Pearl loose,” Derek said.
McDonald lifted her chin defiantly. “And if I refuse?”
“You can waste time arguing, or you can let her go. It might not be too late to save your sister. But you’re not getting out of this room until Pearl’s free. The choice is yours.”
McDonald’s face went white as a harsh wail reverberated from the adjoining room. Glaring at Derek, she unlocked the chains binding the vampire, then ran out of the room screaming her sister’s name.
“Thank you again, dear boy.” Pearl’s nostrils flared as the scent of freshly spilled blood wafted through the air. “Now, if you’ll excuse me . . .”
“Enjoy your meal,” he said, smiling, though he thought McDonald’s blood would be sour, indeed.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Mara stared at her son in wide-eyed disbelief. “You saved their lives?”
Derek shrugged. “It seemed like the right thing to do.”
“I don’t understand you. Why would you help those two old bats after what they did to your father? What they did to you?”