Refuge(140)

I stopped at the edge of the woods and strained to see through the darkness. The thick branches blocked most of the moonlight, and I could barely make out the ghostly gleam of snow on the ground. “Hugo! Woolf!” I called, but there was no answering bark. They could be halfway to the lake by now. I hoped they didn’t hurt one of the sentries patrolling the woods.

Groaning, I turned toward the menagerie. “We’re going to need a flashlight.”

“Here, take mine.” Michael pulled a short black flashlight from his pocket and handed it to me. I flicked it on and the powerful beam slid over the ground, cutting through the inky blackness beneath the trees.

“Let’s go,” I told them. “And don’t blame me if you freeze your butts off.”

I entered the woods and headed in the direction of the lake with the four of them behind me. Less than fifty yards in, I spotted large footprints in the snow, and I knew they belonged to the hellhounds. The only problem was I couldn’t tell if the impressions were fresh or from our walk this afternoon. I looked for my boot prints but couldn’t see any. That wasn’t surprising because Hugo and Woolf ran around so much they probably obliterated my prints. Stopping, I whistled, and called for them again.

“Damn, it’s cold out here,” I muttered, blowing on my hands and wishing I’d remembered gloves.

Roland snorted. “Nice of your friend, Sahir, to stay warm and cozy inside while you trek through the woods.”

“Sahir wouldn’t – ” I broke off as it hit me what had been niggling at me since we came outside. I turned to Michael. “Where is Sahir anyway?”

Michael shrugged. “I think he – ”

He grunted in pain when I grabbed his arm in a death grip. I gasped and cold air stung my lungs, but that was nothing compared to the lump of ice forming in my chest.

“Vampire!” I spun to the others and cried, “Run!”

“Please, don’t leave on our account,” said a husky feminine voice as a blond vampire appeared out of nowhere to stand in front of us. “We only just got here.”

Her words barely registered before I felt a slight disturbance in the air and four more vampires stepped out from the trees to surround us.





Chapter 23





THIS CAN’T BE real. The perimeters were tightly patrolled day and night. How could vampires get past the armed warriors and get so close to the stronghold?

“Is this her?” the female asked, pointing at me.

“Yes,” Michael replied in a small voice.

I sucked in a sharp breath. Behind me, I heard two low growls.

“You rotten little traitorous piece of shit!” Jordan shrieked, leaping at Michael who stumbled backward. One of the vampires moved, and I grabbed Jordan’s arm to hold her back.

“I’m sorry,” Michael cried to me. “They have Matthew and they’ll kill him if I don’t help them. He’s all I have.”

All I could do was stare in horror at the boy waving his arms frantically as he pleaded with me. I had suspected Michael was a bit messed up from losing his family, but in that moment I saw how broken he really was. He was so desperate to believe his brother was alive that he was willing to trust his mortal enemy and sell out his own people for a ghost.

“Touching.” The female vampire sneered and motioned to her companions. “Take her and kill the rest.”

“You said you wouldn’t hurt anyone else!” Michael yelled. “You said you would trade Matthew for her.”

The female laughed and her fangs grew. “We don’t make deals with the likes of you.” She moved in a blur and struck him so hard he flew fifteen feet and hit a tree with a sickening crack. He landed in the snow and lay there unmoving. The vampire turned to me. “Now where – ?”

She gasped and stepped back as loud growls erupted behind me and two massive werewolves appeared where Roland and Peter had stood. I had never seen my friends transform, and it was shocking even for me.

“Werewolves!” the female spat, stunned that she and her companions had not picked up on my friends’ scent. She recovered quickly. “Two of you are no match for five of us.”

“What the fuck am I, chopped liver?” Jordan’s hand moved and the vampire closest to her made a gurgling noise and clutched at a silver knife handle protruding from his chest. The male sank to his knees in the snow and Jordan waved a second knife in front of her. “Now it’s four to three.”

The female snarled. “Lucky shot, little hunter, but Stephen was a fledgling. You won’t take me that easily.” She waved the others forward. “What the hell are you waiting for?”