Scarlett stood. "I'm going to have a warm cup of Chocolood before bed. Would you like some, Vanda?"
"Yes, thank you." Vanda leaned over to unzip her boots.
"Intruder!" a man by the surveillance monitors shouted. "Intruder alert!"
In seconds the Vamp men had grabbed their swords and were dashing out the door. Vanda hurried to the monitors to see what was happening. A dozen men, armed with swords, had arrived in the huge room on the ground floor.
Colbert ran into the dormitory, barefoot, his shirt unbuttoned, but with a sword in one hand. Giselle followed him, wrapped in a bathrobe. The coven women gathered around her.
"Oh my God!" Scarlett grabbed Tootsie. "What do we do?"
Colbert glanced at the two men as he hurried out the door. "Guard the women!"
Tootsie gasped. "I thought we were the women."
Phil sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "What's going on?" He grabbed his shoes and quickly put them on.
Vanda ran to him. "The Malcontents are here."
"Shit." He strapped on a shoulder holster and inserted his handgun. "Stay here." He grabbed a sword from the stash by the surveillance monitors, then he sprinted for the door.
"Phil!" Vanda ran after him. The damn balcony was about three stories up. She'd had to levitate him up earlier. "Wait." She reached the balcony just in time to see him leap. She squealed. Good God, he'd kill himself.
She peered over the edge and gasped. He'd landed nimbly and was already challenging a Malcontent with his sword. How on earth had he managed that jump?
She flinched when a sword thrust narrowly missed him. Her heart lurched up her throat. How on earth could he possibly survive in a battle against a vampire? Good God, Hugo was right. Phil moved incredibly fast.
Her blood chilled as she surveyed the scene. Vamp fighting vampire. Swords clashing. Shouts of victory and screams of defeat. Men howling in agony before crumbling into piles of dust.
"Revenge!" someone yelled over the clash of swords.
She spotted the shouting man. He was completely surrounded by armed Malcontents. They fought furiously around him while he remained safely cocooned. He held a sword in one hand, his other arm cradled against his chest at a strange angle.
"Casimir," she whispered.
A scream jolted her. One of Colbert's men had been skewered. He turned to dust.
Hands grabbed Vanda's shoulders and she jumped.
"Come inside." Giselle pulled her back from the edge of the balcony. "Don't let them see you."
"But I have to know…" Vanda searched the flailing arms and swinging swords, looking for Phil. He was still all right. He had a different opponent now. He must have killed the first one.
She spotted a Malcontent lurking in a dark corner with a cell phone to his ear. A dozen more Malcontents appeared around him. "Look at that!"
Giselle gasped. "We'll be outnumbered!"
"We need to call for backup." Vanda grabbed Giselle's arm. "Get me a phone. We'll call Angus."
"It's already daylight on the East Coast." Giselle's eyes filled with tears. "They can't come."
Damn. That was probably why the Malcontents had waited so long before attacking. Vanda grimaced when another group of Malcontents teleported in. Good God, there had to be twenty of them.
Casimir barked with laughter. "Revenge for the Massacre at DVN!"
Giselle burst into tears. "God help us. This is a massacre."
Vanda stood frozen on the balcony, afraid to watch, afraid not to watch. Her heart raced, pounding in her ears. If only there was something she could do. But she'd never trained with a sword. It would be suicidal to jump down into the melee.
She spotted Robby and Phil fighting their way through the newly arrived batch of Malcontents. Robby skewered the guy with the cell phone. The Malcontent turned to dust, his phone falling to the floor. Phil stomped on it.
A flash of brown hair caught Vanda's attention. One of the newly arrived Malcontents spun about to ward off an attack. A long brown ponytail whipped through the air. A woman.
Vanda stepped closer to the edge of the balcony. There was something about the way the woman moved. She turned again, and Vanda's heart lurched.
Marta.
As if Vanda's thoughts could be heard, Marta glanced up at the balcony. Her eyes narrowed.
Vanda stumbled back. "No, no."
"Are you all right?" Giselle dragged her into the dormitory.
Scarlett hovered just inside the door. "You look like you've seen a ghost."