“Like hell,” Danny shot back. “I’m in on the action. I’m pretty good at causing a distraction when you need one, and something tells me you’re going to need it.”
“What kind of distraction?” I challenged.
Danny let out a cocky laugh. “Just trust me.”
My grandfather had taught me that no job was bound to go perfectly, and that when faced with a problem, the best thing to do was work with it, rather than try to solve it.
You don’t have time to solve problems when the clock is ticking, he’d told me.You can only pivot. Find ways to turn that problem into a solution.
I wasn’t going to argue with Danny, because I knew he’d only cause more problems if he was left to his own devices. At least if Danny was with us, I could keep a close eye on him.
“All right, Danny. You’re with us,” I agreed.
“I’ll take over the comms,” Alistair offered. He plopped down in front of the computer. Pig jumped up on the table, and the keyboard clicked as the cat walked over it.
Alistair wasn’t going to return to Ilamanthe, even if I dragged him there myself. Leaving him here where Max and Gavyn could watch him was our best option.
“Fine,” I said. “Let’s get moving.”
We quickly gathered the last of our things. Gavyn supplied us each with an earpiece, so that we could stay in touch with each other.
Marcus placed a potion vial in my hand. “Everyone take this. It’s a warding potion I made myself. It will disguise our scent, voices, and appearances. It will make us virtually undetectable.”
I downed the potion, and the others followed. I felt the magic tingling across my skin, and I knew it was working.
“Danny, you’ll need a sun-safe potion to protect you from the sunlight if we need to make a quick exit outside,” Marcus added. “You’re lucky I’ve got one on me. It should last up to twelve hours.”
“Cheers!” Danny said, before downing the potion. I almost hoped it didn’t work, because it’d be funny if his vampiric ass fried.
Oberi shifted into a unicorn. Ava left her chair behind, and I hoisted her onto Oberi’s back. Rishi followed at Marcus’ feet, and Eddie remained close by my side, braced to defend me at any moment. Chancey cracked his knuckles, ready for a fight, and Ivy walked alongside him. Danny followed us, but he thankfully kept his mouth shut. I think he finally realized how serious the situation was and that he couldn’t fuck around right now.
We took a private elevator down to the lowest level of the hotel, which was deserted. I used my magic to shift the concrete and dirt beneath us, creating a sloping passage, until I felt my magic give way to a large tunnel beneath us.
“Quickly,” I ordered. Oberi hurried through the hole I’d made, and the others followed.
I went last. The storm sewers were similar to long, circular hallways. They were tall enough to stand in, and although there were puddles of water beneath us, Ava cleared them aside with her Toaqua magic.
“It’s a mile to The Devil’s City,” Ivy told us. “Come on. I know where we need to go.”
We walked at a brisk pace and turned a few corridors until Ivy stopped in the middle of the tunnel fifteen minutes later. I knew we must be beneath The Devil’s City, because I could feel the magic buzzing around us. It wasn’t as strong as the magic in Ilamanthe, or even back at the Institute, because vampire magic wasn’t as intense as the resonance given off by othersupernatural races. That’s why the vampires could still rely heavily on tech like security cameras when they didn’t work so well at the Institute, because their magic didn’t interfere with human technology as much. Still, there were enough vampires in the vicinity that I could sense them, even from underground.
“This is it,” Ivy announced. “We should be right beneath the boiler room.”
Gavyn’s voice came through the comms. “We’ve got a visual on the boiler room. It’s empty. You’re clear to go.”
“Everyone stand back,” I told them.
They scurried back a few paces, and I lifted my hands. The ground shook, and debris rained downward as I shifted dirt, rock, and concrete above us. I was careful to make sure the earth was stable before ushering the others through. We crawled out of the storm sewers and into a large room whirring with equipment.
Goosebumps tingled along my arms, and I quickly scanned the room with my magic. I could feel Air moving in and out of the machines, but I felt no magical signatures nearby. The room was empty as expected.
“The service elevators are this way.” Ivy started forward, and we all followed.
Though we were alone, we crept quietly past large machines and long pipes. I remained on keen alert, and I didn’t pick up on anything until?—
“Eek!” Marcus let out a high-pitched squeal, and Rishi hissed. Danny grunted, like he’d been hit by a heavy force. My Air magic swirled around two swiftly-moving figures. The vampires were on us in a split second, before any of us knew it, and they’d grabbed Marcus and Danny.
Danny gave a primal growl, and Chancey moved forward to beat the vampires to a pulp. I threw my hand out in one direction to shove Ava and Oberi behind me with my Air magic. My otherhand lifted toward the vampires to cast a spell, but before I could shoot it off, Marcus gasped in pain. I realized if I cast the spell, Marcus would be caught in the crosshairs and probably get hurt.
