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The jangle of my cell phone suddenly cut through the muffled hush of the nest and I yanked it out, wondering who the hell could be calling me. I'd warned Chrysandra that I'd be out of touch for a night or so, and not many other people besides my sisters had my number. I glanced at the caller ID. Iris. Oh shit, what was wrong?
I flipped it open. "Iris, what's up?"
The static was horrible. I hurried outside, onto the steps, where the signal strengthened. "Hurry it up. I'm in a dicey situation here. What's wrong?"
Iris took a deep breath. "I know you are. Roz is here and he wants to talk to you. And another thing—Trillian just returned from OW." Something in her voice made me wary.
"What's wrong?"
"He's been hurt. He was shot by one of Lethesanar's archers."
Holy crap. Had she called me so I could cushion the blow for Camille? Was Trillian dead? I suddenly found myself whispering a silent prayer that my sister's love-bunny was okay. "Tell me."
"He'll live, but he's lost a lot of blood. He's not going anywhere for a while. So don't count on him coming to help you tonight. His shoulder is pretty mangled. I've called Sharah to come out with a medic kit so she can work on him." Iris sounded rushed. "She'll be here any minute. Meanwhile, here's Roz."
"Put him on." I decided to wait on telling Camille about Trillian. If she wasn't worrying about him, she'd pay more attention to what we were doing. And since Iris said he'd live, there was no real urgency.
Roz took the phone. "I found a volunteer. I don't have that internal guidance system you do in picking out perverts—at least not the kind you're looking for. And I didn't want to risk somebody innocent, since Erin's going to wake up ravenous."
"Then who did you find? And how the hell did you get out to our house so fast? You don't drive, do you?">With a loud yip, Morio raked his claws down the man's chest, gutting him wide. Delilah, who'd been watching from where she was guarding Chase, leapt forward and thrust her stake into the exposed heart. The vamp twitched, then vanished, ashes like the rest.
Morio turned to Camille and in a voice that echoed through the chamber, asked, "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. He didn't manage to hurt me," she said, gazing up at him. "But you're injured."
As he slowly shifted back into his human form, Morio shook his head and picked up his bag, slinging it back over his shoulder. "I'll be all right. It's barely a scratch." He glanced at the gashes showing through the ripped clothing. "Don't worry about me."
The fight over, I glanced around the room. The other two doors caught my eye. Two more chances for vamps to be lurking, waiting for us. The smell of blood hung heavy, but I was still so impressed by Morio's transformation that I barely noticed. However if there were other vamps here, it would draw them to us for sure.
"Be careful—your wound is as good as a beacon—" I started to say, but one of the side chamber doors slammed open and two more bloodsuckers came through. "Bingo!" I rushed forward, along with Roz and we spun into action.
This time the fight was pretty much one-sided. Camille cast a blinding light spell in the room, which backfired in a sense that instead of a globe in the center of the air, the light shot out from her eyes, effectively eliminating her ability to fight. But Roz and I managed to take down the two vamps before the others could move in. The illumination flared and sputtered out to dwindle back into darkness.
"Hell. I felt like a Roman candle," she said, blinking.
"You looked like one, too," I said. "Any damage?"
She swallowed, then coughed. "My throat feels like I just chugged a bottle of Johnnie Walker, but otherwise I think I'm okay."
Morio let out a snort, arching his eyebrows as she glared at him. "Don't blame me. You know that was funny," he said, but she held up a hand.
"Shut up. I hear something." She raced to the other door and swung it wide before I could stop her. "Erin! I found Erin!"
I darted into the room, glancing around to make sure we were alone. Delilah was right behind me, and the boys behind her.
Erin was bound on the floor, her flannel shirt nowhere to be seen. So butch in the outer world, here she looked terribly frail and terribly hurt. Blood splattered the room. It looked like the newborns had been feeding off of her. The scent of fear hung heavy in the air, and my fangs automatically extended, the hunger churning like an ocean wave.
Camille knelt by her and felt for her pulse. She looked up, ashen. "She's dying. She's not going to make it. Even if we manage to miraculously get an ambulance here in five minutes, they won't be able to give her blood fast enough." Her eyes flashed. "I want them dead. All of them!"
I slowly joined her, crouching to stare at Erin's lifeless form. She wasn't gone yet. There was still a flutter of breath in her struggling lungs, but Camille was right. She was going to die.
Camille turned to me. "You can save her," she said.
"What? How? Even I can't get her to a hospital fast enough." Confused, I glanced around at the others. Roz and Morio had knowing looks on their faces, but Chase pulled a blank stare.
"You can," Delilah said, dropping by Erin's other side. "You can save her, Menolly. You have to—she didn't ask to die. She doesn't want to die."
And then, staring at my sisters, I knew what they were asking. "What? You can't mean it! You can't tell me you want me to turn her?" I leapt up and strode over to Roz's side. "I can't believe you'd ask me to do something I find so repulsive."
