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Dredge had already broken that rule—I'd counted twenty-three members of the Elwing Clan. And he was out to rule far more than his turf here. He wanted to set himself up to be a vampiric lord—and we suspected he planned on trying to muscle in on the money flowing through the thieves' and assassins' guilds. And if he had his way, he'd be in a position to slake his sadistic thirsts without worrying about reprisals. People would be too afraid to fight back if he ruled a Court instead of a nest.
With the knowledge I'd discovered, by tomorrow morning the OIA would be able to send a team in to stake every last bloodsucker in the rogue clan of vamps. Threatening to exile them to the Sub Realms hadn't proved all that effective when they escaped capture every time.
Just hang on, keep quiet as they filed out, and I'd be home free. I might even get a promotion for my work—a first for the D'Artigo girls. In fact, the way things were looking with our track records, it would take a promotion to prevent the OIA from assigning us to some lowlife town down south to watch over the riffraff. We weren't lazy… just a little unlucky at times.
I shivered as a cold draft blew by, even though I was in a spider-silk body suit. My hair was pulled tightly into a bun, to keep it out of my face. I'd made sure to stretch out before coming on duty, but now every muscle in my body hurt and all I could think about was going home and taking a long hot bath. Camille and I had plans to head out for a party at midnight. There was an opium bash at the Collequia, and Camille wanted me to meet someone there, some guy she'd hooked up with a few weeks back. His name was Trillian or something like that. The fact that she wouldn't tell us anything about him made me know right off that there had to be something wrong with him. Camille had a taste for bad boys.
A ripple of pain washed down my left arm. Damn it, what was taking the vamps so long to clear out? I squinted, trying to make out what was going on below. From where I was sequestered, I couldn't see them very well. On the plus side, they couldn't see me, either.
Ten more minutes, I thought. Just ten minutes. I forced myself to ignore my burning muscles and tried to focus on something else. Father had promised we'd take a vacation before the next full moon to go visit relatives in the Windwillow Valley, or maybe spend a few days in Aladril, the City of Seers. Either way, we all needed a holiday. All four of us had been working hard lately. I was so tired I fell asleep the minute my head hit the pillow each night.
Damn it. An itch on the back of my neck was driving me nuts. As I shifted, trying to shake it off, the rock on which my right hand rested crumbled without warning, shearing off at surface level.
Holy shit! I scrambled for the nearest outcropping, frantically hoping to snag hold of some niche, crack, or crevice to keep myself from falling, but there was nothing under my fingers but smooth rock. My feet slipped as my fingers slid along the granite. I lost my grip and went tumbling to the floor below.
They say your life flashes before your eyes when you're ready to die, but the only thing that ran through my mind was a prayer that I'd be lucky enough to break my neck in the fall, considering just who I knew was prowling around in the caverns. And then I hit the floor with a bone-shaking thud.
Hell. I was still alive, and my landing had made a lot of noise. That meant one thing: to have any chance of escaping unscathed, I'd better run like hell. As I scrambled to my feet and headed toward the nearest entrance, I heard a commotion behind me. They'd heard me and were coming to investigate. Fuck. Was this the end?
As I raced through the corridor, I had no delusions about what would happen if they caught me. The Elwing Blood Clan vamps were rogues, arrogant predators led by a vampire who bathed in the blood of his victims. The clan ignored the Vampire code of ethics, which was why I'd been spying on them in the first place.
I skidded around a bend in the corridor, a searing cramp running through my calf as the sudden burst of movement stirred up lactic acid. The faint glow of starlight ahead told me I was almost out. Maybe I could lose them in the forest—I was good at camouflage. Sucking in my breath, I pushed my protesting body faster, my gaze fastened on the opening to the cave.
Ten yards away, and I could taste freedom. Nine yards and I fumbled at my belt for an emergency stake. I managed to yank it free and pumped my arms, covering the distance that would give me a fighting chance for survival. Just a few more steps—a few more yards.
And then, the silhouette of a man stepped in front of the cave opening. Tall and swarthy, with long curling hair, he was wearing black leather and a smile that would shatter stone. I knew who he was. Dredge. Leader of the Elwing Blood Clan. He glorified torture, reveled in pain.
I put on the brakes, forcing a hard right toward the passage out of which he'd just emerged. Dredge didn't move to follow me, but I could hear his voice from behind as he said, "When you tire of the chase, bring her to me. Don't mark her. This one's in for a special treat."
A chill of dread washed over me as I realized that the passage was taking me back into the central cavern. Shortly before the corridor ended, I noticed a beam of moonlight shining down through a crack in the ceiling. A quick look up showed me that I was just small enough to fit through the fracture in the rock. As I pulled myself up the wall, I scrambled for handholds. By now every joint in my body was on fire and I'd torn at least five different muscles. Repressing the pain, I forced myself to focus on the ceiling. Just get to the fissure. Get out of the cave.
Two feet from the exit, a hand grasped my ankle. I tried to kick off my assailant, but his grip was iron-strong and with a single jerk he yanked me away from the wall. As he let go, I fell to the floor, landing on my back.
The sound of my ribs snapping echoed through the air seconds before the pain hit. Moaning, I blinked away the tears only to find myself looking up into the face of an elf. Or what had at one time been an elf. Ageless, pale, and wan, he bent over to pick me up and I remembered the stake. Where was it? I'd stuck it back in my belt when I started to climb. As I fumbled for it, the vampire gazed into my eyes.
"Relax… just relax." His voice was soothing, gentle as a spring breeze, and I felt an overwhelming desire to close my eyes, to surrender to those three little words. But he smiled, and in that moment, I saw the extended fangs, glistening needles that would end my life.
"No," I whispered, trying to keep control of my senses. I forced my hand down to my belt where the wooden stake lay pressed against my body.
"It will be so much easier if you let me help you," the vamp said. "My name's Velan. What's your name?"
I licked my lips, blinking. He wasn't my friend and he wasn't going to help me. His voice promised a gentle embrace but I forced myself to remember what he was and where I was. Shaking my head, I managed to get my fingers around the stake, my chest burning with the pain of the fractured bones.
Velan hadn't noticed what I was doing, he was so intent on capturing me with his gaze.
"Come closer," I whispered. "Help me…"
As I waited, he leaned in. Timing my movement because one shot was all I'd have, I flipped the stake point-side up and shoved toward his chest as hard as I could, biting my lips as pain shot through my ribs, my chest, my lungs.
Contact! I hit him square on and the shocked look on his face was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen. He opened his mouth but before he could say a word, he shattered into a cloud of ash and bone, showering me with all that remained.
Coughing, I pushed myself up, biting my lip to keep from screaming. Every fiber of my being hurt—every muscle, every bone… like my nerves were raw, scraped with a knife. I managed to stagger to my feet. The passage was empty but it wouldn't stay that way for long. The only direction in which I could head would lead me back into the inner chamber. Unless… I glanced up at the break in the cavern roof again. Maybe I could still manage to climb the shaft? I was hurt, but I had motivation—the pain would be a lot worse if I waited around for Dredge's cronies to catch up to me.
Slowly, fumbling for a handhold here, a toehold there, I started climbing the rock again. I tried to control my breathing as each lungful of air brought with it a dizzying muscle spasm.
As I inched up the wall, a million thoughts ran through my mind, most of them centering on how I was going to tender my resignation the minute I got back to Y'Elestrial. If I made it back to Y'Elestrial. Why the hell had the OIA assigned me to this task? There were other scouts, other acrobats in the agency who were better than me. Had this been a punishment? Or had the powers that be decided that the case really wasn't that serious? The idiots had their heads up their butts and now I was about to become another statistic because of their stupidity. I glanced around, surprised to see that I was nearing the top. Maybe anger was the ticket—it kept my mind off of the pain. I visualized our supervisor and mentally took aim with a crossbow as I forced myself toward the crevasse. Just a few more feet… a few more inches and I'd be out.
And there it was—blessed starlight splashing on my face. I clawed at the edges of the chasm, slowly pulling my aching body up and out to roll over on the fragrant grass that carpeted the top of the hill. I'd made it. I actually escaped. Now I just had to get to the forest where I could hide out until morning. Relief pouring through me like sweet cool water, I struggled to stand up.
