Page 160 of Trapped By the Blood Ruby

We stopped before the locked fence. “I’m here to make a trade,” Zola shouted, her voice floating out over the dim grounds. A small graveyard with crumbling tombstones lay beside the church, its gate still standing. An overgrown garden bracketed the entry path.

The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. I swallowed as shapes materialized from the shadows. They moved slowly, getting into position around the church’s exterior. My stomach squirmed.

There were too many things that could go wrong.

A tall female vampire stepped into view. As her features sharpened, I immediately recognized her. She said something in Italian and Zola answered. Then she turned toward me and inhaled. A shiver raced down my spine. She was from the opening ball, from House Bardanes. “Hello, pet.” Her tongued darted out, licking her lips. “I cannot wait to play with you.”

“Eww,” I breathed, knowing she’d probably hear me.

“I haven’t got all day, Natasha,” Zola snapped.

“Tsk, tsk. So impatient, you young vampires.”

Zola didn’t seem all that young with her roaring twenties style and older manner of speech. But that made me wonder how old Natasha was.

Natasha sighed. “Very well then. Deukalion is expecting you. Come.”

I frowned, sharing a furtive glance with Zola, whose expression was granite.

Natasha slipped a key from around her neck and opened the lock, removing the chains on the gate. This was it—my last chance to run. But who was I kidding? I knew how well running from vampires went.

We walked through the gate and into the church yard. Other cloaked forms materialized from the darkness, their faces hidden. They stalked our progress. Every nerve ending in my body was charged. Zola and I were outnumbered.

I tugged against her. “Don’t do this, please?” I cried, keeping my voice low. “We’ll find another way to free him.”

“I don’t take orders from humans,” Zola snarled. “Now be quiet.”

“Please, Zola. He’ll never forgive you.”

“He will when it saves his life.”

Natasha snorted. “Poor pet, you really think you have any power here?”

The rotted wooden doors of the church swung open. Zola gave my arm another unfriendly tug. If she was frightened, I wouldn’t have known. We were walking into the heart of Lio’s stronghold and she looked as if she was playing a game of poker around a table at a speak easy—in black spandex this time.

We swept inside.

My chest tightened. I felt him—a faint pulse at the edge of my senses. Laurent was here—he had to be.

The doors slammed closed behind us.

I caught the scent of mold and something sweetly putrid that made my stomach turn. My nose wrinkled in disgust. We passed through a modest entryway, proceeding into the nave. Most of the pews were either broken or missing. The altar was mostly intact, with a large, tarnished cross.

“You received my note.” The words were soft but confident. Lio materialized from the shadows. I jerked, whirling in his direction, only to wince at the pain in my arm. Zola’s grip on me tightened, as if she thought Lio might rip me away from her at any moment. He could, with his inhuman speed. He could grab me and sink his teeth into my throat before I took a single breath.

Zola and I were nearly helpless here. Outnumbered ten to one. The shadows loomed with bodies, all waiting in silence.

I had no idea if I could use my abilities on this many vampires, even with Zola’s help. I certainly didn’t want to gamble on it. Besides, I couldn’t act yet. I needed to know where Laurent was. I needed to know that Lio wasn’t going to double cross us. I forced myself to take in details—a door to the left of the altar, boarded windows that might break under pressure, the rotting wooden beams overhead that looked ready to collapse.

“My, my, what a scent!” Lio made a show of inhaling, breathing me in. It felt violating, like he was taking something of mine I hadn’t offered, something intimate. His eyes darkened. I watched the change come over him, one I was familiar with. His features began to morph, fangs elongating⁠—

“I brought the girl, just as you demanded,” Zola snapped. Her voice didn’t waver. “But I do not see Laurent. Was I mistaken to believe you would honor your word?”

Lio’s gaze snapped away from me. The pressure in my chest eased. I took a deep breath. “I always keep my word,” Lio scoffed, then motioned with his head. One of the vampires peeled away from the wall and retreated—to retrieve Laurent? I didn’t dare watch, keeping my eyes on the greatest danger.

Lio stepped closer to look at me.

He looked exactly as he had in Laurent’s memories. I’d only seen flashes of him over the past few weeks. Now I had the chance to truly look at him. I hated what I saw, the way his face had changed. There was no evidence of the laughter and smiles he’d once worn like a second skin.