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“Many things, but not that.”
Of course not, I thought, frustrated. “Then why are the vampires in this place? There is nothing left for them to feed on, and no human outposts nearby.”
A strange smile touched her pale lips. “The vampires have always been here. But soon, they will be everywhere. Even in Central.”
Her matter-of-fact tone had alarm stirring. “And how does Dream plan to achieve this? We’ve destroyed her bases and disrupted her research.”
“Disrupted, not completely destroyed. Bases and research labs can be rebuilt.”
I eyed Penny for a moment, seeing the certainty in her, the conviction. There was something else going on, something we weren’t seeing. Something that could yet kill us all. “Yes, but that will take years to do, and we’ll find her long before she can achieve either.”
“While that is indeed possible, it doesn’t negate the truth of my statement. The vampires will soon control Central.”
“The attack on Chaos was proof enough that while there are vampires who have gained some immunity, there’s still a long way to go before they gain full protection. Central is bathed in UV lighting day and night, Penny. The minute they breach the wall, they will die.”
“But what if the lights no longer worked?”
For several seconds, I could only stare at her. Then fear crashed through me and realization dawned. We’d been so damn focused on finding the children and shutting down the labs that we’d never considered the possibility of a plan B.
“Are you saying that’s what Dream intends? To shut down the lights?” I couldn't quite keep the urgency and fear from my voice. Because if that was what Dream intended, then Nuri needed to tell the authorities and have her apprehended immediately—even if we didn't yet have absolute proof that Dream and Hedda were indeed the same person.
“I don't know her plans,” Penny said. “I only know what the vampires tell me—what has filled their dreams in the long hours of the day these past few months.”
Vampires dreamed? That was a concept I did not want to contemplate. And yet if the last few months had taught me anything, it was that they were not the unthinking beasts I'd always thought them to be.
Footsteps began to echo across the silence. Running steps, oddly desperate.
Jonas.
“And what do they base these dreams on, Penny, if they have not been promised such a thing?”
“I do not know.” Though she must have heard the noise Jonas was making, Penny made no acknowledgment. Nor did she look concerned. “I have only been a part of the greater mind these last few weeks.”
“Can you ask the greater mind what they base their information on, Penny?”
The vampires are on the move, Bear commented. They are coming up from the den to cut off our retreat.
Warn us if they look ready to attack.
“Why would I do that?” Penny asked.
“Because you're not a vampire.” I took another step forward, even though I was certain the minute I made any attempt to snatch her, the vampires drawing ever closer would attack. “You're not one of them, no matter what Dream has done to you. You're one of us—a shifter.”
“Except my heart no longer beats for the sunlight. More and more, the night is my mistress, just as it is theirs. And the hun
ger—it grows.” She hesitated and glanced past me as Jonas stepped into the junction. “Hello, Uncle.”
He stopped beside me. Though he wasn't touching me, I could feel the tension in him—the fear. It washed in waves across my skin and through my mind, and it made my heart ache for him.
“Penny, you can’t stay here,” he said. “You must fight them—fight what they have done to you.”
“I would be more worried about what the vampires intend to do to you.” He might have been nothing to her for all the emotion she was showing. “You knew this was a trap. Tiger warned you of it, many times. And yet you still came.”
His fists clenched—the only outward sign of the strength it was taking not to grab her and run. But he, like me, feared that doing so would unleash the vampires.
If we were to get out of this place in one piece, she had to come with us willingly. And even then, I suspected, survival was not guaranteed.
“I came because you are family,” he said flatly. “I will not leave you here, Penny. I cannot.”
