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But they let us in well enough, without a fight, and we’re brought back before Roanac.
Everything’s going smoothly now, at least. I have to hope that it keeps going smoothly. People always talk about how something’s goingtoowell, and that makes them suspicious, but most of my heists go off without a hitch. It’s a sign of a good plan. I have to hope that’s what this is now.
Roanac is in some kind of planning room. There’s a huge table with papers spread all over it. Some of those papers look like maps, and some seem to have spells on them. A lot of it is in languages that I can’t read, so I can’t be sure.
He looks up as we enter, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. “O’Shae. What a pleasant surprise to see you here.”
“Well, I had to make a delivery.” Donovan gestures at the four of us.
“Oh?” Roanac walks around the desk and comes to stand in front of Donovan. “And why would you go to the bother of turning these four in again? You don’t owe me anymore.”
“They got in my way. I didn’t seek them out.” That’s true enough, but I can see Donovan struggling against the unbreakable vow. It makes him look like he’s struggling to hold in a sneeze. “And now, you’ll owe me. Figured that would come in handy. I don’t know what your plans are, but I don’t intend to be one of the men you crush on your way to the top.”
That last part sounds the truest. I don’t think Donovan’s acting there. Even if he doesn’t like us making him betray Roanac, he’s got no intention of letting Roanac destroy him.
Roanac smiles. “Didn’t think you had it in you, O’Shae. I’m impressed. And I’ll keep this in mind.”
Donovan looks relieved. It had to have been a gamble to say that Roanac now owed him. Roanac might’ve taken that as a threat. But it looks like it paid off and now, we’re golden.
Roanac waves his hand. “Off you go. I’ll deal with these four.”
He smiles at me, and I raise my hands, maintaining the glamour of the cuffs, to flip him off.
Donovan bows and leaves with his men as Roanac chuckles. “You are a feisty one, I’ll give you that.”
It’s just the four of us and Roanac, and he thinks that our magic has been nullified. This is our chance. We’re never going to get a better opportunity with Roanac all alone. I tense up, ready to attack—
“It’s a trap!” one of Donovan’s vampiric guards yells as he runs back in. “It’s a trick!”
Fuck. Donovan must’ve found some way to signal to his men what was going on, some choice of words or a physical motion that didn’t technically break his oath but still let them know that something was wrong.
We’re screwed.
CHAPTER22
Chaos erupts immediately. Roanac turns on us, fury blazing in his eyes. “Youdareto try to trick me?”
I think it’s been ages since anyone’s tried to go against him, never mind even gotten this far. I think it’s made him complacent, the way rich people will get with lax security systems and leaving expensive items just lying around the house. I hope it’ll pay off for us now.
We all drop our glamours, and I launch myself at him. I’m not letting this asshole get away with this. It’s him or me, and I have no intention of it being me. I’ve survived this long. I’ll survive this yet.
Donovan’s other men all burst into the room, attacking us. Damn it! Donovan himself can’t attack us because of the potion, at least until it wears off, but his men aren’t bound by anything like that. They can attack us however they want.
One of the vampires tackles me from the side, and I twist in the air, grabbing him by the hair before he can sink his fangs into me.
“Don’t bleed her!” Roanac yells. “I need that blood! Idiots!”
All three men are fighting wildly. It’s two against one, basically, since there are six guards plus Roanac, and four of us. I slam my knee into the stomach of the vampire who’s got me and then twist his wrists to get him to let go of me, smashing him in the face with my elbow. Vampires are supernaturally strong, obviously, so I’m surprised that my blows are able to land and deal damage. Maybe there’s more to my magic than I thought.
The vampire snarls at me and swipes at me with his claws, but he doesn’t try to use his fangs on me, evidently complying with Roanac’s wishes. Idiot. Vampires make you complacent when they bite you. Having your blood drained understandably weakens you, but it’s more than that. People go into a kind of helpless trance when vampires feed off them, like they’re hypnotized. Since he can’t bite me, his ability to make me complacent and weak has been taken away.
I dodge his claws and duck under his arm, swinging my fist up under his chin in an uppercut that sends his head snapping back. I’m trying to shake him off instead of getting into a long, protracted fight. Partially because I probably can’t survive that against a vampire but mainly because I need to get to Roanac while I still can.
“Hold them back!” I yell at the men. I need them to keep the others occupied so I can get close to Roanac. If I can just get close to him with a blade, I can hit him in his weak spot!
The vampire dives for me again but Raven’s there, his wings spreading wide, and grabs the vampire by the throat. Raven’s strength is, as always, impressive, and I grin savagely as he throws the vampire to the side, sending him flying and crashing into the stone walls.
Ha.
