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The stench increased as they proceeded further. They had to stop three more times, as more darts activated. But it was the other noises which had her blood turn to ice.
Snarling. Scratching. Something banging in the distance. The sounds of hungry vampires.
Ahead of them, light appeared as the various noises became louder. Their pace quickened. Maria’s scent strengthened, rising above everything else.
The light came from the chamber at the end of the tunnel. Gabby looked around and froze. Lamps stood over two long metallic tables. Thick silver chains, smelling of old blood, hung at the tables’ four corners. A dark red substance coated the top as though someone had bled out onto it.
Not only vampires, but shifters too.
Metal cages lined the back wall, from where all the sounds emitted. A few were empty. Others held various creatures: two wolves, one gigantic, enraged black bear, one bobcat, and three vampires. Mad like the ones from yesterday, they threw themselves against the bars. The wolves bared their fangs, saliva falling from their mouth.
“Maria!” Ahmed sprinted to Maria’s cage. When his hands gripped the bars, smoke rose from his skin and he jumped away.
Silver. The cages were made of silver.
Gabby was next to Ahmed in a second. No recognition on her friend’s face. Only hunger and rage and violence. Her bloody clothes hung off her like rags, her hair matted into thick and dirty strands. Gabby stumbled back when Maria, snarling, swiped at them through the gap. Maria grazed the bars and hissed.
Maria, it’s me!
Her mind crashed into a swirling tornado of unending hunger and bloodlust.
Kill. Kill. Kill.
The tornado reached for her.
Not Maria.Wetness blurred her vision. She was too late.
Metal creaked. The gate next to Gabby swung open.
“Shit,” Felix cursed.
One by one, the cages opened. Gabby backpedaled when Maria lunged for her throat.
Another crash. A black metal gate had dropped and blocked their exit.
“Great, just what we needed,” Felix said.
Gabby rolled to the right before leaping to her feet. The three vampires surrounded her, and she caught sight of the shifters going for the others out of the corner of her eye.
“The tranq gun!” Nikolas shouted when Gabby began to draw her sabers.
Right. She’d forgotten.
She ducked away from her attackers, swung the gun toward Maria, and fired. The tranquilizer dart hit Maria in the chest. She took three steps forward before collapsing. Her body twitched on the ground, but she stayed down.
I’m sorry,Gabby thought, even though her friend couldn’t hear her.
She rushed past the other vampires while fumbling with the tranquilizer gun and cursed when she dropped the dart.
Fiery pain lit up her back. A vampire had clawed her. The scent of blood frenzied her attackers even more. Unbelievably, they moved faster. One vampire blocked her way while the second cut off her retreat. They rushed her, their claws slashing and fangs snapping.
Reloading was out of the question. Instincts kicked in. As she dodged left and right, defending with her sabers, she saw the bobcat leaping onto Felix, taking him to the ground. Her heart lodged in her throat.
I’m fine. Watch yourself.His calm tone didn’t sound like someone who was fighting for his life. Then again, he had survived worse odds than this.
Probably.
One wolf shifter was down with several darts on his back. Conrad and Ahmed worked on the second, Ahmed loading the tranquilizer with Conrad distracting the beast. Nikolas and Andrea were doing the same with the bear, Nikolas fighting and Andrea shooting. Unlike the wolf, whose movements had become sluggish, the bear wasn’t slowing down.
