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“Which means she’ll need to leave another way,” I say. “We should get blockades set up on the two roads out of town. She doesn’t have a flight form and neither do either of her guards. Chances are she’ll try to leave by car.”
“Unless she’s counting on the Shadowbanes to take the estate and give her sanctuary there,” Ringer counters.
I shake my head. “I don’t think she will. Whether the Shadowbanes turned on her or someone else destroyed her boat, she knows tonight isn’t going according to plan. Priscilla doesn’t like deviations from the plan.”
“And she hasn’t lived this long by taking unnecessary risks,” Jamie agrees. “I’m with Edmond. I think we need to get some guards in mind-control protective gear stationed on the roads out of town ASAP.”
Ringer nods. “Okay. Get on that. Fly as fast as you can. And tell Colin to send a team down to meet us here on the beach, too. We can get a few people busy burning that boat, while we go at them from above and behind. Hopefully, it’ll all be over before they know what hit them.”
“On it,” Jamie says. “Be careful and stay hidden until backup gets here though, all right? We seem to be out ahead of this. No need for anyone to play hero and get themselves killed.”
I agree with him. And as he shifts into his bat form and flies hard toward the estate, I fully intend to stay out of sight until there are more than two of us here to storm the beach.
But then I hear Casey cry out in pain—it’s a soft sound, there and snatched away by the wind a moment later—but I instantly know it’s her. She’s down there on the beach somewhere just out of sight. And someone is hurting her.
That’s all I need to know.
Ringer hisses for me to stop, to come back and wait for help, but I’m already gone, running on swift, silent feet across the cobblestones and onto the cold sand.
Chapter Twenty-Three
CASEY
My eyes adjust to the near darkness of the caverns quickly—I ate my carrots as a kid and continue to do so as an adult—but I still can’t see as well as the vampires.
As they drag me along the dimly lit path, illuminated only by what seem to be a glow-in-the-dark fungus of some kind, I trip every third or fourth step. The vampires ignore my cursing and requests for them to slow the fuck down. The taller one on my right side answers me with a sharp “shut up,” while the one on my left just gives my already aching shoulder another sharp jerk.
Clenching my jaw against the pain, I take a deep breath, refusing to let the tears stinging at the backs of my eyes fall.
I’m still alive, I’m not feeling sick from the spell anymore, and there’s at least a chance Sophie really is on my side. Now, isn’t the time to give into despair. Now is the time to stay sharp, stay vigilant, and be ready to run like hell the second fortune shifts in my favor.
I didn’t survive Priscilla to get taken out by these losers before I can tell Edmond the truth.
I still can’t believe the answer is so simple, but then…that’s the brilliance of it, too. It’s so simple that Edmond clearly never imagined all he had to do to end the curse was decide he was ready to be done with it.
There’s a lesson in there for me, as well.
Something about most of our prisons being of our own making and the power of the mind to both torture us and set us free, but I can’t tease it out right now. I’m too distracted by all the imminent danger.
I don’t know why these vampires didn’t just kill me on the beach, but they didn’t. There must be something they want from me. If I can figure out what that is, maybe I can use it to my advantage.
“Edmond will give you whatever you want,” I say as the two dozen or so heavily armed vampires accompanying Sophie into the caverns stop in front of a gently trickling waterfall glowing the same soft green as the luminescent fungus. “If you promise him that you’ll let my daughter and me live, he’ll help you take the estate without violence.”
“Shut up, witch,” one of my captor’s snaps.
“Please, I’m telling the truth,” I say, appealing to the white-haired man who seems to be the leader.
He’s at least looking my way. I can’t tell if he’s open to persuasion, but I have to try. If I can just get them to take a meeting with Edmond, this will all be over in a matter of minutes. Edmond can lay a heavy case of mind control on these fuckers and make them walk out into the sun come morning.
“He’s my husband,” I continue. “We were just married last night. He’ll do anything to keep me and my daughter safe. I know he will. Family comes first for him, even before his clan.”
“That’s what we’re banking on,” the man says in a Slavic accent I can’t quite place. His lips curve in a pitying smile. “Unfortunately for you, your husband lacks the status within the clan to achieve our desired ends. That’s why Sophie’s joined us. Once we reach the estate, she’ll aid in taking the rest of your family captive. Afterwards, we’ll make an example of the youngest, weakest Wonderfully, to prove to the Blackmores that we mean business.”
“Me?” I bleat, my breath rushing out as he tips his head in confirmation. “Hold on a second now. Have you seen Blaire and Annie?” I ask. “I’m the youngest sister here in Nightfall right now, yes, but I could pick them both up. At the same time. Granted, I wouldn’t want to face Blaire in a fight—she’s scary when she’s in protective mode and fights dirty—but no one with eyeballs would say she’s stronger than I am.” I jab a thumb Sophie’s way. “And I could strangle this little shit with one hand tied behind my back. Let me go, and I’ll prove it.”
“Magically stronger,” Sophie says, disdain dripping from her voice. “That’s what matters. If you weren’t a clueless outsider, you’d know that.”
“Precisely.” The evil Viking sniffs through his sharp slash of a nose. “Nightfall has been too long without true leadership, vampires willing to make difficult decisions in the name of keeping this precious refuge secure. It’s time to thin the herd. Too many weak links create a chain that won’t hold and puts everyone in danger.” He sighs, seeming truly grieved by the state of this sweet little town, that as far as I can tell, would be an idyllic place to live if he and his asshole friends would stop causing trouble. “You can take comfort in knowing your sacrifice will help achieve that peace and security. Your death will make it clear to Darcy and Colin that we’re serious about exterminating every last one of their witches if our demands aren’t met. We understand Darcy’s quite smitten with his mate, Blaire, and that Colin has great affection for Annie, though their engagement ended before a bond could be formed.”
