“He messaged me, too, like a hundred million times,” Brandon said, and I knew he was talking about Christian. “I told him you were sleeping, and he could wait, but he is relentless.”
“Sorry about that,” I said between bites.
“No, not your fault. Just….” He shook his head, and I agreed he probably shouldn’t finish that sentence.
I also had IAC messages from Tara and Dax, who had gotten his IAC implanted while I was out, so I checked in with them while I finished eating. It was cool to see Tara in the gym. She was with Aurora, Ashley, and Meagan, and they were preparing for a possible attack, one I was sure wasn’t coming. But she was so fast and so strong. I was a little jealous. However, I was also glad because I was pretty sure that meant she’d get to stay on our team, which meant I could pursue my friendship with her without worrying she’d be gone soon. I couldn’t imagine Aaron
The Guardian stood up as soon we entered the room and came around the table to greet us. The hug Margie gave her brother was a little awkward, like she wasn’t sure she wanted to touch him, and I remembered Jamie had told me that they didn’t get along very well.“Cadence, this is my sister, Margie,” Jamie said as she stepped forward, taking Margie’s outstretched hand.“Pleased to meet you,” Margie said, and I could tell by Cadence’s reaction Margie had quite a grip. I braced myself, hoping she’d be a little more gentle on me.“You as well,” Cadence managed, shaking out her hand once Margie had let go.Margie greeted Aaron and Elliott, whom she’d obviously met before, and then it was my turn. I thought the tips of my fingers might explode, she squeezed my hand so tight. I didn’t even have time to look at Brandon’s face to see if he was in as much pain as I was since I was tr
We took three SUVs to the location. Elliott drove ours, and I sat in the way-back holding Brandon’s hand and trying to keep myself calm. Melbourne didn’t look anything like I thought it would. The dream I’d had gave me the impression it would be desert-like, but it wasn’t. The city was huge, and we drove through the heart of it. There wasn’t much traffic this time of night, and Elliott was going well over a hundred miles an hour, but I could see the bright lights and tall buildings and thought maybe I’d come back here someday when there would be time to take it all in.Eventually, we got off the freeway and started winding our way through a not-so-lovely part of town. Here, the buildings were rundown. There was trash everywhere, and while we only saw a few people, they may have been homeless. The cars we saw looked like they might give out at any moment. I had a feeling we were getting closer to the location.I could tell Elliott was
“Get her out of here! Get her out of here now!” Cadence was shouting. She pulled me up and started shoving me toward the fire escape, pushing Brandon and Jamie, who just happened to be between me and the ladder, as she went.She didn’t understand. That wouldn’t work. “He’s down the street,” I said. I realized now that Holland had filled the entire area with an eerie fog. I assumed that was her way of setting the stage and obstructing our view. I couldn’t feel her, though. I was fairly certain she wasn’t anywhere near our location. “He’s headed this way, and he’s not alone,” I said to my sister. The advanced members of Carter’s forces were coming up the road quickly now. “We won’t make it to the SUV in time, Cadence.” I stopped and looked at her. She was more frantic than I ever remembered seeing her. “He’s not after you. Not yet. He’s after me.”
Time was up. A barrage of bullets lit up the street below us, and I knew Margie’s team had come into contact with those advanced forces. “Be careful!” Cadence said, pulling me over to her. She kissed the top of my head and then squeezed Brandon’s arm before nodding at Jamie in a show of confidence.Aaron followed her the last few steps to the fire escape. “Becky wanted to send backup from HQ, but I told her not to. We don’t know for sure where Holland is, and she could be planning an attack there. Remember, Cadence, this was a rescue mission, not the attack. Our objective is to get everyone out alive.”“Right,” my sister said, but I knew she wasn’t thinking about that. she wanted to get Carter again. I couldn’t blame her. I would’ve been thinking the same thing. “I love you,” she said just as a scream filled the night sky. I felt with my mind and saw that it was Steph, and she was hurt
Brandon and Jamie were engaged with Vampires as well, so I was on my own with this dark-haired, vicious woman. Her large claws came at my head, and I stepped out of the way just in time, bringing my knee up to the pit of her stomach. She winced and toppled to the ground, but she was up in a matter of seconds, and as I hit her with a roundhouse kick in the chest, I realized my sister was asking me how many Vampires they had left. It was hard to concentrate on that and beating the witch at the same time, but I managed to tell her she was down to three plus Carter just before witchy came at me again. This time, she scratched the crap out of my cheek before I punched her in the face and sent her flying back again.She wasn’t a big woman at all, and I really thought if I could get her pinned, I could twist her head off. I heard a scream from Aaron’s side of the roof and was glad he had been successful. Brandon was double-teamed by two odd-looking twins in bowler hats a
When I’d finished explaining to Aaron that Holland was coming for me, he sounded as calm as ever, which didn’t surprise me. He is the Leader for a reason, after all. “It’s okay, Cass. Can we make it to the SUV?” Aaron asked.“Go get it, bring it here,” I told him. I didn’t have to say it twice. He was gone in a flash, and I wondered when he’d gotten the keys from Elliott or if they just happened to be in it. Maybe he had some sort of superpowers that made him capable of starting cars without the keys.By the time the rest of us made it down the fire escape, Aaron was pulling the SUV to a stop in front of us. He jumped out, and I knew then he wouldn’t be going with us. He tossed the keys to Brandon, and Jamie hesitated, like he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. “Go help Paul,” Aaron insisted.The sound of fighting down the street was louder here, and it caught Jamie’s attent
As the Vampire Queen closed in on my sister, Elliott, and Aaron, I watched through my boyfriend’s IAC. Brandon pulled the SUV to a screeching halt at the end of the alleyway. “Dad! Come on!” Brandon shouted through the open passenger side window. The four of them were in the SUV in a half-second, and Brandon was pulling away. I don’t know if Cadence was aware that Holland had just entered the alleyway from the other end as the SUV’s tires smoked down the road.“What do I do?” Brandon asked me.I could see that there was no way he could get out without running over a few Vampires. The ranks had closed in tightly, and there’d be no going around. “You have a line of Vampires in the road ahead of you. Do you see them?”“Yeah. How do I go around?”“You don’t.”“I don’t?”“Nope. Can&rsqu
I closed my eyes and focused in on Holland. She was back in her fortress now, though I couldn’t tell where that was. She was so upset that she didn’t have the full capacity to block me. I could see her lying on a bed, her head buried in her hands, crying out for Perses, cursing my sister’s name, vowing vengeance. The rest of her forces were scattered around the city, some of them hunting for us, some of them searching for innocents to turn. Things could get messy; I tried to see if I could contact any of them, to send them home.I realized after about fifteen minutes of deep concentration that my sister and Brandon were nearby. I vaguely recalled having waved her away earlier. I felt bad about it, but I hadn’t done it on purpose.Cadence had a questioning expression on her face, and I realized she wanted an update. “She’s done for the night. I see her lying on a bed covered in red silk, crying. She’s inconsolable, but also outr