Naomi felt Tory’s touch as if she were standing right next to her. The shock of it made her stiffen and gasp. She broke the circle, her hands flying to her face where she’d felt Tory’s fingers brush her cheeks. They all turned and stared at her. Six faces with surprised expressions.
Without explaining she simply said, “She needs us.”
Adriana was nodding. Apparently their combined forces had helped clear her vision and Adriana waved them all in the direction of the lower level. “She’s near that fancy carved casket or whatever the hell it is down in the crypt. Come on,” she waved toward the staircase door, “we don’t have much time. This fucker’s like a firecracker about ready to explode.”
Naomi wanted to take off at a run but reason prevailed. She understood Adriana’s reference to the casket and knew exactly where it was. If they paused long enough to formulate a quick plan, they’d have a better chance for surprise.
“Okay, there are a couple different ways we can handle this.”
Nathan was next to her, his gun at this side. In his typical cop style, he began to marshal their meager troops. “Meme, you’re with me. Colin, you take Riah, Adriana, and Ivy.”
“What about Angie?” Riah asked. “We can’t just leave her. What if someone gets in? They’ve already tried to kill her once.”
Riah was right. The pounding on the exterior hadn’t quieted, and the only thing keeping the angry masses out was the sheer strength of the massive doors. Even as strong and thick as they were, they wouldn’t hold forever, and the crowds outside didn’t appear to be giving up.
“I’ll stay with her,” Sunny said. “I’m not a fighter, and I think I’d be more help if I stay here with Angie.”
Naomi agreed. Besides, it made her feel better not to leave Angie all alone while the rest of them searched the church.
Quickly, they all worked together and moved Angie to a storage closet with large doors. Angie wasn’t small but they managed to carefully lay her on the floor. It wasn’t ideal, though it would hopefully keep her safe. Her breathing was even, and for brief moments she’d float into consciousness. She was alert long enough for Naomi to make her understand what they were doing and why. Her eyes were closed when they shut the doors on the cabinet, leaving both Angie and Sunny in the dark.
Loud bangs came again and again from the main doors and Naomi shuddered. If they kept this up, the doors would be destroyed relatively quickly. The thought of the beautiful carved doors being shattered into worthless piles made her sick. The thought of someone hurting Tory made her even sicker.
In fact, it did more than that. She put a hand on Nathan’s arm, feeling the tension that had him wired and on alert. “Give me your backup.”
Nathan stared at her, his eyes full of concern. He didn’t move to unholster the gun. “Meme, are you sure?”
“Give me the fucking gun,” she spit out between clenched teeth. No, she wasn’t sure she could actually use it. No, she didn’t want to hurt anyone. She’d sworn never to take another life but this was different. Tory’s life was at stake here and that changed all the rules.
Nathan leaned down and pulled up a pants leg. Strapped to his ankle was a small holster. He took a Walther out of it and straightened back up, handing her the little gun.
“You know this isn’t going to kill a vampire, right?”
She raised an eyebrow and expertly palmed the weapon. “I haven’t been out of the loop that long.”
He was right, though. They were hunting a vampire and a bullet wouldn’t kill him. In her old life, she’d carried a gun very similar to this one, except hers was always loaded with silver rounds. Though her primary focus had been the extinction of vampires and her weapons of choice fire, wooden stakes, and a sword, the silver bullets came in handy when faced with an out-of-control werewolf. It happened more than one would think and she’d used her gun whenever necessary.
Tonight she needed stopping power more than anything else. Silver rounds were not loaded into this gun and no werewolves posed a threat to anyone here. No, this was all about the bastard who had Tory. A well-placed shot to the chest would temporarily slow down the vampire holding Tory, and that could mean the difference between life and death for her. She would take any and all advantage she could because she wasn’t going to let anything happen to the woman she loved.
The banging outside grew louder. Time was running out; they had to get a move on for more reasons than one. Naomi and Nathan hurried to the stairwell nearest to them while Colin and the women headed to the far side. They were going with the divide-and-conquer strategy. It had to work.
“Be careful.” Then Naomi realized how unnecessary her warning was. Colin had been a hunter long before she ever joined the ranks and was still doing it when she left. On a night like this, there was nobody better to have on the team than him.
His backhanded wave was the only response. She should have known as much. He was in hunter mode. She’d seen it in him before and was incredibly grateful to see it now. The bastard with Tory didn’t stand a chance.
She and Nathan were almost to the bottom of the stairs when they heard a sickening crash. For a second, she didn’t put it together. Then it hit her. One of the front doors had just given way. Screams and shouts filled the air, and the sound of feet thundering through the church above was deafening. They were out of time.
“Hurry,” she said to Nathan.
*
Tory thought about her mother and wondered how she’d felt the day they’d led her from her cell in the Tower of London. Did the same thoughts race through her mind that were going through Tory’s right now? Was she scared? Did she say a prayer for the safety of those she loved? She’d like to think so.
Lady Jane Grey had been nothing but a pawn in a sick game for power. Her daughter was now in the same position. From all accounts, her mother had remained proud and dignified through it all, and Tory tried to believe she could do the same. She’d never had the chance to know her mother or her father yet still hoped she could make them proud. No matter what Roland did to her, no matter how hard he tried to humble her, she’d never bow to him. Like her mother, she’d go to her death with dignity.
Roland Lyle had changed in the two hundred years since she’d known him as a man of God. If she looked hard enough, she could still see traces of the familiar in his face, and her heart ached. Nothing else of her Roland remained, which made her heart ache even more. How could such a good man change so drastically? How could everything that was decent and noble be wiped away as if it never existed? It wasn’t right.
The man from her past no longer existed, and the one before her was nothing short of a monster. He had stolen lives and terrorized a city. He had hurt innocents and played them all. For him it was all a sick game of revenge in which he alone knew the rules. Her Roland never would have done something so heinous. He would never have been that cruel.
And then she wondered. Had she really known the man at all? Had she seen only what she’d wanted to see? Had she made a saint out of a man better suited as a sinner? Love could so easily be blind, and she had loved him with all her heart.
As if reading her thoughts, Roland smiled. “You’re getting it now, aren’t you?” His eyes almost seemed to sparkle with merriment.
She did get it and the sickness that washed over her was horrible. “Pierre didn’t attack you.”
He winked. “Good girl. No, not an attack precisely. Let’s just say that from all you’d shared with me during our cozy years together, I suspected he’d come for you sooner or later.”
She closed her eyes and could picture the night, the sounds, the smells. “And you just happened to be in the right spot at the right time. A lamb waiting for the slaughter. You wanted Pierre to turn you.”
“Ding, ding, ding, the lady is a winner.” He clapped his hands in a mocking sort of applause.
Opening her eyes, she stared at him, gazing at a man she’d never seen before. “Sweet Jesus.”
“The Son of God can’t help you tonight, beautiful. It’s just you and me. It’s been a long time coming, and I, for one, am really looking forward to it. Either way you go, it’s going to be a treat for me.”
The bottom dropped out for Tory. All her sins were coming home. God must have a twisted sense of justice. She didn’t doubt she had a debt to pay and she was willing to pay it. Had it been a few days ago, it wouldn’t have hurt so much. Learning the awful truth about the man she’d so loved made her physically ill. If that was the end of it, she could go to her death without looking back.
Except that wasn’t it. For the first time, she had so much more at stake, and she didn’t want to leave this world. She had a great deal to live for. She would lose more than just her life tonight. Having found Naomi, touching her, loving her, she found the loss unbearable.
He’d asked her to make a choice and she knew what it had to be. It broke her heart but it couldn’t be any different. “I won’t go with you, Roland.”
He shrugged. “Your loss, but frankly I’m not surprised. You always were a little holier-than-thou. Maybe it’s your heritage, that royal blood and all. Always did think you were better than the rest of us. I mean, what’s worse than a woman of royalty? A vampire of royalty.” He laughed heartily.
“That’s not true and you know it. I never treated you any different.”
He waved a hand in the air. “Of course you didn’t. Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better. Doesn’t matter anyway. It’s over now.”
Tears gathered in her eyes and once more her thoughts turned to Naomi. She could almost feel the silky strands of her hair as they flowed through her fingers, smell the light scent of lavender soap on her skin, taste the sweetness of her lips. If she held those memories close, she could take them with her. He could end her life, but he couldn’t erase her memories.
“Ah, now, don’t cry. I’m not going to kill you.”
Tory was confused. What else did he want from her? He was going to kill her, he’d told her as much. Hadn’t he?
In a lightning-fast movement, he had her in a vise-like grip, his lips close to her ear. “Oh, no, pretty Victoria, I have no plans to kill you at all. I told you I was going to destroy you, and that’s what I plan to do.”
He dragged her backward until he reached a small wooden chair. With one arm still around her body, he used the other to pick up the chair, swinging it hard against the wall. The chair broke into half a dozen pieces. He picked up one of the legs, tapered and long with a ragged edge. He straightened back up and turned the piece in his hand.
“Oh, yes, Victoria, this will do nicely. Don’t you think?” The smile on his face was chilling.
She stared first at him, then turned her gaze to the wooden chair leg in his hand. Then realization dawned.
*
A sense of urgency propelled Colin down the stairs as fast as his long legs could take him. The women were right behind him. Of course, Adriana was muttering “hurry, hurry” the whole time, which only served to increase the horrible feeling of dread that had all them caught in its web.
He wished he was better armed. The small knife strapped at his waist wouldn’t do much. Riah had a few weapons on her, as did Ivy and Adriana. Naomi and Nathan had guns, for what little good those would do. Among all of them, they were a long way from being fully armed.
This vampire had managed to start a war on the streets of this massive city, and as it stood, he felt like they were about to go into battle armed with toys. He’d never wished more for his sword than he did at this moment.
The sound of running feet echoed overhead and he prayed the crowd wouldn’t find Angie. He prayed just as hard that the violence-seeking mob wouldn’t discover the stairwells and come in search of them. The humans in the group might stand a chance, but the vampires? The hysteria gripping the mob gave them the collective strength to break down the cathedral doors. Once through, they would likely destroy all of them. Whether or not they were human wasn’t going to matter.
Why in the hell did he ever let Naomi talk him into coming here? He could deal with anything that might happen to him. In the big picture, he didn’t matter. Ivy was a different story. If any harm came to her, he’d never forgive himself. She wouldn’t be here if not for him. Neither would Riah. Oh hell, he even liked Tory, and that put him in the hot seat of responsibility for all three of them.
He put a hand up and stopped, halting the women as well. “Adriana,” he whispered. “Are you getting anything?” He could feel a change in the air, a heaviness that didn’t bode well. If he could feel it, surely Adriana could too.
She stopped behind him and closed her eyes for what seemed at least five minutes. Probably more like fifteen seconds. When she opened her eyes, she met his gaze, nodded, then turned and pointed down a hallway. “That way but be careful, he’s close. This guy is dangerous.”
“Riah?” Colin said as he stared down the empty hallway. Somewhere down here Nathan and Naomi had to be working their way toward this room too. He didn’t see them, didn’t hear them. That left their band of Spiritus Group hunters to make the call.
She stepped up and put a hand on his arm. “What are you thinking?”
He was thinking a lot of things, like how he could get them the hell out of here in one piece. Turn and run was the first thought. The second was how it wouldn’t work even if they tried. Danger waited for them no matter what direction they fled. The best course of action? Take on one bastard of a vampire and go from there.
“Let’s rush him from both sides.”
She studied the hallway and nodded, seeming to follow his train of thought. “I think you’re right. Let’s do it. Adriana, you stay with me.”
“On your six, beautiful.”
He smiled, thankful for Adriana’s irrepressible spirit. If he wasn’t so in love with Ivy and if Adriana wasn’t gay, well, he could definitely fall in love with her. He had no trouble understanding why Riah had fallen hard.
Flanking each wall, the four of them made their way carefully toward a large room that housed the final resting places of several of the rich, famous, or honored. The closer they got, the more clearly they could make out the quiet sounds of movement. His heart began to race and his pulse pounded. This wasn’t the first difficult fight they’d been in. It was the stakes that distinguished it from the others. Tonight, failure meant death for all of them.
At the door, they paused and he looked over at Riah, where she and Adriana stood shoulder to shoulder on the opposite side of the open doorway. Neither of them had a psychic bone in their body, but he could swear he could almost read her mind. She nodded and they pivoted as one into the room side by side.
He thought they’d have the advantage but he’d underestimated their opponent. In a flash, they were thrown off balance as a man, tall and dark, rushed them. Colin didn’t get a very good look at him other than to register that he was alone and covered in blood.