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I rummaged around in the dark of the garage, looking for the fucking control panel and getting more frustrated by the minute. Lucifer gave me twenty-four hours to make a decision. If I didn’t show up at the address he specified within twenty-four hours, Damian would suffer a great deal before the following sunrise and Lucifer would send me Damian’s ashes.
And then he’d come after me and everyone living in the house. He knew it was vampire-proof and angel-proof and suspected it was probably demon-proof, but he promised we didn’t account for the things he’d send and there was no known defense against them.
I shivered at the thought of what type of mutant monster that would be.
Shuffling behind me caught my attention and I stiffened.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Michael’s voice penetrated the darkness.
“I’m going after him,” I said just as my fingertips found the box I was looking for. I turned on my phone and punched in the familiar numbers. When the hand pad lit up, I put my palm to the glass and held my breath.
I’d never felt as alive as I did the moment the scanner finished and the lights flooded the garage. Platinum plates shifted, disappeared into the flooring with one exception. A panel as wide as the underground tunnel slid to the ceiling and clasped into place.
I turned and scanned the vehicles. Not one was in working condition and my heart sank. Michael hadn’t said a word but his scan of the collection revealed an appreciation in his eyes and he sighed when he brought his gaze back to me.
“I need help getting one of these vehicles back in shape. Did Ted pick up what Damian asked?” I shot the question at Michael and I received a blank stare.
“Damian’s list that was on the table.” Even I could hear the near hysterical note in my voice.
When he didn’t answer, I huffed and climbed back down the stairs. Nothing was going to stop me from getting to Damian. Not now that I had a location and if I couldn’t get us free, at least we’d die together, but I’d make sure it was on our terms and not what Lucifer’s sick fantasy dictated.
As I navigated the dark tunnels, I couldn’t help but shrink away from imagined creatures in every shadow. The itchy, uncomfortable sensation of spiders crawling on my skin overcame me and I shuddered, picking up the pace. When I stepped into the brightly lit hallway, I sighed with relief, rubbing my arms and then the back of my neck.
I glanced over my shoulder, and met Michael’s gaze.
“You have no idea how much the paintings down here meant to Damian,” I said. “Especially the path of sunshine in the bedroom.” I didn’t wait for a response, instead I headed right to the kitchen where Ted and Valerie sat eating meatloaf with potatoes and carrots. I glanced at my plate. My stomach growled and I cursed the needs of my human body.
Instead of following through on my questions, I sat down at the table as a sign of respect. “Thank you,” I said.
“You’re welcome,” Ted said and offered me the bottle of ketchup.
Even with my pulse ticking off the wasted seconds, I ate without much conversation. After taking the last bite, I set my silverware down and wiped my lips.
“Did you happen to pick up the things on the list I left on the table?”
“Not yet, but...” He glanced at his watch. “I might be able to make it to the auto store in Torrington before it closes.”
A wave of relief hit.
“I will clean up the kitchen if you pick up what he has listed for the Aston Martin.” That was by far the fastest car in the garage and I know it was one of the top ones on Damian’s list. He wiped his hands and pulled out the sheet, scanning the list before he nodded.
“Is it safe out there?” Ted asked, but he looked beyond me to Michael.
“Yes,” I said, not knowing if Lucifer was bluffing or not, but he was explicit with his directions and while he promised Damian would suffer, he also promised that he would leave the occupants of the adjoining property alone for the duration of the twenty-four hours.
I didn’t want to take either of their vehicles. It was bad enough they were targets, but Lucifer didn’t know Valerie lived her. He knew about Uncle Ted and the inheritance of the land from Valerie’s deceased family. He assumed he was alone and if I showed up with one of their cars, their identity could be compromised.
“You’re going after Damian?” Valerie asked after her uncle left.
“Yeah, assuming I can get one of the cars started.”
“I could understand why you would do that before, especially with the tiger thing, but now you’re just human. You’re no match for demons.”
I leveled a sarcastic smile in her direction, remembering some of the conversations I had with my grandfather over the years. All his warnings about the darkness in the world, stories about demons and bloodsuckers and the pending war. And most of all, his description of the savior, the one who makes the darkness flee.
A tiger born of pure blood.
A trinity.
I had no idea those stories were reality until Mark sold me to Lucifer. All my assumptions about vampires were based on those stories, and Damian certainly hadn’t fit any of the cold-dead-blood-thirsty fiends my grandfather described, but then again, he was born of a pure bloodline too.
“I seem to still be able to turn into the tiger,” I said and both Valerie and Michael froze in place, staring at me like I sprouted another head.
“What?” their voices rang in unison.
“When they were attacking Damian,” I started and ran my hand over my stomach. The skin was still sensitive where the knife had tore flesh. “I guess I got angry and attacked and my fur protected me from the knife.” I offered a shrug and collected the dinner plates, heading into the kitchen to let them digest both their food and that little nugget of information.
* * * *
IT TOOK THE FOUR OF us the better part of the night to get the Aston Martin to turn over and even then the engine sounded sluggish and unreliable. I just needed it to last an hour on the road at best. I wasn’t going as far as New York this time. I was going south to Candlewood Lake in New Fairfield, and I was going alone.
I leaned my head on the steering wheel and turned the engine off, my eyes closed from the weight of exhaustion wracking my body. I was in no condition for a stand-off.
“Maybe you should get a little sleep before you try to save the world,” Valerie said as she leaned on the open window. She looked as tired as I felt and guilt bit at my skin when I glanced up at the light filtering into the windows.
“Do you have to go to school now?”
She glanced at her watch and gave me a pressed-lip smile.
“Jesus, I’m sorry for keeping you up all night,” I said and covered her hand with mine.
She sandwiched my hands between hers. “Stay safe, you hear?” Her voice choked on the words that we both knew were a prequel to goodbye.
I climbed out of the car and gave her a warm hug.
“I have to do this,” I whispered in her ear and she squeezed tighter.
“I know,” she said and pulled away, wiping her tears away. She gave me a quick smile and made a beeline for the tunnel, leaving me with Michael and Ted.
“Well, I’m going to take a shower and head to work,” Ted said looking every bit as haggard as the rest of us.
“Thank you for your help,” I said, feeling small and selfish.
“Just bring Damian back in one piece,” he said like there was no option of failure.
I nodded and he followed the path Valerie took.
“You need to get some rest before we go after Damian,” Michael said.
“Lucifer said I had to come alone,” I said, but I let Michael help me from the car and lead me to the bedroom he’d painted for Damian and me. He didn’t argue, but I knew he wasn’t going to let me leave without him. To prove his point, the keys to the car slid into the front pocket of his jeans. He tucked me under the covers and stretched out on the recliner in the corner, crossing his arms.
Michael drifted off before I did and I considered sneaking the keys from his pocket, but before I could muster the energy, my body pulled me into a succession of brutal nightmares.