Deadly Alliances (Dark Shifter Academy #5)

Chapter 38 Julian

“I’m coming, Julian. It’s time to go.”

The sound of Shea’s voice in my head emblazoned my soul, filling every nerve fiber in my body with strength and determination. I bolted upright in bed, humming with anticipation.

“Rainbow,” I called out softly to the room at large. “We’re going home, boy.”

Scanning the room, I found no sign of him. Had he already gone? I still had no idea how he’d survived this long without being caught. His food source was probably outside, unless he was secretly making his rounds down in the Initiate dorms.

If that was where he was now, I’d be reticent to leave. But then he’d been resourceful enough to not only make it across the country to find me, but to also remain undetected once he got here. If he could do all that, he could make it back home to Chicago.

Suddenly, a gentle weight landed on my lap, and I blinked down to see Rainbow curled up on my lap, his deep purr vibrating through my thighs.

I smiled down at him as I placed a hand on his head and began to rub it down his back. “You’re something else, you know that, cat?”

“Row,” he replied in a lazy, almost grumpy middle C.

I chuckled, savoring the engine-like revving of his purr.

His ears stood high, and he raised his head to look at the door. Though I was semi-confident that it wasn’t Marguerite, fear still gripped me for an instant before I recognized the soft cadence of Shea’s footsteps approaching in the hall.

The lock clicked, and Shea rushed discreetly inside. She turned around to smile at me with bated exhilaration, then ran across the room to throw her arms around my neck. I managed to awkwardly hug her back despite the cuffs, delighting in the warmth of her skin and her perfect scent that enveloped me. Rainbow gave a cranky chuff at being squished between us.

Shea pulled away abruptly, nervously looking around the room. “Marguerite?”

I smirked. “I suggested she go down to the lab to inquire about her… eating disorder . She’s quite concerned about it.”

She gave a little squeal of amusement. “That’s awesome. Hopefully that buys us enough time, but we still have to be quick. First, let’s get these cuffs off you.”

“Yes, please,” I groaned dramatically, lifting my bound wrists between us.

“Sahad,” she said.

I could taste the magic in the air as it worked inside the small chambers of the locks, then the vile, poisonous cuffs sprang open. I eagerly shook them off, rubbing my chafed wrists with unbridled satisfaction.

She put her hands over my wrists and whispered, “Tuer em anekh.”

A cool, refreshing sensation spread up my arms, over my chest and down my legs, and I surrendered to it, marveling at the feeling. “What was that?”

“I purified your blood of the copper,” she said, love pouring through her emerald eyes. “You should be at your full strength now. Oh, but first—”

She dug through her shoulder bag and tossed me a plastic bag. I looked down to see that it was a medical grade blood bag, the dark crimson liquid making my mouth water.

“Where did you get this?” None of the vampires did blood bags here, and I knew she couldn’t have possibly gone to some hospital or blood donation site overnight.

“Piper,” she replied.

A mixture of humility and hesitation washed through me, smoothing my expression. “But I always refused to drink from her.”

“She knows. But we don’t exactly have time for you to drink from me, you know, considering how that usually turns out.” She blushed, and guilt twisted in my gut. “Consider this her gift to you.”

She must have seen the reticence on my face because she urged, “Well, go on, down it.”

Pushing aside the numerous conflicting feelings I had about this whole situation, I sunk my teeth into the thick plastic and sucked as hard as I could, drinking too quickly to truly enjoy the meal.

As I finished it off, she whispered a few more foreign words I didn’t understand, and warmth flooded over me. It was both familiar and unique. I knew I’d experienced this feeling before, but it was different, like the warmth that spread through me came from within rather than without.

“There. I reversed the binding on your daywalking ability,” she said. “You should be able to move freely in the sun again. You’re going to need it.”

“You’re amazing,” I confessed. I tossed the bag onto the bed and leaned in to kiss her.

The feel of her soft, pliable lips on mine made this moment all the more jubilant, but I knew I couldn’t enjoy it just yet. We had to get out of here before we could celebrate.

“Let’s go,” I whispered as I drew away. I gathered up Rainbow, tucking him under my left arm, and we hopped off the bed and crept out the door.

I couldn’t help but marvel at my renewed strength as we swept down the hallway toward the stairs. My muscles practically sang with the fresh blood envigorating them and lack of copper inhibiting them. I could hardly remember the last time I could see and hear so crisply, could make even the slightest movement without struggle or pain. I wouldn’t take my power or clarity for granted ever again.

“Remind me how many people we’re breaking out?” I asked as we entered the winding staircase. She had told me a rushed version of her plan last night, but we hadn’t exactly had time to go over specifics with so many eyes and ears so close.

“You, Arya, Alex, Tobias, Char, and Piper. Oh, and Rainbow,” she added breathily as she began to pant with exertion from the climb.

“Six of us total,” I calculated. “And your plan is to have us fly away on the backs of two dragons and one gryphon?”

“Well, Arya has her own wings,” Shea panted. “Alex is ten and weighs about as much as a toothpick. And Piper is a toothpick.”

She paused, bending over to catch her breath. “Why? Why do there have to be so many stairs? Hadrian lives and breathes technology. Why aren’t these all escalators?”

I snickered. “Because he believes that his underlings should have to work to climb to the top—in all aspects of life. We could’ve taken the elevator, you know.”

She nodded as she sucked in a breath. “Yeah, but we’d be more likely to run into a vampire that way. It doesn’t mean I don’t still hate this.”

I grinned down at her as I shifted Rainbow to my shoulders, where the little furry bastard dug his claws in to hold on. “I can fix that,” I said wryly before scooping her into my arms.

We were up three levels before the startled gasp escaped her lips. I set her down on the fourth floor of the tower, and her body was still stiff with surprise.

After a moment, she loosened and shook out her shoulders. “Thank you, but maybe a little warning next time.”

I bit back on a chuckle as I led the way into the dark corridor. But the humor died in my throat as we approached the corner, and I grabbed Shea’s arm, nearly dropping Rainbow in the process. She stopped, turning to look at me. I quickly drew my finger to my lips.

Hushed voices were coming down the next hallway. I drew closer to the corner, putting myself between Shea and the others to listen in on the conversation.

“I think Hadrian’s got something big planned,” one of them said.

“Of course he does,” said another. “He’s always got something big planned. I was here when he conquered the citadel thirty or forty years ago. He dreams big, but no dream is too big.”

Shea tapped my shoulder, and I looked back at her to find her gesturing for me to come close.

I angled my head down so she could reach my ear easily.

“Those are Arya’s guards,” she whispered. “We have to get past them. Alex—her brother—is in the room they’re guarding.”

I looked back at Shea and mouthed the words, “ I’ve got this .” I twisted around the corner, instantly drawing the attention of the other vampires.

“Hey!” one of them shouted. “You’re Julian Asher—the traitor. What are you doing up here?”

“I’m a bit...lost,” I said, acting as spacey as I remembered being just a day ago; hopefully they wouldn’t notice my lack of shackles. “I found this cat... Did you know there are cats here? It’s a nice cat.” I walked over to them, not exactly knowing how this was going to play out.

“Where did you find it?” one of them asked, looking warily at Rainbow.

“Actually, he found me,” I said. “I think.”

“Those eyes are weird,” said the other vampire. “Why are they all red?”

“It shouldn’t be here. How did it even get in the school?” The vampire on the right reached for Rainbow, who sprang from my arms.

In less than a second, the cat had latched onto the bald vampire’s head, scratching with quick claws. The guard screamed, and the other vampire lunged as the first guard reached up to tear Rainbow off.

But Rainbow quickly jumped away and ran down the corridor.

The unharmed vampire took chase, and as the bald vampire’s wounds healed, he gathered himself and went after the cat in a screaming rage.

“That was remarkably easy,” Shea said, creeping up to me.

“I just hope Rainbow will be okay,” I replied with a frown. “If they catch him...”

She placed a kind hand on my shoulder. “Hey, he’ll be okay.” She moved past me and knocked on the door. “Okay, let’s get Alex, then head to the roof.”

A few moments passed, then the door opened. Standing before them was a boy—the same boy I’d seen leaving Hadrian’s trophy room on a few occasions. So this was Hadrian’s son.

“Hey, Alex,” Shea said sweetly. “Would you like to come with us?”

The small boy was the spitting image of his father, and I wondered why I’d never made the connection before. I hoped Arya was wise in her decision to bring him along because, as closely guarded of a secret Hadrian had kept him, I was certain he’d stop at nothing to get him back.

Alex shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I was just eating some lunch. Agnes was getting me some hot chocolate. But Arya told me to go with you.”

Shea placed a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks for listening. Let’s go and meet up with her.”

He nodded, then looked at me and pointed an accusing finger. “Hey, I know him. He’s the vampire who tried to stab my dad in the back.”

Surprise and fear spiked through my heart, feeding my growing apprehension.

Shea let loose a nervous laugh and gave a dismissing wave. “He and your dad have a long history. But Julian has been trying so hard to protect your sister, and that makes him one of our friends.”

Alex eyed me for a few more seconds. “Okay,” he relented with tight lips and suspicious eyes. “Where are we going?”

Shea gave him an encouraging smile. “To the roof. Have you ever been to the roof before?”

Excitement burst on his face, and he began to bounce on his toes. “It’s one of my favorite places in the citadel.”

“Well, we’re going to play a game up there,” Shea said, beaming. “Hide and seek.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “Ooh, that sounds fun!”

It was a partial-truth, and I admired Shea’s ability to handle the child so well. I didn’t do well with humans in general, but children were a whole other issue entirely.

“Let’s go,” she said, taking Alex’s hand. She shut his door, then we went back down the hall.

Miraculously, Rainbow came into view as we bound for the stairs. I looked past the cat, expecting to see the vampires hot on his tail. But there wasn’t even a sound. Rainbow must’ve lost them somehow. The cat jumped up, and I caught him gently, overwhelmed with relief that I wouldn’t have to leave him.

We pressed on down the stairs, and Alex kept turning and looking at me with his big, blue eyes.

“Why do you have a cat?” he asked in his admittedly cute voice.

I chuckled. “I don’t know. Maybe Shea could help us out on that one?”

“It’s not story time,” Shea quipped. “Less talking, more running. We’re almost there.”

We came to a blank landing, and my brows crumpled. Shea stared at the wall, her hands on her hips.

“It’s locked,” a voice said behind us. “I think from the outside.”

I whirled about defensively. “Piper!”

She stepped up the stairs and approached me timidly, shoving her glasses higher on her nose.

“I’m so sorry about what happened to you,” she said, a pitying look in her eyes.

I stepped the rest of the way to her and wrapped my free arm around her, bringing her into a side-hug while holding Rainbow in the other. “You have nothing to apologize for. I’m just glad we’re all getting out.”

Off to the side, Shea looked up the stairs nervously. “I hate to break up the happy reunion, but we’ve got to get through this door.”

“It’s a special lock,” Alex said, stepping forward. He placed his hand on bits of the stone, and a grinding sound came from the faintly-outlined doorway, but it didn’t budge. He frowned, pouting his lower lip. “That’s never happened before.”

I ran a finger along the dark material and discovered the issue. I swallowed as defeat settled like a stone in my belly. “The door is welded shut.”

Several footsteps sounded from around the corner, and I shot my head in that direction.

“They’ve found us,” I hissed.

“We’re trapped,” Piper chirped, her voice barely audible. “Why did I ever get involved with vampires?”

“Get behind me,” I commanded, dropping the hissing Rainbow and reaching my arms out protectively.

Shea put her hands on my sides while placing her head against my shoulder to get a good look at our attackers.

But the guards and the woman who came into view didn’t even look at us. They walked past as if in a daze. Piper whimpered, and Shea’s hand clung tighter to my waist.

Alex cocked his head. “Agnes?”

But the group of five didn’t stop or respond, and the woman—Agnes, apparently—mumbled something about an elevator. I studied the others, who looked as confused and incredulous as I felt. What the hell was going on?

Suddenly, Arya burst into the corridor, along with the Dracul boy and another young woman I didn’t recognize.

“Arya!” Shea shouted—a little too loudly for my comfort; we weren’t away from the vampire school yet, and the zombie-like group that had just passed had me deeply unnerved.

She stepped around me and waited to meet the three joining us. Alex went running to his sister with his arms extended. It warmed my heart to see their reunion. It was so odd to think that these loving, peaceable people were related to Hadrian Denholm, lord of all vampires. I didn’t really know her, but I knew that Arya was good . Surely her little brother was, too.

“What’s going on?” Alex asked Arya.

Tobias met my eyes and nodded his head in acknowledgement, though there was wariness in his gaze. I regarded him with the same distrust, but I reminded myself that this boy might be related to Claudette Dracul, but he was not her, nor did he bear her offenses.

I opened my mouth to say something, but a noise like fingernails on a chalkboard—magnified by one hundred—sounded from the door.

“Rainbow!” Piper hissed. “Julian, your crazy cat is going to draw the attention of every vampire in Heritage Prep!”

I turned around to see Rainbow crawling up the door, his claws poking into the thick metal. With one of his front paws, a single hooked claw was lodged into the welding. A line of sunlight spilled its way into the corridor—right onto me.

I flinched violently at the memory of the Sun Room, the agonizing, blistering pain the sun had inflicted on me. But no pain came. I glanced down at the illuminated part of my forearm, registering that the heat there was pleasant.

Shea put her hand over the spot on my arm. “You’re okay. The sun will never hurt you again.”

At the sadness in her voice, I wanted to reassure her that it wasn’t her fault, but the loud scraping of Rainbow’s claws stopped, and then more sunlight poured in as the door teetered, then fell out, slamming onto the roof of the citadel and revealing our exit.

Freedom was finally in sight.