Marina's Awakening (Seduced By Shadows Book 2)

Chapter Twenty-Six

My grip tightens around the hilt of my sword, its blade catching the dim light from the nearby streetlamp. Beside me, Drake adjusts the straps of his crossbow, his eyes scanning the building”s darkened facade.

”We need to move fast,” Drake murmurs, his voice low but intense. ”They”ll know we”re here soon enough, if they don”t already.”

”Let”s do this,” Emily says from behind us.

With a nod from Drake, I take the lead, sword at the ready. We”re not alone—Emily”s clan and Drake”s people are right behind us, each warrior armed and prepared for battle. Simon, with his quick reflexes and deadly accuracy, takes position to my right, a set of throwing knives glinting in his hand. Lola, agile and fierce, moves to Drake”s side, her twin daggers poised for action. Marlon, with his brute strength, brings up the rear with Emily and her clan with a massive war hammer slung over his shoulder.

As we breach the entrance, the silence of the night is shattered by the blaring alarm echoing through the halls. Red lights flash, but I barely pay them any attention as my senses heighten to their full extent, honing in on my surroundings. I take note of every noise, every detail: the hum of fluorescent light above our heads, the smell of old sweat mixed with dust in the air, the way the concrete floor squeaks beneath my boots with every step I take forward. Everything falls into place as my mind takes in its surroundings.

”Left!” Simon calls out, spotting a group of Extractors ahead. With a swift motion, I swing my sword, the blade singing as it cuts through the air, finding its mark with deadly precision. This is only the second time I”ve ever used a sword in my life, but instinct takes over, and soon enough, the man lies dead at my feet.

Lola and Drake handle the next wave, their synchronized movements a deadly dance that moves so fast I can”t follow it all with my eyes. One moment they”re there, the next, they”ve disappeared. When they reappear again, a dead body is left in their wake. Lola”s daggers flash, striking with lethal accuracy, while Drake”s crossbow sings its deadly tune. Damn, being a vampire would really come in handy, here. Too bad Drake still refused to turn me without consulting Marina.

When another Extractor jumps out from the shadows, Marlon”s war hammer crashes down with bone-shattering force, and the ground quakes beneath the impact. His foe lies motionless, his body crushed under the weight of the blow. Simon chases a few more of them into a room, taking care of them one by one until silence returns to the hallway once more.

We press forward, fighting our way deeper into the storage facility. We take down the remaining Extractors without mercy—each blow, each kill, all for her. And after each one falls at my hand or that of someone else”s, I feel no regret for what I do. This is a necessary sacrifice. For Marina and our child, for their future and for ours. There is no other choice.

In time, we come across a room filled with computers, cables, and wires strewn haphazardly on the floor, broken glass from monitors littering the ground. Simon crouches beside the computers, examining their components. ”Looks like their security room. I”ll, bet they trashed it figuring we wouldn”t be able to recover anything, but I”ll grab the hard drives. Maybe there”s some useful information still on them.”

As Simon busies himself with salvaging what he can from the security room, the rest of us move on in a tight formation, each step deliberate, each breath calculated. As we navigate the labyrinthine corridors of the facility, we come upon a door that stands slightly ajar. Drake pauses and sniffs the air, and I can see from the look on his face that he”s found something. He pushes the door open, and we follow him inside.

”Marina was here,” he states. He gestures toward the ground where a chair lies on its side and a torn piece of fabric is caught on a nail beside it. It”s stained with blood, and my heart stops. I bend down and examine it, feeling a surge of dread knot in my stomach. Drake”s right—this is Marina”s shirt. She was wearing it this morning. Next to it, a piece of leather fabric lies strewn across the floor, ripped at one end.

”It”s her,” Emily confirms. ”I can smell her blood.”

My heart clenches at her words, the reality of the situation hitting me like a physical blow. Marina is here, somewhere in this godforsaken place, and she”s in trouble. We need to find her, and fast.

”We need to split up,” I declare. ”Drake, you take Marlon and check the rooms down that corridor. Emily, Lola─”

”No way,” Drake interrupts. ”We”re safer together. I know it”s tempting to run off looking for her, Gabriel, but if we don”t stick together, we put ourselves at more risk.”

I glare at him, my frustration boiling over. He may be the leader of his clan, but Marina comes first right now—she has to. ”We can”t lose time, Drake,” I say through gritted teeth. ”If they”ve hurt her...” My voice falters. I can barely keep myself from falling apart as the thought of what they might have done to her consumes me.

Drake glances back toward where Simon is still sifting through the remnants of the computer room, then meets my eyes again. ”We”ll move as quickly as we can, but we have to be smart.”

Emily steps forward. ”What Drake means to say is that you need to keep your head in the game right now. We all know you care about her, Gabriel, and we know this must be hard for you. But we”re here to help you bring her home safely.”

Her words hit me like a freight train, and I”m suddenly feeling dizzy with emotion. My emotions are clouding my judgment, threatening to throw everything into chaos. They”re right, and I know it. ”You”re right,” I mutter, fighting back against the turmoil inside my mind. ”Let”s keep moving.”

We press on, careful to stay together as we venture deeper into enemy territory. Suddenly, a group of Extractors bursts from a side passage. Time slows as adrenaline floods my veins. My sword swings in a deadly arc, cutting through the first assailant with a vengeance fueled by love and desperation. Emily and her clan are a whirlwind of fury, their weapons flashing in the dim light as they dispatch their foes with ruthless efficiency. Marlon”s war hammer crashes down again and again with devastating force while Drake unleashes hell on earth with his crossbow, each shot landing true.

In the midst of the chaos, I lock eyes with one of the Extractors, a man backed against the wall, fear mingling with defiance in his gaze. With my sword poised at his throat, he says, ”You think you”re saving her, don”t you? You idiots. You”ve walked right into Charles”s trap.”

My heart freezes at his words, but I press the blade closer, demanding answers. ”Where is she?” I growl.

He smiles, a twisted grin that chills me to the bone. ”Safe, for now. But you... you”re just a pawn in Charles”s game. He”s been planning this, waiting for you to come.”

”Planning what?” Emily demands, stepping closer to push her dagger at his chest.

His laughter is mirthless. ”He”s going to rid the world of you monsters once and for all. He”s going to set things right. And if it means I die for the cause, so be it. I welcome it.”

Simon steps forward, ready to pounce, but he doesn”t get the chance. With a snarl worthy of a beast, Drake lunges at him, flashing his canines and sinking them deep into his opponent”s throat. As blood spills out from beneath his lips, he pulls away, throwing the man onto the floor. Blood gushes from the wound in his neck as his body convulses violently before falling limp. His eyes stare up unblinking at nothing.

Emily leans over the corpse, pulling free one of her daggers from its sheath on his arm. ”A trap, hmm?” She shakes her head. ”The way I see it, these assholes just made it easier for us to take every single one of them out at once.”

”If they wanted to lure us here...” Simon muses aloud, glancing around the room with renewed suspicion. ”It might be best not to underestimate them.”

Lola slams her boot down on the dead Extractor”s neck with a loud crack and wipes her dagger clean on his pants. ”Let them try,” she says. ”I”ve got their scent now.”

As if in answer, another group comes barreling into the room. Without warning, Emily hurls her dagger. It impales the lead attacker right through the eye. His body jerks as he collapses, dead before he hits the ground. Drake nocks an arrow, shooting another one down instantly. A third makes a move toward Emily but doesn”t make it far before Marlon smashes him into the wall with the hilt of his war hammer. One by one, they fall like flies beneath our blades and arrows. The room falls eerily silent once more.

My sword dangles loosely in my hand, the blade slick with blood. I catch my breath as I study the carnage before me. So many of them, so quickly... They can”t have honestly thought they stood a chance. I know I should be satisfied that we”ve won this fight, but all I feel is numb inside. What did Charles intend to do once all the vampires descended on this place? Is he planning something elaborate? Some diabolical scheme?

”I don”t like this,” Drake mutters beside me. ”It doesn”t feel right.”

Emily nods, wiping her dagger clean on the hem of her pants. ”I agree,” she says. ”But it”s too late to turn back now.”

”Let”s keep moving,” I say, steeling myself for what”s ahead. I take a deep breath and lead the way, with Emily following closely behind me.

Marina and my baby are counting on us, and we will not let them down. Marina is here, and we”ll tear this place apart to find her. Whatever trap Charles has set, we”re walking right into it, but we”ll face it together, as one. For Marina, for our child, for our future.

And with that thought, we move forward, our determination renewed, our resolve unbroken. But as we delve deeper into the maze of corridors and rooms, the chilling certainty that we”re walking into a trap gnaws at the edges of my mind, leaving me with a sinking feeling that all our efforts might be playing right into Charles”s hands. And I fear we may already be too late to stop him.

I can feel the tension building in everyone around me—from Drake”s clenching jaw to Emily”s grim expression to Simon”s tight grip on his daggers. We”re moving faster now, every step a little easier than the last. With every fight we win, my confidence grows. This is our moment, and soon, we”ll have everything we need to put an end to this once and for all.