Chapter 6
His hand passed through the threshold into the hallway.
My breath caught. “How did you do that? I’m pretty sure that was Glinda outside the door a few minutes ago. The area should be spelled.”
Slade winked. “There’s a little secret that even most priestesses don’t know. The supreme priestess isn’t affected by her fellow coven members’ magic. Since my magic is inherited from hers, I have the same immunity.”
That damn hope expanded uncomfortably in my chest. “You need to go while you can and let the others know where I am.” Even though I couldn’t get out, Slade could, and then help would arrive. He could walk through whatever magic was hiding the entryway from them as long as his ribs didn’t hinder his escape.
Some of that hope dissipated, but this was the best plan we had, even if Glinda and Warin took out their frustrations on me. “Hurry before they realize you’re missing and move me.”
“I’m not leaving you.” He held out his free hand to me. “Take my hand, and we can get out together.”
I could leave too?
My chest ached from the pressure, and without another thought, I stepped forward and took his hand.
“Don’t let go of my hand until we’re in the hallway.” He moved without warning.
Thankfully, he was holding me tightly because he tugged me and I stumbled right after him. As I crossed the threshold, the magic surrounding it chaffed against my skin.
Weird. Why would it be that much more intense? I’d have to ask later when we didn’t need to be quiet.
I scanned the corridor. My room was at one end. The two of us tiptoed down the hallway, and even at the slow pace, I wanted to smack Slade over the head. His shoes left a slight scuff mark with each step that would give us away. But I had to remember he had at least one broken rib. There was no way I could get angry at him, so I bit my tongue.
Noises came from behind the doors on both sides of the hall. I wasn’t sure what those rooms were, but people were in them.
I grimaced and tried to remain calm. Even though I’d heard multiple vampires out here, desperate to drink my blood when it was humming, for the past few days, it had felt like Glinda, Warin, and I were alone. The others must be in charge of guarding the area, meaning we could run into someone at any time.
One thing at a time. My blood jolted, beginning to wake up as the drug wore off. I bit my bottom lip to expel some of my nervous energy. If I didn’t control my blood, the vampires would smell me and attack before we made it out.
“I’m shocked to say this, but I have to agree.” Warin snickered, the sound coming from an opening down the hallway to the left. “Skylar found the photographs of Raffe and his minions atrocious. I thought their bond would prevent her from seeing things clearly, but the others may very well be right. He might not have completely brainwashed her … yet. When she sees the other pictures, she won’t be able to look at him the same way again. Not even a fated-mate bond could fix that.”
Acid burned my throat. I’d hoped they were full of it, but they were having this conversation when they didn’t know I could overhear them, validating their claims. What had Raffe’s father put him up to? Though, I couldn’t blame his father entirely because, at the end of the day, Raffe was accountable for his own actions.
Slade touched my arm, bringing me back to the present. Shit. I had to pay attention and deal with the fallout of Raffe and his choices once we got the hell out of here. Even if the Veiled Circle’s cause had merit, their execution was just as bad as that of the wolf shifters because I had no doubt they would do the same thing in retribution. As my parents said, two wrongs didn’t make a right, and they’d coached me to handle my bullies with that in mind.
But here was the thing. They were right, but that didn’t mean a third person shouldn’t have intervened and knocked some sense into both sides.
Forcing the thoughts from my head, I followed Slade. Despite my slowness and Slade’s scuffing, we somehow reached the end of the hallway, which turned only to the left.
“She’s more open-minded than I thought a human could be,” Warin said, his voice coming from the left of the room we were about to enter. “I don’t like admitting when I’m wrong, but Glinda could be right. She could be the answer to our cause.”
Turning to me, Slade gestured for me to come to him.
“We coven members may not live as long as your kind does, but we understand nature and magic in a way vampires never will,” Glinda said proudly. “And you’d best recognize that and realize there are some things, like Skylar, that we inherently know.”
I didn’t like how she kept emphasizing me. For the first time in my life, someone found me important, and I didn’t like it. Being an outcast had its perks.
When I reached Slade’s side, my gaze landed on a dining room table in the center of the room in front of us with a kitchen behind it. Slade pointed to the dining room then to the right.
Some of the weight lifted from my chest. At least we were heading away from Warin. With his speed and strength, Slade and I couldn’t take him. Not with the drug still in my system and Slade injured.
Slade moved forward, keeping to the right edge of the dining room. I followed, not wanting to be left behind.
Silence filled the space as whoever they were talking to responded. They must be on the phone.
A door shut somewhere in the kitchen, making my heart gallop. Of course, my blood inched to a low fizz, following my emotions.
“Do you smell that?” a female voice asked from the kitchen.
It had to be a vampire.
Slade glanced at me and flinched.
“Yes. It smells like her,” a male responded.
Slade grabbed my elbow and began dragging me through a threshold on the right.
“Sire, she’s escaping,” the same woman said from somewhere close behind me.
We entered a mudroom, and my socked feet slipped on the tile floor. Shit. I hadn’t put on my shoes. That was what happened when you’d been confined to a room for several days. You became spacey and dissociated.
The thick door we faced looked promising, like it led outside. My blood came alive. We were almost free.
A large hand gripped my free arm and yanked me away from Slade. I spun and kicked a dark-skinned male vampire in the stomach. His eyes bulged, and his mouth dropped open, revealing his sharp, extended vampire teeth as he stumbled back.
Shit, they were getting bloodthirsty, and my blood was at a high fizz.
A female vampire blurred toward me, her fangs extended as she aimed for my neck.
She wanted to drink my blood.
“Fuck,” Slade groaned. He lifted his hand and shot a strong spray of water over my shoulder into the vampire’s face, mere inches from my neck.
As the water pushed her backward, she clung to me, digging her long, black-polished nails into the skin of my upper arm.
“It’s not working,” I gritted out, the stinging pain stealing my breath.
Warin and Glinda appeared behind the male vampire, who was righting himself.
The water poured harder from Slade’s hand. The female vampire gurgled and loosened her grasp. When her nails retracted enough, I yanked my arm back and broke free.
Flames flowed from Glinda’s hands toward me.
My blood was humming, and Warin and the other male vampire gnashed their teeth and barreled toward me. The humming circulated through my body and pushed outward, causing the entire place to shake.
Heat hit my left arm moments before the flames burned my skin. The throbbing pain took my breath away. Another spout of water shot past my other side, dousing the fire.
Slade.
“Get behind me so I can hold them off,” Slade gritted out. “And open the damn door.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice.
Dust blew into my face as a few chunks of cement fell from the ceiling.
I was out of control.
I ducked under Slade’s arm and went for the door.
As soon as I saw it, I realized we were screwed. It was a heavy-duty, metal, double-key door, where you had to have the key to unlock it from either side.
Fuck.
“Sky, you need to calm down and open that door before you bury us alive,” Slade said breathlessly.
Between his injured ribs and using his magic, he wouldn’t last long. If I didn’t figure out a way out of this hellhole, we would be trapped here for the foreseeable future. They wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating Slade again. And if I didn’t calm down, the vampires would drain me dry.
Unsure what to do, I stared at the lock. Glaring at it wouldn’t hurt its feelings and get us out of here.
The walls cracked under the pressure, and the floor and ceiling shook and creaked in tune with my blood.
“I can’t hold on much longer, and if you don’t get your power under control, we’re all going to die!” Slade shouted.
Die. No. That couldn’t happen. I couldn’t die without seeing Raffe one more time and giving him a proper goodbye.
Not sure what to do, I placed my hands over the lock and pulled up Raffe’s image in my head, focusing on the one person I needed to see before I died. The only thing standing in my way was this lock, and I needed it to fucking open.
The hum channeled through my body and centered itself in my palms. The ceiling, floor, and walls stopped shaking, and the door took the brunt of the force.
“Sky,” Slade rasped.
My pulse raced faster, and the metal warped in front of my eyes. The section of the door that held the lock was pulled away from the jamb, and the door began to collapse in on itself. I grabbed the handle and yanked hard while holding my breath.
Something miraculous happened.
The door gave way and opened, and my back slammed into Slade’s.
He jerked forward and landed on his knees, halting his magic, and the world roared. I spun around to help him to his feet, but the vampires were on us. Teeth sank into my neck, and I gripped the back of the vampire’s head. I wasn’t sure who was on top of me, but another set of teeth sank into the other side of my neck. I fell onto my back as Slade screamed, “Skylar!”
The vampires sucked small gulps of my blood as a third bit into my wrist. They grunted as if they didn’t want to drink but were compelled to. If I didn’t get them off me, they would drain me.
My blood hummed stronger than ever before, and rocks clattered all around.
“No!” Glinda yelled.
“Run!” I cried, wanting Slade to get out of here while the vampires were distracted.
He must have realized that my death was imminent because he stood and ran past me.
At least one of us had gotten free, and I’d take my captors out with me.
I closed my eyes and focused on Raffe—his ice-blue eyes that warmed only for me. With each sip the vampires took, their fangs dug in deeper to get straight to my blood and not taste my skin. The coppery scent of my blood nearly made me vomit. The pain was all-consuming.
Liquid poured over me, and my chest constricted. They must have nicked an artery.
This would be over in seconds.
Then something strange happened. The vampires at my neck slowly retracted their teeth and started to gag.
“Get up, and let’s go,” Slade gritted out as water rushed past.
He was running out of magic.
Warin and the other male vampires were hunkered over, choking on the water Slade was firing at them, leaving only one vampire for me to deal with. I reached down and gripped the long hair of the vampire at my wrist then yanked hard. The teeth retracted, but some of my skin shredded as she released her hold. I kneed her in the face and scrambled to my feet.
I was woozy, but I managed to stand up. Then I saw something that petrified me and made me forget all about my blood loss.
Three more vampires were trying to reach me, but Glinda was holding them off, protecting me.
Why?
The ceiling over the battered door shook harder. Slade shut off his water, grabbed me by the waist, and dragged me over the threshold as my blood hummed harder.
It was so strong, and I couldn’t control it.
“Sky, move. Please,” Slade murmured, sounding agonized. “Calm down and help me get us out of here. I can’t pull you anymore.”
Warin and the dark-skinned vampire recovered, and their gazes homed in on me.
I got my feet under me and rushed out behind Slade, damn near slipping on the cold, wet, rocky floor as we exited a tunnel that hid the door to the underground bunker. Drops of water hit my face as the bunker ceiling crumbled, blocking the captors inside, but then the door suddenly morphed into a rocky embankment. The door had vanished.
Shit. They’d been cloaking it with magic. No wonder Raffe couldn’t find me.
The ground shook from the impact, and I could only assume that the roof had collapsed, and I slipped again. Water pelted me in the face, forcing me farther back.
“Be careful, or you’ll fall,” Slade rasped, grabbing my shirt and pulling me to his side. “You need to calm down.”
It hit me where we were.
Underneath a waterfall, on a ledge no more than five feet wide. The waterfall hit the edge where Id been standing.
This kept getting better and better, and he was right. I had to calm down, or this small ledge would crumble away. I closed my eyes and pictured Raffe again.
My blood soothed to a high fizz, calming enough that we weren’t in imminent danger. “How do we get down?”
“There.” Slade pointed to the left. “We have to climb down the rocks.”
It looked like a drop-off. Lovely. “You expect me to be able to do that?” I didn’t do physical exertion—or rock climbing—for a reason.
He sighed. “That’s our only option, and there’s no way I can carry you.”
I shivered, the adrenaline wearing off and the October chill setting in. Standing here wet wasn’t doing me any favors. “Fine.” He was right. There was no point in complaining. This was the hand we’d been dealt.
“I’ll go first and help guide you.” Slade walked slowly around me to the edge.
Fear curled its cold claw into my stomach, but I pushed it aside. Freezing up—no pun intended—wouldn’t do me any favors.
“Slow and steady. I won’t leave you behind.” Slade touched my arm and forced a smile.
I wished it had given me more confidence.
He went over the edge, and I followed suit. I tried to place my hands and feet exactly where he did, hoping like hell that my clumsiness didn’t kill us.
My arms and legs burned, but the climb wasn’t as awful as I’d feared.
When we got out from directly under the waterfall, he started making his way down more quickly.
“I’ll tell you when to move and help guide your feet.” He climbed down farther.
I moved to where he’d been a second before and waited for his command. The wind picked up. I shivered, and my teeth began to chatter. I hadn’t been this cold in a long time.
“Okay, lower your right foot six inches,” he commanded from below. “You’ll feel something smooth you can brace it on.”
Gritting my teeth, I followed his instructions, but I couldn’t find the groove. Then my fingers slipped. “Slade,” I said urgently.
“You’re almost there,” he assured me. “Just keep moving.”
That was the thing. It wasn’t happening. “I’m slip—”
Before I could finish that sentence, my hands lost their grip.
Not wanting to land on him, I pushed off with my legs, missing him by mere inches, and fell toward the rocky and shallow edge of the pond over a hundred feet below.