Chapter Seventeen
”All right, everyone knows what they”re doing, right?” Drake asks as we stand outside the museum, ready to make our move.
King nods his head while the rest of his men confirm that they understand the plan.
”Good,” Drake replies. ”Let”s get this over with.”
The flames from the recent fire have left their mark, leaving a jagged silhouette against the dark sky. The basic structure of the museum remains intact, but much of the outer walls have been reduced to nothing more than piles of ash and rubble. We take advantage of one particular opening that is more than large enough for us to step through, and Drake and I duck under a fallen beam to step inside.
The entire interior has been gutted by the intense heat. The scent of burnt wood and lingering smoke clings to the air, making it hard to breathe. Broken windows and scorched walls line each hallway, and every display case is shattered beyond repair. There”s barely anything left to salvage, let alone steal.
”It looks like Adrian really did a number on this place,” Drake remarks as we walk through the destruction.
”Yeah,” I agree quietly. ”It”s a shame.”
We make our way deeper into the museum, stepping over piles of debris and skirting around charred artifacts and twisted metal. The silence is deafening, broken only by the occasional creak from somewhere in the distance or soft crunching sound beneath our feet.
King and his team move with the precision of a well-trained unit, which I”ll admit surprises me. When I first met him, I thought he was little more than a thug who relied on brute strength rather than brains. But now I see that he”s much more than that. He”s smart and cunning, and he knows what he”s doing.
”This way,” King instructs as he leads us down a darkened corridor toward the back of the building.
We follow behind him silently, keeping close to one another as we navigate through the wreckage. As we turn a corner, I catch a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye and freeze. King gestures for us to stop at the same moment and holds up his hand, signaling for us to stay put.
”What is it?” Drake whispers as he glances around nervously.
”One of the guards,” King replies as he peers into the shadows ahead of us. ”My guys and I will draw him away. You and the girl go on ahead.”
Drake nods his head, and King signals for his men to move forward. They creep stealthily along the wall until they disappear into the darkness ahead of us. After a moment, I hear a muffled cry followed by a loud crash, and we take that as our signal.
”Come on,” Drake urges as he grabs my hand and tugs me onward.
I follow after him reluctantly, not entirely convinced that splitting up was the best idea. But there”s no time to argue now. We need to get that knife before Adrian does something worse than destroying a museum.
We reach the end of the hall and turn to see a massive pile of debris blocking our path. The wreckage before us is a chaotic jumble of burnt beams, shattered glass, and remnants of what once were elegant displays that just hours ago I marveled at. Drake steps forward, his boots crunching on the remnants of some ancient vase, and begins searching for some way past the blockade.
”There”s no way through here,” he declares after a few minutes of fruitless effort. ”We”ll have to find another route.”
I bend down to inspect a small hole in the bottom of the mound of debris and notice that there seems to be an open space behind it. The wood surrounding it is burned and flimsy, and Itear a chunk out without much effort. ”I think I found something,” I call out excitedly.
”What is it?” Drake asks as he crouches beside me.
I point to the opening. ”If we can chip away at this, I believe we can crawl through if we”re careful.
Drake nods his head in agreement, and together, we begin clearing away bits of debris to widen the gap. After several minutes of hard work, we”ve managed to create a makeshift tunnel that looks just large enough for us to squeeze through.
”You go first,” Drake instructs as he motions for me to enter the opening. ”I”ll be right behind you.”
I hesitate for a moment before crawling through the narrow passageway. It”s a tight fit, and I have to hold my breath as I shimmy through, but eventually, I manage to reach the other side unscathed. I emerge from the darkness to find myself standing in the same room I was in earlier when I saw the knife for the first time. The display case containing it is still intact, but everything else in the room has been completely destroyed by Adrian”s attack.
”You okay?” Drake asks as he crawls through the tunnel behind me.
I nod my head in response and motion toward the display case. ”The knife is still here,” I inform him.
”Thank God,” he mutters as he crosses over to examine it more closely. He places his hands on the glass, pausing for a moment before glancing back at me. ”Shield your eyes.”
”What are you going to ─”
Before I can finish my sentence, Drake brings his fist down hard on top of the display case. The glass shatters instantly, raining down around our feet like tiny crystals.
”Whoa,” I breathe as I stare at him in amazement.
Drake smirks at me as he reaches into the case and grabs the knife. ”We did it,” he whispers as he holds it up triumphantly.
I smile, but my joy is short-lived as a loud crashing sound echoes through the room. We both spin around, but all I can make out is a blurry figure zipping across the room. It collides with me, knocking me to the ground, and I yelp in surprise as I struggle against my attacker.
”Lola!” Drake shouts as he lunges forward.
But it”s too late. Before he can reach me, my assailant pins me down with an iron grip. I squint into the darkness and gasp when I realize who it is.
”Adrian,” I hiss as I attempt to break free from his grasp.
”Nice of you two to drop by, but I”m afraid I”m going to have to cut your visit short,” he snarls as he presses his fingers into my neck harder.
”What do you want, Adrian?” Drake growls at him, but Adrian just laughs.
”Hand over the knife, or I”ll snap her neck,” he demands coldly.
I struggle against Adrian”s hold on me, but it”s useless. He”s far stronger than I am, and I”m not going anywhere unless he decides to let me go.
”Don”t give it to him, Drake,” I plead desperately. ”He”s not going to let us leave anyway.”
Adrian tightens his grip on me and pulls me closer to him. ”Shut up,” he spits as he wraps one hand around my throat and squeezes tightly enough that I can barely breathe.
”What are you going to do with it?” Drake questions. ”Without Lola, without her expressed and unpressed cooperation, it”s useless. Her blood is needed to complete the ritual, and she has to give it willingly. What good is the knife to you without her?”
Adrian considers his words for a moment before responding. ”You”re right,” he concedes. ”It won”t do me much good without her.”
He releases his hold on me, and I collapse to the floor, gasping for air. My vision swims as I try to catch my breath, and I hear Drake calling out my name in the distance. I feel dizzy and lightheaded, and it takes everything inside of me to remain conscious.
”However,” Adrian continues as he walks toward Drake. ”It will do quite a bit of damage to you. Baby steps, you see. I”m collecting the pieces one at a time.”
”Stay away from him,” I croak weakly as I struggle to rise to my feet.
”Or what?” Adrian taunts with a sneer. ”What exactly do you plan to do to stop me?”
I have no answer for him because I don”t know what I could possibly do. All I know is that I need to protect Drake. He”s all that matters to me right now.
”That”s what I thought,” Adrian remarks smugly as he approaches Drake slowly, his gaze locked on the knife in Drake”s hand. ”Now hand it over.”
”No,” Drake refuses stubbornly as he takes a step backward. ”I”m not giving you this knife.”
”Very well.” In the blink of an eye, Adrian is back at my side. He drags me to sit up and presses his palm against my head, exposing my neck as he extends his fangs. ”Last chance,” he warns as he scrapes his fangs along my skin threateningly. ”Give me the knife, or I”ll turn her. I may not be able to kill her, but this will do nicely.”
Drake hesitates for a moment before reluctantly holding out the knife in front of him. Adrian grins wickedly as he reaches out to take it from him.
”I knew you”d see reason,” he mocks as he flies across the room and plucks the knife from Drake”s grasp. I collapse to my side, the pressure suddenly removed from my head, and watch in horror as Adrian holds up his prize victoriously.
”Now that wasn”t so hard, was it?” he asks as he admires the blade in his hand.
Drake doesn”t pay him any attention. He rushes to me and kneels down at my side. ”Are you okay?” he asks as he gently brushes my hair from my face.
I nod my head and attempt to sit up, but he stops me. ”Take it easy,” he urges as he helps me to lean against a nearby wall for support. ”Just rest for a minute.”
I open my mouth to respond, but Adrian interjects, ”Don”t worry, Lola. I”ll come back for you. For now, this will have to suffice.”
And with that, he disappears into the night, leaving us alone in the ruins of the museum.
Drake curses under his breath as he stands up and kicks at a piece of rubble near his foot. ”Damn it,” he hisses as he runs his hands through his hair angrily. ”We had it. We fucking had it.”
”It”s not your fault,” I assure him as I force myself to my feet. My head is spinning, but I manage to stay upright.
”I should have known better,” Drake laments as he stares off into the distance where Adrian disappeared moments earlier.
”We”ll get it back,” I promise as I place my hand on his shoulder reassuringly. ”We”ll find a way.”
Drake turns to look at me and gives me a weak smile. ”I hope so.”
I return his smile and squeeze his hand comfortingly. ”We will,” I insist. ”I promise.”