Just before sunrise, one hundred and seven Night People gathered three blocks away from the Circle Daybreak compound. Angie had expected more, but it didn’t matter. She would have stormed the building by herself, if need be. No more waiting. She would finish this today.
Her head still throbbed from concentrating on Alexandra Harper a few hours before. Normally she wouldn’t be out of bed when her headache was this severe, but adrenaline was driving her now. Angie’s mind was racing too fast for her to even notice the pain any more.
She sat on a large, smooth granite boulder that stood in front of an orthodontist’s office building as a sort of lawn decoration. It gave her a good view of her army and her height let them know that she was the one who was going to give the orders. She would not tolerate any arguments or dissent from them today.
A few of her followers seemed nervous. They were wise to be, Angie thought. She couldn’t even remember half of the things she had promised them or threatened them with. The only thing that had mattered was getting them here. She didn’t expect many of them to survive this attack and she didn’t particularly care. They were simply there to help her get inside and get to Alexandra Harper. If she lost her strongest DC Night World allies in the process, well so be it. She could always rebuild once her mind was finally quiet.
Angie had brought an arsenal of weapons with her, some classical and some high tech: scythes, wooden daggers and swords, grenades, flame-throwers, and guns loaded with silver-tipped wooden bullets. Most of the group was searching through them now, looking for the most powerful or sleekest weapons. Others were loading their guns and strapping holsters on their legs, waists, shoulders.
“Your instructions are simple,” she addressed her army once the sun had officially risen. “We are aiming to kill the Wild Power and since most of you don’t know who she is or what she looks like, just kill as many Daybreakers as you can. Do it quickly and cleanly, one shot attacks, understand? If you shoot her well enough, she’ll die instantly and we don’t have to worry about blue fire.”
“And what if we don’t?” a vampire from the crowd asked. “What if she does use the blue fire?”
“Well, then we’ll probably all die and you won’t have to worry about anything any more,” Angie said pleasantly. “You all know the reasons you showed up today. You knew what you were getting into. Grow some damn balls.”
There were a few cocky smirks in the group now. Poor, pretentious fools. Angie wished that she could watch them all die. When they realized that they were not the invincible gods they believed themselves to be, their shocked expressions would be priceless.
“Now,” she continued, “I need several of you to stake out the tunnel that connects to the metro station. Your job will be to simply kill every single person who tries to escape that way, Daybreak or Night World. Any volunteers?”
A few of her followers in the crowd raised their hands and Angie sent them on their way so they would reach the tunnel before the majority of the army stormed the main entrance. Several minutes later, she received the signal that the tunnel team was in place.
Her heart beat wildly with childlike giddiness. After years of waiting, years of false hope, years of agony, this was it. No turning back now.
“Happy slaughtering,” she said to her army in dismissal.
A faction of cocksure Night People gave a hollow cheer as they charged towards the compound. The rest followed behind them with more prudence. Angie was the last of them, so loaded up with weapons and protective gear that she wouldn’t have been able to stand if she were human.
By the time she reached the compound, the main door had already been thrown open and a storm of gunfire raged inside the building. Gathering her preternatural speed, Angie ran up the steps and through the doors. She dashed heedlessly through the war zone of the lobby, bullets grazing her skin and slashing through her hair, and plowed through a set of doors that led into a long hallway that stretched across the width of the compound.
The footsteps of Daybreakers pounded like thunder as they ran in Angie’s direction to help defend their building. She could hear them approaching from both the right and left halls that ran along the sides of the compound. If she stood there a moment longer, she would be trapped between the two Daybreaker groups when they turned into her hallway. Angie quickly ran to the elevators and pried the doors open with her fingers, breaking her nails so far down that they bled. Looking into the dark shaft, Angie saw that the elevator car was situated several floors below her. As the doors began to automatically shut again, she jumped into the shaft and grabbed hold of the thick cables that ran down to hold the elevator suspended.
Angie wrapped her feet around the cables and started to lower herself down as she heard the Daybreakers rush past the elevator and into the lobby. Dust swirled around her, choking her as she climbed down, floor by floor. When her feet finally touched the elevator car itself, she crouched down and took a slow breath.
Now she had to find Alexandra in this monstrous place. Gritting her teeth against the onslaught of pain, Angie focused on the din of voices in her head, searched for the rich and delicious sound of Alexandra’s mind. Minutes went by and she still couldn’t find it. Angie broke into a cold sweat as her heart pounded, blood pumping into her brain, carrying the pain throughout her body. She screamed silently and finally relinquished her concentration on the noise.
Gasping for breath, Angie collapsed onto her side on the elevator, letting her damp face rest in the grime. This could not be happening. She was so close and now Alexandra had somehow found a way to hide herself. Well it sure as hell wouldn’t save her. Angie had come too damn far to let the Wild Power slip by her now.
Bruin, she summoned her remaining Daybreak mole.
What do you want, Angie? the bear shapeshifter responded, sounding impatient. I’m sort of busy here, fighting your battles for you.
Angie ignored the barb. Bruin Arctos had a tendency to be insolent, but despite his attitude, he was loyal. Where is the Wild Power being kept?
That, I don’t know. She was in the maximum security lockup, but then Hellraiser went off the deep end and attacked her. She’s been moved, but I don’t know where.
Ah, Hellraiser. Angie remembered the incredible rush of the soulmate connection between Aiden and Alexandra. She smiled, then. And where is Aiden being held now?
There was a long pause before Bruin answered her. Sorry, he finally said. Damn witch tried to hex my head off. Last I heard Hellraiser was in the infirmary. Wild Power did a number on him. It’s on the tenth underground floor.
Angie stood up and retrieved her shotgun from the holster across her back. Firing several times below her, she shot a hole into the elevator car and jumped down inside it. Pressing the button for the tenth floor, Angie smiled again. She may not know where Alexandra Harper was, but finding Hellraiser would be a good start.
The elevator opened onto the tenth floor with a pleasant ding. Angie strode towards the main desk, which appeared to be abandoned. Circling around to the other side, however, she found two Daybreak witches cowering behind their chairs. They looked up at Angie and raised their hands, gesturing in surrender.
“What room is Aiden St. Helen in?” she asked the witches sweetly.
The witches looked at each other. “Room 403,” one of them stuttered. “But please—”
Angie drew her gun and shot her before she could finish. She pointed her weapon at the other witch and saw the look of resignation in her eyes. The witch only winced as Angie pulled the trigger.
It hadn’t been necessary to kill them, of course. Those two Daybreakers had been too scared and unskilled to attempt to come after Angie. But she simply couldn’t help it. With every life she took, there was a fleeting hush in the din, as if all of the other voices were momentarily shocked at the loss of one of them. It was a sensation that Angie had never been able to turn down. And just now the hush energized her as it hinted at the quiet that would come once the Wild Power was dead and the human race was eradicated.
Walking haughtily down the hall, Angie aimed her gun upwards and shot out the overhead lighting as she went, leaving the halls littered in glass. That should warn her if anyone was approaching.
Finally Angie reached room 403. She didn’t bother trying the doorknob. She just threw a hard sidekick that broke the deadbolt as the door swung open.
Hellraiser lay on a hospital bed, covered in layers of heavy chains, and miles of white gauze was wrapped around his head. Seeing him, Angie burst out laughing. For a while she couldn’t stop. Every time she was about to gain control of herself, she would look back at Aiden and start laughing all over again.
“How far the great and untouchable Hellraiser has fallen,” she gasped.
Aiden gave her a grim smile. His gray eyes were dull, as if he was bored, and he seemed unperturbed by her outburst. It annoyed her enough to end her laughing fit.
“Took you long enough to get here, Angie,” he said coldly.
“It takes time to gather troops,” she replied.
“So you went with a blitzkrieg, I see. I thought that you might. It was your only option left. How did you get anyone to agree to it?”
Angie walked closer to the bed, letting her hips sway seductively with each step. “Oh, it wasn’t so hard. A few threats, a few promises of money, power…” She leaned down and bit his earlobe. “Sex.”
The corner of Aiden’s mouth turned up. “You’re so predictable, Angie.”
“And you, Hellraiser, are so very unpredictable. In fact, it appears that you have the thought patterns of a madman. I mean honestly, believing your plot-faced soulmate had taken over Alexandra Harper?”
“Ah, you were listening,” Aiden replied smoothly. “I suspected as much. I thought I discerned your rancid flavor in Alexandra’s mind. Did you enjoy feeling the soulmate link to me through her? Actually, you don’t have to answer that. I know you did. After all, it’s what you’ve wanted all along.”
Blood rushed to Angie’s face as she flushed with rage and humiliation. How had the bastard known? “Please, don’t flatter—”
“Don’t bother denying it, Angie. I don’t need telepathy like yours to know what you’ve wanted from me. It was rather obvious. You were starting to plan the assassination of the other Wild Powers before Eve ever came to DC. I remember you saying that if you went for them all, you’d have a better chance of killing at least one. But as soon as you found out that Genevieve was my soulmate, you focused only on her. She was the only one you cared about killing.”
She hated him suddenly with a vehemence that was frightening. Always so calm and cold. Fucking Hellraiser! How did he always have the upper hand? He was trapped under a pile of chains and he still acted superior to her.
“How did it feel, Aiden?” she lashed out at him. “Watching her die? And how does it feel now, spending eternity knowing that you soulmate is dead? That she died hating you?”
Aiden laughed coldly. “As I said before, Angie, you are so predictable.”
“Oh,” she gritted through her teeth. “Really.”
Angie withdrew a stake from the belt of a holster and thrust it through the layers of chains piled on top of Aiden and into his stomach. She had the satisfaction of seeing his eyes widen slightly in surprise.
“Did you see that one coming, Hellraiser?” she hissed.
“Yes,” he replied hoarsely. “Just not yet.”
Angie smiled. “I see. You were trying to keep me talking, to give her enough time to get out? Why do you want her to live, Aiden? You know she’s not Genevieve. Your soulmate is dead. The Night World is all you have left.”
Aiden shook his head slowly. “No. It’s not.”
Sneering, Angie pulled the stake out of him. He cried out and she licked her lips. “We’ll see.”
Reece had a firm grip on her forearm and he was practically dragging Lex out of the room and down the hall. She was still barefoot and wearing the same clothes that she’d been wearing when this whole mess had started. Lex had always thought that she was a good runner and vampires were inherently faster than witches, but Reece had set a pace that she was having trouble matching. Her soulmate could easily run a four-minute mile.
When the hall turned, Reece wrenched her to the side and Lex’s bare feet slipped out from underneath her. The witch held her up so she didn’t crash to the ground and after an awkward moment, Alexandra regained her balance. He had pulled her against the wall and was looking around the corner into the adjacent hallway. Reece signaled for Lex to be quiet and she tried to catch her breath in silence. Her chest ached.
Suddenly Reece called out a few words that Alexandra couldn’t understand and an orange fireball formed between his hands. He threw it at a Night World vampire that was searching the floor and the vampire was almost instantly incinerated. A pile of gray dust was all that remained.
“Nice trick,” Lex breathed.
“It’s great at cocktail parties,” Reece returned dryly. “I think we should assume that both the main entrance and the tunnel exit are not safe for us. We’ve got to get to the southeast stair well. It’s in the far corner of the compound and, as long as Daybreak’s defenses are still intact, there should be less hostiles there. We’ll get up above ground, try to exit out a window.”
“Base jumping without a parachute.”
“Something like that.” Reece inspected the hallway once more, taking hold of Alexandra’s elbow. “Okay, let’s move.”
They had barely made it a few feet down the hall when a shot exploded behind them. “Get down!” Lex cried, throwing her weight on top of Reece, who was walking ahead of her. They both fell to the floor as a bullet cut through the air above them.
Reece reacted quickly, rolling over to cover Lex while he recited another spell. It seemed like a bubble formed around them, giving their surroundings and the vampires a milky discoloration.
More shots rang out, but the bullets ricocheted off of the protective shield and flew back towards the attackers. From underneath Reece’s body, Alexandra couldn’t see much, but she heard two different voices crying out in pain, then two heavy thuds as the vampires fell to the floor. The witch threw another orange fireball and there was another scream.
Still lying on top of her, Reece braced himself on his arms and looked down at Lex. “Thanks,” he whispered. “But don’t risk yourself for me ever again.”
“You’re used to getting your way, aren’t you?” Alexandra asked him incredulously.
Reece grinned and it made Lex’s heart thump strangely. She’d never seen him smile so playfully, his green eyes sparkling down at her. It was a contagious look that made her smile back at him. “I’ve been leading battles against the Night World since I was younger than you look, sweetheart. Of course I’m used to getting my way.”
The witch pushed off of her and glanced back down the hall to make sure the two vampires that had been shot with their own bullets were down. Then Reece quickly dispelled the protective shield and helped Lex to her feet.
Again they started running towards the southeast stairwell. Once they had entered it, Reece scanned the flights of stairs below them and saw that there was no one coming up. But there were, however, several Night People coming down the stairs.
“Get down against the wall,” he hissed at Alexandra. She quickly did as he said, just as a wolf leapt down towards them from a landing several stories above.
The heavy wolf slammed against Reece, plowing him back against the wall. The shapeshifter snarled, baring its teeth and clawing at the witch. Reece cried out as the wolf slashed his face, leaving four long gashes across his forehead and cheeks, barely missing his eye. Lex screamed as she felt the fire of the cuts on her own face through the soulmate link. Reece tried to shove the shapeshifter off of him, but the wolf was simply too heavy and the animal kept him pressed back against the wall. Lex could distinctly make out a sinister laugh in the wolf’s growls.
Before she knew what she was doing, Alexandra threw herself into the fight, trying to wrestle between Reece and the shapeshifter. The wolf roared, pushing her away as if she weighed nothing and Lex fell hard onto her back. But for an instant she had distracted the wolf and it had eased its pressure on Reece, giving him the chance to reach down into his boot to grab a dagger. When the wolf bore down on the witch again, Reece plunged the silver blade into the animal’s chest.
With a sharp yelp, the wolf collapsed heavily in front of Reece’s feet. The witch dabbed at the blood running down his face with his sleeve and then bent down to retrieve his dagger from the wolf’s body. He waited silently, watching the movements of the Night People up the stairs. Most of them just went through doors to wreak havoc on other floors, so Reece signaled for Lex to follow him as they continued up the stairs.
“I told you not to risk yourself,” he said softly, but seriously. “You’re too important.”
“So are you,” Lex replied. At Reece’s sharp glance, she shrugged. “Practically speaking, if you get killed in here, I probably won’t make it out.”
“And impractically speaking?”
Alexandra just shook her head. She didn’t want to get into that now. She wasn’t sure she ever wanted to have that conversation with him. The very thought made her feel hot and uncomfortable, like there were bees swarming in her stomach, stinging and prickling.
Reece let it go. They walked quickly and carefully up the stairs. The danger wasn’t so bad here, but it would only get worse as they got closer to the ground floor. That was, of course, assuming that they Daybreakers were still fighting to defend their main entrance. But with how many Night People they had seen already, Alexandra had the feeling that the Daybreakers had retreated further into the compound.
Suddenly, after they had made it up to the eighth underground floor, Reece ducked down, pulling Lex with him. There were footsteps on the stairs directly above them and after a moment, a vampire came into view. Reece began to whisper a spell and tried to generate a fireball in his hands, but the vampire must have heard him. He came at them so quickly that Lex hadn’t even seen him move.
Reece pushed Alexandra down a few steps as the vampire bared his fangs and went for the witch’s throat. Reece head-butted him, but it didn’t deter the vampire. He tried to throw a low hook to the vampire’s gut, but wasn’t fast enough. The vampire had Reece in his grip, mouth open as he attempted to go for the witch’s jugular. Reece finally managed to get his foot between them and shoved the vampire back.
The fight continued and there wasn’t a damn thing Alexandra could do about it. The battle between the vampire and her soulmate moved faster and was more vicious than the attack by the shapeshifter had been. Sweat mixed with Reece’s blood to make red rivers that flowed down his face. Alexandra felt desperate, but she couldn’t think of a way to help Reece that wouldn’t possibly distract him or get them both hurt.
The pain took her by surprise. One second she was watching Reece fight, frustrated by her own helplessness, and the next she was doubled over, dry heaving. She wrapped her arms around her stomach, but the pain didn’t lessen. She would have cried out, but it hurt too much to suck in a breath.
Somehow she lifted her head a fraction and saw that Reece was still battling the vampire, but he hadn’t been hurt. No, the phantom pain wasn’t coming from him. It had to be coming from Aiden.
Alexandra fought to pull herself up onto her feet. Using the railing for support, she staggered down two flights of stairs until she reached the tenth floor, the infirmary. It was the last place that she’d seen him, but even if she hadn’t known where he was, it wouldn’t have mattered. The soulmate link was pulling her to him.
Hunched over with her arms still wrapped around herself, she stumbled through the stairwell door and into the infirmary. Broken glass crunched loudly under her feet. The fluorescent lights overhead had been broken and the floor was illuminated only by the emergency lights at the ends of the halls. In the darkness, the place seemed abandoned and silent, but Lex knew that it wasn’t. Aiden had been chained to his bed and someone had taken advantage of his vulnerability.
This was foolish of her. Even if she found Aiden alive, there was nothing that she would be able to do for him. And if the attacker was still there, she probably wouldn’t be able to defend herself well enough. The rational parts of her mind were screaming at her, but Lex could barely hear them. The soulmate link was pulling at her and its hum, along with the burning pain in her stomach, washed out all other thoughts. She heedlessly walked down the hallway to his room.
The deadbolt on his door had been broken open. Alexandra pushed at the door and saw him lying on the hospital bed, blood running down the chains and dripping onto the floor. His face was pale as he turned to her, his gray eyes stark with fear.
She started towards him, but when she saw the word forming on his lips, she froze.
“Run,” he croaked.
But it was too late. The door slammed behind her and, startled, Alexandra whipped around to face Angie Catellini.
“Hello, Soul Stealer,” the flame-haired vampire said with a brilliant smile. “I’m pleased to see that you received my invitation. I think it’s time for us to have a little chat.” Angie cocked her head to the side, as if she were contemplating something. “Actually, on second thought, I’ll skip that and move right on to killing you. What do you think?”
Part 17
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