Easily persuadable. Easily charmed to do a vampire’s bidding so the girls could take care of Mrs. Jones, once and for all. They must use charm sparingly, though, as it could require the task of erasing the thrall from the human. And if that wasn’t done thoroughly, it could result in trouble for their kind. In spite of occasional missteps, the girls had been taught to avoid producing any suspicion of strange, paranormal activity that would put the public on alert, though Wolfie had always promised that, one day, they could be more open about their abilities.
One day.
At the moment, Della watched from the very rear of the pack in the alleyway as Stacy extended her hand, inspecting her nails from beneath a large, hooded coat, the better to hide her skin from any ultraviolet attacks. She was listening for their humans, who had already been charmed to enter until commanded to retreat. One of them was to attempt a peaceful entrance at first—a lone person knocking and crying at the door for the help of a Good Samaritan. All the girls required was for one sympathetic, unaware occupant to open that door so a vampire could persuade him or her into permitting them admission. If that did not work, the other humans were to try to find an alternate way in, as
they
would be able to enter windows or other doors with the crazed strength the girls had lent them. Then they would isolate a resident and bring them to where a vampire could work their charm on a member of the attacker group.
With this human aid, the girls would find Mrs. Jones . . . and perhaps then finish the fight with those Queenshill attackers.
Many of the older vampires, clothed in gaping, head-covering coats, too, were staring up at the sky between the buildings, impervious to the post-midnight cold, nightdreaming to pass the time away. A distance away from Della, a similarly covered Noreen fidgeted, no doubt missing Polly, who had stayed with a few of the other schoolgirls to keep Wolfie occupied.
Della wandered farther away from the group, where she could compose herself without anyone noticing. She was hungrier than usual, and her body growled with it. She hadn’t hunted, ripping into flesh and gnawing to the bone, for nights now. She longed for just a bite. Two.
More.
As she pressed her arms over her tummy, she listened to the slow, measured footfalls of the charmed humans in the near distance. They were certainly taking their time in getting to the building, and she sighed, leaning her head back.
Then she heard it: a movement beside her, round a corner.
She began to stand away from the wall, but she was pulled behind the corner so subtly that she doubted her mates had even noticed.
In a flash, her hood was pushed back from her head, and something touched her temples—a brace of sorts—clamping and then sending her into a numb zone of compliance. There, she existed only in the black cove of her mind, where the snaky, warped sound of a voice echoed.
Was it coming through whatever had been attached to her head . . . ?
“Della,” it said.
Fear waved over her flesh, and she couldn’t even turn round to focus on the entity that had put this captivating instrument on her.
Yet she already had a good idea of what the creature might be. She thought of the red eyes she’d seen one night when she’d found herself too far off the main paths of the Underground—the murky fright, the quivering and oppressive air, the terror.
But now . . . Now she didn’t feel the same slippery push against her skin and bones that she had back then.
Out of the corner of her eye, she dared a glance. And she found just what she’d been dreading—red eyes coming from the blackness.
A scream lodged in her throat.
Make a sound and I’ll make you sorry,
the
custode
said in the thickets of Della’s mind. The caretakers were known to keep guard for the Underground, though Della didn’t feel safe round them in the least, so obedience came easily. The other vampire girls would not even know the caretaker was here, as the
custode
s carried no scent and took such care to remain nothing more than a shadow.
As Della sank further into the depths of her captivated mind, she answered, but only in her head.
I won’t tell anyone you’re here
.
Good,
it said.
I didn’t expect to find the group of you aboveground until my partner communicated that Mihas had requested you retrieve Claudia. You tracked her here, didn’t you?
Yes
.
The
custode
didn’t comment, and in that pause, Della could have sworn there was menace.
Why? Was the caretaker angry with them for being here? Angry with all of them for getting so far into a compromising situation?
Della panicked, thinking she should do all she could to help the
custode
and land on its positive side.
We believe Mrs. Jones is in a building with those attackers from Queenshill. They’re shielding her or holding her, I’m not certain which it is
.
It mind-spoke again.
Hear me well, Della. You tell your chums not to kill those attackers
. Then the caretaker seemed to reconsider.
Well, perhaps you can do away with their vampire. Frank was his name, yes? The same goes for that more lethal one who hurt the dogs
.
Della could only hope she would be able to face up to the mean vampire.
I understand
.
I want the remainder of the group for questioning. And be quiet going about this. I know what you girls are doing with those charmed humans, using them to get you into that building to Claudia. That was clever in this case. Your efforts could take any fight or exposure indoors, where the public won’t bear witness. But if your humans should attract any attention outside, call them off, Della.
We will. It’ll be as if we were never here. We intend to erase all evidence of our presence—
Della stopped herself. She’d been about to tell this creature that the girls intended to kill Mrs. Jones. In fact, she feared that the
custode
might have already gleaned the information.
She held her breath, hoping, hoping . . .
Yet, from the way the
custode
didn’t comment, Della wondered if the caretaker even cared that Mrs. Jones would die.
But that was ridiculous. Of course it would care, and Della shut down her mind, lest the caretaker access any further plans for Mrs. Jones.
I’ll be near to see that this remains a private affair,
the
custode
mind-said.
Do you understand me? Secrecy in this is imperative to the continued survival of your community
.
We stay quiet. We withdraw if the trouble spills into the streets
.
Yes,
the caretaker thought, tweaking Della’s cheek.
Precisely
.
The
custode
released the contraption from Della’s temples, pulled the hood back over Della’s head, then seemed to fade into the dark of Della’s mind.
The rest of the night world rushed back: The
swick
of what sounded like outside lights turning on in the distance. The shuffled steps of the charmed humans as they halted. The knock one of them pounded upon the front door as the other ones hopefully hid themselves from view, as instructed.
Della crept back round the corner to her mates, just in time to smell jasmine and to see that Stacy was missing, having already hidden near the building’s front door now that the humans were stationed.
The rest of her pack crouched, their backs arched in readiness for what was to come, and Della joined them.
AS
Dawn walked down the stairs to the lab, saving her energy, she heard Kiko and Frank over the earpiece, checking who had what weapon, communicating with the Friends as another knock pounded on the front door.
A charmed human. The vamps had no idea that the scouting Friends had seen what they were up to outside.
Frank’s voice came over loud and clear. “Dawn, we’ve got a count of twenty-four vamps in an alley close by, plus one right outside next to a human who’s whining for help. He’s saying he got in some accident and he’s putting the pity squeeze on us.”
“Amateur plan.”
“Yeah. Some Friends are surrounding the other vamps to try and keep them back if they do come closer.”
This was one of those times Dawn wished the Friends could kill, but she knew that their souls would be forfeit to the same place Costin was trying to avoid. That’d been the deal with Costin when they’d agreed to come on board to help him after their human deaths.
“The UV lights outside will also keep vamps at bay,” she said.
“Did I mention they have thick coats with hoods on?”
“Okay, we’ve got outside silver darts aimed and ready, too, and maybe those’ll pierce the coats.”
“Vamps are fast, remember? They can avoid those.”
“Then they’ll have to deal with us, no matter how many of them there are.” Besides, headquarters was fortified to the nth degree, with booby traps and everything. “Hey, Natalia, you’re in the communications room now, right?”
The new girl came on, her voice frazzled. “Just as the boss said I should be in this situation, Dawn.”
“Tap into the anonymous, nontraceable computer call program.” Breisi had installed it ages ago. “Report a drunken riot a few blocks over—but don’t give our own location. We can’t afford to have the law snooping around too close.” Costin was as eager to avoid the public limelight as any vamp. His operations depended on secrecy and ease of movement. “If the vamps are smart, they’ll hear the sirens a long way off and call away their charmed people. Vamps won’t want to be discovered, either, I’ll bet.”
“Copy,” Natalia said.
Dawn heard Kiko on the earpiece. His voice still carried that cosmic-ranger floatiness she’d noted earlier from being lulled by a Friend, but he was in ass-kicking mode.
“I’m in Dawn’s room,” he said, updating his position.
There was actually a window up there, unlike the blocked ones downstairs. Thanks to Breisi, it was shatterproof, so Dawn wasn’t worried about anything busting it open. But Costin did use it occasionally to receive any psychic vibes from the Underground, and there was a chance other vibrations might come through. If the lower vamps’ charming techniques were anything like Claudius’s, Dawn didn’t want to take a chance.
“I can see some activity down below,” Kiko added. “Not sure what it is though.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t stand so close to that window, Kik.”
“Backing away, right now.”
“Okay. Are any Friends with you?”
“Nope. They’re all in more important places. That’s why I came up here—so I could keep watch from this position. I’ll scoot downstairs, if needed. But I think I see something . . .”
“Keep us posted.”
“Will do.”
Things seemed ready to go, and the most important element was that Costin wasn’t in-house. That meant the vamps wouldn’t get to him.
At least not here . . .
Don’t think about him in that Underground,
she thought.
You’ve got a job to do yourself
.
But as Dawn reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Claudius waiting there in his chair, a smug smile on his mouth, she wondered if maybe Costin wasn’t as safe as she’d hoped.
The vampire spoke, calmly, surely, while a Friend bound him. Dawn knew it was only one spirit, because the rest of the headquarters’ guard had been called to defend the building.
“I told you they would come,” he said in that damaged voice. His throat had stalled in its healing.
Was it a sign of his continued weakness?
“They’re not gonna get closer than they are now,” Dawn said.
“Are you here to kill me, before they arrive down here to take me back?”
She wouldn’t reveal that Costin had ordered her to keep Claudius alive, just in case.
God, where
was
he? In the midst of an Underground fight? Couldn’t he have spared a Friend or even a damned phone call to let them know how it was going? It’d be nice if she had permission to get rid of Claudius, if Costin didn’t need him alive anymore.
Dawn held her stake in front of her, but the vamp seemed to know it was an empty threat.
“You’re too afraid that I’ve misled your sweetie with bad directions to the Underground, aren’t you?” Claudius made a pseudo-sad face. “Not a wonderful position to be in.”
Over Dawn’s earpiece, she heard some shouting, and her gut told her to stay here, no matter what was happening up top.
When would the bobbies respond to Natalia’s call? Even a hint of sirens should be enough for the vamps to wave off their humans—
if
they were interested in not getting caught out there.
“
Did
you mislead Costin?” Dawn asked.
Claudius laughed, and it reminded Dawn of a witch who was presenting a riddle. She had the horrific feeling that Claudius hadn’t been so mentally weak after all, that he
had
been playing Costin.
Her temper rumbled, and she got closer to the vampire, face-to-face, holding up a finger. “You’re not gonna win this.”
In a show of astounding bravery, Claudius bared his teeth, his fangs emerging as pinpoints. White needles.
Before Dawn could draw back, Claudius struck at her, catching the pad of her index finger.
As the Friend on duty pushed Claudius back, Dawn jerked away, then glanced at her finger, where blood beaded to the surface, stinging.
But, strangely, it didn’t make her angrier. It sent her into a place beyond rage—white-hot and calm instead of red and explosive.
Dawn sucked on her finger, erasing the blood. Everything—Claudius, the noise from the earpiece, the anguish of worrying about Costin—it all stopped existing.
She took her finger out of her mouth and, inspecting it, spoke so quietly that it surprised her. “Did you stop to think that Costin
wanted
to see if your vampires would come for you? Based on how your girl Violet paid us a visit before she was torn to shreds by some ravens that swooped down from the sky the other morning, he suspected your underlings would have enough brass to come aboveground and take that kind of risk. We’ve been waiting for another chance at more girls.”