Haunted

CHAPTER 50

THE FARTHER WE GET FROM THE VILLAGE, THE SAFER we feel, and the mood of our little group lightens. Max and Culebra talk softly between themselves. Adelita strides with quiet confidence beside me, her eyes on Luis’ back. I have a feeling if he tried to make a break for it, she would be on him before any of us.

I glance at my watch. It’s almost three a.m. We’ve been walking for four hours. I don’t recognize the terrain around us, but when I last came this way, I was following a scent, not noting the landscape.

“Max? How much farther?”

He stops and we gather together. “Should be close. Anna, you and I will go ahead. We saw the location of the security cameras so we know how to avoid them. Culebra, you stay with Luis and Adelita until we know it’s safe. I don’t want to walk into a trap. If Maria got out, no telling who might be waiting for us.”

Culebra yanks Luis to a tree and secures the handcuffs around the trunk with a piece of rope. He pulls it so tight, Luis’ cheek rubs against the trunk. He yelps as his already bruised and battered face presses into the rough bark.

Adelita and Culebra smile at each other.

Max and I start out, Max scoping the tops of the trees with a flashlight, searching for the hidden cameras. I spot the first without needing a flashlight. I point it out to Max. From its location, it’s easy for us to determine the location of the others. We quickly move forward, keeping low to the ground, until we get to the clearing.

But at that point we have to stop. There is no way to cross the clearing without being picked up by the cameras.

No way for Max, that is.

I take a look around.

The cameras are positioned to catch movement on the ground in the front of the cabin. Only one door, no windows. The place looks as if it’s about to fall down, leaning precariously to one side. Designed to look unsafe, to discourage anyone from coming too close. There is a small gap up at the apex of the roof, caused by the uneven settling of the cabin’s foundation.

I gauge the distance. If I can get up onto that roof without detection, I will be able to see if Maria or her daughter are inside keeping watch.

When I glance at Max, I see he’s been following my roving eyes with his own. I point to the roof and he nods. Then I move into position so I’m out of the line of sight of the door.

I realize when faced with a challenge like this that I’ve yet to figure out all that I’m—that vampire—is capable of. It takes a situation like this to test the boundaries. I’ve scurried up walls and the sides of buildings and leapt from roofs. But I’ve yet to leap onto a building. I call forth vampire with a little thrill of anticipation. This will either be a spectacular success or a bone-jarring failure.

I gather myself to leap, muscles tense, tendons tight, feet flexed. When I launch myself into the air, there’s a moment of exhilaration. A feeling of escaping gravity, of leaving the confines of the Earth. I hold my arms to my sides and look toward the spot I’m aiming for. When I’m above the roof, I straighten, head up, feet down, and float to a landing just above the gap.

It’s magic. I feel like Superman. I’m so excited, I forget for a moment why I’m here. Even Max, when I look for him in the bushes, has a look of astonishment on his face. He smiles when he catches my eyes and gives me a thumbs-up. He mouths, You can fucking fly.

I have to force myself to push the excitement down and think about what I need to do next.

I lean over and peek into the cabin. The table has been levered down to expose the stairway. But no one is in sight. I listen carefully for noise from inside. I can’t hear anything, but that may be due to the thickness of the cave walls, not the absence of humans. From this vantage point, I can’t tell if the door at the bottom is open or not.

Only one thing to do. I gesture to Max to stay put and lower myself carefully into the cabin. There’s not much room to maneuver and no way to escape being seen if anyone’s standing at the bottom of the steps. I lay on my stomach and creep to the open trapdoor.

When I look over the side, the stairwell is empty.

The entrance to Ramon’s secret hideaway stands open.