Prima

Chapter Ten

The first four houses went smoothly. They broke in, located the leader, and then killed the idiot. Most of the nests cooperated with the takeovers, and those who didn’t were executed. Things didn’t go as planned at the last house though.

It was empty.

Half-opened drawers with clothes hanging out greeted his entry into the building. He sensed no one here. Pressing his earpiece, he spoke to Robert. “Are you sure we’re at the right location?”

“Yeah. We were just here yesterday.” He could hear Robert clicking at his computer. “Do you think they spotted Esther and Sam when they were taking pictures?”

“Maybe…” He did a slow three-sixty in the foyer while Sam sniffed around. “Or word of my return is spreading faster than we’re moving.” He reached out to Pallas. “Is she safe?”

Nothing.

A heavy dread settled in his gut, and he closed his eyes to concentrate his power. “Pallas?” His telepathic shout would be heard around the world by his brothers, except he couldn’t sense the most important of them all. The one guarding Sugar.

“Shit.” He raced from the house using his supernatural speed, leaving the shifters to devil knew what in that empty building. Fear dug its sharp talons in Daedalus’s heart as he ran to his home on the other side of town.

Pallas tossed Sugar over his shoulder with one hand, gripping a wooden stake with the other. “Stephen, get your hairy arse down here and shift.” He strode toward the library staircase and set her on the bottom step with her cane. “Can you climb to the second floor?”

She nodded. “What is it?”

He gave her a hard look then tapped his head. “I tried to contact Daedalus, but he’s not answering.”

Her legs gave out, and she sank onto the steps. “Is he…?” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Is he dead?” The edges of her vision went dark, and nausea rolled in her stomach. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. She was supposed to die first.

“I don’t know. Sometimes, if enough vampires concentrate, they can block telepathy.” He shook her shoulder. “Get it together, woman, and move.”

A knock echoed through the library. They both jerked at the loud noise and turned toward the doors.

Stephen raced down the steps behind her. “Who’s here?”

“Trouble.” Pallas yanked her onto her feet. “Get upstairs and hide. Don’t make any noise. No matter what you hear, you stay hidden.” He pointed to Stephen. “Shift, I said.”

“I don’t know how to fight.” The young werewolf pulled his shirt over his head. She could count his ribs.

Pallas handed him the stake and retrieved the other ones from the table. “You’re about to learn.” His glare traveled to her. “Why are you still here?”

Her mouth moved, but nothing came out. She used the banister to ascend the steps. It had never crossed her mind that Daedalus would fail. Love truly was blind. A tear slid down her cheek.

An explosion shook the room, and she fell to her knees. Dust and smoke filled the air, making it difficult to breathe. She watched her cane roll down the stairs out of reach. On her stomach, she peered through the stair railings.

Pallas lay motionless on his back with iron and wooden shrapnel protruding from his body. He looked like a vampire pincushion.

She couldn’t see Stephen from this vantage point, but movement by the blown doorway caught her gaze.

A group of strangers entered, led by a man. He grinned as his gaze fell upon her, fangs sharp and long. “Sugar, I presume?”