“I would, thanks.” Without a goodbye, Emery walked us into the room and closed the door after us. He conjured up a spell and smeared it against the door. “It’s unusual for a vampire to offer to share information.” He unzipped his vest and shrugged out of it. His white shirt underneath was plastered to his body with sweat. “I’m not sure what that’s about.”
“Seems like he wants the guild brought to the ground for his own reasons, and realizes you have to help. You need to know your enemy.”
Uneasiness wrestled with his expression, but he didn’t comment. Instead, his gaze connected with mine, raw, deep, and bare. “How about that bath?”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Something clattered against the nightstand. Before I could open my eyes, it clattered again. And one more time. The accompanying buzzing finally registered.
My phone was ringing. Probably my mother. If she’d sent another text, she’d now be calling to chat about it.
I willed myself to roll away from Emery’s heat and grab the phone, but I couldn’t find the strength to peel my eyes open, let alone move my body. I hadn’t stayed awake long enough for dinner the night before. I’d let Emery slowly strip me of my clothes, kissing every cut and scratch along the way, plus a little extra kissing on certain areas of my body that had made me curl my toes and arch in pleasure. We’d sunk into the hot waters of the bath, the tub large and easily able to accommodate us. But while my body was gloriously wound up, and my ache for him had only grown stronger, I’d fallen asleep nearly immediately. The next thing I’d known, he was carrying me to bed and settling in beside me, comfort, trust, and magic making the air buzz around us. I’d never felt so safe in all my life, and given the circumstances, that was saying something.
The clattering sounded again. I moaned and Emery stirred under my cheek. His arms, wrapped around me, squeezed before he tilted his head on the pillow and his breath, heavy and content, drifted over me.
Sure, I felt safe, but we were in a house with a bunch of night dwellers, and it was most certainly daytime. Anyone could crash through the place, and it would come down to Emery and I to fight them off. If my mother could help with that, it was worth it to roll out of Emery’s arms and answer the phone.
Just barely.
I slapped my hand on the nightstand, capturing the jumping flip phone that had endured these last few days better than Emery’s smart phone. Take that, modern technology!
I pulled it over and forced a groggy, puffy eye open. Two in the afternoon and fatigue still pulled on my every limb.
Was it too late for an office job?
Two missed calls from Veronica, which was strange, since my mother had called her and told her some of what was going on. She’d been told to wait for me to contact her—which I planned to do once this was all over. Then two calls from my mother, which were the last two, plus three texts. I was usually a light sleeper, but it looked like my body had pulled me way under.
I rubbed my eyes as I pulled up the texts. The first was from the early morning, probably when we were still in the thick of it. Not all monsters are bad.
Monsters. A vampire’s other form, like when shifters changed into animals. That was what Marie had turned into last night in order to heal quicker. They were faster and stronger that way, but so, so much uglier.
“A little too late on that one, Mother,” I muttered into the quiet room.
They won’t go to you. You will go to them.
I nodded, because clearly she meant the Mages’ Guild, and I had gone to them, all right. Right into the heart of their whole operation.
I frowned, because that text had been sent at nine in the morning. Until now, my mother’s premonitions had always arrived before the event or, at the latest, during. It was strange this one would come so late.
In a moment, I saw why.
They’ve got Veronica. Call me ASAP.
I clicked into my voice messages. The first one was from Veronica. “Penny…I’m sorry. They—” A man’s voice sounded in the background. Veronica sobbed into the phone. “I’m sorry, but they want you to come here. They say that they’ll”—more sobbing—“k-kill me and my family if you don’t.”
My eyes snapped open fully. Adrenaline rushed in to replace the fatigue from a moment before. I hopped off the bed, seeing two trays of food waiting by the door and a couple of sets of clothes beside it. Emery must’ve lifted the spell he’d used to keep people out the night before, probably for just that reason. Pulling on the new leathers, I spared a hand to call my mother, then trapped the phone between my ear and my shoulder.
“It’s about time you called,” my mother said by way of answering the phone. “I was worried sick. What have you been doing?”
“I was storming the guild with a bunch of vampires last night.” I couldn’t help the sullen teenager approach, even now. Some things were hard-wired. “But I’m up. I’m getting ready.”
“They are not to be trusted, Penny, no matter what pretty lies they might tell you.”
“Yes, I’ve been told—”
“But they do have their uses. Where are you?”
“I’m at one of their houses. Have you talked to Veronica?”
“Yes. Briefly. She snuck a phone call to me when they weren’t paying attention. They have her phone now, though. She’s cut off.”
“What is it?” Emery asked, sitting up with bleary eyes.
My mother’s tone took on a hard edge. “Is that boy sleeping in the same room— Never mind. It doesn’t matter right now. We can deal with that later.” She took a deep breath, and I knew she was pinching the bridge of her nose like she did when she was trying not to get worked up about something. “From what I understand, there is a group of them working on our house, trying to get in, and another group guarding Veronica and her family. Since the houses are so close, they essentially have a large host waiting for us.”
“Waiting for us, Mother? No. You don’t know what they can do.”
Emery swung his feet out of the sheets and dropped them to the floor. He stood stiffly, his body clearly as tired and sore as mine. “What’s the matter?” he asked.
“You had better believe that I know exactly what that crooked institution is capable of,” my mother said. “I will enjoy getting a little revenge. I’m sitting down the street right now, watching their movements. The arrogance is staggering. They puff out their chests like a bunch of turkeys when they walk down the street. And that’s exactly what they are. Turkeys.”
“It’s Veronica,” I said to Emery. “They have her.” Worry choked me, threatening to derail the anger and determination. “They made her leave a message on my phone saying that if I don’t come, they’ll kill her. I haven’t called her back yet.”
Emery’s movements sped up and he hurried for his leathers. “Has your mother foretold anything?”
I put the phone on speaker and repeated the question to my mother.
“I’ve got nothing,” she said. “All is appearing blank. I have a feeling it’s because of you. The images will come in a flurry once you choose a path. That’s what’s happened in the past, based on the things I was seeing.”
Emery nodded, pulling on his pants. “Call them back. Let’s see how long we have.”
“Call me right after,” my mother said. “Did you hear what I said? Right. After.”
I hesitated. “Right now, they’re on the defensive, trying to regain the upper hand.” I thought it through. “They will know what we did to the guild, they’ll know we’re together, and they’ll know we’re working with vampires. They fear us, Darius said.”
“Darius Durant? The elder vampire?” my mother said breathlessly. “He’s extremely high up in their hierarchy, not to mention powerful. He’s the one helping you?”
“Yes,” I answered distractedly. “The people that have Veronica will know what to expect. They’ll be able to prepare. If I call them, they’ll demand that I come alone.”
“What are you thinking?” Emery asked.
I met his steady gaze. He was game for anything. He would put off his vengeance and help me save my friend without batting an eye.
“By now, they’ll guess we have vampires working with us,” I said slowly, thinking it out. “A large host means they’re worried about a fight. They’ll look for us as the sun sets.”
“Yes,” Emery said softly. “And by then, they’ll be dead.”
“Wait a minute,” my mother said. “They have a lot of power waiting here. A Sheriff, some high-level mages—even with Emery, they’ll easily out-power us.”
“What about all those spells we made?” I asked Emery. “Is it too much to hope they’re still in the warehouse?”
His eyes sparkled. “Darius and I didn’t get a chance to barter about the price. Since money hasn’t exchanged hands, those spells are still ours. They’ll be in that warehouse, along with the ingredients. Maybe with the addition of a guard.”
“A human guard.” I nodded, hopeful. “That won’t be a problem for you. What about the locked door?”