“Let’s put that to the test, shall we?” Etienne asked.
I watched from behind him as Abel shook his head and muttered, “Whatever.”
In a trice, we were surrounded by vampires.
Not a couple hundred of them.
A lot more.
And they were all armed with lethal-edged swords.
I sucked in breath as the blooming hope inside stalled.
“Fuck,” Xun whispered, slowly turning his head side to side, taking them in while backing into Leah and me, Wei and Chen doing the same, surrounding us.
“Now would be a good time for whatever we got to come out,” Leah murmured.
“I hear you,” I murmured back.
“Now how sure are you, young Abel?” Etienne sneered.
“Bring it on,” Abel snarled.
Great.
My man was awesome and The Three and our families had it going on.
But right then, we were in trouble.
Big-time trouble.
I needed my blue light, however that could help.
But Abel was in danger, serious danger, and it wasn’t coming to me.
“Take their heads!” Etienne yelled.
Abel was right.
Earlier, they’d been playing.
Right then, it began.
* * * * *
In a Home Somewhere in Idaho
The man reached out and took hold of his wife’s hand.
She leaned into him, her body resting against his shoulder, as she held on tight.
“Please, God, please,” she whispered, her gaze unwavering on the screen. “Help them. Please.”
* * * * *
Gregor
“Got a lock on it!” headphone man cried loudly. “The signal’s coming from a suburb in Missouri.”
Gregor tore his eyes off the screens, long since noting they had cameras everywhere, microphones everywhere, and someone was switching them to get the best angles.
This right now being a blur that, with his vampiric eyesight, Gregor could see was Lucien battling eight vampires.
And losing.
He whipped his head to the line of vampires awaiting orders.
He looked to the first. “Get the exact location. Send everything we have close there.”
He looked to the second. “Phone Gastineau. Give him the location. Have him send everyone he can.”
He looked to the third. “Find out what’s happening with Josefa.”
As the third shot out, another vampire shot in.
“Status,” he said immediately. “We’re holding them at the wall. We have help—phantoms and wraiths are attacking them from their rear.” He drew in breath. “But there are a lot of them, sir. We need to throw at them everything we’ve got.”
“Round up as many as you can and go,” Gregor ordered, and the vampire shot out.
Gregor knew their play. He knew Etienne somehow understood that he could get at least Delilah in her dreams. And perhaps draw Abel.
Which would make The Three vulnerable and the time ripe for an attack on the compound.
“Thank God!” the production manager exclaimed, and Gregor looked back to see Teona had spelled those around Lucien. They’d been thrown back and Lucien again had a fighting chance.
And he was taking it.
“Where’s my baby? Where’s my little girl? Where’s my baby?” Hook whispered.
The man and his brothers had joined them five minutes ago.
Now Hook was leaned into the screens, his hands braced on the console, his eyes inches away.
“Step back, brother. She’ll be good. She’s tough. She’s smart. She’ll be good. Calm down,” Moose urged gently, his hand on Hook’s back.
But Hook didn’t have it in him to hear his friend.
He was focused.
“Where is she? Where’s my baby?”
“There!” Jabber yelled. “I saw her, standing. She’s good, man. She’s still standing!”
“Shit, okay, shit, awesome!” Moose bellowed. “The rest of them witches are there!”
And Gregor saw they were. Barb, Ruby, Jezza, and Flo lifted their hands, tossing what Gregor knew had to be spells at the enemy, magic that interestingly didn’t translate to the screen. It looked like they were simply throwing out their arms.
But they were also using weapons that could easily be seen.
Short, sharp blades, long, curved knives, and thin daggers.
The blessed instruments.
With each slash and jab, the immortals, wounded, fell back.
But he knew those witches and Poncho’s aunt had given them more too. There was no way The Three and their families could hold back the onslaught from that many foes.
Unless they had the powerful protection of magic.
But watching it, Gregor tensed.
Because he saw his son close to Aurora, fending off three vampires and a golem, with no weapon.
His son.
There.
In her dream.
Keeping his witch safe.
It had been the girl who became his daughter, Sonia.
Now it was both his daughter and son.
“Fucking where…is…that—?” he began.
“She’s here, brother. She’s here, amigo,” he heard Poncho huff and looked to the door to see the nephew escorting his aunt in hurriedly.
Her eyes went immediately to the screens and her lips thinned.
“I need her to send me, and those”—Gregor pointed to a collection of swords resting against the armchair Jian-Li had sat in what felt like centuries ago—“there.” He pointed to the screen.
She turned her head to her nephew and said something.
Poncho nodded and looked to him.
“She says you shouldn’t go.”
“My son and daughter are there,” Gregor returned curtly.