I step out of Davorian's office and slip into the crowd in the command center. I move slow, careful not to draw attention. Silently, I slip into my bedroom and grab the keys to my motorcycle from the nightstand.
I slide further down the passageway and peek into Jaxon's room.
He lies on his bed with his back turned to me. From the slow rise and fall of his shoulders, I think he is asleep.
Perfect.
I glance back over my shoulder just once as I continue down the passageway, making sure no one is watching me. They are not. They're too distracted by Davorian and the plan they are putting into motion.
I reach the end of the tunnel and shift instantly, climbing up through the tube.
It feels good to shift. I've been on the verge of it for so long. Letting the shadows billow out of me, letting myself dissolve into smoke and pinchers, it's exactly what I need in this moment.
I'm almost tempted to stay in this form all the way to Las Vegas. But there will be too many people out right now. It would be extremely difficult to get all the way to the Strip without being spotted.
So, I shift as I walk over to my bike. I pull my helmet on and insert the key. I push it away from the entrance. I don't need the engine roaring to life and giving me away. I probably only have fifteen or twenty minutes before someone realizes that I am gone. I need every moment I can get.
I push my motorcycle at least fifty yards away before I finally climb on and start the engine.
I don't hesitate one second as I throttle the gas and launch forward into the dark.
I'm going to exorcise Vivian. I don't know that Jaxon will ever be able to do it. I can't blame him. But I can do it. I can do this. For him. Because I'm not going to let her continue to try and hurt him. She is willing to sacrifice two of her daughters, willing to risk that they will get hurt, or worse, killed, as she tries to manipulate him back into working for her.
Vivian Gray is a bad person. She has been for a long, long time.
Tonight, she meets her end.
I’m not exactly sure how I'm going to do it. Once a person has embraced the dusk, there is no other option but to kill them. The dusk can no longer be separated from the soul. I could just demolish her in my darkling form. But that sounds loud and messy. I could just shoot her in the head or the heart. But that's a risk that someone might hear the gunfire. I have three knives strapped to my thigh. That will definitely be my quietest option. But that doesn't mean it's going to be easy looking into her eyes, watching as the light fades from them, knowing Jaxon still has some kind of love for her.
I've never had to exorcise someone who has embraced the dusk. Davorian has dozens of stories. Ascelin has even more. Philomena and Renwick went after one that resided here in Las Vegas a few years ago. It's never been me. Not up until this point.
Tonight is the night that changes.
I throttle the engine harder and my bike shoots through the night. Another car drives the opposite direction, on the other side of the highway, blinding me with its headlights.
I am two thirds of the way back to the city when my phone starts ringing. I answer with the Bluetooth connection in my helmet.
"You left the compound?" Ascelin's voice comes through loud and sharp. "Are you insane? Do you have a death wish?"
"Calm down," I say with annoyance. "I will be in and out of there in an hour and half. I have to take care of this. Jaxon can't do it, so I'm going to exorcise his mother."
"The Kindred are in Las Vegas," Ascelin grinds out. "You would know that if you had bothered to pause and actually pay attention to what was going on."
"How?" I ask. "They just left Tonopah. How could they possibly be in the city already?"
Ascelin lets out a growl. "They were moving fast suddenly, so fast our system couldn’t keep track of them. There's an airport in Tonopah. It's the only possibility. They must've chartered a plane and they landed half an hour ago."
I swear. Half an hour ago. They could be just about anywhere by this point. "Where are they?"
There's a noise in the background, one I can't quite make out. I hear multiple voices on top of Ascelin’s. There's a loud bang, and then rustling in the phone.
And then he swears loudly. "Jaxon must have seen you leave," he growls. "He's out in the desert, halfway back to the city."
"The kindred are tracking straight to him," Davorian's voice suddenly cuts into the line. "Serena, they are maybe ten minutes out from him."
I realize then that they can't see me. They have no idea where I am in relation to Jaxon and the kindred.
My heart explodes. My palms are slick with sweat. Adrenaline thrashes through my system.
"I'm out in the desert too," I practically scream. "Pull up my location. Where do I go? Where is Jaxon?"
There are a million curses muttered and I hear the tapping of keys and the beeps of screens being tapped.
"Looks like he's about 2 miles behind you," Ascelin says. In the background, I hear Davorian shouting orders, sending agents out to back us up. "Serena, the Kindred are behind you. They’re maybe half a mile away from Jaxon."
I scream out a curse and lean hard to the left. I hit the brake, and my tires spin out, flinging gravel and loose rocks. I barely hold my control as my darkling form begs to be let loose.
I throttled the gas, and rocket back in the direction I just came from.
On the other end, there's chaos. I can hear the sounds of dozens of darklings shifting, their demonic screams filling the air.
"Hurry, Serena," Ascelin breathes out. "Your backup will be there as soon as possible."
He’s still reaming me on the phone, but my adrenaline is pumping too hard for me to hear him right now. Panic is ripping through me as I push my bike the fastest it has ever gone.
Stupid. So stupid. Why am I so freaking stupid?
I could've paused. If I had stopped for just a moment to look at that stupid board, I would have known. I would have seen that the Kindred had just landed in Las Vegas. And there's no way I ever would've left the compound.
Jaxon followed me. He didn't know what I was going out to do. But it had to be obvious that I was leaving the compound when I definitely shouldn't have been. He was coming to back me up.
And now, whatever happens from here on out, it's my fault. Every bit of it is on me.
I let out a demonic, darkling scream as I push my bike even harder.
It’s lucky that we’re out in the middle of nowhere. This would get so much messier if there were others around.
My stomach drops. The car that passed me earlier had to be the Kindred. Which is lucky, I guess, because I know for certain when I see taillights up ahead, it’s them that I’m looking for.
The distance between us closes. Fifty yards. Thirty. Twenty yards.
My heart is racing so fast I feel like it’s going to explode and take out the entire planet with it.
When I’m ten yards behind the car, I see a motorcycle coming toward us.
“No,” I breathe. “No, no, no!”
When I’m three yards behind the vehicle, I shift, and fly through the air.
My claws rip free from my skin. My form loses its shape, turning into shadows and smoke. I’m armed with dozens of pincers and spikes and teeth.