The other vampires made to rush forward, but I grabbed Callum’s arm, yanking on his ripped shirt. “There’s an amulet over there. In the wall. Tell them to stay back.”
“Wait!” Callum’s command was met with instantaneous obedience. Where his crew member had ignored me, the rest listened to him, almost like I’d heard shifter alphas could do, almost as though magic was woven into his tone.
Even the vampire who’d led the way, the one who’d screamed, stopped short for a second. His blown-out eyes and hooked nose had pinched in a tight expression as he fought to restrain himself and follow Callum’s command. But then, chest heaving, he pointed at nothing. His claws extended and he bellowed, “Don’t come closer!”
My eyes followed his gaze, which was focused on the wall. Nothing was there.
I turned to Evan. “I see a purple glow. Delusion Amulet?”
I looked behind me, magically tossing more shadows down the hall just past our group in case the damn sounds of Callum’s man brought more guards. As I slid the shadows down like blinds, I felt my power stretch and grow taut—a rubber band that had reached its maximum capacity.
I turned back to Evan, voice tight. “I’m maxed. Tell me. Do you think it’s a delusion?”
He bit his lip studying the vampire, who’d begun to pace. “I’m not sure. Apprehension Amulets are a violet color. If I could see it, I’d be sure.”
“Fucking bollocks, figure it out.” Callum’s order had my eyes smashing into his. “Not five minutes in, and Jordan is a goddamned mess while your fucking team hems and haws—”
Callum’s furious jump to blame—or whatever the hell his statement was going to be—was cut off.
Jordan leapt at the wall, his claws smashing into the stone with supernatural speed. The awful sound of the bones in his hands snapping rolled down my spine like a shiver and I cringed.
Fuck.
“Can’t you restrain him?” I asked Callum, my voice thin as a string as Jordan howled in pain in the background. The sound of his bones snapping back into place was nearly as awful as them breaking in the first place.
“You want me to restrain him now? Or your brother later?” Callum’s eyes blazed with threat.
“Firefly,” I only said his name, but he knew exactly what I wanted.
With a zip, Zavier reversed Jordan, undoing the damage to his hand, rewinding the vampire so that his face returned to normal and he stepped backward through the hall until he was only a step in front of Callum.
When Z finished, his chest heaved with effort.
“I’m spent,” he said.
Fucking hell. This goddamnned alliance was going to be the death of me—if something else wasn’t first.
“Stay the hell here!” I barked at Callum and his team, not caring how much that pissed him off.
I glanced over at Andros, making eye contact, before I stepped over to the amulet myself, fury making me quick. I dug that glowing fucker out of the wall, chipping my nail as I pried it from a crack between two stones and then held up the deep purple gem so everyone could see.
When I turned back, my entire team was dead, lying in a bloody heap on the floor of the hall—and Callum’s mouth was painted red.
40
I started to scream.
But I blinked.
Then, my hands were empty, I was ten feet from the wall. Andros was beside me in under a second, his thick hand coming to rest on my shoulder. And all the lights around us were back on. I squinted up at the lights, disoriented.
Fuck me.
What happened? Did I lose control of my power?
“I rewound you,” Andros whispered.
Why? What happened? Doesn’t matter. Lights. Deal with the lights.
Immediately, I killed the lights again, but this time, just inside the building, not straining my magic to quell the surrounding areas and make it look like an issue with the local magical power company again. Now, it would be obvious that we were targeting the institute. The cameras would have come back up if I lost control—even for a second. “Pinheads will be on their way,” I said in a low voice. “Guards too.”
We had to move.
“Let’s come back for this guy,” I gestured to whomever was behind door 33. It was better for us to get out of here, away from the scene.
Callum took a step closer to me, his eyes growing black as his pupils swallowed up the pale rim of color around them. “No.”
Fuck.
Fuck me and my stupid damn alliance idea.
My heart jumped inside my chest faster than a jackrabbit fleeing a fox.
Evan took a step forward. “Just give me a minute to unravel that amulet. I’m pretty sure it was a Delusion Amulet.”
He knelt on the tile floor while we surrounded him. I could hear the little scratch of parchment rubbing the tile as he unrolled it.
Go fast, I willed him. But I didn’t say anything aloud. I didn’t want to distract him.
My fingers tingled with anticipation and the silence grew thick and hard to breathe, as though it were humid.
“I smell blood,” Jordan whispered.
A dripping noise came to my attention. And I turned to see a puddle forming at the base of the stairs … a dark puddle.
Jordan charged past me before I could stop him. He knelt at the puddle of blood and stuck his face directly into it. A second later, he started seizing.
“What the hell?” I gasped.
“Blood trap. The Pinnacle has set them out in every institute, trying to prevent the vamps from leaving. They’d rather poison them like rats then let them escape,” Malcolm informed us all.
I ran a hand over my face as the vampires gave guttural, animalistic growls of fury behind me.
“Leave him,” Callum growled as Evan finished unraveling the amulet. I watched as orange sparkles floated through the air over to the telltale crack in the wall. Slowly, the amulet faded, its glow ceased. I whispered, “Amulet’s dead.”
Callum shoved open the door to 33.
“But …” He’d really leave one of his own crew? He was that heartless.
Callum scoffed at the look on my face. “The bloody idiot won’t die. But if they’re setting out poisoned blood and he’s daft enough to drink it, he can lay in a puddle of his own stupidity until he drinks it all or decides to slither out of it. I have no need of that.”
The rest of the vampires tossed solemn looks in Jordan’s direction, but then they followed him inside. Callum shut the door in my face, saying, “Watch our backs or we’ll eat yours.”
“Thanks, great talk,” I told the closed door.
Evan bit his lip as he tucked his wand back into his pocket. “Maybe we should have done this on our—”
“Don’t say it.” I cut him off but I ground my teeth together, because he was right. The twitching vampire at the end of the hall and the goosebumps on my arms proved it.
Sirens blared not a second later and I braced as Gray’s voice sounded in my ear. “Company, nemesis.”
“Copy,” I told him, gritting my teeth. I knocked on the door. “We need to move out,” I called through it. “Pinheads.”
The door flew open and Callum stepped out. The others trailed in a row behind him … the final vamp an Asian woman with rags for clothes. My eyes widened as I realized Callum must be using his store of serum on the vampires he picked. My eyes carefully scanned the new woman for any tinge of remaining madness, but her eyes were clear and alert.