“Didn’t you?” She asked.
I nodded, feeling guilty.
“Then why didn’t you do anything about it?”
I pulled Seraphine aside, our eyes still on Grace. “It can’t know.”
“What?”
“It can’t know that we can sense it. It will kill her.”
Seraphine grew concerned. “We need to go to the Mydnight Witch,” she said. “I can protect her there.”
“I doubt it. It’s ignoring wards and sigils.”
“But it hasn’t taken her completely and that is because of you. You’re her tether to reality, Hellsing.”
I looked at Grace, all beautifully warped and that guilt wrapped around me again. “We’ll need to get her there quickly, before whatever is hanging off her finishes what it started.”
“We’re leaving, Grace.” Serapine helped her up.
“Oh, why?” She pouted at me.
“Because you’re acting out of sorts,” I responded, not giving away anything.
Grace laughed, tilted her head, and blew a small red bubble with her gum.
“You all act like I’m possessed,” she said.
My throat felt tight. I swept a hand around her waist and gently guided her toward the hallway at the back of Cherry Smoke, Seraphine on one side, Josh watching our flank.
Everyone else saw a man dragging his girl off for a private moment during a Halloween party.
I knew better.
By the time we finally headed back toward the Quarter and theMidnight Wytch, with plans spinning toward the Cherry Smoke and whatever the rest of the night wanted to throw at us, one thought ran circles in my head.
This was my Grace.
This was not my Grace.
And somewhere between those two truths, something waited with its hands on her soul.
GRACE
They dragged me through the back hall of Cherry Smoke and my head cleared for one small stretch of time.
The music faded behind us as the lights dimmed. My boots scraped over the floor as I was practically being lifted. I could feel Hellsing’s hand clamping around my arm, Seraphine’s fingers pressed into my other side, steadying me. I saw the worry on his face when he glanced down at me, and I noticed the tight line in Seraphine’s mouth which meant this was serious.
Midnight Wytch.
That was where they were taking me.
Smart, I thought. It was All Hallows’ Eve. Seraphine would know what to do and she was the perfect person to help Hellsing. She’d be strong enough to do it. The night belonged to the dead, to spirits, to every dark thing that crawled out from under old tombs. If there was any night, she could reach whatever was inside me and rip it out, it was this one.
I tried to tell them. I tried to say thank you. I tried to sayhurry. But my mouth did not move.
As we stepped out into the street, I felt the cold, damp air hit hit my face, and I breathed it in. The Quarter was full of peoplein costumes, laughing, stumbling drunk along the cobblestones. Music spilled from every doorway, and eerie painted faces turned toward us, as if watching us.
