“It’s completely dark now,” Gem observed, peering through the gap in the curtains. They had the TV blaring to drown out their conversation from any Vampires who might be outside the window or in the hall.
Niko sharpened a stake from his spot on the floor near the window. “Do we have any more wood?”
Christian stared at the pile of broken furniture in the corner. “That’s both chairs.”
Gem suddenly raised the window, and Blue’s falcon swooped inside. The moment her talons touched the carpet, she shifted to human form.
Blue stood and swept her cloak behind her shoulders. “The roof and street are clear. Unless they’re dressed like hookers, chances are they’re inside the building. Assuming Sparrow sent anyone for us.”
Christian dusted off his hands. “I can only guess where an eejit might hide. If they charmed the man downstairs, they might have our room numbers. Odds are they’re somewhere in the stairwells, lobby, or elevators.”
She lifted her dress a few inches in an unladylike manner and plopped down at the foot of the bed. “We’re sitting ducks.”
“Aye. But the ducks are armed.” Christian turned the onyx ring on his middle finger. Raven was the only thing that kept him focused on his goal. “Vampires are patient creatures, so they’ll wait. If we don’t get them now, we’ll never leave. Perhaps that is their intention. To keep us here. They’re not expecting us to hunt them, so that’s what I’m gonna do.”
Niko handed Viktor another small stake, this one no more than five inches long.
“We are not changing plans,” Viktor stated as fact. “When Shepherd cuts the power in the basement, that is our signal.”
Blue scratched at her long sleeve. “What if he’s dead, Viktor? What if Shepherd didn’t make it? If one of them was in the elevator—”
“Shep isn’t dead,” Wyatt said, munching on a piece of candy. “If he was, he’d come and let us have it. You think he’d really leave his kid? Nope. That’s the guy who will linger behind like all the other ghosties.”
Blue sighed. “I’m sorry to question you, Viktor. I wasn’t here during your team meeting, so I don’t understand how throwing us in the dark is the best idea.Theycan see in the dark;wecan’t.”
Christian tossed a duffel bag next to her. “When we went out to buy the computer, I picked up these. Figured it was better to have them just in case. Had I known then we’d be under attack, I would have stopped by the lumberyard.”
She unzipped the bag and looked inside. “Flashlights?”
Christian strode over and pulled one out of the bag. “Tactical flashlights. Most of these are about twenty thousand lumens. Obviously not as bright as the sun, but it does the job. The effect is more jarring in the dark. Tap the button once to turn on the strobe feature. Do it when you’re close enough to impale them. You’ll only have a few seconds of borrowed time. This one here”—Christian took out a larger flashlight—“is a hundred thousand lumens.”
From the bed by the closet, Wyatt’s hand shot up. “That one’s mine.”
Gem flipped onto her stomach, ankles crossed in the air. “Dream on, Spooky.”
“Why not pull the fire alarm or start a fire?” Blue suggested. “Flashing lights, loud noise, people rushing into the hallways in a panic. The fire department and police will show up.”
“Which is what we do not want.” Viktor twisted around and set the stake on the dresser with the others. “You put more human lives in danger. They will force everyone onto the street. Where do we go from there? They will follow us, keep us on the run until we split apart. I cannot waste my time with this nonsense. We will never take back Keystone until these men are out of the photo.”
“Picture.” Gem turned on her side, twirling impalement wood between her fingers. “This is the first time I’m actually glad my dress lights up. No one can sneak up on me in the dark.”
“Gem will stand in the hall,” Viktor explained further. “If we are in danger, she will knock twice and fight them off until we can join her. I want them to come to us, not the other way around.”
When everyone looked at Gem, tempted to rib her for being their guard, she dropped the stake and rolled a ball of energy between two fingers.
Viktor spoke loud enough that they could hear him over the TV. “Christian will search the stairwell and lobby after Shepherd cuts the power. Claude will go upstairs to guard the boy. Chitahs can see well enough in the dark, and he is quick. Claude will provide stakes for Mr. Graves on the rare chance that a Vampire gets inside.”
Christian tossed Claude a flashlight. “And that’s why the kitty gets the big light.”
Claude held his position near the sliding closet door. He pressed the flashlight button once, and the beam shone in Wyatt’s eyes.
“Holy Toledo! Turn it off, you maniac.”
Claude grinned. “This’ll do.”
Blue picked up a stake. “What do you want us to do with these?”
Viktor pushed away from the dresser. “These are for our next mission, so we must save as many as we can. If Vampires break into the room, you have my permission to useone.”
