I paced the room. Sparrow knew that if Lenore joined him, it wouldn’t be a trick just to get her life back. She would see it through until the end. But he must have had doubts about the others.
I cocked my head and looked at Gem. “Did you hear that?”
I could have sworn I’d heard what sounded like a primal screech, and it wasn’t the trumpets.
“No. But your hearing’s better than mine, remember? Maybe it’s Wyatt screaming like a banshee.” After cuffing everyone, Gem dusted off her hands and rejoined me near the door. “Do you want me to guard them?”
“We need you. We’ll worry about them later,” I said before raising my voice. “If anyone tries to outrun wolves with their hands cuffed, I want tickets to that show. If they want to live to see another day, they’ll sit tight.”
I marched over to a table where we kept throwing knives. They weren’t stunners, but these people might get desperate and start hacking off their own hands. Gem held her satchel open while I dumped the weapons inside.
After tossing the dead guard into the room to give them something to think about, we shut the door and hiked up the stairs. Gem stuffed the weapons in a kitchen cabinet but kept a dagger in hand. On our way to the foyer, I glimpsed myself in a hall mirror. For once, I didn’t look like a train wreck after a fight. No blood, no torn dress, and not a hair out of place.
“If we survive this, I bet Viktor will take all the repairs out of my paycheck,” Gem quipped.
“You should have blown open the front door.”
“And destroy those beautiful statues? Never!”
The second we entered the foyer, a Vampire sprinted toward us. Claude sailed through the air from the stairwell and knocked him against the wall. They struck a table, toppled a vase, and briefly struggled before Claude impaled him. When Claude rose to his feet, his eyes were black, and a spotted pattern rippled across his bare chest like a mirage. They were similar to the markings of a wild cheetah. All four of his fangs were out, and he drew in short breaths as he searched the room.
Gem cautiously offered him a dagger. “Do you need this?”
Claude pulled her against him protectively.
“Stop hovering!” Gem wriggled free and dusted off her dress. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, but thank you for the gesture.” She wagged her finger at him. “I know you can hear me in there, Claude Valentine. If you pick me up and carry me off, I swear to the fates I’ll never buy you donuts again.”
While they had a moment, I branched away. I no longer cared about killing Vampires—I wanted to find Sparrow.
Remembering the guard in the courtyard, I jogged behind the stairs to the glass doors. A Vampire in white slacks and a grey shirt guarded them, and when he saw me, he put up his fists.
“Don’t bother,” I said, feeling a rush of anger.
When he flashed his fangs and lunged, I backhanded him. The force knocked him across the small area and against the wall.
Claude appeared out of nowhere and knelt down, placing a blade to the man’s throat.
Turning away, I flung the french doors open and scoped the area. Two men were lying in the snow, arrows protruding from their chests at an odd angle. No one guarded the covered veranda. I surveyed the grounds through the stone archways but saw no other guards. Snow covered the grass except beneath the trees. There were tracks all over, but they were impossible to follow. They must have been pacing out here for hours. I glanced at the heated pool to my left and jumped when a body struck the ground in the courtyard. A woman landed on her face, an arrow in her back. A second later, a long, curved instrument struck the branches of a tree and hit one of our benches. It looked like we wouldn’t be hearing the trumpet blaring anymore.
Blue leaned over the edge of the roof. My breath caught when she jumped off and then shifted. Her falcon sailed down into the courtyard, circling me before shifting to human form. Blue rose to her feet, one finger pressed to her lips. As she approached, Gem entered the courtyard and joined our huddle.
“He’s here.” Blue pointed her finger around a corner I hadn’t yet checked. The courtyard wasn’t shaped like a rectangle—more like the letterL. “No one’s guarding him. His men are either inside the house or fighting.”
I stared past the heated pool in that direction. “Are you sure he’s alone?”
“My falcon has sharp vision. There’s no one else. I took care of those guys and another one on the roof.” Blue snapped her fingers at Claude when he started to walk that way, likely picking up on Sparrow’s scent.
Despite being fully primal, he comprehended and waited for us. Claude’s venom could paralyze a Mage, but if he wasn’t in full control, it could kill the man we were trying to capture alive. The venom also wasn’t immediate, so Sparrow would have time to retaliate. To top it off, there was no way to know if Sparrow had acquired any immunity against Chitah venom.
“I don’t like this,” I said quietly, scanning the windows and an upper balcony. “I thought he might corner himself in a room, but he’s a Mage. Too many places around here to flash and run. We could be playing cat and mouse all day.”
“That odious man doesn’t think anyone can touch him.” Gem narrowed her eyes. “That’s why he’s out here in the garden. But there’re four of us and only one of him.”
Remembering how fast he could draw a weapon of light, I lowered my gaze. “I need a stunner.”
Blue crouched. “Be right back.” While shifting, she kicked off the ground and flew out of sight.
“I’ll keep him from running.” Gem rubbed two fingers together, charging up her energy. “You go ahead of me, and I’ll block him.”
