“There’s nowhere to hide,” Wyatt insisted. “She can’t sneak up on them in the daylight. They’ll see her.”
Viktor raised his index finger. “But they won’t hear her, and that’s something we can use.”
Gem stopped twirling her hair and branched away from the hall. “You wantmeto go? Alone?”
“You are the only one Christian cannot hear. That may change by morning. If you flash across the grounds, they might not see you. Let us talk through this. What are everyone’s thoughts?”
“It’s still risky.” I draped my dress over my exposed legs. “What if we create a diversion and distract them long enough for her to get inside?”
Gem shook her head. “I’m fast, Viktor. You know I’m fast. I’ve been training for something like this my whole Mage life. But my dress… it lights up. I can’t perform a sneak attack in this. I’m a walking Christmas tree.”
Viktor sat pensively in the chair. “I will ask Miss Parrish how many servants she hired from Sparrow for her party so we can have an estimate. But we do not know where they are all positioned. In my experience, most of them will be close to their leader. The others will be guarding entrances, vantage points, and perhaps the courtyard.”
“We didn’t see that many outside,” Shepherd said. “Not to say they weren’t hiding in the bushes, but when we drove over the other night, they were in the most obvious places by the house. One in the shadows out front, another on the balcony. Didn’t see anyone on the roof, but it was dark.”
I rubbed my eyes, feeling a little sleepy. “Vampires don’t sleep, so they probably stare outside all day and night through the windows.”
Gem clasped her hands together, her eyes brightening. “What if we create a loud distraction?”
Wyatt rolled a piece of paper into a straw before letting it unfurl. “I have a buddy who sells cannons and other artillery.”
Viktor reclined his head. “That will alert them of danger. I want a distraction. What about… fireworks? They are common in celebrations.”
Wyatt shrugged. “I guess we’ll have ourselves a regular Fourth of Ghouly.”
Gem put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at Wyatt. “I’mnota ghoul.”
“No. You’re just a dead girl who lights up.”
“That would work,” Christian said, breaking up the banter. “We hate fireworks and loud noises. It’ll disrupt their hearing, and some of them might temporarily mute everything to block the sound.”
“Everything?” I asked.
“A gun firing once doesn’t bother us since we have an internal defense mechanism, but that doesn’t apply toward continual sounds. Professional fireworks range at extremely high decibels to a Vampire, and it’s impossible to block it while still hearing everything else. They’ll either suppress their hearing entirely or suffer through the deafening sound.”
“Interesting.” I struggled to think of a way we could take out a number of Vampires at once. “What about wooden bullets? Can we use those as a weapon?”
Christian chuckled darkly. “They won’t break the skin. Perhaps if you’re close up, but how close do you want to get to an angry Vampire? Arrows work better.”
“Only from a short distance,” Blue countered. “Unless you’re an excellent shot.”
I got up and moved to the end of the bed. “There’s something I’ve been thinking about. Sparrow said we’re between worlds—cursed to walk this realm forever. Forever is a strong word, even for an immortal. Does that mean we can’t die?”
Blue sat next to me. “I’ve been thinking about that too.”
“Perhaps you can die,” Niko suggested, “but there are different rules.”
Wyatt scoffed. “Well, I don’t volunteer as tribute.”
“Maybe you should.” Shepherd crushed his cigarette out on the wall seconds before it magically disappeared. “Make yourself useful. Take one for the team.”
“I’m getting the cannons. Fireworks. Whatever.”
Shepherd ripped off his white jacket and tossed it on the bed. As he paced, it reappeared back on him. “We can’t fuck this up. No matter what happens, I don’t want my kid hurt. Not a single scratch. If we can’t do this right, we don’t do it at all. I don’t see how a fucking sparkler is going to make any difference. We have open grounds. One of those toothy little fuckers will see us—see Gem. Even if she does make it to the door, she’ll have to blast it with a fireball to get in. You think they’re keeping the doors unlocked?”
“Thereisanother way,” Viktor offered quietly. “A secret way.”
The bed moved when Gem sat to my left. “What secret way?”
