Claude reluctantly retrieved his phone and unlocked it. When he handed it to Borislav, the Vampire asked, “Who is your boss? Do not lie, or the little one will suffer.”
“Viktor,” Claude growled. “He’s in my contacts.”
“I know where it is.” Borislav scrolled a few times, reading their messages before he was satisfied. He was probably observing Claude’s manner of speech so he could send a believable message. When he finished writing a text, he crushed the phone in his hand.
“I can give you mine,” Gem said. “I swear, no funny stuff.” She crossed her fingers over her heart.
“Step out,” Borislav ordered. “Just remember who is in control.”
Gem casually walked toward the platform with a spring in her step. She didn’t want to make any sudden movements since Borislav was right. Gem knew exactly who was in charge.
After locating her phone, she unlocked it and opened up the contact list. Before he got suspicious, she offered it to him.
Borislav took a step back and held the phone up so he could look at them and the messages at the same time. “I see you are chatting to someone named Wyatt. Is he one of you?”
“He’s on our team.” She rolled her eyes. “He’s always asking us to bring him food.”
“Fries,” he muttered, reading the messages. Then he read his message aloud as he typed. “We will be out late. Don’t wait up, Spooky. No fries for you.”
This guy is good, she thought. He had taken notice of Wyatt’s nickname through the messages in addition to the way Gem spoke. But Gem would have never told Wyatt they weren’t bringing him food. That would be an invitation for an argument.
And on cue, the phone began vibrating and playing a Spice Girls ringtone.
Borislav frowned when he looked at the incoming call.
“You better answer,” she said in a bright voice. “Spooky likes his fries, and he’ll send in reinforcements if he doesn’t get any.”
When Borislav ended the call, it rang again.
While he was distracted, Gem widened her eyes at Claude and jerked her head, signaling him to run.
His nostrils flared, and when his gaze drifted down to her hands, she winked.
Gem put her hands behind her back, secretly creating a perfect energy ball that would intensify once thrown. She had learned a number of ways to create them, thanks to the Relic. Some split apart after throwing, and others worked like a bomb on impact. Given the space in the room and all the valuables, she certainly didn’t want to blow up all these beautiful artifacts.
Borislav cursed and then crushed the ringing phone in his hand. The pieces clacked against the floor.
The ball in her hand grew hot. She focused on holding that energy and concentrating the heat to make it powerful enough to incinerate him on contact.
“Run!” she shouted at Claude.
The second he ran off, Gem pitched the ball at Borislav. The blue energy shot at him like a bullet.
Borislav moved away, but not fast enough. The energy ball ripped through his arm and obliterated the small room behind them. The Vampire’s arm was gone—nothing remained but a charred stump. He bellowed in agony, and his black eyes burned hot with rage.
Gem grimaced at the sight and then flashed back twenty feet, firing up another one before he attacked.
When Borislav saw her doing that, he ran toward the freight elevator.
“Hurry!” Claude shouted, standing at a safe distance.
As the elevator doors began to close, Gem had to change her energy at the last minute and turn it into a grenade that would blast apart. That would make it less hot but more destructive. Just before the doors closed, she pitched the deadly ball, and it ripped through the gap.
The explosion knocked her off her feet. The metal doors dented outward, and smoke billowed through the crack. When she sat up and listened, she couldn’t tell if there was movement. “Is he dead?”
Claude covered his nose. “If not, he’ll wish he was.” He knelt by her side. “Are you okay, female?”
“Areyouokay, male?”
