Harlow frowned when the tunnel began to heat up, and then oddly, steam began to fill the area. Just as he was getting a bad feeling, the vampires in the group with him stopped, letting out hisses as they covered their faces.
“It burns,” Oceana said. “They must…the steam…it must be evaporated holy water. I would have never guessed it would be this potent in this form”
“And these idiots here were all acting as if I’m the barbaric one,” Harlow growled and glared at the priest. “Move it!” He pressed the gun harder against the guy’s head.
The priest yelped, crying out, “I’m going!”
Harlow shook his head at how pathetic the man was. “We will try to turn the steam off. Stay here until we figure it out.”
“No,” Oceana said firmly. “Our people need us. We will not spare ourselves pain when we know they are suffering in this even now.” The other vampires nodded in agreement.
“Suit yourselves,” Harlow said with a grunt, but he nodded with slight approval. It was good to know he wasn’t working with cowards.
Then he heard it…crying… Was that…a child?
Marching forward, he seized the priest’s arm, dragging him behind him instead of following, tired of his slow pace. Harlow’s eyes widened as the dark tunnel began to lighten. Picking up his speed, he practically ran towards the light, dragging the priest the whole way.
It took a moment for his eyes to adjust as he stepped into the brightly lit room. When they had, he just stared. The room was square, filled with steam and water. In the middle was a large stone platform. While it was hard to see through all the steam, he could tell there were people lying prone on top of it. Except…what looked like one small figure—the crying child.
Squinting, he realized the child was on their knees, shaking someone…
“Foxx!” he cried out.
The figure of the child flinched, moving, but he couldn’t make out anything beyond that they had moved.
He looked at the priest in his grasp. “So, this is where you bring them to die? You surround them with holy water and make the very air they breathe burn them? Can it be turned off?” he snapped, shaking the man.
“Yes!”
“Then do it! Turn it all off!” he growled, tossing him to the ground.
The priest grunted in pain as he fell, and then stared…hesitating.
Before he could do it himself, he heard the click of a gun. Oceana had a Glock pointed right at the man’s head. “Do it now, or I’ll shoot you. This steam shit may work on young vampires, and those you have already weakened, but for someone like me, who just fucking got here, it’s a nuisance at best. Turn it off or I’ll shoot you and use your blood to sully your precious holy water instead.”
The guy jumped up, rushing towards a panel at the back where he started pressing buttons.
“Drain the water too,” she snapped.
“Uhh,” the guy muttered.
“Do it, or die!” Harlow growled, having had about enough of this.
The guy pressed another button and the water began to swirl, even as the steam started to lessen.
Too impatient to wait for the pool to finish draining, Harlow ran down the steps, rushing through the water to the platform, even as it came up waist high.
“Foxx!” he cried out again, when the steam cleared enough and he saw that the person the child had been shaking was none other than his partner.
Seeing him rushing through the water, the child spun, tears in her eyes. She hissed when Harlow jumped up onto the platform. Small fangs flashing, claws growing, she stood there in front of Foxx’s body, blocking his way.
NO! It wasn’t his body… It couldn’t be. He stared, ignoring the child. His knees almost gave out the moment he saw Foxx’s chest rise and fall heavily. Foxx was alive!
His gaze flicked to the small child. She didn’t even come up to his sternum, and she looked harmless, despite the claws and fangs—the little girl was literally in a fucking nightgown.
As they locked eyes, Harlow had to hold back his urge to just pick her up and toss her out of the way. And the only reason he managed restraint, was probably because Foxx was still breathing. That and…he was pretty sure Sephira had not been talking about this child when she had said to use extreme violence against‘them’.
“I am not here to hurt him, child. I am here to help.”
