“It’s Dresden.”
I snatched the phone out of André’s hand before I could reason, answering the call.
“Natasha!”
My dad came on the screen, but he wasn’t the dad I remembered. Wolf claw marks that seemed to be taking too long to heal spread along his forehead, neck, and chest. There was dried blood all over him, and deep bruises spread along his arms and bare chest. He had on a pair of tattered pants that fit him wrong, telling me they weren’t his.
“Dad!” I gasped, and everyone gathered around me.
“Listen to me, baby. I don’t have much time. This place is surrounded by power blockers.” He shifted the phone to show what looked like towers in the near distance.
“Are those cell towers?” André murmured behind me.
“They are the only reason I was finally able to call you, but they are also powered by something else. Whatever technology they are using won’t allow certain powers,” Dresden explained.
“It blocked me from sensing him,” Bjørn realized.
“We are trying to destroy one of them so I can shift again,” Dad informed, restlessly looking around him while loud clangs came from the other side.
Shift again?
“He is too vulnerable without his wolf,” Isis whispered but then tried to mask her worry for my benefit.
“Have you found Mom?”
“Um,” he blinked, seeming confused and exhausted as he rubbed his face. “They have her somewhere around here, but we haven’t been able to reach them. This place is bursting with Vampiri. It’s like they formed some kind of cult.”
“Where are you, Dresden?” Hannes urged, fearing the connection might get cut.
“It became evident immediately that we couldn’t fight them head-on, so we followed them here.” He sighed, shaking his head. “They built a makeshift fort here in the desert. There are a lot of them here… It took everything for us to even get this far.” Dad looked around again.
Dresden’s erratic behavior suddenly became evident, he was watching out for an attack.
“We found the bodies of several groups of Hunters discarded after we crossed the blocking barriers. They used them and then tossed them aside. I think they let crawlers feed on the Hunters, draining their blood.”
His words caused a chill to spread down my spine.
“What about your shifters and Dariah’s guard?” André interjected. “Are you guys still holding strong?”
“I need to shift,” Dad murmured, his eyes sweeping the terrain over and over. It was an urgent reminder to himself, but we all heard him. When his eyes returned to the screen, he shook his head. “Only four of her guards are still with me. Everyone else is gone.”
Dead.
“Dad, where are you?” I pressed. “Bjørn is here. He’ll take us to?—”
“No!” Dresden roared, his gaze becoming crazed. “You listen to me,” he demanded, glancing at the guys. “Do not bring my daughter to Cairo. They want her blood.” His gaze focused on Hannes. “Send me back up, butdonotlet Natasha come.”
His voice broke, even as rage ignited in his eyes.
“Anastasia’s visions can’t be changed, but this is bigger than us. If Françoys gets to my daughter…” he shook his head.
“We can help you, Dad,” I insisted. “I’m not the same girl you met. They won’t get to me.”
“The risk is too great, baby. We can’t lose you again.” Tears gathered in his eyes. “Do not?—"
A loud bang echoed in the back, and we watched the tower closest to them collapse. Its crash made the entire area tremble.
Relief seemed to enter his face, swiftly replaced by fresh urgency. With the cell tower gone, the call began to glitch.
