“This is where I leave you,” Martin announced as they came to the last copse of trees before they reached the immediate yard around the house. He’d be close enough should anyone become injured, but he also wouldn’t be at risk of getting attacked by a Vampire.
“See you in a bit,” Cadence said, nodding at him. She hadn’t had the chance to work with him before, but Jamie said he was one of the best Healers he’d ever seen, so she was confident they’d be all right if someone got hurt. Under the circumstances, there was a good chance that was going to happen.
Cassidy said that as far as she knew, none of these eleven had ever shapeshifted, but she thought it was some sort of a power Holland could bestow upon a Vampire from a distance, and once the queen realized what was happening, she could become involved from afar. Since Cassidy was aware of this, she was going to do her best to create some sort of telepathic shield between the Vampires in Lexington and Holland, but she had no idea if she was even capable of doing that. So Cadence was prepared for just about anything.
While all eleven of them were bad mamajamas, it was Spittle that concerned her most. He’d become a turncoat only because he was captured by a small army of Guardians and Hunters about twenty years ago. Previously, he was both a biker dude and a tattoo artist. While there was no evidence he’d taken any innocents as a Vampire, the notes in his file made it evident that he may have. And he was a big guy, too. Before he was turned, he was six-four, two-eighty. Now, he could be any size he wanted within reason. He wouldn’t be easy to take out. Luckily, she’d also stolen Van’s knife, the one weapon that seemed to never fail them. It had been the blade she’d used to take out Carter, and she’d use it again tonight if she needed to. Hopefully, bullets and grenades would do the job, but something told her that would be too easy.
“Going to the back,” Ashley said, and Cadence nodded at her as the petite blonde took off like a shot, though she wasn’t nearly as fast as the souped-up version of a Hunter Cadence had become.
Elliott stopped about ten yards from the wide porch, surveying the front door. They knew it was likely locked, but as far as they could tell, there was no alarm system, which was what was allowing the Vampires to come and go. The fact that it was not yet tourist season had also allowed them to hide undetected here for the last few weeks, though there were still site workers in and out of the house. Unless Spittle had turned them, too.
“Ready?” the Guardian asked her.
Cadence surveyed the others before she said, “Let’s do it. Be safe.”
Elliott nodded at her and then, faster than her eyes could register, he slammed into and through the front door, leaving it lying flat on the ground in the entryway. She didn’t have time to admire the black and white checkered floor she’d seen in the photographs or the free-standing mahogany staircase. He was headed to the back of the house and the kitchen, and she followed, equally as fast. Behind her, she could make out the sound of footsteps taking the stairs and silently wished they’d done something to make the rest of the team faster.
It was almost as if Elliott knew where he was going, like he’d been there before. He hit the door that led to the cellar and knocked it in, flying down the stairs with his Glock in his hand, and Cadence just barely managed to keep up. “How are you doing that?”
“X-ray vision,” he replied, hitting the packed dirt floor hard enough to leave imprints.
“Right.” She had no idea how to activate that skill if she had it and decided now was probably not the time to experiment. Landing on the floor behind him, she drew her weapon and spun so that they were back to back.
They had definitely caught the Vampires off guard, but that didn’t mean they weren’t prepared to fight. There had to be at least six of them down here, which meant the other five were upstairs, and a quick glance at Brandon’s IAC showed that he and Meagan were nearing the top of the staircase to the third story, so she believed they would have company soon. She heard gunfire outside as well, and thought it was coming from the back of the house, which meant Ashley was already engaged.
There was no more time to survey the rest of her team, however, as two thick men, shaped like boulders, wound their way out of the shadows. Their fangs were bared, and Cadence couldn’t imagine that any of these creatures had ever lived peacefully in a building on the same campus she still called home.
Behind her, she heard Elliott open fire, but from the amount of curse words he was uttering, it didn’t seem like bullets were working too well. They hadn’t been able to get their hands on any of the titanium variety, and these regular silver infused ones had not been useful since Holland had come back. With that in mind, she holstered her gun and pulled one of the grenades out of her pocket.
Unfortunately, the two Vampires had split, so she’d have to choose one to aim at with the grenade and then launch herself at the other. Since the one to her left looked slightly more menacing than his partner, she decided he’d be the one to take the silver nitrate bath. She pulled the pin out of the grenade, waited a few seconds to make sure he wouldn’t have time to react, and then tossed it. A second later, there was a flash of light, an explosion, and the room filled with smoke. The Vampire let out a scream, the kind Cadence liked to hear filling the air, and the smoke cleared just in time for her to see him poof into ash.
While she could’ve tossed her last grenade at the other Vampire, she decided to save it for Spittle, should she encounter him later. The man in front of her looked slightly frightened after seeing his partner disintegrate so quickly, but as she ran at him full speed, his expression shifted, and a look of rage took over. She slammed into him, pushing him back against the wall. He wasn’t prepared for her speed or her strength, but he pulled himself up and rushed her.
