Suddenly Cinder reappears before us, her eyes shining with excitement. “Lord Magnus and the hunting party are back!” she exclaims.
I let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness. Now we can get this show on the road.
Sunny bounces from the log as her boyfriend approaches the fire pit. He’s dirty and drained and skinny, his already chiseled cheekbones looking even more gaunt than usual, complementing the dark circles under his eyes.
“Mag!” Sunny cries, throwing her arms around him as if she hadn’t seen him for weeks. “Look who’s here! Jareth and Rayne!”
Even from here, I can see Magnus’s startle at the news. He breaks from Sunny’s hug and approaches the two of us, a string of dead rats in his hands. (I try not to remember that’s what I just finished drinking.)
“Jareth,” he says, addressing my boyfriend in a stern voice. “What is the meaning of this?”
I can see Jareth’s face pale as he rises stiffly to greet his co-master and friend. I wince. In my excitement to rescue Sunny and Magnus, I kind of forgot about the fact that Jareth is technically going against his friend’s wishes by coming here.
“My lord,” Jareth says, bowing low. “There has been a threat against your life. Pyrus has learned where you are and is, even now, sending out a team to oust you. We must get you and Sunshine to safety as quickly as possible.”
Magnus does not seem surprised by the news. Instead, he looks angry. “You broke your promise,” he growls. “You abandoned the coven. How many times did I tell you, I’d rather die than have my people suffer.” He gestures to the shantytown around us. “Do you not see what could happen if Pyrus doubts your loyalty and kicks our vampires from the Consortium? Would you really want this for our people?”
I cringe. I see what he’s saying, of course. But damn—Jareth was only trying to help him! “Look,” I interject. “You need to chill. No one’s going to take the Blood Coven away. Pyrus has no idea that we’re here. We took all the precautions—private plane, assumed names and fake IDs, disguises—the works! So why don’t you cut Jareth a little slack here and maybe thank him for coming all this way to save your sorry ass?”
But Magnus refuses to look in my direction or acknowledge my words. Instead, his green eyes pierce through Jareth. “Perhaps,” he says, “you are unaware of Pyrus’s propensity for trackers then.”
Wait, what?
Even from here, I can see Jareth’s hard swallow. “Trackers?”
“Micro GPS. Usually sewn into a piece of clothing. Who has had access to your clothing in the last twenty-four hours?”
Jareth shrugs. “No one,” he says. “I mean, just the dry cleaners.”
“And you picked up the dry cleaning yourself?”
“Well, no. I had Marcia…” Jareth trails off, his face rife with horror. “You don’t think…”
Drake steps up, holding a finger to his lips. He whistles once and a moment later Fluffy and a few of her Chupacabra friends approach. He speaks to them in a language I don’t understand and a moment later they’re on Jareth, sniffing him to an inch of his life.
Jareth scowls. “I am sure, Magnus, I would be aware if—”
Fluffy lets out a howl, pawing Jareth’s left pant leg. Then she opens her mouth and rips at the fabric. Sure enough, a tiny piece of metal—the size of a pin, clatters to the stone floor. You know that saying about it being so quiet you can hear a pin drop? Well, there you go. Drake steps forward, grinding the piece of metal with his foot.
“Oh God,” I whisper, staring at Jareth. He looks at me, his face stark white, then at Magnus.
A loud braying cuts through the silence of the camp. Followed by the sound of a hundred stampeding footsteps.
Sunny looks at me in horror, then at Magnus. “Oh, Rayne,” she whispers. “What have you done?”
12
The camp erupts in activity, with Cinder leading the charge. Gone is the innocent girl with hollow eyes—now she’s like a warrior princess as she barks orders to the camp. The vampires emerge from their tents armed with sticks and rocks and metal bars—and a few rusty knives here and there. At their feet, the Chupacabra swarm—teeth bared and claws on the ready. Cinder yells something in Spanish, raising her own staff above her head and the Chupacabra break into a sprint, racing down the dark passageways to meet the threat head-on. Meanwhile the vampires scurry to stand together, ready for the inevitable onslaught. To be honest, they look quite a sad and sorry bunch—undernourished and sickly—but they wear fierce determination on their hollow faces—making me half believe they may stand a chance.
Someone grabs my shoulder and I whirl around, heart in my throat. It’s Magnus, looking down at me with wild eyes. “Rayne, there’s a secret passageway through the purple tent at the back of the camp. It leads back out into the sewers.”
I stare at him, uncomprehending. “Are you kidding? I can fight! I can help!” I hold up my stake in my hand.
“I know you can. But I don’t want Sunny in danger,” he explains. “I’d take her myself, but it’s my fault these vampires are being attacked. I must do what I can to save them. But in order to do that, I have to know that Sunny’s safe.” He pauses as the roar of beasts grows closer. “Go now!” he commands. “Before they get here!”
I nod, giving him a small salute before taking off to go find my sister. After some searching I locate her at Cinder’s side, fairy wings fully furled and a dagger in her hand.