Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(85)

There was a distant rumble humming through the air and accompanied by a little shake of the pavement. It sounded like a car was moving through the garage above us. I didn’t think much of it because it was only logical cars would be moving around a parking garage. Hopefully said car didn’t barrel through at the wrong time and drive right through the door that was about to open.

The baby jumped up and down in Haweigh’s arms almost as though the sounds made her dance. The car seemed to be getting closer, and the closer it got, the more it sounded less like a car than a really big truck. The rumble grew. The shaking continued until the ceiling above us began to quiver.

Halfer. It had to be Halfer. He was coming for me. He’d found out I couldn’t make our late-night meeting and moved the timeline up. My stomach twisted. I locked eyes with Sarah.

“I’ll try to protect you any way I can,” she said, sniffling a little. “I’m so sorry, Z.”

Craigen pulled me close to him, and at first I thought he was trying to protect me. Then he put a gun against my head. To clarify, he put Sarah’s gun against my head. It was nice to know we helped them upgrade.

The ground beneath my feet seemed to vibrate. I gave up on the vehicular metaphors in favor of power tools. This was a jack hammer, and it was coming our way.

The faeries were speaking to each other in rapid-fire Elvish. I don’t know precisely what they said, but I guessed the recriminations were flying around. Words weren’t the only things flying. I ducked as chunks of concrete began to rain down, small at first and then larger as a hole began to form.

Lang pushed Sarah onto her knees and slightly behind him. It seemed a better protected position than what Craigen had me in. She looked up at me with wide eyes, and we were both just waiting. Halfer was making his entrance, and we were all screwed. Who else could punch his way through six levels of concrete?

“So sorry,” she said again.

I nodded because I was beyond being pissed at her. I tried to shift in Craigen’s arms, but he held me fast.

“Can we go through?” I tried to gesture to the vague place where I thought the veil would be.

“No.” He kept his eyes trained on the hole in the ceiling. It had started out small, but suddenly it was man-sized. His every muscle was tense and prepared for something bad to happen. “It’s too early.”

“You should let me and Sarah go. A demon is coming through that hole and I don’t know that he’ll let you live.” I looked at Haweigh, desperate to make her understand. “He wants the child. Please. Please. Run. Hide her. I’ll lie. I’ll give you time.”

If Halfer took the child, everything I had sacrificed would be wasted.

But it was too late. Too late to bargain. Too late to pray. Too late for everything because he was here.

A dark figure fell through the hole, though I shouldn’t use the word fell. Fell implies some loss of control. This was intensely deliberate. He landed on one knee, catching himself on those hands that had finished clearing the way to his target. Me.

My whole spirit soared because it wasn’t Halfer on the floor.

Daniel looked up, and I finally understood what he’d been trying to tell me for the last five years. He wasn’t human. He was a monster, and he was capable of killing everyone in that room and never feeling a moment of regret. He would enjoy the ripping and tearing, and he would no doubt revel in the blood. He was Vampire, and there was no going back.

And I still loved him.

“All right, vampire,” Craigen said, trying really hard to keep his voice steady. “Stay back. I know you’re fast, but this is right against her brain. I don’t want to hurt her.”

Daniel stood, turning toward me, those alien eyes fastening right on mine. He spoke to Craigen, but never took those eyes off me. His voice seemed to fill the room with his will. “You have my mate. Give her to me, and I’ll kill you quickly.”

Haweigh held her hand up, and the pressure left the room. Of all the faeries, she was the only who seemed calm. The men were tense and the baby practically jumped with glee, squirming to try to get to Daniel. But Haweigh was patient. “Impressive, vampire, but you are misreading the situation.”

“My mate is covered in blood, and you say I’m misreading the situation,” Daniel growled. “I may sleep during the day, but don’t assume that I can’t hear what goes on around me. I know what you did. Now, I’m going to give this warning once and only once. Give me my companion, or I’ll kill you all. It will give me pleasure to rip you apart, and I will keep you alive as long as possible. You’ll die knowing that I will find a way to your precious Faery plane, and I will kill your tribe and everything they love. When I’m done with it, your plane will make Hell look pleasant. It will be a dumping ground for the bodies of my victims. Now give me my mate.”

Craigen swore in Gaelic, but that wasn’t hard to translate. I also think he might have peed a little bit.

“I believe the vampire is serious, Craigen,” Haweigh said slowly. “Perhaps you should allow Miss Wharton to go.”

“If I do, he’ll kill us.” Craigen’s hands were shaking, and I prayed the trigger on that gun was steady.

“I think Miss Wharton might be able to sway him if you’ll let her go,” Haweigh reasoned. “If you keep her much longer, I believe the bloodlust will take over and not even her reason will be able to sway him then.”