Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(158)

“Yes, cara,” he said. “I’m afraid you still glow for all of the vampires. I don’t think any of us quite considered the implications when we began.”

The implications were huge. These were vampires caught up in blood lust. Many of them had lost a large portion of their blood volume. They were dying and I was a bright bag of sweet, sweet healing just walking around for the taking. Daniel loved me dearly, but when he was close to death I feared his beast because the instinct was to live and I was a vampire’s best shot. My bright glow made me stand out. It was a big neon sign saying “get it here.”

Marcus’s dark eyes searched the crowd and I knew he was terrified that those vampires would be coming for me. “I need to get you out of here. There are a couple of places where we might be able to slip away.”

A pair of fighting vampires landed on the ground next to us. They were locked in mortal combat, their claws at each other’s throats. I recognized Henri Jacobs. He was married to a friend of mine and had helped Marcus save Dev’s life a while back. He was losing his fight. He was beneath a big vampire I knew from my time in the catacombs, one of Louis’s thugs. His fangs were out and his claws were making a mottled mess of Henri’s throat. The smaller vampire tried to kick his opponent off, but he couldn’t get a really good position. Henri Jacobs was seconds away from leaving his wife a widow. I really couldn’t stand the thought of that.

I moved from behind Marcus and put the muzzle of my gun against the bigger vampire’s head and, with no remorse at all, I pulled the trigger. The bullet was silver and the vampire’s brain couldn’t handle it. At such close range, I had blown away a large enough portion of his brain that it worked as a decapitation. The vampire seemed to swell briefly and then he turned to dust and covered Henri’s body.

Marcus growled and pulled me back, cursing in Italian.

“Thanks,” Henri said, jumping up and dusting off his former opponent from his clothes. He stared at me for a moment, his fangs long in his mouth. He turned away from me. “Marcus, you have to get her out of here. I heard Marini telling his men to get her and bring her to him. He’s being a coward. He won’t stop and face the king. He keeps moving just out of range, killing weaker fighters but not letting Daniel get near him. He thinks he can get out of this if he can lay his hands on the queen.”

“I am trying,” Marcus replied.

“Well, try harder,” Henri said. “I don’t think Marini will let her live.”

“Why aren’t they fleeing into the catacombs?” I asked as Henri leapt back into the fray and Marcus continued his careful maneuvering toward his destination somewhere at the back of the arena. At least we were behind our own lines now. “Doesn’t it make sense for them to get those doors open and move this fight into the residential parts?”

They could employ more of a guerilla mentality.

Marcus pointed toward the top of the arena. “They’ve tried to get the doors open but I’m afraid Daniel’s witch is very strong.”

She was hidden behind a group of Fae warriors, but I could see Sarah Day standing far away from the battle. She didn’t have to be close to be effective. She held her hands out and was concentrating on the door. She was dressed for protection, her torso covered in Kevlar and a helmet on her head. Her husband, Felix, stood at her side, watching the battle with a worried look on his face. I was sure he thought about the baby Sarah was carrying. She was five months pregnant and the bulge in her belly was barely visible under the protective Kevlar. Beside her stood my father’s girlfriend, Christine. Her mouth was moving and I knew she was chanting quietly, lending strength to Sarah’s spells. Christine might not be the greatest witch in the world, but she was good at adding power to a spell.

“Daniel couldn’t keep her away,” Marcus said. “She showed up in London with your father and Felix. She promised to stay out of the line of fire and to follow the orders of Declan’s guards.

“Is that my dad?” Tears filled my eyes. My dad was here.

“Yes, cara, he wouldn’t stay away either.”

My father was watching the action. His eyes were following Danny and Dev, watching to make sure they were all right. He stood behind his Fae guards and I knew it was killing him that I was down here.

“I need to take you to Neil,” Marcus said. “The vampires won’t care about your father and they probably don’t even realize what Sarah is doing, but they will notice you.”

I nodded, wishing I could climb the stairs and join my father, but I was one big walking target and I didn’t want to bring the war to them. Sarah was being incredibly effective. There was so much chaos that no one really noticed they had an audience and if they did they would have to look very closely to see the small, pregnant female who was blocking their exit. I was satisfied Sarah and the rest were as safe as they could possibly be here.

We were closing in on the opening in the sides of the arena Marcus had pointed out earlier. I breathed a small sigh of relief. We were close.

Marcus gave me a nod and then broke for the opening that lay roughly a hundred feet ahead. I started to follow but my poor human feet sank into the sand, making running very difficult. My sneakers felt like the ground was sucking at them and I fell behind. Marcus cursed as he came back and hauled me up into his arms.

He ran the last hundred feet, his long legs eating the distance in a way mine never could. The sand didn’t bother him. He powered through and then we were inside the shelter of the archway. Marcus set me down and I turned to see the battlefield. Daniel was looking for someone, probably Marini. He was covered in blood, but it didn’t seem to be his. The combatants around him gave him a wide berth, some actually running when they realized he was near.