Vengeance (The Captive #6)(65)
“We may not be able to make it back here tonight,” he said to Abbott and Pallas. “Don’t worry if we don’t and continue on as if nothing has changed. We’ll return here as soon as we can.”
“We will,” Pallas assured him.
William tugged Tempest’s hood into place, then checked to make sure none of the shoe polish rubbed off on it. “You’re to stay beside me, no matter what,” he told her.
“I will,” she promised.
“I mean it Tempest; if you don’t stay by my side, I’ll drag you back here.”
“That attention probably wouldn’t be for the best.” Her tone was teasing, but a muscle near his eye jumped to life; his hands curled around the edge of her hood as he held her close. He’d said yes to this, but the last thing he wanted was for her to step outside and into whatever was going on out there. Her hands encircled his; she squeezed them reassuringly. “I’ll stay by your side.”
He took a deep breath and forced himself to let go of her hood. Taking a step away, he fought the impulse to seize hold of her hand and drag her from this town. He never should have brought her back here, he realized. He should have taken her to Aria and Braith, and all of their troops who could have stood guard over her.
He never could have taken her to them without coming here first, he realized in the next instant. He’d give up his life for her, but there were thousands upon thousands of other lives that depended on the king and queen too. Tempest was immeasurably important to him, but the peace they’d all helped to establish was immeasurably important to thousands. He couldn’t have taken her to Aria and Braith without knowing at least something of what they might be facing.
He now understood how Braith and Aria had felt when they’d had to choose the greater good over each other. He didn’t like it one bit, but it had to be done.
Tempest turned away from him, she embraced her friends before following him out the backdoor.
CHAPTER 22
William kept his head up as they made their way down the snow-covered street. Vampires moved around them, going about their business with no idea that he and Tempest lurked within their midst. These vampires were confident no one would uncover what they were up to, at least not until they were able to inflict the maximum amount of damage. They’d probably assumed Tempest had been lost in the storm or killed by the monsters they’d set loose in the mountains. They were overconfident enough to have become careless.
That was one thing on their side, he decided.
He kept his ears attuned to the conversations surrounding them, but most of them were rather mundane comments about the steel gray sky and the possibility of more snow. He hadn’t expected them to be openly talking about their plans, but he’d hoped for some explanation as to what was going on in this small town.
“The blood bank is down the road on our left. Pallas and I shared a home on that road,” Tempest said.
William continuously searched the vampires surrounding them. He didn’t plan to go after Kane, not with her at his side, but he wanted to see the piece of garbage again. “Take me past the blood bank.” She made a left and headed down a different street. “Do you see anyone you recognize?”
She lifted her head and glanced over the vampires before ducking her head again. “I’ve seen a few I recognize from town, but most I don’t know.”
They walked to the end of the road where she made a right and led the way down another street. The road wrapped around the back of the hotel, revealing the back of the large, red brick building. It was one of only a few buildings made from brick in the town. William’s eyes ran over the back of the building. All of the curtains were drawn over the windows, but he could see the flicker of candles through the drapes. At least a hundred cloaked vampires stood in the backyard, their shoulders thrown back, their chins raised and their right hands clasping a spear like the good soldiers they were.
Turning a corner, they walked down the road running along the side of the building. There were at least another hundred soldiers lined up on the side of it. These men and women were definitely determined to protect whoever resided within there.
“Keep moving,” he urged Tempest when she started to slow.
There had to be a way to see who was in that building, but he had no idea how to go about doing it. He pondered this as they walked past the orphanage. The curtains were still drawn over the front window, the home remained quiet in the fading sun filtering down the street.
Under normal circumstances, he imagined this town had once been quaint and beautiful, now it felt as cold and desolate as a tomb. His gaze slid over the hundreds of vampires in the streets before he surveyed the mountains and peaks again. The vampires there weren’t patrolling the tops of the mountains; they were lined midway up the cliff face and walking around the ledges etched into the surface. His gaze came back down to the homes nestled so closely together within the valley.
Possibilities of a way to introduce himself to the vampire calling herself the queen began to dance through his head. There was only one way he could think of that would work. The idea forming in his head was crazy, and may get him killed, but he had no idea how else to get close to her.
He glanced at Tempest’s bent head. He had to keep her protected, but she wouldn’t leave this town without the children, and he didn’t know how to sneak them all out of here safely, unless his plan worked. If his plan worked, the invading vampires would be so distracted they would never see a small group fleeing across the open snow toward the mountains.