A Blood Seduction (Vamp City #1)(70)

"To the gladiator camp." It wasn't a question. Tomorrow, she was taking charge, and if they didn't like it, they could find their own way home.

Jeff didn't reply. Instead, he turned to the others, motioning them to gather 'round. "The safe house is a Slava hideout. Say nothing about Quinn's being a sorceress. If they find out, they may send for the vamps in order to keep her here to save V.C. and their own skins." He turned and motioned them to follow.

After hours of frustrated boredom, fear once more ate at Quinn's nerves as the now smaller group darted across streets and down alleys, dodging a passing carriage and hiding from a pair of strolling Traders. Finally, down another block, they turned into an alley and came to what appeared to be just one more broken-down doorway. But when Jeff pushed aside the door that hung partly off its hinges, another, far sturdier door appeared behind it.

Jeff rapped lightly on the wood in four places with an even more distinctive series of taps and knocks than the ones she'd heard before. A small section slid back in the middle of the door, just enough to reveal a pair of eyes. Feminine eyes that turned angry. "What do you think you're doing bringing so many here?"

"They're runaways, Barbara. They need shelter."

"No." The eyes moved away. Quinn expected the little slider to slam closed any moment, but Jeff was quicker.

"I bring news."

The eyes reappeared, sharp with interest. "What news?"

"Of the sorcerer."

The little slider slammed shut.

Quinn turned sharply to Jeff. Hadn't he told everyone to not say anything about her?

He lifted his hand with a small wave, a silent don't worry.

The door opened, and a woman with long phosphorescent hair, dressed in one of the Little House on the Prairie dresses, stood back to let them in. "You'd better have something useful, whelp, or you're all out on your ear. It'll take half of our supplies just to feed all of you."

"Bitch, bitch, bitch," Jeff said under his breath, then led the way inside a fairly large space that looked like it could have at one time been a storeroom. The walls were made of stone, the ceiling, low-hanging wooden beams. The floor was hard-packed dirt overlaid in places by wood-slat flooring. A long, rough-hewn trestle table sat in the middle of the room, chairs all around. Along the edge of the room, small curtains had been hung from the rafters, sectioning off privacy corners for many of the inhabitants. This place, too, smelled of mold and mildew, the air humid and damp. Not exactly the Ritz. But there were no windows, not a one, and a good six oil lamps cast a comforting amount of light.

"Do you see another way out?" Marcus asked close to her ear.

"No. Maybe behind one of the curtains." A single escape route was never a good thing. If the vamps found them, they were trapped. And yet what choice did they have but to stay here? They were out of food, out of water, and she didn't have a clue how or where to scavenge for more.

She hated being dependent on others, hated feeling so helpless. All her life, she'd been a take-charge person, but it was difficult as hell to take charge when she felt like a babe in the woods. And, for all practical purposes, was one. And these woods had big, scary, bloodsucking monsters inhabiting them.

You sense danger, cara. Be wary of everyone. Each has his own agenda. Be very, very careful, Quinn.

Arturo's voice was but a low whisper, though a frighteningly clear one, as if he stood at her shoulder, whispering in her ear. As if she needed his reminder to trust no one. All she could do was take the opportunities that came her way and pray she could find a way to make the most of them. Trapped inside a jail cell, she'd been all but helpless. At least out here, she stood a fighting chance.

Barbara started leading them across the room, where more than two dozen people, all with that glowing phosphorescent hair, sat or stood watching the newcomers with as much wariness as Quinn felt. Jeff took another route, leading them instead to a corner, where he plopped down on the dirt. Barbara scowled but turned away in a huff. One by one, the small group slowly sat in the dirt around Jeff, Quinn joining them.

"The first thing I'm going to do when I get out of here is take a shower," one woman muttered.

"I just want to stand in the sun."

Jeff grunted. "I want a huge platter of barbecue ribs and a gallon of ice-cold beer."

"Hug my babies," Celeste replied.

Marcus glanced at Quinn. "You?"

What was the first thing she wanted to do when she got out of this place? Honestly, it didn't matter as long as Zack and Lily were with her. But the others were waiting for her answer, so she gave them one. "Get a change of clothes."

Marcus smiled, but his eyes told her he'd read her hesitation right. Her situation was a lot more complicated than the rest of theirs.

"I know your answer," she told him.

His smile died, a fierce flame of love lighting his eyes. "I'm going to hug my wife and hold my child."

The strength of his emotion both bothered her and yet resonated deeply. But hers was a devotion to brother, not spouse. Not child. Could she possibly feel more strongly, or be more weakened by love than she already was? She never wanted to find out. But she would find a way to get Marcus home.

Quinn rose and moved to where Jeff sat, pushing her way between the others to sit beside him. "Are there escape routes out of this place if we need them?"