Page 79 of Entombed By Blood
I nod, squaring my shoulders.
“Go,” Frost orders, his whisper deafeningly loud in the too-quiet tunnel as he appears behind us.
He hands me my sword and types in a code to the keypad on the wall. The trap door slides into place with a metallic clang, sealing us into the tunnel. “Follow me and don’t use that unless you have to. The door is lined with silver, but it won’t hold them for long.”
My hand clenches around the familiar handle, and I hold on for dear life as I take off after the two men into the unknown. Just like yesterday, I push my limbs to the limit, moving as fast as my vampire biology will allow. Unlike then, there’s no feeling of freedom this time. Only tense, unyielding fear of being caught and shoved back into a silver coffin.
The tunnel doesn’t help. It’s dark and claustrophobic, making my heart race almost as much as the threat behind us. Tension clogs my throat, making the air hard to breathe. Just when I think I can’t take it anymore, the scent changes from concrete and earth to the rich, muted tones of the forest.
We burst out into a woodland, but our pace doesn’t slow. If anything, Draven speeds up.
The first scream that echoes from behind us almost paralyses me. Only Draven’s warning to stay close to Frost keeps me moving as I spot the gaunt, uncoordinated shadows of ghouls streaking through the forest around us. They crash through the forest in search of their prey, screeching like harpies as they hunt. The first gunshots follow shortly after, desperate bursts of fire followed by more screams as the ghouls narrow in on Cain’s men.
I run like hell, but I can hear them catching up with us. My thralls are keeping pace with me, but I know I’m holding them back.
Just when I’m certain this isn’t going to end without us getting bloody, Frost drags me to one side. We careen around a boulder, only for the earth to disappear from under our feet.
The fall is blessedly short, but my knees still ache as we land on hard concrete. The room we’ve tumbled into is small and filled with vehicles I barely recognise. It’s lit entirely by the moonlight streaking through the open ceiling above. Yet, as I watch, that same ceiling starts to move. Closing over. Sealing us in. Turning the garage into a dark tomb.
Not again.
“Eve, get on,” Frost barks.
His sharp order breaks the panic’s hold over me, and I look over to see he and Draven are already straddling two huge machines.
They have leather saddles and wide handlebars, covered in an array of buttons that I have no hope of ever understanding. Like most vehicles in this new time, they lack wheels. Instead, they hover about a foot from the ground, emitting a subtle, thrumming noise that sounds oddly reminiscent of a purr.
Frost is clearly beckoning me onto his bike, but I shake my head and turn toward Draven’s. It’s hard not to wince at the look of horror on the ghoul hybrid’s face as I swing my leg over the gleaming machine. For a split second, Frost stares at Draven with wide, terrified eyes, like he’s waiting for something to happen. But the other vampire doesn’t react. Whatever Frost expects never comes to pass. Instead, the vampire arranges my arms around his waist quickly and calmly, showing me how to hold on. Only when he’s satisfied with me does he lean forward and roll the machine out, through the open doors and onto a dirt road.
Then wemove. I thought running was fast, but this… this might just be faster.
Draven and Frost push their machines through the darkness, speeding away from the cabin and the chaos.
Something makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, and I instinctively shoot a quick glance over my shoulder. My arms clench tighter around Draven as I watch a wall of ghouls slink out from the trees behind us. Their long claws and hunched posture make them monstrous to behold but, in that moment, they seem like silent sentinels, guarding our backs as we flee.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Vane
Runningin my lycan form is always fun, but since I was turned into a hybrid, it’s become harder. My instincts are heightened, and right now, everything in me wants to go back there and rip apart the intruders who put fear on Evie’s face.
After that, I might just rip into Gid for what he said to her.
The bastard might be cold and logical to a fault, but he needs to wake up and realise his plan brought Evie straight into the heart of our pack. Keeping her at arm’s length isn’t going to work. Not when she’s already worming her way into our circle. Fitting into a space we didn’t even know existed, like she’s been the missing piece all along.
I growl as I rip into my palm with my claw and brush the injury along a branch, deliberately leaving our scent to distract anyone pursuing the others. Hopefully, the blood will tempt the baser instincts of our pursuers, luring them with the promise of easier, wounded prey. Silas and I will keep heading away from the others for a while, then dive into the river and swim to the rendezvous point where Evie damn well better be waiting for us.
Gideon might not trust her, but she’s ours now. In my mind, she’s been mine to protect from the second she looked at me while holding a stake over her own heart.
I’ve been where she was. I’ve lived through what happened after our mother took that final step. Hearing how Evie’s voice trembled as she remembered breaking the thrall bond silenced any last-minute doubts I had.
Evie is ours. Permanently.
For whatever reason, destiny tied all of us together. I’ll let her get used to Finn and Silas before I make any moves. My brother has a way with people I’ve always lacked, and our omega already adores her. She needs that softness right now.
“On your left,” Silas calls, jerking me out of my thoughts. His voice is rougher in this form, harder to understand.
The branch snaps a second before a vampire lurches out of the trees, fangs bared. My arm snatches out, blocking his attack with an ease born of centuries of experience. His lithe body goes flying, and I pounce after him. If I give him a chance to recover, he’ll drag the fight out until his backup arrives.
