Page 142 of The Last Vampire
And since I can’t stand the sight of him, I run.
When I get to our room, I open the door, looking for Salma. I need to make sure he didn’t lie. But she’s not here, and neither is Tiffany.
It’s too early for the LUB. Maybe they went to the library. And right as I turn to leave, I notice something on the door.
A note has been stuck there, written on one of Tiffany’s hot-pink Post-its:
URGENT. Meet me at the LUB.
—Lorena
CHAPTER 41william
“They’re here!”
William hears Lorena’s voice, and he rushes over to intercept her on the way to the third tower. “What is it?” he asks urgently.
“Nate and Cisco! They have Salma and Tiffany!”
“I am not picking up their scent—”
“They left this note!” She shoves it in William’s face, and he calculates that the LUB must have special properties that prevent him from sensing their presence.
“Wait here. I will—”
“NO! I’m going with you.”
“They want to kill you,” he reminds her.
“I can’t let my friends take my place.”
“If you are there, I will prioritize protecting you over your friends.”
Her fierce expression slackens enough that William thinks she might back down—but then she grows stern again and says, “I’m going.”
They are only wasting time that Salma and Tiffany might not have. So, rather than keep arguing, he scoops Lorena up in his arms and races to the LUB.
“Ah, our guests of honor have arrived!” Nate exclaims.
William exits the wardrobe’s tunnel, still holding on to Lorena. She feelssafest to him in his arms, where he can carry her away at the first sign of danger.
“Welcome to the party,” says Nate without looking over from the book he is flipping through.
Sitting on top of the closed coffin are Salma and Tiffany, their heartbeats loud in William’s ears. Cisco is in the reading armchair, examining its robot arms.
Lorena struggles to free herself from William’s hold, and against his better judgment, he sets her down.
“Run!” Lorena shouts to her friends as soon as she hits the ground.
“We can’t,” says Salma, her eyes wide and glassy, heavy black liner running.
“I free you from his compulsion,” William says when she meets his gaze, and she gasps. Tiffany’s eyes jump to him, and he repeats the same words.
Salma gets to her feet, but her knees are shaky. “Come on!” she says to Tiffany, but the girl is still frozen.
Not compelled but petrified.
Nate shuts the book. “Buried underground and discovered during construction,” he says, repeating the lie William told him.
