"This way," he said, leading them to the right.
"Are there any vampires nearby?" Nikki's soft question seemed to melt into the darkness, a hushed sound edged with apprehension.
He glanced back at her. Her eyes gleamed with a cold, gold fire in the shadowed darkness that surrounded them, looking almost otherworldly. His uneasiness rose several notches. He wished he'd taken a chance and talked to Elizabeth about thralls. She probably had forgotten more than they could ever discover in the old texts. But Elizabeth was dead, and it was too late now for regrets. He just had to hope Seline could find some clue as to what might be happening to Nikki. And him.
"Not yet. Why?"
She hesitated. "There's something here. An essence, watching us. And I hear voices. Lots of voices."
He couldn't hear anything, which in itself didn't mean anything. If she was sensing the other vampire, maybe she was also hearing what he could hear.
And if the vampire behind all this was clairvoyant, he could certainly be watching them through psychic means. It would explain how he'd known about Nikki, and why he'd sent someone to kill her. But it still didn't explain how she could sense him. "We'd better hurry."
Because if they were being watched, they'd undoubtedly face opposition as soon as they got anywhere near Dale Wainwright. That he couldn't hear or smell another vampire just yet didn't mean anything—not when even the youngest of vampires could move faster than the wind.
They continued on, quickly making their way through the damp, dirty darkness. The twin beams of the flashlights danced across the path ahead, highlighting the rubbish swept down from the streets above.
"Is it true alligators can be found in sewers," Jake asked, swinging his light not at the water near his feet but toward the slimy roof they had to bend to avoid.
They came to a junction, and Michael stopped, studying each tunnel arm. "I've traveled through a few sewers in my time and have yet to come across one." The heartbeat was coming from his left. He tugged Nikki in that direction.
"That's almost disappointing," Jake said. "I rather liked the myth of giant alligators roaming the sewers, munching on the unwary."
"There's something much worse that alligators roaming these sewers ready to munch on the unwary," Nikki said. Her gaze met Michael's, filled with the fear beginning to explode through the link. "They're coming."
He still couldn't sense anything other than Mark Wainwright's wife, but he didn't doubt her. In many ways, her senses were far more powerful than his. "We haven't got that much farther to go. Let's move it."
They splashed through the shallows, the twin beams of light creating crazy patterns across the darkness ahead. The tremulous sound of the heartbeat got stronger, but across it, he could now hear others.
Six of them.
They came to another junction and skidded to a halt. In the middle of the intersection lay a scantily-clad body. She hadn't been dead long—a little less than an hour, if the heat still dying in her body was any indication.
Jake's light swept across the sad form. "Hooker. Probably hasn't even been missed yet."
"No." Michael released Nikki's hand then stepped over the woman's body. The tunnel directly ahead had been walled off except for a doorway. The unsteady heartbeat was coming from inside.
"No woman deserves to die the way this woman did," Nikki said softly. "Not even a prostitute."
Michael glanced back at her. She was still standing near the body, her arms crossed, her expression a mix of horror and sorrow. But as much as he wanted to walk over and take her in his arms to offer the comfort she so clearly needed, he didn't. Maybe it would convince her of the futility of her quest to share his life, because this death was far from the worst she would ever see if she did.
"Death is an ever-present danger of the trade, and every client a potential nut case," Jake said with very little sympathy in his voice. He moved around the body and centered his light on the door. "Odd place to build a wall, isn't it?"
"It's a cell. Dale Wainwright is in there."
Michael twisted the handle, but the door was locked. So he leaned a shoulder against it and pushed as hard as he could. The door had been built to withstand the strength of a human, not a vampire, and it gave way with very little resistance.
"It's a wonder the Department of Public Works hasn't done anything about this," Jake said. "It would surely be stuffing up the storm water flow."
"Remember that most vampires can easily read and control a human mind. People might have been sent down here to investigate, but maybe they report back only what they're told to report back." Michael glanced over his shoulder. Nikki was studying the shadows behind them, her thoughts a haze of rising dread.
I know they're close, Nikki. We have to move as quickly as we can.
We won't make it.
Had he been alone, he would have. But she knew that as much as he did. We can try.
She studied him for a moment, thoughts closed to him, then nodded and moved back to his side. He wrapped his fingers through hers again and entered the cell.
Dale Wainwright lay on filthy straw in one corner of the small room. She was naked, curled up like a babe, her breathing rapid, pulse weak and irregular. Even though he wasn't using the infrared of his vampire vision, he could see the bruises marring her torso and legs. She'd been sexually assaulted more than once already.
Anger rose like a wave. He'd never understood the mentality that enjoyed inflicting pain on others—even though he'd been turned by a woman who'd certainly thrived on it. But at least Elizabeth had restricted her games to those she'd turned. Most of the time, anyway.
Jake's soft curse filled the night, a sound Michael felt like echoing. Nikki disentangled her fingers from his and hurried over.
"Dale's alive." She stripped off her sweater and draped it over the other woman. "But she needs help fast. Jake, you got your cell phone handy?"
"Certainly have."
Behind them, the darkness came alive with the sensation of evil. The time to escape or to call for help had slipped away. Michael wrapped a hand around the phone, preventing Jake from dialing.
"Wait," he said softly. "Because we are no longer alone."
Chapter Six
A blanket of evil wrapped around Nikki's senses, almost smothering her. She rose slowly and studied the darkness beyond the cell door. Though she could hear or see no movement, she knew they were there.
She could smell them. It was almost as if the air recoiled from their presence.
Jake pulled the gun from his pocket. The sound of the safety being clicked off was almost bullet loud.
"What now?" he asked, voice soft but harsh.
Whether that came from anger or fear she wasn't sure. Michael's gaze skated past Jake and met hers.
"Fledglings," he said, voice as expressionless as his face. "I'll face them alone. You two stay here."
"You can't," Jake said.
"Definitely not," she echoed. She crossed her arms and stared at him defiantly. The link between them was void of emotion, which only meant he was controlling himself very tightly. "You can't face six of them alone."
"I've done it before."
"And still bear the scars," she retorted. "Stop letting your concern for me overwhelm common sense."
His annoyance briefly seared her mind, even though his expression remained impassive. He stared at her a moment longer, then said, "Very well."
Unease stirred. He had to be up to something because he'd never give in so easily otherwise. Power spiked her senses, then the darkness swirled around him, whisking him from sight. A heartbeat later the door slammed closed.