I nodded in understanding. Vampires might not do it, but Reapers definitely would.
And if we were right about the sanctuary, they weren’t above kidnapping someone to take what energy they could. But could that even work with vampires? “Do you know why they would have taken her?”
Nicu shook his head, but the vampire at his side prompted him with more whispers.
“We have heard rumors,” Nicu reluctantly said.
“What kind of rumors?”
Nicu met my gaze again, his eyes now fully dilated—sinking orbs of black.
“Rumors that the thieves are unsatisfied with their lot. There are rumors . . .”
Pausing, Nicu held his goblet out, and the man at his side took it. Hands empty,
he sat forward, elbows on his knees, and stared at us with terrible eyes. “There are rumors the thieves are no longer satisfied with their short human lives. They seek our blood and our secret.”
I frowned at him. “Your secret?”
“The secret of vampire immortality.”
I looked down at the fabric-covered floor, working through Nicu’s theory. He thought Reapers had kidnapped a vampire to take the vampire’s blood, thinking that if they had the blood, they had the immortality, and they could use that power to keep their magic forever.
But then I thought of what Temperance had said about the sanctuary, and I thought of the monsters. I came up with a different theory. A very, very bad theory.
A cold chill sank into my bones.
“I don’t think it was just the blood they were worried about,” I said, looking up at Nicu again. “And I think I know what happened.”
All eyes turned to me. I ignored my nerves and went for it. Vampires or not, Nicu and his band had a right to know.
“We discovered a new sanctuary, a new building where the Reapers are doing some kind of work. Medical work. And the creatures that we saw in the tunnels had similarities to vampires. Claws and”—I made myself get the last word out there
—“fangs.”
Scout turned to stare at me, horror in her eyes. “Lily, no. That’s not possible.
They couldn’t have—” I just shook my head, and let them reach their own conclusions.
“You think they took one of mine—used one of my children—to build some kind of abomination? Some kind of monster?” Nicu shook his head and waved a hand through the air. “You are no longer welcome here.”
“But we need to find them—to figure out how—”
“No!” Nicu said, standing at his throne, his jacket falling around behind him. “You are no longer welcome. Return to your domain, and never speak of this evil again.”
We didn’t waste time arguing.
We hurried back through the Pedway. Scout texted Daniel to let him know what we’d discovered—that one of Nicu’s vampires was missing, and the missing vampire might have somehow been used by Reapers to build the monsters that were trekking through the tunnels and trying to sneak inside St. Sophia’s.
Had Lauren and her gatekeeper friend been attempting to breach the doors just to let in the rats? Once inside, what were they supposed to do? If they started attacking schoolgirls, their existence was definitely out of the closet. And Scout and I would have to battle them back, which meant our magic was out of the closet, too.
Maybe that was the point. Did the Reapers hope the move would make us rejoin the Dark Elite? Like we’d go back to the mother ship for safety once we were outed as Adepts?
Frankly, I wouldn’t have put it past them. That sounded like the kind of plan Reapers would come up with. It also sounded like the kind of plan Sebastian might have known about. I made a mental note.
We reached the pretty portion of the Pedway again, walking quietly along until Scout held up her hand. We stopped, and before I could ask what she’d seen, she put a hand to her lips. We stood in the middle of the Pedway, soft jazz playing above us, waiting . . .
That was when I heard what she’d heard: movement and hard-soled shoes on the Pedway in front of us.
“Hide,” Scout said, shooing us all toward half walls that extended out on each side of the hallway. She and I squeezed behind one; Detroit ducked behind the other. We all peeked around the walls.
Vampires.
It was Marlena and her minions, sauntering through the Pedway like a queen and her entourage. But that wasn’t all.
“Oh, crap,” Scout said. “They’ve got Veronica.”
“What are we going to do?” I asked, watching two of Marlena’s minions drag a cursing Veronica down the Pedway. Her hair was falling down and her cheeks were streaked with tears and mascara, but it didn’t look like she’d been bitten.
On the other hand, total brat drama had now become Adept drama.
“What is she doing down here?” I whispered.
Scout sighed heavily. “She probably followed us into the basement one night,
then decided to play Nancy Drew. She’s been watching us like a hawk this week.”
“And she probably thinks we were with John Creed,” I realized, the puzzle pieces falling together. “She’s been interrogating me about him all week. She thinks we’re buds because he and Jason are friends.”
“Nothing to do about it now,” Scout said, taking a step into the Pedway. I followed,
and Detroit did the same.
The vampires began to hoot, the minions’ grip on Veronica tightening as she began to demand that they let her go.
Marlena stepped around her vampires, this time wearing a tweed dress, fur wrap,
and those old-fashioned stockings with the dark line up the back. She put her hands on her hips. “Did you lose something, darlings?”
“Let her go,” Scout said. “Or you get magic and firespell and a silver-tipped walking stick, and you get knocked back into the nineteen forties where you belong.”
Marlena hissed. “This is not a game, little one.”
“I am so sick of people telling me that,” I muttered, raising my hands. I relaxed and let the power begin to flow, letting it collect in my hands so that I could toss it out if necessary.
“Did you invade St. Sophia’s?” Scout asked.
Marlena arched a darkly penciled eyebrow. “We hardly have need for that, iubitu.
Not when she is wandering through the corridors alone.”
“Bingo,” Scout muttered.
“Let go of me!”Veronica screamed again, yanking at her arms as she attempted to break free.
Marlena had apparently had enough. She turned and slapped Veronica across the face, leaving a red welt across her cheek. “Silence!”
Veronica’s howls turned to silent weeping. Scout took a precautionary step forward.
“Marlena, if you have issues with us, you need to let her go. She’s not one of us,
and has nothing to do with this. She will only bring attention to your kind.”
Marlena’s expression faltered for a second, but then went stone-cold again.
“Liar.”
“She’s a normal,” I confirmed. “You keep her down here, and things get very,
very ugly for you.”
“Uh, ladies, speaking of ugly, we’ve got a problem.” We turned to see Detroit looking behind us.
I hated to turn around, but I wasn’t exactly in a position to run. Slowly, I glanced back as well.
Vampires. An entire crowd of them, moving in from behind us.
But these were a different kind of vampire. They were Nicu’s.
Nicu stepped through them to the front of the horde. He nodded at me and Scout and Detroit, then took in Marlena.
“They are children,” he said. “Let her go.”
“She is mine. My catch. My bounty. My prize.” She rolled the R in ‘prize’ like an opera singer, and the sound sent a chill down my spine.