I stopped counting at thirty.
No, I stopped counting when I saw one had a little boy. He couldn’t be more than five, also in his jammies—a crumpled blue tee, bottoms with turtles on them.
His little, pale face was a mask of fear.
Sick rolled up my throat. Sick with a chaser of panic.
Etienne’s head tipped to the side as he challenged, “Do you think you can save them all?”
I knew by the tightness of his body that Abel was freaked.
And worried.
So was I.
“Yep,” Abel replied carelessly.
“Good luck,” Etienne whispered, lifting his hand.
“No!” I again screamed.
* * * * *
At a Convenience Store Somewhere in Florida
“They got no shot,” one of the throng of people standing around the counter, watching the small television on the shelf behind the cash register, said.
“Holy cow, that’s the guy and girl Susannah River was talking about this morning!” a woman who just walked up exclaimed. “What’s happening?”
“Shh,” another woman shushed her.
“Those Chinese guys can fight, and that big guy’s got speed, but those poor people are goin’ down,” another man muttered. “And they’re takin’ the good guys with them.”
“Pray God they don’t,” a woman up close to the counter whispered. “Pray God. Pray God. Pray God they save them all.”
* * * * *
Gregor
A vampire whirred into the room and stopped.
“Sir, The Three,” he stated.
“This is not good, this is not good, this is not good,” headphone man chanted, gaze to the monitors.
“What?” Gregor clipped to the vampire.
“We tried to get them but—”
“What?” Gregor barked.
“We can’t wake them.” He drew in a deep breath. “And we just received word. The compound is under attack.”
* * * * *
Delilah
I didn’t see it.
Until it was done and all the humans were rushing by me, a big man carrying the boy with his turtle jammies, running for their lives.
But in front of me stood Abel, with Xun, Wei, and Chen at his back.
And at his sides…
Lucien and Callum.
At my sides….
Leah and Sonia.
* * * * *
At the Convenience Store Somewhere in Florida
“Yes! They did it!” a man shouted, turning, lifting his hands, and he got high fives from the man and woman closest to him.
“Good Lord, it is!” the woman who came late cried. “It’s all of them. All the ones Susannah River was talking about this morning.” She turned to the man beside her. “Did you see it?”
He didn’t answer.
Eyes to the screen, he whispered, “It’s not done.” He swallowed and stared. “Those assholes are far from done.”
* * * * *
Delilah
Finally, Etienne was rattled.
“How—?” he began.
“Hello, Father,” Lucien greeted drolly.
“You—” Etienne tried again.
“We all dream,” Lucien informed him. “You didn’t know that, I’m certain, when you found a witch to invade Delilah’s dreams. And apparently, you weren’t aware we have our own witches.”
Etienne didn’t reply.
He squared his chin, his eyes fixed on his son. “I did not wish to take your head.”
“Really?” Lucien asked. “That’s interesting. I’ll have no trouble taking yours.”
Lucien.
Awesome.
I chanced taking my eyes off the action to grin at Leah, feeling a whole lot better that we were all here.
Together.
The Three.
Finally.
She took her own chance and grinned back at me.
We both looked ahead of us.
Callum glanced at the bodies littered around him, then back at Etienne. “One of us, and his human brothers,” he stated, meaning that was what Abel and the boys had wrought. “Do you yield?”
“We will never yield,” Etienne returned coolly.
“Shame,” Callum muttered.
“I don’t think so,” Abel put in. “I’ll enjoy takin’ more of these motherfuckers out.”
Etienne looked back to Lucien. “As my son, you have my vow. Your death will be quick.”
“As your son, you have my vow. Yours will not,” Lucien replied.
“So be it,” Etienne said softly, then called loudly. “Bring in the wolves!”
And then, from everywhere, all around, streaming past houses, through yards, down the street behind the legion of supernaturals in front of us, waves of wolves came running.
Waves.
Hundreds.
Callum and Abel leapt to wolf.
In a blink, Lucien was tossing what appeared to be the bottoms of mailboxes and the posts of street signs at Xun, Wei, and Chen.
“Guard them…your lives,” he ordered shortly.
“You got it,” Xun replied good-naturedly.
Lucien turned just in time for the wolves to close in.
* * * * *
Jian-Li
Jian-Li sat on the bed beside Delilah, her eyes to the two twitching, unconscious bodies lying in it.
She reached for Delilah’s hand. Keeping hold, she reached for Abel’s. Firmly, she curled their fingers around each other and held them tight in both her hands.
She closed her eyes and bent her head.
“You will be safe,” she whispered. “You will be safe,” she repeated. “You will live so you can be happy.”
She didn’t open her eyes and she didn’t let go of their hands.