Eldeorin pulled me to him and his hand stroked the back of my head, sending his calming influence over me. “Hush. We will help your warrior. Where is he?”

“Vancouver,” Desmund answered for me. “She is too upset and inexperienced for this. Take me instead.”

Eldeorin patted my back and tucked me against his side, smiling as if nothing was wrong. His blue eyes gave Desmund an appraising look. “As much as I’d love to take you instead, that is not possible. My magic would harm you, maybe even kill you. Something tells me that my little cousin would be very upset by that.” His arm gave me a squeeze. “Don’t worry about her. She is much stronger than you know.”

I clutched the hand that rested on my shoulder. “Can we please go?”

“Of course. Let’s go find your warrior.”

Chapter 16

Cold filled my chest the moment we arrived on the quiet street lined with large older homes. Though not a vampire was in sight, I knew immediately that there were at least three dozen of them nearby, and my improved radar told me exactly where they were. So many vampires working together was almost unheard of, and no Mohiri team could expect to defeat that many at once.

“Do you feel them?” I asked Eldeorin.

“I sense demons, but I have trouble telling the Mohiri and the vampires apart.”

I looked up and down the street. I couldn’t sense Nikolas, but I told myself that was just because he wasn’t close enough. He’s okay. If anyone is okay, it’s him.

“I can’t do this alone. There are too many.”

“We’ll do it together.” He waved a hand, and I found myself dressed in black again, this time with two silver blades strapped to my thighs.

Seconds later, a male vampire ran from between two houses. I knew Eldeorin had made us – or at least me – visible when the vampire stopped and stared at me across the well-lit street. Indecision showed clearly on his face, and he looked up the street before his gaze came back to me.

I saw it the moment he made up his mind, and I was ready when he attacked. He was fast and his fangs were already extended when he reached me. He grabbed my shoulders in an iron grip and pulled me against him.

My hand came up between us, and he let out a small scream and staggered back when the first blast of power ripped through him. I don’t think he knew what was happening until I pressed my glowing hand to his chest a second time. Shock and fear filled his face as he crumpled to the pavement.

I stepped around the body in the direction he had been looking. “This way.”

Two houses down we encountered two vampires feeding on an older man. I leapt on one of them and took him out quickly, leaving Eldeorin to handle the other one. There was nothing we could do for the man, so we moved on.

The need to find Nikolas burned through me, dampening my fear and lending speed to my movements. Methodically, I located vampires, and Eldeorin helped me kill them as we made our way up the street to a large white house where I sensed the largest concentration of vampires.

But no Nikolas. “Why can’t I feel him?” The possible answer to that was something I refused to consider. If I did, I’d fall to pieces.

“My glamour prevents your demons from sensing each other,” Eldeorin said. “It is the only way to shield you from detection.”

“Oh thank God.”

I didn’t need to feel Nikolas to know he was in the white house that was crawling with vampires. “There are way too many vampires in there. We have to draw them out and give Nikolas and the others a chance.”

Eldeorin studied the large house. “How would you like to do that?”

It occurred to me then that he was letting me make all the tactical decisions. I didn’t care if he was turning this into another training session as long as we helped Nikolas and Chris.

“Nikolas won’t recognize me, right?”

“Not unless you want him to.”

The urge to laugh eased some of the tension coiled in my body. “Let’s save that drama for another day.” Putting my fingers to my lips, I let out a piercing whistle. “Hey, suckers, fresh meat.”

Eldeorin shook his head as the front door crashed open. “I see we are going with the direct approach.”

I should have been terrified to see six vampires spill from the house, but I felt strangely calm. Maybe it was the powerful faerie standing beside me or the result of our training sessions. Or maybe it was the knowledge that every vampire I drew out of the house gave Nikolas a better chance at survival.

“You are awfully young to be a hunter,” drawled one of the vampires as they advanced slowly on us.

One of his companions laughed. “But not too young to die.”

“I heard young Mohiri blood is very sweet,” the first one said. “I get first drink.”

Another vampire spoke up. “Hey, why do you get first drink? We all saw her at the same time.”

“Because I’m the oldest and I say so, that’s why.”

“Are you guys for real?” Were they actually arguing over my blood in front of me?

They stopped bickering to stare at me.

“Before you draw straws to see who gets the first taste, you might want to ask yourselves one question.”

The six of them formed a semicircle in front of us. The fact that they never looked at Eldeorin told me he was invisible again. These guys had no clue what was in store for them.

“What question?” asked the vampire who acted like their leader.