Then, as if speaking in the wind that whipped about me, Ravenwood’s voice whispered in my ear the passage from his letter that had haunted me since I’d read it.

“But be careful, Kiera, of who you befriend and love on your journey, for it is said that if Elias Munn can get the half-breed to love him as a father, or a brother, or a lover, then just like his first love – he would have taken your heart as his own and he will be given the power to choose which race lives and which race dies.”

Without being able to help myself, I glanced back over my shoulder and could see Potter making his way around the ledge some way behind us. His head was down as if in deep thought or prayer. But, knowing Potter, he wouldn’t be praying. There was something on his mind and it was more than just his fear that I might truly be in love with his best friend Luke. No, there was something else. If Potter really was Elias Munn, I knew that I’d fallen in love with him, and although that scared me, there was little voice inside me that said, “Kiera, pass the decision to him. Let him choose which race survives. It wouldn’t be your fault; no one can truly help who they fall in love with…”

“No!” I hissed to myself. “That’s the coward’s way out!”

“What?” Luke suddenly said, looking back at me.

“What?” I said.

“You said something,” he smiled, looking bemused.

“Did I?”

“It sounded like you did.”

“Must have been the wind,” I smiled and glanced back again at Potter. This time he wasn’t looking down, but directly at me. I looked away.

Ahead, Sparky slowed, then came to a stop. The path had come to a sudden end and it led to a sheer drop down into the crater below.

“Is this some sort of a joke?” Seth asked, peering from beneath his snow-covered baseball cap.

“He’s tricked us,” Kayla spat, and yanked hard on Sparky’s leash.

“No, no,” Sparky winced as his head snapped forward as the noose was pulled by Kayla. “Look over there.”

We all looked in the direction Sparky was now pointing. Opposite was another mountain, and carved into the side of it was a doorway. It looked odd and out of place, a nondescript-looking wooden door set into the side of a mountain with no path, steps, or ladder leading to it.

“That leads down into The Hollows and that crater. See, I didn’t let you down. Not this time, Kiera,” he said staring at me with a pitiful look in his eyes.

“How do we get over to it?” Isidor asked, looking over at the door.

“What do you think God gave you wings for?” someone cut in, and we all looked back to see Potter had caught up with us.

“But I can’t,” Seth said, scowling at Potter.

“Not my problem, Seth,” Potter snapped. “Perhaps you should go back down the mountain and ask the good vampires down at that hole if they’ll let you in the front door.”

Ignoring Potter, Seth looked at Luke somewhat embarrassed, and said, “Would you carry me?”

“Why do you want to come with us anyway?” Luke asked back. “This is as far as you come. I’m not taking a Lycanthrope down into The Hollows.”

“Not unless I’m in handcuffs, eh?” Seth barked. “You didn’t mind dragging me down there when you thought you had captured your killer.”

“Oh, change your tune for fuck’s sake,” Potter groaned. “You’re getting on my tits now. You’re a killer, your entire race is nothing more than a bunch of mindless killers. You may not have killed those women – you now say it was your son – but you’ve killed plenty in your time. Now, do us all a favour and piss off back to those caves beneath the fountain of trolls or whatever it is you call it.”

“Souls!” Seth barked.

“Whatever,” Potter growled back.

“I’m sorry, Seth…” Luke started.

“Don’t be sorry, Luke, for crying out loud,” Potter shouted. “He led us into a trap back at that lake and that’s what got Murphy killed. When are you going to stop putting your trust in this scum? We’ve just followed the pizza-boy halfway up a mountain to some doorway set into a mountainside, and we don’t know what’s on the other side of that door!”

“Pizza-boy?” Sparky whimpered.

“I think he’s talking about those spots on your face,” Isidor said. “Get used to it, he says that sort of shit to me all the time.”

“I’ve told you the truth,” Sparky howled at Potter.

“Truth?” Potter stammered in disbelief. “Your kind wouldn’t know what the truth was if your pathetic little lives depended on it.” Then turning to Kayla, he added, “Cut the mutt loose, we go on without the werewolves.”

“You can’t do this,” Seth barked. “I have the right to get revenge for the death of my son.”

“What about Eloisa?” I suddenly cut in, looking at Seth then quickly at Potter.

“What?” Seth said.

“Well Potter ripped her heart out. Don’t you want to avenge her death?” I asked him.

“I’ve many lovers, Kiera Hudson,” Seth half-smiled at me, his eyes glowing. “She was okay, but let’s just say I don’t like my lovers to be so willing – I like a woman who will offer some resistance – you know, play the victim.”

Looking into his crazy spinning eyes, I said, “You really are an animal, aren’t you?”

“Jeez, at last the penny has dropped!” Potter sighed. “What do you think I’ve been trying to tell you?”

Turning to face Potter, I said, “And you’re no better. You ripped her heart out just so you could get back at Seth – and he doesn’t even give a crap.”

Hearing my words, Potter almost seemed to flinch as if I’d slapped him hard across the face. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but before he had the chance, I’d turned my back to him to find Seth ripping the skin from his own face.

It fell away in fleshy strips and his snout sprung out, white foamy saliva spraying from his jaws.

“If I don’t go,” he snarled, “None of us go!” Pulling his chest apart, revealing a mass of bristling black fur, he rolled his head back and began to howl.

Chapter Six

Seth’s deep booming roar reverberated off the mountainsides like thunder. The whole mountain shook, sending rocks spilling down onto us from high above. The breath from his giant mouth was hot and blew my hair off my face.

Looking over the edge of the cliff, I could see the vehicles below stop; in fact, everything stopped as the vampires and Vampyrus below looked up to investigate. Within moments, there was an ear-splitting squawking noise as the Vampyrus launched themselves into the air and came racing up the side of the mountain towards us, their wings beating so loud that it almost masked the sound of Seth’s continuous roar.

Peering over my shoulder at the advancing Vampyrus, Potter said, “We’ve got company!”

No sooner had the words left his mouth, Jack Seth’s howls became a scream as Potter disappeared from beside me, only to reappear an instant later hovering in the air. If I’d blinked, I would have missed it, but with one mighty swoop of his claw he knocked Seth from the mountainside. The wolf spun away into the air, and before it had disappeared into the cloud, it had taken human form again, and I was sure that Seth’s yellow eyes were staring at me.

Sweeping around in the air, Potter watched Seth bounce helplessly against the jagged mountainside and disappear

“Now that was for Murphy, you piece of shit!” Potter said grimly.

Seeing one of his own die so suddenly and fearing he would be next, Sparky took the rope that was fastened to him and yanked at it. Loosing her footing, Kayla slipped on the snow-covered edge and went toppling over. She clung to the rope and Sparky cut through it with his claw.

“Luke!” Kayla screamed as she was snatched away from the side of the cliff face by one of the Vampyrus that had raced up towards us.

Tearing his crossbow from his back in a flash of movement, Isidor had released two arrows which sliced straight into the head of the Vampyrus who had his sister. Somersaulting from the edge of the cliff, Isidor was in the air snatching Kayla away from the now dead Vampyrus.

Launching himself through the air, his shirt flying away as his wings shot from his back, Luke took hold of Sparky’s ears. With a quick flick of his wrists and a hideous tearing noise, Luke had torn Sparky’s head in two. Lumps of brain splattered the cliff face like pools of hot, grey jelly. Sparky’s body slumped onto the ledge, where it twitched and jerked uncontrollably. Swooping out of the sky, Potter kicked out at it and I watched it roll down the mountainside.

Winking back at Luke, Potter said, “Just like the good old days. There’s nothing better than killing Lycanthrope!”

Smiling back at his friend, Luke agreed and said, “Just like the old days!”

Shocked at the speed and apparent heartlessness in which they had just slaughtered Seth and Sparky, I gasped and shouted, “You two are unbelievable!”

“Thanks, sweet cheeks,” Potter beamed, and it was the first time I had seen him smile since returning from the zoo with Luke.

“That wasn’t a compliment!” I screamed at him over the sound of the approaching Vampyrus.

Swooping past me so close that his face brushed against mine, he whispered in my ear, “I know, but secretly, you just can’t get enough of it!” Then he was gone, rocketing away and biting and clawing at the Vampyrus that were rapidly filling the sky all around us.

I looked at Luke who said, “I don’t know how we’re going to get out of this one!” Then he too was gone, spiralling through the air so fast that all I could see was a streak of black, like after burn coming from a jet fighter.

Throwing off my coat and rolling back my shoulders, I ran towards the edge of the ledge and dived into the air.

Please let my wings open! I prayed and shut my eyes.