“You were wrong earlier,” I called after him. “The triad hasn’t been reformed. It can’t be me.”
Ryan looked over his shoulder, his palm pressed flat against the wood-panel wall. He stared at Danaus for a couple of seconds, then at me. I didn’t feel any stir of power. He was just thinking, as if reassessing his earlier conclusion. “No, you have everything you need,” he said at last.
I nodded, though I’m not sure I actually believed him. If it wasn’t me, then it meant Tristan was seriously holding out on me. It had been a long time since I’d last underestimated the power of another vampire. It was a mistake one generally didn’t have a chance to make twice.
As Ryan disappeared down the stairs, he was quickly replaced by both of my guardian angels. I shut my eyes and clenched my teeth as I bit back a curse in rough Italian. Somehow I’d managed to forget they were here. I should have sent them home as soon as we hit London.
“Where do you want us?” Gabriel inquired, a gun clenched in each hand.
“Back down in the basement,” I said, waving my sword toward the hall they had just come down.
“Our job is to protect you, not these people,” Gabriel replied, not moving from where he stood.
“Your job is to follow my orders, and I’m ordering you to get back downstairs!”
“No,” Michael said, standing stubbornly beside Gabriel.
“I can handle things up here. I haven’t survived six hundred years depending on the protection of humans. Now get back downstairs before I drain you both.”
“We—” But the sound of cracking wood and shattering glass halted Gabriel’s rebellious words. I was beginning to see serious drawbacks to this whole loyalty thing. Unfortunately, now was not the time to discuss some of its finer aspects. Our guests were knocking.
“Danaus!” I shouted, turning my attention back to the entrance to the manor. Facing the front doors, I gripped the sword he’d given me in my right hand, my legs spread apart as I awaited the attack.
“They’re surrounding us,” he said, standing beside me with a weapon in each hand. “Six at the front door, another dozen coming in through the windows.”
“They’re already in the room with Jabari,” I told him. I couldn’t sense the naturi, but I could see them through Sadira’s eyes. Fear had ramped up her powers and in turn strengthened our natural connection. There was a strong link between us after I had taken in so much of her blood last night. We could share thoughts and emotions with no effort. We could also see and feel things each other felt, introducing a potentially dangerous distraction into the mix.
“Gabriel, you’re in with Jabari and Sadira. Keep them alive no matter what,” I shouted. “Michael, you’ve got my back.” I didn’t look at them, but kept my eyes trained on the door. Their footsteps echoed down the hall as each took up their new positions. Their fear filled the air, teasing me with its thick, heady scent. There was nothing that could excite the senses of a vampire faster. Except maybe the scent of fresh blood and a woman’s silence-shattering scream, but that was on the hunt.
Twisting my right wrist once, I impatiently slashed the air with Danaus’s sword. I was eager to start this dance at last. It was my turn to lead.
As if in an attempt to be courteous of my wishes, the doors exploded open. I have to give them their due. Where Jabari had thrown them open, the naturi blew them completely off their hinges. Both large oak doors flew through the air, spinning like an out-of-control windmill. I dove sideways, knocking Danaus to the floor. As I fell, I grabbed the front of Michael’s shirt with my free hand, pulling him down with us in a large heap. I rolled off Danaus, careful that the dagger and sword he held didn’t accidentally relieve me of my head.
Behind me, arrows whizzed through the open doorway and thunked heavily into the wooden staircase. They were trying to clear the entrance. I was on my feet when I felt a shift in the wind.
A loud cacophony of noise filled the air, a grating mix of wings, claws, and calls. Raptors of all shapes and sizes filled the large entryway, making it suddenly seem small. We remained trapped on our knees against the wall as ravens, owls, hawks, and falcons flew through the halls, heading up the staircase and then back down again. Few bothered to attack us, but that wasn’t their goal. The naturi had sent the birds in as a distraction to buy them some time.
Michael lifted his gun and squeezed off a couple of rounds, picking off a couple of the larger birds when they got too close. I covered his wrist with my hand and forced him to lower the gun.
“Don’t waste your ammunition,” I shouted over the noise. I jerked my head to the side as a brown owl dove close enough to drag its long talons across my cheek. Pain slashed through me and I fought the urge to press my hand to my cheek. If I lifted my arm, I’d only end up with a series of scratches.
“Mira, we can’t stay like this!” Danaus snapped.
With a growl, I grabbed a vase off a nearby pedestal and threw it across the room toward the largest clump of birds as they fought for space in the air. The porcelain shattered on impact with the chandelier, sending it wildly swinging overhead. Shadows lunged and stretched in a gruesome dance around the room. Several birds were knocked from the air, hitting the hardwood floor with a heavy thud.
As the birds scattered, I lifted my left hand and focused on anything that was flying. Feathers instantly caught on fire, filling the room with a horrid stench. I killed only a few, though I wished I hadn’t been forced to kill any of them, but it was enough to clear the air. The birds of prey scattered, with some heading out the open door while others flew up to find sanctuary on the third floor.
With the birds preoccupied, I turned my attention back to the entryway in time to see a naturi edge forward, his wrist crossbow aimed at me. In a single, liquid movement I pulled a knife from Danaus’s belt and flung it at my adversary. The blade buried itself in his throat and nearly severed his head. He fell backward, the shaft firing harmlessly up at the ceiling. The dead naturi from the animal clan disappeared into the dark doorway, out of sight.
“Come out and play, blood drinker,” sang a melodious voice outside the door.
“You come in. I’ll reunite you with your brother, Nerian,” I replied, tightening my grip on the sword. Some part of me was relieved to find that it wasn’t Rowe once again calling out to me.
To my surprise, the naturi stepped into the doorway, short sword drawn. Danaus raised his gun, but I put a restraining hand over the top of the weapon. “Take care of our other guests, and cover my back,” I said, motioning with my head toward the opposite end of the hall and the back door as I rose to my feet. The telltale sound of claws clicking across hardwood indicated that several wolves had found their way into the manor. Danaus and Michael had their own set of problems while I took care of the naturi in the doorway.
Barely topping five feet, he looked like a slender youth, more akin to a young willow than the human he was supposed to resemble. His long blond hair was pulled back, revealing a face similar to that of a fifteen-year-old boy, with its fresh sprinkling of freckles and wide green eyes. But his appearance belied the years of experience that hummed through his thin frame and filled his narrowed eyes.
“I thought we’d see Nerian together. I understand he had some special plans for you.” A malicious grin split his young face. A chill crawled up my skin, sinking sharp fangs into my muscles. He was from the light clan, I had no doubt. Neither us could summon fire to destroy the other.
Closing the distance between us, I swung my sword with enough force to cleave his body in two. He sidestepped the blow for the most part, and deflected what he couldn’t escape with his blade. He was quicker than most naturi I had encountered so far, each movement precise and fluid like a dance. Was he another form of Danaus? A creature that had studied the fine art of hunting nightwalkers?