Alliance (16 page)

“We need to get in the church,” I decide. I point to the curved building that extends from the end of the castle, attached only by a small hallway. “There’s an outside entrance on the far corner. Hurry, the sunlight’s fading.”

21 - Shane

Chloe seems to calm as we enter what Maggie says is a church; my sister lets me release her from where I carried her in.

I’m questioning myself. Is this all a big mistake? Even broke and with no IDs, should we have stayed at the airport, away from Maggie?

I spin in a slow circle, taking in the surroundings. The interior walls are the same gray and white stone as the exterior; there are multiple windows along each wall, at the opposite end of the sanctuary, the building is curved; a large arch delineates a platform that spans the width of the room—probably where the pulpit would have stood. The room is empty, save some uncomfortable-looking wooden chairs. Maybe they’ll make some heavy-duty stakes though, if we carve them up?

Maggie seems to know what I’m going to ask before I get the words out. She moves into the middle of the room and points to the first of two doors half-hidden by an alcove on the other side of the arch. “To the house; the other one is a small library. That room doesn’t have an outer exit.”

Two ways in and out.

I move to one of the windows and tap on it. The glass feels normal; it’s not really large enough for a person to fit through, but I’ve seem vampires do some crazy things to find their next meal.

“I doubt they’ll come within fifty feet of this place,” Maggie says. “You know vampires can’t handle anything holy.”

“Then let’s hope this place was covered in holy water when it was dedicated. Did the limo driver leave?”

“Yep.” She looks over her shoulder to where the new guy, Caleb, is crouched over a prone Hannah on the floor. “You might be able to talk Caleb into parting with his ride, but there’s a lot of woods between here and town; you’d never be able to tell what was out there.”

Is she warning me or just making conversation?

“Don’t worry, Shane,” Chloe says. “We’re going to be okay now. Maggie’s going to take care of us.”

I look down at her by my side; I didn’t realize she was still so close to me. “Thanks, kiddo.”

Unfortunately I can’t rely on an eight-year-old’s intuition to help me plan a way to get out of here.

“Rach, can you help me find something to bar the doors? If we can do that, we’ll leave one person on watch and the other can sleep.”

She waves and heads for the small room Maggie called the library. I realize what she’s doing right about the same time I realize there could be something hiding in the so-called library, and I start after her. She pulls open the door and a dark shape erupts. She shrieks and I jump toward her, then she throws the item—a large black cloth—onto the floor in front of her.

“Sorry.” Rach sounds disgusted with herself. “Can’t believe I did that.” She looks up and sees me close and scowls. “I’ll handle it.” She goes into the room without a backward glance at me. I wait a beat but there’s no sound of a scuffle, so I relax.

Maggie is saying something to Caleb, leaning over him with her hand on his shoulder. He nods, looking into her face. Why do I suddenly feel like I’ve got heartburn?

She straightens and comes my way but then passes me and reaches for the door that supposedly leads to the house.

“What are you doing?” I thunk my palm against the door, stopping her opening it.

She stares at my hand, doesn’t turn to look at me. “We’re going to need light in here before long.” Her voice even sounds reasonable. How is she so calm? Or is it all a trick?

Yeah, it is getting dark in here though.

“I also thought I’d see if I can find some blankets, and clothes if there are any. This place isn’t exactly a four-star hotel, as you can see.”

“Alone?” My mouth asks the word but my brain is telling me I shouldn’t care if something happens to her.

“Daniel and Alex are family. They aren’t going to hurt me.”

I’m still having trouble trusting Maggie, so believing that these other vamps aren’t out to do harm is beyond my capabilities at this moment.

“Plus, I want to see how many there are.”

I can’t argue with that, but I do have a suggestion. “I’ll go with you.”

She shakes her head. “Bad idea. I’d rather you stay here and keep an eye on things. With all the supernaturals here, the aromas might overpower their fear of coming into the church.”

I glance at the windows. “There’s still a few minutes of daylight left. I don’t want you to go alone.”

She turns toward me, and asks, “Why not? Because you’re worried I might bring back a group of buddies for a dinner party, now that I’ve got you all in my clutches?”

When we’re face-to-face I realize exactly how close I’ve been standing this whole time while I’ve kept my hand on the door. She’s only inches away. I can count her eyelashes if I want to; her lips look so pouty that I can’t resist leaning forward—

As if she reads my intention, she crosses her arms, putting a barrier between us. Message received; no kissing. What was I thinking anyway?

I retreat back to our conversation. “I’m sorry. I know
you’re
not going to hurt us. It’s anybody else that concerns me.” I raise both hands palms up. “I’m sorry. This isn’t easy for me.”

“Tell me about it.” She coughs into her hand, but it sounds like she says “control freak” under her breath.

“We’re wasting time. I’m going.”

“Fine!” I can tell she’s exasperated, but she doesn’t protest again when I follow her through the door. I’ve got my knife out before it closes behind us.

A short stone passageway opens to a larger, longer hallway on one side and what looks to be an indoor flower garden on the other.

“Servants’ quarters,” Maggie mutters, nodding to the left, then the right. “Conservatory.”

We hurry through the hallway and a large oak door. “This is the main house,” Maggie says.

I have to ask, “You’ve said that before, about Chloe being appetizing or something. What are you talking about?”

“Yeah. She smells different than you. Way better than a ‘normal’ human. Hannah and Caleb too. That’s how I knew she was supernatural in the first place.”

We pass through what looks like a library—another one?—and into a room with two other doorways leading off of it; Maggie heads up the stairs.

“How do you do it?”

“Do what?” She’s distracted, only half listening to me now. She pauses at the top of the stairs and grabs my wrist when I almost bump into her. The contact of her skin on mine is hot; she releases me almost instantly.

“You know, control yourself. Not eat people.”

She crouches behind a corner, sticks her head around so she can see, then motions me forward as she steps around. “Well, it’s not the easiest thing in the world.”

“I know.” I’ve seen her struggle with her other side, most notably on the plane.

“Have you ever… erm…”

“Lost control?”

“Little Maggie has always been perfect, but not that perfect.”

Maggie freezes and holds out her arm in front of my chest. She’s so short I can easily see over her head to the end of the hallway, where a vamp with spiky red hair stands with massive arms crossed over his chest.

“Hello, cousin,” he says, and his smile is predatory.

“Alex. We’re not looking for any trouble.”

“Then perhaps you should have stayed away. Whatever possessed you to return home
now
?”

Home?

He keeps speaking, this time with his black eyes focused on me. “Did she already tell you her sob story about how her poor family was massacred right in front of her eyes, and that’s why when she was turned she had no appetite for live humans? I can’t imagine a
Chaser
,” he spits the word, “not killing a vampire, so she must’ve done
something
to make you spare her.”

His words leave no doubt as to the thing he thinks she’s done. My temper explodes and I launch myself in his direction.

“Shane!” Maggie throws herself between us, but she’s so much smaller than I am that I end up body-slamming her into the wall. Her head thunks against it and a soft ‘ow’ escapes her lips. I cup the back of her head.

The vamp laughs, jerking me back to the present. “Seriously, Mags. You’re banging him?”

“No, I’m not ‘banging him.’” She sounds exasperated, not angry. She gives me a look, like ‘behave,’ and pushes me back a step.

“What, the stake under his pillow too risky for you?”

“Lay off, Alex. Where’s your friend?”

A look of surprise crosses his features before he frowns. “What friend?”

“The guy who was with you before.”

He shrugs. “Went to run an errand. If you’re not going to let stake-boy here come after me, then what’re you doing?”

She moves to a door about halfway between our position and the vamp and walks right inside.

“Maggie!”

She might be satisfied that this vamp’s not going to jump us, but I’m not. I move to cover her, standing in the doorway and facing the vamp, knife at the ready.

He bares his fangs at me, but remains where he is.

A push from behind moves me into the hall and Maggie reappears, dwarfed by an armful of blankets that extends taller than her head.

“Found them.”

“What are you doing?” The vamp’s voice is venomous now and I crouch, ready to spring if he comes at us.

“It’s cold in the church,” Maggie says. “We’re borrowing these.” She nudges me with her elbow and I see what looks like a pillowcase hanging from her fingers. Does she want me to take it? I do. Yup, pillowcase.

“Candles should be in there.” She nods to a cabinet built into the wall across the hall. It’s not any closer to the vamp so I step to it and open it to see a bunch of silver—real silver—candelabras and plenty of candles, both tapers and squatty round ones. “Take what you need.”

“Mags, you can’t stay here.”

“It’s just for the night,” she says, way more patient with the guy than I would be.

It’s taking forever for me to load the candles into the pillowcase. Would probably be faster if I put down my knife, but that’s not happening.

“I’m serious.” The vamp shifts and I drop several candles. One of them rolls over right in front of his feet.

“Well, so am I,” Maggie replies, bristling for the first time. “My friend is hurt and can’t be moved again until she’s feeling better. Are you done?”

The last part is aimed at me, I realize, and nod, swinging the bag of candles around in front of me.

Maggie leads the way back to the staircase and starts heading down.

“I’m warning you, Maggie!” he shouts the words but it doesn’t sound like he’s coming after us.

She ignores him.

“So. Nice family you’ve got there.”

She shoots me a scathing look over her shoulder but doesn’t comment. I can tell we’re headed back the way we came and I’m glad to be getting back to the girls. Even if the vamp’s warning didn’t faze Maggie, it raised the hair on the back of my neck. I’m wondering if there’s any way I can safely get the girls out of here tonight.

“What was that about another vampire?” I ask.

“I think there were two of them when we arrived. At least, that’s what Chloe showed me.”

Oh yeah, the little scene in the limo. I haven’t had time to ask Chloe about it yet.

“But how did you know the friend was gone now?”

She looks at me as if I’m stupid. “I couldn’t hear him in the house. The three of us are the only ones inside.”

“You can hear that much? Even while you’re human?”

“Yeah,” she says sharply, and I get the idea that she doesn’t want to talk about it anymore.

We’re almost through the passageway back to the church when voices filter to us, clear and close. Rachel and Lily. They must be in the library room, right next to us.

“Why do you want to stay with Maggie so bad?” Yep, that’s my sister. Confrontational is a nice way of saying it. “Don’t you get that she’s a bloodsucker? She wants to kill you.”

“No, she doesn’t.” Lily sounds pretty sure of herself for someone who didn’t know vampires existed until yesterday.

“Is it because she’s rich, then? She’s not going to give you money to feed your habit, you know.”

Maggie stops in front of the door; I almost run into her. She half-turns back to me so her shoulder is at my chest. “I don’t want to interrupt them,” she whispers.

“I can’t believe I thought you were my friend back at Eww,” Lily goes on. She sounds pretty upset. “You just used me to find out stuff about Maggie.”

There’s a pause, and I will Rachel to deny it. I know she can be mean when defensive, but it’s clear that Lily
wants
Rachel to be her friend.

“Look, I don’t have time for friends.” Ooh, Rach, wrong answer.

“You’re such a jerk.”

A door slams and one set of footsteps fades away.

Maggie stops me from entering the church with a hand on my forearm. “Wait,” she whispers, breath fanning my cheek. “If we go in now, they’ll know we heard them.”

She removes her hand, but she’s still close, only inches away. I need a distraction, so I say the first thing that comes to mind. “I hate teenage girl drama.”

Is that a snicker? It’s too dark to tell, but it sounded like Maggie laughed. “Maybe you should go comfort your sister.”

“Have you
met
Rachel? She’s not the kind of girl that’s all hugs and kisses, you know?”

She shifts, and I’m so aware that she’s
right here
. “You might be surprised. Even tough girls need to cry sometimes, need hugs.”

“What should I say, then, Miss Expert?”

“That’s easy. You say, ‘Screw her. We’re family and we stick together. No matter what.’”

She turns her head to look back down the hall we just came from and I can’t help but wonder if she’s revealed her true allegiance—her family.

“We should be fine now,” she says, and moves away from me.

Part of me wants to pull her back and just lay a big sloppy kiss on her, but I let her go.

It’s completely dark in the church, and silent except for someone sniffling. Crap, is that Chloe? She’s probably scared out of her mind. She hates the dark—can’t sleep without a nightlight on.