Aidan turned toward him, and I couldn’t help but notice how worried he looked. “Make sure your thoughts aren’t blocked, so I can hear them. My range is way better than a normal mind reader’s,” he added sheepishly. “I can relay messages to Violet telepathically. Just keep our channel open, okay, Vi?”
As if it were ever closed to him. Still, I nodded.
Joshua took off. No one spoke till the heavy door swung shut behind him.
“I’m not comfortable sending him out alone,” Aidan said, pacing back and forth in front of the altar.
Marissa wrapped her arms around herself, as if she were cold. “He’ll be okay. I. I feel pretty sure of it.”
I stood and went to Aidan, taking one cold hand in mine. “Hey, come and sit down. Save your energy, okay?”
But really I just wanted him next to me, holding my hand, making me feel safe. Would any of us ever really be safe again?
An hour passed by, excruciatingly slow. Then another. The tension in the room felt like a living, breathing thing. Some sat, some got up and walked a circuit around the pews. Jack and Kate sat in the back whispering, their heads bent together. Without Aidan beside me, his grip firm on my hand, I might have gone mad. “Nothing, no movement,” Aidan passed on to the rest of us via Joshua’s thoughts.
Dusk was drawing near; the sun was making its slow descent toward the horizon, turning the sky a familiar purplish hue. The all-school assembly began — a peal of bells had marked it. Dr. Blackwell would be waiting for us now, in his office, but we weren’t coming. No, we’d lure them to us instead.
Beside me, Aidan’s body was taut, tense. I should not have involved you all, he said in my mind. I should have just let them take me.
Yeah, but it’s not happening that way, remember? Julius doesn’t want to take you — he wants me to kill you.
Do you believe in God? he asked me.
Yeah, I answered. Yeah, I do.
Then pray to him, Vi.
So I did. Fervently. We were in a church, after all. Maybe that somehow aided the connection.
Abruptly Aidan dropped my hand and stood up. “They’re moving. They realize we’re not coming to Blackwell’s office, and they’re on their way here. Joshua is following them.”
Someone whimpered. It might have been me. Time seemed to stand still, and I think I might have forgotten how to breathe.
“They’re close now,” Aidan said minutes later, looking toward the door. “Is everyone ready?”
Jack got up and strode off toward the back of the chapel. “I’m going up.” He had fans set up to release the elixir into the air, through the vents.
“Me too,” Cece said, following him. “C’mon, Sophie.”
The rest of us stood, rigid and tense, facing the door. My hand moved to the stake against my hip, my fingers running over its satiny shaft.
Marissa had a second stake tucked inside her jacket, and other weapons — freshly sharpened swords, some matches and lighter fluid — were stashed inside the chapel’s lone confessional. Because if any vampires were slain tonight, their heads had to be separated from their bodies, and then burned. Every time I thought about it, I got woozy. If Aidan was still around, he’d take care of it. If not. well, then, my friends would have to help me.
Glancing down, I remembered my crucifix necklace— Lupe’s gift — and pulled it out from beneath my shirt. For luck, I kissed it, then let it fall back against my shirt, in plain sight now. Just breathe, I told myself, then glanced over at my friends, wondering if they were as terrified as I was.
Considering what we were up against, Marissa and Kate looked remarkably calm and determined — almost fierce. Aidan stood in front of us, his feet planted wide apart, his hands clenched into fists by his sides. This was it, then. The time had come.
The Winterhaven Warriors were ready for action.
Not five minutes later, the double doors burst open and Julius strode into the chapel. He was well over six feet tall, with impossibly broad shoulders. His black hair fell to his shoulders, his dark eyes menacing beneath heavy brows. His nose was long, his lips full above a close-clipped goatee.
He looked exactly as I remembered him from my visions — tall, dark, and terrifying. A vampire in his prime, probably turned in his midthirties.
Facing him, Aidan looked like. like a boy.
Oh my God, this was insane. What had I been thinking, bringing my friends here to fight him?
“Aidan Gray,” Julius called out, his voice strangely melodic. “A church? What an odd place to find you. Have you come to make a confession?”
His black gaze slid around the room, lingering on me, then Kate, then Marissa. I felt his confusion, and I forced myself to focus, to invade his thoughts.
Hmm, which one is the Sâbbat?
It occurred to me then that we had a slight advantage — it could be any of us three, and I felt his indecision as he examined us each in turn.
Aidan took several steps toward Julius, his posture casual, nonthreatening. “It’s been, what? Forty years? To what do I owe the pleasure, Julius?”
“We must speak, old friend. Alone. And what a charming place to do so.” He spread his arms wide and turned in a circle, as if he were admiring the view. “An exact replica of the chapel at King’s College, is it not?”
“It is indeed. I’m happy to talk, but they stay,” Aidan said, tipping his head toward where Marissa, Kate, and I stood trembling behind him. All our calm determination had fled now that Julius stood before us, looking far more dangerous than we’d imagined.
Julius laughed. “I beg to differ, Aidan. We speak alone,” he repeated.
As he advanced on Aidan, anger flowed through my veins, making my pulse leap and my skin flush hotly. Oh, man. I was going to take this vampire down.
Suddenly the two females appeared behind Julius, as if from nowhere. Instinctively, I took two steps backward, blinking hard. I was aware of a strange smell in the air, of the air becoming misty. The elixir, I realized.
The females advanced on us — me, Kate, Marissa. Aidan tried to move between us, but Julius cut him off. Suddenly pews lifted from the ground and blocked the females; a beam fell from the ceiling in their path, missing the advancing women by mere inches. They waved away the mist, looking slightly confused by it, and I wondered what effect, if any, the elixir was having on their powers.
Kate continued to move objects into their path as the three of us backed toward the altar in full retreat. I’d lost sight of Aidan and Julius; I had no idea who had the upper hand in that confrontation.
“Your mind tricks are useless against us, mortal,” the taller female called out, her thin face pulled into a smile that looked more like a grimace.
They continued toward us — slowly, as if they were enjoying the anticipation.
As they drew closer, I reached for my stake, realizing my mistake as soon as I made it. Damn it, I had identified myself as the Sâbbat.
It’s that one, the taller female said to other. I could hear her as clearly as I could hear Aidan speak in my mind. We need to restrain the other two.
What happened next was entirely a blur. Somehow I was outside, sprawled on the grass. A full moon had risen and its light illuminated the dusky sky. Not ten feet away, daffodils ruffled in the breeze. Behind me, one female held Marissa, another had Kate. They both looked terrified, but neither made a sound. In front of me, Julius held Aidan captive, one thick arm around Aidan’s slender neck.
It was exactly like my vision. Stumbling to my feet, I reached for my stake.
It was gone.
“Looking for this?” Julius taunted, and then he kicked it toward me.