Page 99 of Winterfall Destiny

I mean, she could be.

where?

Catacombs Camden

Bullshit I checked the place a week ago

Which means he can blood rune his way here.

I don't have time to explain will you help or not?

isn't your ubervamp with you? He can help

No and nobody else can get here as quickly as you I swear there's Dominion in the catacombs

No reply—and the group move towards the dark entrance into the Dominion's maw. Fuck. I run a hand along my cheek and consider asking Andrei to join me, but even he'd be too slow to reach here in time.

My hand tightens around the phone. I promised no walking away and doing things alone. We all agreed not to threaten ourselves. Even returning to the club on my own goes against what's acceptable. I slump down the wall slightly, then sigh and pull myself forward.

If Dominion are holed up in there, they'll still be inside tomorrow.

Won't they?

Do the right thing for once, Tobias. You'll need to be in everyone's good books once Maeve shares your latest secret.

Pissed off, I bury hands in my pockets and bow my head, hunched over as I step out of the alcove to the uneven path leading away from the catacomb entrance.

A yell echoes nearby and I spin on my heel. Someone swearing. Shouting. Inside the catacombs that the kids just walked into. Hmm. Looks like the recruiters might not be truthful after all. Or have they failed a task?

Gritting my teeth and muttering an apology to the others, I change direction and edge towards the entrance. Do humans go far into these tunnels? I can see easily through the dark, but humans would struggle to navigate in the permanent dim.

The place reeks with years of mouldydisuse, air dank and cold, tunnels ahead leading to a maze of derelict, mildewed archways, and passages. The claustrophobia and encompassing blackness would terrify some humans who snuck in the disused catacombs, imagining ghosts from the place's past. Any who walked into the tunnels now would no longer doubt the supernatural world exists.

Is this the place in Maeve's vision?

The blindfolded kids are no longer blindfolded, and the two recruiters are now spreadeagled on the filthy ground, each with a new recruit's boot resting on their necks. The ones on the floor can't contain the blood yet because, instead of dislodging their attackers, the pair are choking to breathe.

Lucky for them that they're vamps, I guess, because their attackers have some strength.

"Oh. Interesting," says a smooth, familiar accent, and Dorian strides by. "Good evening, gentleman. Ladies."

"Who the fuck are you?" asks the long-haired guy pinning the other by the neck.

I half-smile to myself as I join Dorian. "Not his favourite question. Who are you?"

"Are you Dominion too?" he asks and slices a look at the guy on the floor. "Should've known you bastards didn't operate alone tonight."

"Hmm." Dorian grabs the guy's jacket by both hands and hauls him away. His boot leaves the other guy's neck before Dorian slams him against the mildewed wall. "Are you Dominion, mate?"

"Obviously not," he sneers.

The guy the kid had pinned to the floor scrambles onto his hands and knees, and I throw out a spell before he can move, hitting his head until he slumps back, holding the sides and swearing. I move to stand over him in warning. The girl on the floor beside him whimpers, and the one holding her down no longer smiles in victory.

"We're a test for them. You a test for us?" continues the guy Dorian holds.

"My, what a tangled web Gabriella weaves," says Dorian. "Pitting her own against each other. Survival of the fittest?"

"I don't have anything to do with the Dominion bastards," he half-spits. "I'm a spy and here for info."

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