Page 82 of The Vampire and the Case of the Hellacious Hag

‘We can’t have any sort of future – equal or not – if he’s dead!’ She tugged against my hand.

‘Either way, you would lose him,’ I said firmly. ‘This is who he is. Let him see that you can handle this – that you know he can handle himself.’

She stopped and her shoulders drooped. ‘I need something to do. I can’t sit around and wait.’

‘Believe me, when we’re into it we’ll wish wewerestill outside waiting. Besides, we aren’t going to sit around. We’re surrounding the other entrances to make sure no one escapes.’

Despite my words, Sidnee’s eyes were still mer black and I knew she was using the darker side of herself to stop herself plunging into the mine after Thomas.

Connor and I took our positions and kept our guns aimed at our spots while Sidnee partnered with John to do the same. Once everyone was in place, Henderson and his team – including Thomas – headed in.

It was totally silent except for the sound of waves in the distance – but then the pop of suppressed gunfire erupted from inside the mine, together with shouts and screams that were impossible not to hear.

We held our positions as we heard screams and gunfire for the next few minutes. One of our soldiers came stumbling out of the mine; he’d been shot in several places but his vest had saved his life. He gave the signal for us to step up before he collapsed on the ground and the MIB medic started administering aid. We were up.

Henderson had impressed on us that we were the last resort, but now the friends and family I’d found inPortlock were being called into battle. Things obviously weren’t going well. Well, here goes nothing, then.

‘Don’t use your fire,’ Connor murmured to me. ‘We can’t risk anyone finding out the truth about you. If anyone sees you using fire, I’ll have to kill them to protect us.’

I swallowed hard and nodded. I knew he was right: we needed to keep my hybrid status under wraps. When we’d stormed the bunker I’d been with friends who knew I had fire magic, even if they didn’t fully appreciate what that meant for me. But today was different; today I was surrounded by council members and MIB soldiers, and though I trusted the council with my life I didn’t trust them with my secrets. Evidently, neither did Connor.

I took a deep breath then, as if someone had flipped a switch somewhere, Connor was moving forward and I was on his flank. John and Sidnee were on our six. Stan and Mads had already shifted and were galloping ahead. The bears were moving fast and they’d be inside without us as backup if they didn’t slow down. Connor came to the same conclusion and we upped our pace.

Calliope and Soapy had their tridents extended to full length and currents of live electricity skittered over the tips of the tines. Calliope looked at me and gave a half-grin – like John, she was enjoying herself. She held up herpearlescent shell and a twisting opalescent light emanated from it, weaving around her and Soapy. What was it? A shield? I’d have to wait to see.

The one that surprised me the most was the mayor. He was bare chested, in a Polynesian style kilt with only a short thick staff as protection, but as I watched his bare skin morphed into something that looked like tree bark and he grew in size. The staff extended and a billow of fog came over to conceal him. Totally cool.

Gunnar was next to us, his shotgun in one hand and his handgun in the other. He never used magic as a first line of defence, mainly because it took a lot out of him. Or maybe he trusted the old-fashioned combination of lead and gunpowder more.

Liv had found a spot on the hill above the mine. Her hair was free, her afro loose and blowing in the wind, and her colourful kaftan was a focal point. She looked like a goddess of death. Goddess or not, she was utterly nuts because she’d made herself a target. Part of me wanted to yell at her to come down but I knew she’d scoff at me and there was no time for arguing.

Her goat was by her side. With a quick swipe of her athame, the goat’s lifeblood started to pool into the copper bowl she was holding. The goat sank to its knees then toppled over as the blood drained and Liv took its verylifeforce into her being. I felt the now-familiar pull of her magic and wondered what she was about to do.

Her laughter accompanied me into the mine, sending an additional skitter of ice down my spine. Something big was happening.

And I wasn’t sure if it was a good big or a bad big.

Chapter 48

Connor and I sprinted towards the mine. Stan and Mads were already inside, Calliope and Soapy were close behind them, and Connor and I came next at vampire speed. The mayor followed with Gunnar, and Sidnee and John brought up the rear. John was keeping pace with Sidnee, who was slower; if we survived, I’d make sure to tell him how much I appreciated that. He was keeping my bestie safe.

It was utter chaos inside the mine. There were a lot more than thirty Knight Stalkers and they were prepared for us. It was clear they were deeply embedded and had plenty of supplies and weapons.

‘Anyone worried about a cave-in?’ I asked, but no one answered. Just me, then. I tried to push my claustrophobia to one side. I’d never known I suffered from it until my first stroll down the Chrome Mine.

Calliope and Soapy, surrounded in their opalescent shell magic, advanced ahead of us until I lost them in the gloom.

We had to go down a long corridor that had tunnels branching everywhere – and we’d only advanced through two sections. The rest were too heavily fortified.

Connor and I moved to the right of the passage with five of our MIB team as the others spread out on the left side. The bodies scattered on the ground showed that our group had done well, but even so we were down three and there were at least a hundred Knight Stalkers. Was it too soon to call a retreat? I was really good with that option.

‘We aren’t going to make it much further unless we can get behind them,’ I overheard Henderson say to Gunnar.

Gunnar nodded. ‘I’ll get my people on it.’

We had comms and Gunnar was speaking into his, though I didn’t know who to. We hadn’t brought digging equipment and I doubted we could find another entrance and get behind the Knight Stalkers before they figured out what we were doing. We were at an impasse; an impasse that meant every second someone was closer to being shot or killed.

I needed to do something.

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