Page 62 of After Darkness Falls

She'd never liked getting drunk; Chloe was one to stop halfway to tipsy.

She soon realized she was the exception among her group, besides Jack, who only had one flute of champagne and, hours later, at dinner, sipped on red wine, taking his time. But the others were downing their drinks like water.

Jack's advice on staying inconspicuous and traveling separately long forgotten, their group wobbled through Mayfair, singing and dancing on the pavement.

"Don't look so disapproving," Jack said with a laugh. "They can take a nest of rogue shifters while half-drunk. It's actually part of the training."

Of course it was.

"I'm not disapproving. I just don't understand the desire to lose control."

Jack nodded as they turned into New Bond Street. During the day, the street was a hub of activity, with black taxis driving over the speed limit; now, it was empty. "You wouldn't," he said, understanding in his tone. "Those who’ve had the rug pulled from under their feet rarely do. What happened with your dad…I'm sorry. It sucks. But it doesn't define you."

Didn't it?

"It's hard to believe that when I'm basically on the run, in another continent, because of it. I had to give up my home, move, and now…"

Jack was thoughtful. "You're assuming that this mess has something to do with your father. It's possible…"

He never finished that sentence.

A spear flashed through the air, aimed right at his head. The next instant, unbelievably, Jack moved a fraction of an inch to the left and caught it in motion.

"In formation!" he yelled.

The huntsmen, who'd barely seemed able to walk on a straight line moments before, moved as one, forming a circle back-to-back with Chloe, Blair, and Gwen in the middle.

It looked like they'd be putting that drunken training to the test.

The seconds were thick, heavy, endless. Nothing happened. After a minute, Chloe wondered if it had just been a huntsmen-hating prank, someone seeing an opportunity to try and hurt Jack.

But in the next instant, both sides of the long, wide street darkened as a crowd of yelling, growling creatures ran right to them.

The creatures were armed with spears and swords, and some had guns. Chloe couldn't quell her fear. So many of them. Dozens. Perhaps a hundred. She couldn’t tell in the dark.

To her left, Blair lifted her hands to shoulder height and yelled. Bright light flashed out of her palms and flew through the thick crowd of enemies, knocking a good few over. Gwen’s eyes were on the sky. Her dark irises flashed silver-white, and the sky thundered in response to her call. Fist-size balls of ice fell from the sky, hitting everyone outside of their circle.

Everyone was useful except her.

Chloe wasn't one to enjoy violence. Other than for self-defense, she'd never been interested in fighting. She'd always thought that violence only bred more violence in an unending circle of animosity.

Right now, she felt foolish. Downright foolish. Those creatures weren't going to stop just because she didn't want to fight. They didn't care. They'd planned this ambush to destroy every single one of them. And Chloe should have been able to fight or, at the very least, defend herself and be useful to her friends.

She saw one of Tris’s many spare blades flash at her belt.

"Can I have a knife?" she asked her.

Without sparing her a glance, Tris pulled a long, curved knife out of her jacket and threw it behind her.

Chloe's fingers wrapped around the hilt, grabbing it like a lifeline. At least now she didn't feel so very useless.

The creatures were almost on them, close enough for her to see that their faces seemed wrong, contorted into a mask of hunger and horror. What were they?

The first line reached the huntsmen, and blades fell on blades in a thundering clash with such speed that Chloe could barely follow the movements.

The things had sharp, vampire-like teeth, though much longer than any vamp’s fangs Chloe had ever seen. And it wasn't just their canines—at least four, and sometimes even eight, of their teeth protruded from their mouths.

They didn't have the strength, but they had the numbers. Chloe saw one fallen creature crawling on the floor, mouth wide open to bite Bash. She screamed, "Watch out!" and ran to her friend.

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