Page 261 of Golden Eagle

He did, slowly at first, just a few steps, and them visibly squared his shoulders, and marched along, toward a set of doors that presumably led out into a hallway.

As they followed, Dante touched Alexei’s arm. At first, Alexei thought he was trying to get his attention, but then Dante’s hand closed, and gripped tight, nails biting through the wool of Alexei’s jacket.

“What?” he asked, turning to him.

Dante stumbled to a halt, his other hand going to his forehead, eyes half-lidded, and watering. He wore an expression of terrible pain, like he had back at his apartment. “Lex…” Voice faint, breath strained. “I don’t know…my head…”

Severin pushed through the doors.

“I can’t…” Dante said.

There was the click, like a lock sliding into place. And then a banging: Severin pounding on the doors.

“What–” Alexei started to ask again.

Dante flinched, and a second later Alexei noticed the dart sunk in his neck, its little feathers hot pink. It hadn’t been there a moment before.

Someone had…

He felt a prick at his own neck.

And then everything went black.

~*~

The black thing fluttering past the window had been Kolya dangling from a rope. Will had produced a harness for him to wear, but she wasn’t sure if he’d done it, or found it too difficult. Reincarnated or not, his part of the plan hadn’t been one she’d wanted to foist on a human, but he’d assured them he could do it, and do it he had.

It being place one of Will’s little supersonic, silent pulsing glass-breaking devices on the window, which Much would then trigger remotely.

He’d done it, obviously, and then fired the arrow that had taken one of the guards in the neck.

After that, it was chaos.

While Dr. Fowler was still gaping, frozen, Jamie leapt up and shouted, “Stop!” Even though his voice and will hadn’t been directed at her, Trina still paused a moment, a wave of malaise washing over her.

She shook it off, though, in time to see that Dr. Fowler had indeed stopped, gaze going glassy, but the second guard hadn’t, for some reason. Were some people immune? Or was part of his gear able to repel compulsion?

It didn’t matter. He lifted his rifle – an AK – and fired a round straight at Jamie.

Jamie had tried to dodge, already realizing what she had, but you couldn’t move faster than a bullet. He went down with a low, whimpering growl.

Trina shoved her chair back and dropped beneath the table, grabbing Mia’s sleeve and all but dragging her after. “Get down,” she hissed, towing her in. And then, though it wasn’t the time, but because she couldn’t keep from saying it in the midst of her panic, snapped, “Your dad’sDr. Talbot?”

When Mia grimaced, her fangs elongated, gleaming sharp points. “I’m sorry–”

“Whatever.” She’d worry about it later. She fumbled down in her boot and drew her spare gun; the guard had her .45, which she would have preferred, but the nine mil would have to do. And it had silver bullets, whatever that was worth.

She registered a wealth of sounds at once.

Jamie snarling.

The guard who was still alive saying, “Two vampires, one mortal,” presumably into his earpiece, talking to whoever was out there shooting.

Whoever was shooting, and probably shooting at Fulk and Anna.

A loudthunk.

A curse from the guard.

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