Page 279 of Golden Eagle

Someone knelt down in front of her, teeth bright white in his dark face. “Trina? You alright?”

She blinked. “Deshawn?”

“Yes, ma’am. Cavalry’s here. You good to get up?”

“Yeah.” She took the offered hand, though, and let him tow her up to her feet. She cast a glance around the office, and saw the bodies, so many bodies, human and vampire. The vampires were sad things, dressed in ragged clothes, dirty and grimy and looking less than human – in a matter of speaking. The troops who’d come in the window wore urban environment camo, and flak vests, helmets.

One man knelt and drove a silver spike through the heart of a vampire flopping across the floor like a landed fish. When it stilled, he pulled out a knife, and began the grisly task of killing it for good.

She spotted fire, still; a preparatory curl of it in the palm of the small figure who’d wielded it. Red, she realized with a start. Severin’s sister, her bright hair braided and tucked up into her helmet.

It was Lionheart. Lionheart had come for them.

“How…” she started, dazed-feeling. “How did you know…?”

Deshawn chuckled, not unkindly. “Much called us days ago. You guys did good, but he wasn’t gonna leave it to chance, and neither were we.”

“Right,” she said, numbly.

Around them, troops were killing vampires. A pile of hearts was growing in the center of the office.

One of them called out, “Marian says she can’t hold off PD much longer. We’ve got birds inbound.”

“That’s our cue to go, then,” Deshawn said. “Roo, is that all of ‘em?”

A tall man with broad shoulders added another heart to the pile, wiped his palms on his tac pants, and said, “Yeah, that’s it. Light it up, kiddo.”

Red flicked her wrist, threw a ball of flame, and set it alight.

Deshawn took hold of Trina’s arm. “Ready to get out of here?”

“God, yes.”

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