Page 47 of Property of Mako
I drew my blade.
“Mako—” Dexter’s warning was a low growl.
“Get the chains off all of them. Now.”
Spook was already moving, the shadows clinging to him as he appeared beside the first girl, slicing through silver cuffs with quiet precision. Crypt Keeper kept to wolf form, pacing in a slow, protective circle around us. The low rumble in his chest vibrated through the floor.
The girls were shaking, their eyes darting to the door. Some didn’t move even after the chains fell—too afraid to believe this was real. Lyra moved among them, her voice low and steady, urging them to their feet. Her hand brushed Lily’s shoulder, and something in Lily’s face broke—the fragile shell of fear cracking just enough to let relief through.
The first gunshot came from the hallway.
It was followed by three more, then the unmistakable hiss of a vamp’s inhuman snarl. The door slammed open, and four Covenant enforcers poured in, eyes glowing and fangs bared.
The room went still for half a heartbeat.
Then I moved.
The first one caught my blade in the ribs before he could finish his lunge. I twisted, yanking the steel free in a spray of black blood, and pivoted into the second vamp’s strike. His claws raked across my jacket, barely missing skin, but my knee came up hard into his gut before my blade punched into his heart.
Dexter’s pistol barked twice. Two more enforcers dropped at the impact of his spelled silver and ashwood bullets.
Screams erupted from the girls—half terror, half shock.
“Move them out!” I roared, cutting through the last one and shoving the body aside. “We’re done here.”
Except we weren’t.
The air shifted—no, collapsed—in on itself, a pressure so thick it made my ears pop. Shadows poured across the marble floor, curling like smoke with weight to it, and then Haidyn stepped out of the void. His eyes burned the color of dying embers, his black coat billowing with a wind that wasn’t there.
“You don’t listen well, do you?” His voice was smoke and stone, curling with amusement that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Not my style,” I snarled. “We’re taking them all.”
He glanced at me like I was a stubborn child. “You’re going to get them all killed.”
Then he looked past me, locking eyes with Lyra and Lily.
“Take them and get the fuck out,” he said, each word a growl that made the shadows around him shudder. “I’ll handle the rest.”
“Like hell?—”
The temperature in the room plummeted. Every torch and candle guttered low, their light swallowed into Haidyn’s growing shroud of darkness. The smell of burning ozone hit my nose.
“I’m not asking, vampire.”
Behind him, the east wing hall filled with movement—more enforcers, their auras like knives. If I stayed, we’d be neck-deep in blood before we even reached the stairs.
“Calix,” Lyra’s voice cut through the chaos. “Please.”
That did it.
I grabbed Lily, shoving her toward Lyra. “Stay on her and don’t look back.”
Crypt Keeper fell in beside them, his massive wolf form blocking half the corridor. Dexter covered our flank as we bolted into the nearest side hall, the sound of Haidyn’s power exploding behind us. The air was alive with the sound of steel, shattering glass, and something deeper—something primal that made even my predator instincts twitch.
We didn’t stop until the veil shimmered ahead, the faint burn of Octavia’s potion still marking my palm.
The second we burst through it, the night air hit me like a slap.
