Page 45 of The Secret of Pain

"Fine. Let’s go," he says, waving forward as I take in the building before me. I studied the old blueprints for this place at the library earlier today, learning the exits, the layout. Though it could have been changed by its inhabitants, I doubt it. "We don't have much time before they awaken. They may be already, in which case, this is suicide."

I nod at his words and creep across the lawn as silently as I can manage. We work our way around the building where a broken window offers itself up as our entry point.

"I don't like this, Remy. Something feels off."

"Shh!" I glare at him.

I pull myself up on the window frame and step into the dark room, letting my eyes adjust to the pitch black surrounding us. I pause, listening for movement beyond the room. Though the darkness is thick, it is not so late in the day that the Dracul would stir, but still, after yesterday I am taking no chances.

I step farther into the room and Creek joins me, standing close to my back, so close that I can feel the heat coming from him and I have to make myself concentrate on the task at hand.

He taps my shoulder, making me jump slightly, signaling the way he is going, so I take the opposite side of the room, and search as quietly as I can for the talisman. While I don't think for a second it would just have been abandoned, I'm not going to leave an empty room unsearched. I think back to the picture Fallon sent me of her wearing the talisman. A necklace, the metal dark, holding a pendant. A yellow gemstone, framed in the dark metal, twisted in the most intricate ways.

I clear my side of the room quickly, since it’s almost bare, and meet Creek at the door. He signals to me, telling me he's heading right out of the room, so I nod, and tilt my head to tell him I'll go left, going toward the front of the hotel while he heads further into the depths of the hall.

I watch him go, silent in the darkness, and try not to worry about sending my best friend, and Fates knows what else he was before, into a pit of our enemies, quite literally, alone. He wouldn't have gone if he didn't think he could handle it, and I know that deep down. I trust him not to get himself killed, so I take a deep breath, exhaling slowly as I creep toward the entrance hall of the hotel.

I hear voices as I get closer, and I halt. Hunter hearing is good, but the Dracul senses make ours seem almost human. Their sight, hearing, sense of smell, speed and brutality are almost unrivaled.

I tread carefully as I move forward and try to work out what they're saying without being detected.

"They will come for this, Alex, you fucking idiot. Why on earth would you take a Witch’s talisman, and why the hell would you bring it back here? We will have to move the entire family. They will know about this place, you fucking moron." The woman's voice, full of rage, makes me shudder. I'm glad I'm not Alex.

"We can use this," the male insists. "We have Witches who rally to our cause. We have been seen as vermin for too long. We can rise with the power of their line on our side. This talisman could help us turn the tide! Lift the veil on the truth, make people see what once was!"

"You're nothing but a fool!"

"Lysandra, that is enough." A dark voice ripples through the emptiness and caresses me, and I realize I know that voice. I hold my breath, because how do I know that voice?

"Alexander, she is right. Taking that talisman does nothing but give the Hunters more reason to come after us. It is a beacon to the Witches; they have already traced it. Hunters are here." My stomach drops at his words. He knows we're here, and now so do the rest of them.

"We must leave!" Lysandra's voice is shrill. "They cannot get the little ones."

"We must fight!" Alex cries. "There are more of us than there are of them."

Footsteps rush into the room before me when I feel eyes on me from behind. My breath catches when I see the man from my memories.

"Remy?" His voice is barely a whisper, but my body reacts violently. As if my heart has been torn from my chest. "You're back."

"Kain?" I stutter, and his eyes shine.

"You remember." I shake my head at his words.

"No." The word takes the light from his eyes and my stomach flips at the pain I see in them.

"You must go. Quickly. Your partner is on his way back, unharmed. I ensured it."

"Creek," I utter the word, and pain paints his features again.

"He is here this time?" I nod but still do not understand fully.

"There is no time, you must go." He pulls me close, quicker than I have a chance to react to, my body melting in his arms. "I have missed you, more than you could ever imagine. But you must go."

He releases me, and my legs almost fail, my body not wanting to leave him behind.

"The talisman…" I whisper.

"I will ensure its safety, and I will find you. I will always find you."

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