“Nicky,” I snapped.

Right before I punched him in the nose.

He jerked back, with a silent snarl. His tousled hair fell back over his eye, obscuring the mist-gray glint of his irises. I arched my eyebrow at him, knuckles feeling bruised. He slowly wiped my blood off his lower lip, looking miserable but like himself again. I poked him hard in the chest before he could get all broody about it. “Don’t,” I whispered. “Did it work?” I mouthed. He paused, then nodded. We shared a quick, grim smile.

“I’m coming,” Nicholas called down, disgruntled. “Call off your dogs.” It would buy us a few minutes. The vampires paused, scattered through the trees, one of them halfway up a rope dangling from the pine behind us. I didn’t think he’d spotted us yet. The wind made the branches creak ominously. It was enough to cover our sounds now but once I started running, they’d hear my footsteps.

“I’ll draw them off,” Nicholas whispered in my ear. It was almost a kiss. “You run like hell.”

I nodded, reaching back to activate the GPS tag so Hunter and the others could find me. He sent me one last complicated glance before he hurried across the bridges leading away from me. I ran as fast as I could, the bridges swaying and creaking under me. I glanced back just long enough to see him land in a crouch, his hair falling into his gray eyes. The combination of the movement and the height made me feel queasy and light-headed, but I pushed through until I found one of the ladders. I shimmied down the length of it, the chafing on my palms leaving streaks of blood on the rope. I kept running, dodging branches and jumping over fallen trees.

I had no idea where I was or how to get back to the school van. At first that didn’t matter but now that I was hopefully far enough away from Solange, I couldn’t keep running blindly. Moonlight gave a blue glow to the snow that had managed to fall between the pines. It was enough to keep me from running into trees but not enough to get my bearings. People died in the Violet Hill mountains. Experienced hikers and climbers got lost and wandered for days until they succumbed to exposure. The cold air slapped at my burning lungs. I slowed to a limping jog.

I pulled the GPS tag off the hem of my shirt, squinting at the stamp-sized screen. Chloe had MacGyvered it especially for me, so that she could find me, but I could find her as well. I followed the blinking red dot, trying not to run into any trees. Branches scraped at me. Snow dislodged and fell all over me, soaking into my clothes.

And then I didn’t need the GPS anymore, I just had to follow the sounds of fighting.

I reached the edge of the woods to find the van running, high beams on. Jenna was sliding out of the driver’s seat, a crossbow in her hand. Chloe climbed over the seats to take over the steering wheel. Hunter was clinging to the roof, using the second crossbow. There were at least five Hel-Blar that I could see, snarling as they surrounded the van.

Hunter’s bolt slammed into the one standing between me and the van and he erupted into a cloud of putrid-smelling ash. I leaped over the stained and tattered remains of his clothing. “I’m weaponless,” I shouted at Hunter. “And I have better aim.”

She slid off the roof without a word and I vaulted up to take her place. Jenna took out another Hel-Blar just as Hunter lured the nearest one away from Chloe’s door. “Get in the damn van!” Chloe yelled. “Lucy’s back. Let’s get out of here!”

“We can’t just leave them here,” Hunter argued, dancing out of the reach of a blood-encrusted arm. The Hel-Blar attached to it clacked his jaws. Hunter staked him, using a roundhouse kick to shove the stake deep enough into his chest. “There are farmhouses nearby.”

“Oh my God,” Chloe shot back. “You’re going to be the reason I’m going to get killed before I can convince one of the Drake brothers to date me.”

One of the Hel-Blar landed on the hood, fangs flashing. The smell of slimy mushrooms made me gag. Chloe jerked back reflexively and then scrambled to slam her door shut. She honked the horn.

“Oh, like that’s going to help,” Jenna muttered, leaping onto the roof behind me.

I shot a crossbow bolt at him, catching him in the eye. Blood and stench splattered the windshield. Chloe shrieked. “Sorry! Sorry!” I yelled as she turned on the wipers. The next arrow caught him in the chest and went straight through his heart. Blood and ashes clumped in streaks, flung back and forth by the wipers. Jenna straightened behind me, shooting arrows at the Hel-Blar shambling behind us. He fell apart still gnashing his fangs.

Hunter was fighting the last one, a female who was shrieking and snarling. The sound was so high-pitched and awful it made my teeth hurt. I aimed my crossbow at her but Hunter shifted in the way. She threw one of her stakes. It went under her collarbone at a weird angle and stuck there. When she growled down at it, Hunter triggered the stake strapped to her forearm. It shot forward and she staggered, turning to dust.

Jenna and I slid into the van as Hunter raced toward us, her blond ponytail swinging cheerfully. She was barely inside when Chloe slammed the van into reverse. She slid through the icy mud, the van lilting dangerously as it careened toward the dirt road. The smell of burning rubber and exhaust replaced the reek of green water.

“What is that thing?” I glanced enviously at the stake-holder on Hunter’s arm as I caught my breath. “Because I totally want one for my birthday.”

Chapter 15

Solange

I let go.

I didn’t know how else to save Lucy. I couldn’t afford to call Constantine’s bluff. There was no reason to think he wouldn’t drink her dry, as he’d threatened.