would be.
The vamps led the way, dropping from one crumbly ledge to the next. With her weakened arm, Ari’s drops were often clumsy, blindly hoping she’d find a solid landing below her feet and not a long plunge into an icy grave. To the vamps this cliff climbing was old stuff, and Mike’s special ops skills were almost their equal. Ari found the trip more challenging. Once Andreas, and a second time Mike, gave her a hand. Ari hated it, but she’d do whatever it took to be there.
They stopped on a ledge barely a foot wide. The surface was slimy. When her feet slipped, Ari clung to a crack in the surface. The edge dropped straight down. The river was louder now, angrily smacking against the rocks.
Andreas whispered in her ear. “Are you able to continue?”
“Yes, fine. How soon?”
“Not much farther. I’ll take the lead. Stay close.”
He eased past her. They began to move again, stopping only minutes later in front of a large, dark opening. The entrance to the caverns.
They crowded inside. Carmella and the four vamps disappeared. When they returned, she nodded to Andreas.
“We can go in now,” he said in a low voice. “The first two sentries have been eliminated.”
They filed in, two or three at a time. Carmella and Andreas led the way, followed by Ari, Benny, and Mike, with the four vamps guarding the rear.
At first progress was painfully slow, as each side passage was checked. Once the wolves’ path was certain, the hunting party moved quickly. The deeper they went, the cooler it became. Ari shivered, even in her leather jacket. No one else noticed the temperature change.
As the passage became narrow, they used their hands to feel the way. Ari’s fingers grew icy, and she rubbed them for warmth. She peered ahead, hoping to see or hear something soon. The sound of dripping water was the only accompaniment to the quiet passage of their feet. The darkness was impenetrable. Even with Ari’s night vision and the rare flicker of a penlight in tricky places, the absence of light was challenging. And creepy.
A dim glow appeared ahead, and they came to a halt. Ari saw two distant figures moving beyond the light. The only approach was through a series of two passages lit by flaming torches on both sides, a defense against vampire attacks. The passages were narrow. Even sliding sideways, the chances of being burned or singed were high. While the flames were uncomfortable for Mike and Ari, they were a major problem for the vampires. There was no such thing as a minor burn for a vamp.
Ari felt the unease ripple through the vampires. One mistake and the hapless vamp would be cinders. Even Carmella and Andreas were not immune, although they showed no outward discomfort. They were better at hiding it.
Ari nudged Mike, pointed ahead, and they crept toward the passage.
Andreas came up on her right. “Do you have a plan?”
“Yes,” she breathed. “Let us take care of this.”
Andreas pulled back, and Ari unsheathed her dagger. Catching on, Mike produced his military issue. “You know how to throw that thing?” she asked.
Mike grinned.
Their backs flat against the cave wall, they inched forward and through the first passage without serious burns or being noticed by the sentries ahead. Ari thought they were now close enough for reasonable accuracy. She checked for the wolves’ current locations but saw only one. The male wolf looked bored, standing with one foot on a rock, so he could lean on his knee. Finally she located the second wolf, squatting near a small fire, a coffee cup in one hand, a cigar in the other. Easy marks for gunfire, but that would alert the others who must be somewhere nearby.
“We’ll only have one chance.”
Mike lifted his blade. It winked in the torchlight. “I’ll take the cigar.”
“OK,” Ari whispered. “Now.”
Two slivers of metal flashed through the second passage and across the intervening space. Each found its mark. Mike sped forward, knocking down torches as he went. Ari doused all but one torch in the passage behind her. By the time Mike had checked the sentries to make certain they were dead, the vampires had come safely through the passes. Mike returned Ari’s dagger with a conspiratorial grin.
Four down. And still they hadn’t seen Sheila. Wolf energy permeated the air. Excited by the blood, the younger vampires were edgy, pupils dilated. When a voice called from the farther caves, the hunting party froze. Knowing they were about to