Dark Peril Page 0,162

killers.

And you remember that where those two are, Brodrick is not far behind.

He felt her uneasiness and knew she was concentrating on protecting him rather than herself. He bit back his inclination to give her the order to retreat. She wouldn't do it. He wouldn't have done it if their positions were reversed. He had to trust in her skills.

I love you.

Three little words. Her soothing, tender tone. He took a breath. She would be careful for his sake. He needed her, and she knew that.

His orchestra was in place; all he had to do was start conducting. He sent the pieces of the plan to Zacarias. They didn't have a timeline, but Giles wasn't going to give one, not when they wanted to test their plan first. It was now or never. He had to destroy as many of the undead as possible. He didn't want anyone escaping to know that their plan had been compromised, so that feeding frenzy had to start with someone else. He looked at Giles's trusted vampires.

You're smiling.

Am I? Maybe I am feeling just a little mean.

He felt her take a steadying breath. He did the same and reached for the technician inside the laboratory. Take the guard's gun and wound the researchers inside the building. Force them to come outside.

The overwhelming sight and smell of blood would send the vampires spiraling out of control. All it would take was for one to go after the wounded humans and the dam would break. The others would follow suit. He was certain Giles would try to assert his authority and send in his lesser vampires to control the mob, and that would open them up for attack. The guards on the roof would begin firing in an effort to protect their colleagues from the undead, and in the ensuing mayhem, he and Solange would be able to kill at will--he hoped. The sounds of gunshots were muffled by the thick walls of the laboratory, but distinct nevertheless. Giles gave up holding the attention of the crowd, stopping abruptly as they all turned toward the commotion. Lightning forked across the sky, sizzling, blinding with white-hot heat, very close. One bolt slammed into a tree just to the edge of their group. The tree exploded, branches splintering, the trunk blackened. Flames rushed through the network of limbs.

Men poured out of the laboratory, running into the cleared ground between the forest and the building. White coats and guard shirts were splattered in bright red, inviting blood. A few of the men, obviously just awakened and without wounds, shouted for the guards. The computer tech rushed outside brandishing a gun, firing into the chaotic crowd.

A shot rang out from the roof as a guard fired. The sound echoed through the forest. The computer tech staggered, and on the fringe of the vampires, the one called Milan fell to the ground.

Done.

Solange's voice whispered in his mind and he directed a series of strikes at the shocked vampire group. He incinerated the fallen Milan as well as two others who had been close. Even as he did so, a group of vampires rushed the bloody techs. Giles shouted to his lesser vampires to intercede, to form a wall between the humans and the hungry vampires, even as the master vampire began to retreat.

The first of the undead ripped the nearest wounded tech open, falling on him, gulping the rich, hot blood. Guards on the roof opened fire. The sound once again reverberated through the forest and Kiral jerked, spinning around. He glanced up toward the canopy, exposing his fangs. A volley of shots rang out. Men screamed in horror. Blood spattered across the yard. Vampires tore into one another, ripping through Giles's guard to get to the feast.

Lightning pounded the ground, striking Kiral, incinerating him on the spot. One vampire caught in the crossfire between the guards and the lightning strikes went down, bullet holes in his head, while the other half of his body burned. He dragged himself blindly across the ground toward the pooling blood while the others trampled him to get to the humans who had huddled together in an effort to protect themselves.

Dominic's clone pushed, shoved and clawed his way with the frenzied pack of the undead, eager to get at the blood spraying into the air and over the terrorized humans. The guards fired into the mass, adding to the chaos. Lightning forked and struck and thunder rolled, adding to the terrible din.

Dominic flowed across the