a building to one side near the forest. Something about it felt familiar, but what worried me most was the gathering of supernatural beings at the front of the building.
They all looked dangerous.
And then it hit me—this must be where Mae was being kept. WhisperWinds.
I almost took a step forward, then stopped. I was in no shape to be found right now. The smartest thing I could do was turn around and head home, then tell the others what I saw. Not only was this Headless Horseman building an army, it looked like he already had one.
Hell, this wasn’t good.
I needed to communicate with Mae again. We would need to come up with a plan sooner than I ever imagined.
If it wasn’t already too late.
13
Grim
When Adelle had called, my heart stopped. Panic had suffused my entire being as I tried to think of a reason she would be calling Alastair’s phone and not mine. Of course, as soon as I’d answered, that panic turned into fear.
In a quiet but shaky voice, she told me that some of Fang’s younger vamps had gone rogue—no, not rogue, rabid. He’d been fighting them off for a while, but it seemed like he needed help. So Adelle had called us in, only I was the only one available to go. Fan-fucking-tastic. Since I’d been to The Last Drop somewhat recently, I shouldn’t have quite so many death visions.
Or at least that’s what I was hoping.
The ride to the bar was short, and before I went in, I made sure to grab my sword from the trunk. Its weight in my grip was a comfort as I readied myself for action. Each step toward the entrance was tense, but this time, I’d just parked in the lot next door so it was only a few moments until I was there, opening the nondescript door.
A hiss sounded from within and a vamp charged me, lunging and going for my throat immediately. The door behind me hadn’t even shut yet, which was probably a good thing, since the light from outside highlighted the attacking vamp and I knew exactly where to swing.
I sliced through him with my blade, rending him in half, before stepping forward, over the disintegrating body, toward the bar. It was empty, the whole bar area devoid of life, except for the vamp that had just attacked me. I knew Alastair liked to put vampires into three different categories, something he’d drilled into each of us so we all knew what to expect when we were facing one.
A level one vamp was old, experienced, had most of his memories and humanity, just like Fang. Level two were vamps that had the makings of a level one vamp but had been outcast or had never found a coven. These were usually the most dangerous to the human population, since they were desperate and also aware of what they were doing. Level three was the animalistic vamp. They were what I was expecting to find attacking Fang. They were feral but also scared of their own shadows. Their humanity was nowhere to be found.
I made my way across the bar area and up to the entrance to the rest of the vamp nest. As I listened at the door for a moment, silence greeted me. Not that vamps were usually a raucous bunch, but still, I expected some noise.
The metal handle was cold in my grip and sent a shiver down my spine. The sensation might have turned a lesser being away, especially if they were human, but that didn’t stop me. I wasn’t human after all. I was a reaper.
As I slipped through the opening like a ghost, I tried to slow my heart rate and my breath. The last thing I wanted was to be a beacon for all of the rabid vamps in the place. I took slow, deep breaths as I made my way down the corridor and cleared each room. Every tiny noise made my heart rate spike though, since it was so damn quiet.
Each room was its own style in the way that only rooms that have been personalized by residents can be. It almost felt like a college dorm, where the residents were making up for the lack of space by imbuing every inch of the available space with their personality. One room was plastered with band posters and had guitars lying around, while another was like something out of Martha’s Vineyard with everything tastefully coordinated. It was all