Silence - By Kailin Gow Page 0,43
the dragon’s arm roughly, wrenching it behind him.
“Now, Dragon, since you have fulfil ed your promise to open the gate and al ow us through, I promise not to kil you for now. Never let it be said that I am not fair.
Where are the others?”
“They’re here,” the dragon said. It sounded like it was in pain. “In the trees.”
Almost as the dragon said it, a shadow
dropped lightly from the trees, landing on its feet in the clearing. It seemed that Steve’s device had been accurate after al , which raised the worrying possibility that there were far more vampires around. This one had dark midnight hair and appeared to be in his late twenties. He was dressed al in black, in a black sweater and dark jeans that only served to heighten the contrast with his pale skin.
As he moved forward, more vampires fel
down behind him, moving to form a half circle around the gate. Inevitably, they were al attractive young women and men, dressed with as little color as their leader.
“We’ve been waiting for you,” the newcomer said.
“I see that.” The vampire from the other side of the gate nodded. “Marcus wil be pleased that you are the first group to answer his cal . What do they cal you, and where have you come from?”
The vampire al in black looked back at his group. “I’m Sloane,” he said, “and we’re al from the Western part of the U.S.”
“And you know where we are from,
Sloane?”
Sloane nodded. “Palisor.”
The vampire who had come through the
gate nodded. “Exactly. You’re lucky. You and your group are about to have a free for al in a paradise for supernatural creatures. No more hiding behind human rules. No more being careful. You’l enjoy that, I think.”
Sloane smiled. So did most of the vampires he had with him. “Yes, we wil . We’re hungry. A smal taste at a human school simply isn’t enough. We can’t wait to sink our teeth into some of the more delectable creatures we’ve heard about…mermaids, unicorns, hugtandalfs.”
“And who can blame you?” This voice came from back in the trees, but Kevin recognized it even before Pietre stepped out into the clearing. The vampires already there turned towards him with suspicious looks that quickly became even more hostile when more vampires joined Wicked’s master.
“Now, now,” Pietre said equably. “There’s no need to get upset. I’m not here to spoil your fun.
After al , Palisor sounds like a feast far too good to miss.”
“Who are you?” the leader of the Palisor vampires asked, drawing his sword with the hand he wasn’t using to control the dragon-shifter.
Pietre didn’t seem to be bothered by that in the least. “I am Pietre, the master vampire here in Wicked. I was just fol owing this one,” he nodded at Slone, “to teach it some manners for hunting so openly in my territory, but it seems that he has done me a favor, leading me to you. You are welcome here, of course. Very welcome.”
“Good,” the leader of the Palisor vampires said, not sheathing the sword. “I wouldn’t want to have to rip your head off for not being hospitable, would I?”
“Oh, no,” Pietre said. “I’m sure none of us would want that. You are in a position to offer free access through the gate?”
“Hey!” Sloane interrupted. “I was here first.”
Pietre ignored him. “If you can get me through the gate, I’l al ow you free access to al of Wicked.”
The leader of the Palisor vampires nodded.
“Done. You’re the kind of vampire we are looking for.
Both of you,” he added, cutting off Sloane’s protest.
“Come, there is little time.”
The vampire turned, preparing to head back through the gate. As it did so, however, the dragon shifter he held twisted in his grip, wrenching clear of it. It stepped back from the vampire, kicking out at another that tried to get close.
“No,” it said, “I can’t do it. I won’t. I won’t let so many vile things into Palisor.”
Vampires lunged for it, and the transformed dragon moved out of the way. Kevin turned to his brother. “That dragon’s our way in to help Briony. We have to help it.”
Without waiting for an answer, Kevin charged forward, transforming into a wolf and attacking the nearest of the vampires. The move was enough to al ow the dragon-shifter to get close to one of Slone’s vampires, kil ing it with a move Kevin barely saw.
“Don’t just stand there,” the Palisor vampire cal ed out to the others, “kil the dragon!”
“You