case the fae were watching. Hopefully, they’d think she’d come alone. She was not only all right with that, she’d suggested it.
This was her mission, so she ought to take the most dangerous spot. Even if the fae did kill her, so long as it wasn’t a fatal strike through the heart, she’d still technically be alive since she could afford to die once. Another vampire perk.
With her hand on her sword and Rixaline’s map in her head, she started through the winding paths of the Ramble. The snow soundproofed everything, making the woods eerily quiet and magnifying every sound. Every step left a print in the newly fallen snow.
The path was easy enough to make out, which was good because Donna’s attention was on the forest around her and the sky above. She hadn’t been in Central Park since Christina’s class had come on a field trip here seven or eight years ago. But she swore she would have remembered the trees looking like something out of a scary movie.
The bare branches were dark and reaching, the bark twisted into whorls and snarls that looked more like scowling expressions than simple tree trunks. Was that fae magic? Intended as a warning to any who might approach? Maybe she could only see it because of Jerabeth’s vision potion. The sound of flapping wings made her abandon that line of thought to take cover in a thicket of brush.
She glanced up to see three beautiful, graceful fae soaring overhead. Probably returning to the safety of the stronghold before sunrise and either unaware or uninterested in her and her entourage.
The sight sent a ripple of anticipation through her. Not only was Jerabeth’s vision potion working, but Donna was close to the fae’s headquarters. Which meant Rico wasn’t far away.
She pushed to her feet and kept going. The sky was no longer black, but a muted blue gray. Sunrise was still a few minutes away, but it wouldn’t be long. The gate had to be within a few yards. A little farther and she crested a hill.
The gate appeared out of the mist before her.
The thing was a crumbling, tumbledown arch of stone that vaguely resembled the larger, more refined marble version in Washington Square Park. Except that one didn’t have snarling, drooling hellhounds guarding either side of it. She wasn’t positive they were hellhounds, but it seemed plausible.
“Nice doggies,” she whispered.
Their eyes glowed red, and they were simultaneously muscular and skeletal. One of the Great Dane-sized beasts pawed the ground with a clawed foot that looked like exposed bone covered partly in fur.
A shocking thought came to her. Were these the zombie version of hellhounds? Because considering what had been happening lately, that seemed like the only thing left for life to throw at her.
Zombie. Hellhounds.
The sky grew lighter still. The time to breach the stronghold was fast approaching. “Sorry, pups, no brains for you today.”
She pulled her sword, holding it out before her, but indecision kept her in her spot. How should she handle it when the hellhounds tried to keep her from going through the gate? Take them on directly? Try to outrun them? And if they were indeed zombie hellhounds… Would her sword even be an effective weapon against them? Holy communion, she was still so out of her element.
It wasn’t a decision she had to make. The hellhounds’ heads came up, then they whimpered, cowering as they retreated a few steps.
Donna chanced a look over her shoulder. Every available space behind her was alight with pair after pair of gleaming blue werewolf eyes. Hundreds. Maybe thousands. As far back through the Ramble as she could see.
She faced the hellhounds again and saw that the eyes surrounded her and the gate. Wolves filled the woods on every side. LV and Toni had kept their word in the most stunning fashion possible. New courage filled Donna.
The hellhounds lay down, their heads between their bony paws, no longer a threat. Pale gray streaked the clouded sky. Dawn was imminent. Donna raised her sword over her head.
Behind her, a single howl broke the stillness and raised goose bumps on Donna’s arms. Rico would know they were here now.
And so would the fae.
A metallic hum on her left made her dodge away, sword up, but it was only Neo’s drone. Heart pounding ever so slightly, she gave a thumbs-up to the camera, and the drone took off again.
She raised her hand and gave the sign to go, a single finger pointed at the