I search deep inside of me for the bond, fearing the worst. What if Elena broke it somehow? There’s a small flicker. I can still sense Saxon, but it’s not as potent as it used to be. I route all my strength to it, hoping I can reach him before Elena unleashes doom all over Salem.
Saxon, my love. I need you.
Saxon
When we reach downtown, chaos is already reigning supreme. Some buildings are in flames. There are people on the streets running around like headless chickens as they try to get away from the rioters responsible for the mess. Through the noise of shouts, breaking glass, and crackling fire, I also pick up wolves howling in the distance. I can’t tell if those shifters are from Marcus’s pack or Coyote’s.
Karl and Cheryl quickly disappear in the dark smoke, heading in the direction of the wolves. At least there aren’t any shifted dragons—yet. But Lucca, Ronan, and I are more concerned with finding Jacques or any of his sycophants in the crowd. It’s clear that he’s behind this, and knowing how the motherfucker operates, he’s somewhere nearby. It’s not his MO to simply stay away. That’s more in line with Tatiana’s style to just sit on her ass and watch the destruction from afar.
It doesn’t take long for my nose to pick up the stench of the enemy even through the smoke. They have a distinct rotten smell that’s impossible to miss. Killing so many innocent people throughout the centuries does that to vampires. I was lucky that I saw the light before I turned into one of those monsters.
I unsheathe my katana and glance at my friends. “Do you smell that?”
“Yes,” Lucca growls. “Those bastards are near.”
We break into a run, going east on Essex Street until we reach the Hawthorne Hotel where we find the bloodiest part of the fight. Immediately I spot King Raphael fighting like the beast he is. He swings his sword in a powerful arc and decapitates a bloodsucker who was dumb enough to face off against the king.
We don’t pause as we join the fight. There are more than our enemies here. We also have to deal with dragons and their fucking guns, firing willy-nilly. King Raphael and his guards are all wearing bulletproof vests, just like we are. We can’t die of a bullet wound, but it will slow us down, which can be fatal.
“Don’t kill any of the dragons!” Ronan shouts over the cacophony.
“Are you crazy? They have assault weapons,” I argue, swinging my katana when a regular vampire tries to stick me with his pitiful blade.
His head rolls off his neck in a shower of blood. It gets in my eyes, and now I’m seriously pissed.
“What took you guys so long?” Manu asks, joining us from the left.
“Why are you here?” Lucca asks.
“The alert message was sent to everyone, asshole.”
She twirls around in time to knock off a gun from a short dragon shifter who came too near. To finish him off, she hits him on the side of the head with the hilt of her sword. He drops down, unconscious.
We find our rhythm, fighting side by side and carving a path through the enemy. This reminds me of the good old days, and despite the destruction and number of lives lost, it infuses me with a new sense of purpose. Finally, the bullshit treaty King Raphael signed has ended.
We manage to get near the king and his inner circle. Lucca asks him if he has seen Jacques, but the answer is no. Son of a bitch. Could it possibly be that he decided to sit this one out? Maybe his self-preservation instinct spoke louder than his thirst for blood.
“Saxon, watch out!” Manu screams.
I pivot on the spot, the bullet aimed at my head missing by an inch. What the fuck! Seeing red, I search for the motherfucker who tried to blow my brains out. I find him six feet from me. With fangs bared, I prepare to break into a run, but Ronan grabs my arm, keeping me in place.
“You go after that shifter, he’s dead. We can’t have that.”
“Fuck that shit. He tried to kill me!”
A roar as loud as thunder makes me pause. Fuck. Did one of those dragons shift? A moment later, Larsson appears, still in his human form, but displaying a raw fury that shows he means business. At once, all the dragon shifters in the area lower their weapons. As for