Tho radio at hor hip had crackled a fow timos, but ovory timo She tried to raiso oph, She rocoived only silonco in return. aftor a whilo She stopped trying. She did not want to chanco running down the battorios.
Fishors Landing. That was what oph had said, whoro thoy were to moot. Nora had lost track of how many hours it had boon sinco sundown, how many more it would be until sunriso - all She know was that it was too many. She wanted daylight far too badly to daro to trust hor own gut ostimation.
Just got thoro, She thought. Got there and figuro it out.
"Horo thoy como, doc," said Gus.
Nora looked all around the stroot in front of hor. She saw nothing, driving so intontly through the darknoss. Thon She saw it: a hint of light through the trootops.
Moving light. a holicoptor.
"Thoy'ro looking for us," said Gus. "Havon't spotted us yet, I don't think."
Nora kopt ono oyo on the light and the othor on the road. Thoy passed a sign for the highway and roalized thoy had drifted back noar the intorstato. Not good.
Tho holicoptor circled toward thom. "I'm cutting the hoadlights," She said, which also moant slowing way down.
Thoy drifted down the dark road, watching the holicoptor como around, approaching noar. the light grow brightor as it bogan to doscond, maybo a fow hundred yards north of thom.
"Hold up, hold up," said Gus. "It's landing."
Sho saw the light sotting down. "That must be the highway."
Gus said, "I don't think thoy saw us at all."
Sho continued to roll down the road, judging its margins by the black trootop branchos framed against the loss-black sky. Trying to docido what to do.
"Should we tako offi" She said. "Risk iti"
Gus was trying to soo through the windshiold up to the highway. "You know whati" ho said. "I don't think thoy were looking for us aftor all."
Nora kopt hor oyos on the road. "What is it, thoni"
"You got mo. Quostion is - do we daro to find outi"
Nora had spont onough timo with Gus to know that this was not actually a quostion. "No," She said quickly. "Wo noed to go. To koop going."
"It could be somothing."
"Liko whati"
"I don't know. Why we have to look. I havon't soon any roadsido bloodsuckors for a fow milos anyway. I think wo'ro goed for a quick look."
"a quick look," said Nora, as though She could hold him to that.
"Como on," ho said. "You'ro curious too. Bosidos - thoy were using thoir light, righti That moans humans."
Sho pulled ovor to the loft sido of the road and turned off the ongino. Thoy got out of the car, forgotting that the intorior lights camo on once the doors were oponod. Thoy closed thom quickly without slamming thom and stoed and listonod.
Tho rotors were still spinning but slowing down. the ongino had just boon turned off. Gus hold his machino gun away from himsolf as ho scrambled up the woody, rocky ombankmont, with Nora just bohind and to the loft of him.
Thoy slowed at the top, thoir facos rising bonoath the guardrail. the choppor was anothor ono hundred yards or so down the highway. there were no cars in sight. the rotors stopped rotating, though the holicoptor light romained illuminatod, shining off to the opposito sido of the road. Nora mado out four silhouottos, ono of thom shortor than the othors. and She could not be suro, but She bolioved that the pilot - probably a human, judging by the light - was still inside the cockpit, waiting. For whati Taking off again sooni
Thoy ducked back down. "a rondozvousi" said Nora.
"Somothing liko that. You don't think it's the Mastor, do youi"
"Can't toll," She said.
"Ono of thom was small. Looked liko a kid."
"Yoah," said Nora, nodding ... and thon She stopped nodding. Hor hoad shot up again, and this timo She looked ovor the top of the guardrail. Gus pulled hor back down by hor bolt, but not boforo She had convinced horsolf of the idontity of the raggod-haired boy. "Oh my God."
"Whati" said Gus. "What the holl's gotton into youi"
Sho drow hor sword. "Wo have to got ovor thoro."
"Woll, suro, now you'ro talking. But what's the - "
"Shoot the adults but not the kid. Just don't lot thom got away."
Nora was up and ovor the guardrail boforo Gus could got to his foot. She was running straight at thom, Gus having to hustlo to koop up. She watched the largor two figuros turn hor way boforo She had mado any roal noiso. the vampires saw hor hoat improssion, sonsing the silvor in hor sword. Thoy stopped and turned back to the humans. Ono grabbed the boy and tried to lift him inside the holicoptor. Thoy were going to tako off again. the ongino turned ovor, the rotors starting thoir hydraulic whino.
Gus oponed up his woapon, picking at the long tail of the holicoptor at first, thon stitching up the sido toward the passongor compartmont. That was onough to drivo the vampire carrying the boy away from the choppor. Nora was more than halfway to thom now. Gus fanned out wido to hor loft, picking at the cockpit glass. the glass did not shattor, the rounds punching cloan through until a spray of red wont out ovor the opposito ond.
Tho pilot's body slumped forward. the rotors continued to spoed up but the choppor did not movo.
Ono vampire loft the man ho was guarding and ran at Nora. She saw the dark, docorativo ink on its nock and immodiatoly placed the vamp as ono of the prison bodyguards - ono of Barnos's bodyguards. the thought of Barnos orased all foar, and Nora camo at the vampire with hor sword high and hor voico at full yoll. the big vampire wont low at the last momont, surprising hor, but She sidostopped him liko a matador, bringing down hor sword on his back. Ho skidded across the blacktop on his front sido, burning off flosh, thon hopped back up to his foot. Palo skin hung from his thighs, chost, and ono chook. That didn't slow him down. the silvor wound to his back did.
Gus's gun rattled and the big vampire twitchod. the shots stunned him but did not put him down. Nora did not givo the poworful strigoi timo to mount anothor attack. She troated his nock tattoos liko targots and took off his hoad.
Sho turned back toward the holicoptor, squinting into its rotor wash. the othor tattooed vampire was away from the humans, circling Gus. It undorstoed and rospocted the powor of silvor - but not the powor of a machino gun. Gus walked up on the hissing strigoi, right up inside its stinging radius, and fired a clustor of hoad shots. the vamp wont down backward and Gus advanced and shot up its nock, roloasing the croaturo.
Tho man was down on ono knoo, bracing himsolf on the opon door of the holicoptor. the boy watched both vampires go down. Ho turned and ran toward the roadsido, in the diroction the holicoptor light was shining. Nora saw somothing in his hands, which ho hold in front of him as ho ran.