The psychic grinned and put her hands on her hips. “I did tell you. When you were in the van, remember? I said more were coming. But that doesn’t matter,” she said with a wave of a hand, and her grin turned into a wide smile. “Now we have a plan.”
“We do?” Megan asked, poking her head around Madame Crystal as she made her way into the foyer.
“Of course,” the psychic said, as if it should be obvious. “We can outnumber them now.”
“Seriously?” Tyler rolled his eyes. He went to the window and drew the curtains wide open, surveying the yard. “That’s just as bad as Millie’s plan.”
Amelia narrowed her eyes at him and gave him a hard stare. “You think going to the fair is a bad plan?”
Tyler barely glanced at her, before he said crisply, “Don’t give me that look. You know Mitchell was usually the one with the plans. Yours kind of suck. Like when you locked yourself in your bedroom or the time you thought it was smart to text me to pick you up. Your plans usually fail epically.”
“It was my idea to join the hunters and lure them out,” she countered, raising her voice defensively. She knew her ideas weren’t always stellar, but really, they weren’t that bad.
“That’s what I mean,” he said with exasperation. “They fail epically.”
A loud thumping at the door stopped Amelia from snapping something she was sure would have been counterproductive at Tyler. Cole smirked, and before anyone could stop him, he had pulled the door open. “Hey, Dad,” he said, stepping back and gesturing for a man to come inside.
The man didn’t acknowledge Cole, which Amelia thought was odd, at least until he locked his shiny gray eyes on hers. He pushed the hood of his cloak back, took two large steps towards her, and dropped to his knee and bowed his head. “We came as soon as we could,” he said, his voice deep and rough, and then he took Amelia’s hand in his large one and kissed it. “Please forgive us for taking so long to arrive.”
Amelia snatched her hand away, and she felt her cheeks burn bright. She shot a look at Tyler and Megan, pleading for help, but they wore identical clueless expressions. The man hadn’t moved from his place at her feet, and she inched back half a step.
“Arthur,” Josh growled. “Jeez, you’re making her uncomfortable. Get up.”
****
There were fifty-nine vampire hunters (including Josh and Cole). It took twenty-five excruciatingly long minutes to fill them in on the little accident—that’s what Josh was calling it—and to ensure that they all knew they were not to kill a single vampire, no matter what. To Amelia’s surprise, they didn’t question her. It was as if they couldn’t. She saw the contempt on their faces, the hatred that burned in their eyes, but not a single one of the hunters voiced their objections.
“I don’t understand why they’re listening to me,” Amelia whispered to Madame Crystal as she led the way around the house to the carport. The sky was clear, denim blue, without a single cloud. A soft breeze rustled the budding leaves, and with each breath, Amelia breathed in the sweet scents of spring.
“They don’t have a choice,” Madame Crystal replied simply, in a way that made Amelia feel like she should have already known the answer.
“If they don’t have a choice, then how the hell were Josh and Cole able to try and kill her?” Tyler asked, as he veered left and headed for Eric’s shiny green Corvette.
Megan raced up to him and snatched the keys out of his hand. “You are so not driving my car,” she said, shoving the keys in her pocket.
“Not your car,” Tyler said, and he jutted out his bottom lip in a pout.
Megan narrowed her eyes at him. “Actually, yeah, it is, you know, marital property and all that.”
Tyler looked as if he was about to say something horribly stupid, but before he could, Josh jumped in, answering his question, “Because before she only asked us to stop; she didn’t command us.” He cut Amelia an apologetic look. “But, I was pretty sure they were going to kill you and just wait for you to come back when they found out you were siding with the vamps.”
“We would have,” Arthur chimed in. “And her cousin, but thanks to my useless son, she knows who she is, and with that knowledge, she not asking anymore, she’s commanding.” He was rigid; his voice, his posture, everything about him was coiled, tight as a spool of sewing thread.
Amelia didn’t let that bother her. “Standing right here,” she said, and cut Arthur and Josh a look that she hoped told them that she was not impressed, and when they both rolled their eyes, she stomped over to her Jeep and jumped in.The ten-minute drive to the park only took five. Josh had insisted on riding along with Amelia and Megan, and Tyler drove Madame Crystal, Cole, and Arthur in the Hummer. The other hunters had followed along in their own vehicles. No matter how much Amelia pleaded with them, they all insisted on coming along, just to ensure she was safe, and well, she couldn’t deny them that, especially after one of them pointed out that without her there to stop them, they could use the free time to hunt the enemy. She wasn’t entirely sure if they could in fact do that, but she wasn’t about to test the theory. Soul or not, they were her family, and she wasn’t about to risk their lives.
When they pulled into the lot at the park, there were three cruisers waiting, and the set up for the fair was well underway. Small booths stretched along the side of the parking lot, and the top of the Ferris wheel poked above the thick tree line. Amelia’s gut twisted with nerves as she tried to come up with a better plan than just showing up.
Once she parked, she wordlessly jumped out of the car and instantly heard the dings and chimes of the games, and music, and laughter, drifting through the air.
“Amelia,” Officer McLean called, and waved a beckoning hand at her. The gesture died off quickly, and his eyes grew wide with something that looked a lot like guilt mixed with horror. She looked over her shoulder and spotted the horde of hunters strolling casually into the parking lot from the street. McLean shuddered, or shook might have been more like it. Amelia thought he looked like a wet dog shaking water from his fur.
“McLean, shouldn’t you be vacating the premises?” Josh demanded.
Amelia was about to snap at Josh and ask him who had made him the boss when she noticed McLean’s complexion had turned ghostly. “I … I um … I …” he stammered.
Josh growled and balled his fists as barely controlled rage emanated from him. “I told you …” Josh started, but then he glanced at Amelia and clamped his lips shut.
What the hell? Amelia thought, shifting her gaze between the two of them. She clenched her teeth, put her hands on her hips, and narrowed her eyes at Josh. “What did you tell him?”
Josh relaxed slightly and offered her an unconvincing smile. He opened his mouth to answer, Amelia assumed, when a deep male voice yelled, “Run!” It blasted through the speakers and rang with a frenzied panic. “They’re going to kill everyone.”
CHAPTER 14
Screams erupted from the park. A high-pitched cackle blasted from the speakers followed by a deep chuckle.
Amelia ran. Raw adrenaline hit her hard and fast, and the familiar warmth of magic swirled around her in a whirlwind of energy. Smacking footsteps rang out behind her, and Josh and Cole fell in beside her as she reached the opening in the trees that led to the park.
“What’s the plan?” Josh yelled over the chaotic screams and panic. People were pushing past them, full tilt to the parking lot.
The plan… Amelia was drawing a blank. She burst into the clearing, slowing her pace slightly, and scanned the crowd. With a quick tally, she came out with two dozen or so humans, and she didn’t know whether to be glad or completely disappointed that not a single local was there. At least the locals would have been easier to contain …
Gleeful laughter continued to belt out over the speakers, drawing her attention to Erin and Lucy dancing around the stage in circles. Her blood ran cold. Tristan stood behind them, watching people scramble for safety, with a toothy grin.
“Spread out. Round up the humans and get them out.” Amelia shouted. “And don’t kill …”
“Oh, look.” Angelle’s syrupy voice stopped Amelia dead in her tracks. “It’s Amelia coming to save the day.”
Amelia’s insides shuddered as she looked her friend over. Angelle watched her with a cold and calculating intensity that was just…wrong. Her ruby red fingernails, which matched her blazing eyes perfectly, were wrapped around a man’s bicep. Amelia took a quick glanced at him, hoping it was a local, and her stomach twisted. She had never seen before. Angelle’s skintight jeans had brownish-red splotches, and her blood red halter top was filthy with what Amelia told herself was just dirt.
“Angelle, let him go,” Amelia said, eyeing her with caution. She was grateful that her voice didn’t give away the tremors that were seizing her stomach. “This isn’t you. You’re not a murderer.”
Angelle threw her head back and laughed, and in that second, she looked so much like Fiona that Amelia’s nerve faltered. Angelle didn’t miss it. She watched with predator-like eyes as Amelia scampered back a step.
“Angelle, please,” Amelia said, and she cursed herself for sounding so scared and small. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Angelle released the man, shoving him away, and stalked towards Amelia. “Oh, that’s so sweet. But you know …” Her eyes blazed brighter, and she flashed her fangs. She brought a tentative finger to her lips, drumming it lightly, as she paused for thought. “I will hurt you.”
“I think we should leave her for Mitch,” Lola said, stepping beside Angelle, her blond pixie cut hair was wild, standing on end. She smirked and nudged Angelle playfully in the ribs. “A treat for when we break him out.”
Amelia felt the color drain from her face, and she tried to shake it off. They’re playing with you, she told herself. She heard Tristan’s laugh, and something dawned on her. If Tristan was here then … “Where is he?” she demanded.