By Hook or by Wolf Page 11

  When I was younger, I did. I didn’t know just how important it was to be swift and cautious.

  I didn’t realize how vital it was to stay hidden at all costs.

  That cost me more than I care to think about.

  Things are different now.

  Now I know better.

  “Forty seconds,” Daisy whispers in my head and I nod, but don’t respond verbally. I’m pretty sure she can see me. There are cameras sprinkled throughout the hallway and I don’t bother trying to hide from them. That’s Daisy’s department. I’m the thief; she’s the brains. She gets me in and gets me out and then we split the profits from whatever it is I’m supposed to take.

  Today it’s some sort of knife. It’s old as hell, and if we succeed, the payday is going to be exactly what we’ve been waiting for. Daisy has a family to feed, after all.

  And me?

  Well, it’s just me now.

  I hurry to the end of the hall and then turn. Three more turns and finally, I find myself standing in front of a treasure trove. That’s really the only way to describe what I’m looking at. It’s fucking gorgeous: an entire room full of every imaginable item. There are piles of jewelry and display cases with vases and statutes and gold bars. I feel like Aladdin in the Cave of Wonders.

  It’s vast.

  It’s incredible.

  And it’s all right here.

  “Songbird, stay focused,” I hear Daisy’s voice in my head, and I know that she’s right. I’m not out of the woods yet. The Vampire King is not exactly known for his patience. If he found out someone was trying to rip him off, he’d be on my neck in an instant. That’s why I’m the only one who would take this job. That’s why I got to charge whatever the hell I wanted for this job.

  And charging hell is exactly what I’m doing.

  After this, I’ll be able to retire: free and clear.

  There will be no more robbing.

  No more thieving.

  No more dodging vampires.

  Nope.

  After tonight, Daisy and I are packing up. She’s taking her family somewhere else: maybe someplace warm, like the beach. And me?

  I’ve got a cabin in the woods just calling my name.

  I’m ready to escape from people, from reality.

  I’ll be happy if I never see another fucking vampire again.

  I scurry into the room and look around quickly. I have only seconds to grab the knife and get the hell out of dodge. There are stacks of books and piles of gold coins. There are trophies and gold statues. Basically, everything I’m looking at is bright and shiny. I don’t know where to even start looking for the knife.

  But we’re certain that’s it here.

  Our intel is never wrong.

  Bad intel means that we all die, so Daisy and I go above and beyond to make sure that anything we look for is a sure thing.

  And a magical weapon?

  That’s a pretty sure fucking thing.

  Magical swords and knives have been around since the dawn of time. It’s impossible to tell which ones really existed. Humans love fairy tales and nothing makes for a good story quite like a magical object. I mean, there’s Excalibur, wielded by King Arthur. There’s Caesar’s Crocea Mors. Hell, there’s even Ninurta’s Sharur. These weapons have been talked about, studied, and sought for thousands upon thousands of years.

  Yet very few magical items have been found or captured.

  Until now.

  The Sword of Edith isn’t something most people know about or most people have been able to get. Not any humans, anyway. Not that many are looking for it. Most people are too damn scared of Derek’s army or his reach to be willing to sneak directly into his home and steal from him.

  Good thing I’m not most people.

  I peruse the treasure room and I try not to stress. I don’t see it. There are piles of gold and stacks of treasure chests. Could it be in one of those? This entire place looks like the kind of room you’d see in a dragon’s cave. Then again, vampires are probably just as old as dragons. They certainly have a lot of the same characteristics. Scanning the room, I note the gold benches, the chairs, the tables. I see the gold statues and the silver boxes. I see rings, necklaces, and every other kind of treasure I could possibly imagine.

  And then I see it.

  I see the blade.

  It’s at the end of the room and it’s surrounded by what looks like lasers. This room doesn’t have physical guards because the idea of anyone breaking into it is preposterous. No one would dare cross Derek like this. Unfortunately for him, he’s a cocky bastard.

  I approach the blade and look at the lasers.

  “I’ve got eyes on it,” I tell Daisy quietly.

  “Hurry,” she urges me.

  Most people would try to find a way to get through the lasers without touching them. Most people would try to find a place to shut them off so they could grab the blade. I know better, though. These aren’t ordinary lasers. They won’t chop off your hand if your skin comes in contact. These lasers aren’t hot; they’re laced with a poison. Instead of dismembering you, the noxious poison seeps into your skin and destroys you quickly.

  It doesn’t take long.

  Most people exposed wouldn’t make it back to the hallway. They’d die here: their body left to serve as a warning to anyone else who might dare cross the vampire’s path.

  But I’m not most people.

  Besides, I’m prepared. I hurry quickly, quietly, over to the blade. I pull out the enchanted gloves that cost me six month’s wages to purchase and hope that they do their fucking job. Ezekiel promised me they’d work exactly as prescribed. If they do, then the investment would have been entirely worth it because once I sell Edith, I’ll never have to work again.

  I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Daisy is speaking to me, but I ignore her as I reach through the lasers, grab the blade, and pull it out.

  Then I turn and I fucking run.

  The alarm starts blaring when I’m halfway across the room. All hell is about to break loose. There weren’t sensors under the blade itself, but anytime the poison in the lasers is activated, it sets off an alarm that notifies the vampires there’s trouble. I run back toward the entrance. There’s a wall sliding closed over the door, but I’m not about to do something crazy like try to slide under it before it closes. Instead, I grab one of the gold statues and toss it ahead of me. It slides across the floor and manages to jam the door open. The wall can’t close now, but I don’t know how much time I have before it crashes down, smashing the little statue.

  Daisy is screaming in my ear for me to get my ass out of here, so I drop to my stomach and wiggle under the door. On the other side, I look both ways and start running left. I’ve trained for this moment far too long to get something as little as an alarm going off be the reason I get stuck inside the Mountain.

  Not today, Satan.

  I can already hear the emergency gas sensors starting to go off. I glance up and see small bursts of something being pushed into the hallway. I press a button on the side of my sunglasses and a nose cover comes down, pressing against my face. The cover extends further down and mashes against my lips, effectively rendering me mute. It’s going to be a little hard to breathe for a few minutes, but the tight cover will both keep gas from getting into my lungs and slowly feed me oxygen. Wearing this mask isn’t like a normal gas mask, but it’s also not like I’m just holding my breath. There’s oxygen flowing from a pack I wear at my hip. It’s just not a lot, and I don’t have a ton of time.

  “Songbird, do you copy? Two hostiles up ahead. There’s no other way out. You’re going to have to fight this time.”

  Fuck.

  I had hoped I’d make it through the escape without having to fight anyone, much less two someone’s. I’m a fantastic thief, and honestly, I’m a pretty good fighter. It’s just that I hate violence. I hate the feeling of hitting someone. I hate the idea that I might cause pain to anyone.

  Then again, this is wha
t I signed up for.

  “Got it,” I think to myself. I can’t exactly speak with my gas mask on, so I don’t bother trying. Daisy will figure out what’s going on if she hasn’t already. She’s an expert at monitoring things remotely, so she probably already knows about the gas and is going everything she can to turn it off.

  I don’t slow down when I go around the corner where the monsters are. Instead, I rush around the edge of the wall and instantly start throwing punches. I block one of the vamps and the other one I kick between the legs. They might be undead, but they still have balls, and that doesn’t feel good for anyone.

  One is down for the count and I hit the other one again. I slam my palm into his nose and fight the wave of nausea that washes over me when I hear a solid crack. Gross. He’s holding some sort of rod, like an old-school night stick, and I take it and keep running. I go around another corner and then another.

  I make it back to the empty room where I first entered. I can hear the guards running toward the treasure room. I have no idea how long it’s going to take them to find me, but something tells me it’s not going to be very long at all. I take a quick second to bag the knife, shoving it deep in my sack. It’s more of a shoulder bag, really, and I make sure the strap is securely in place.

  Then I take off my mask and shades and shove them in the bag, too, along with the night stick. I zip the bag up, making sure it’s tightly closed, and I then I take the most important thing of all: a deep breath.

  “You can do this,” I whisper.

  “You can,” Daisy echoes. “But you need to move. Now.”

  I exit the building and carefully close the door behind me. Then I start walking swiftly toward the main road, but I don’t run. I can’t risk that. If they don’t know who I am and they can’t locate me, then I’ll be able to easily blend into a crowd, which is what I’m hoping for. I move silently, quickly, away from the Mountain. I need to get back to Daisy so we can get this job over and done with.

  I’m almost back to where Daisy is hiding with our transport when I hear yelling. Shouting. Instantly, I break into a run, but I needn’t have bothered. It’s not me they’re after. I stop when I see two of the vampire guards from the Mountain beating the shit out of some guy. They’re in an alley to my left and I stand at the entrance, looking at them from the shadows. They don’t even see me.

  I know they work in the large building I’m running from because of their distinct uniforms. The red-and-gold coloring doesn’t look good on the vamps, but they wear those jackets with pride. Who the fuck knows why? They’re ugly. Besides, Derek hasn’t done a single damn thing for this city that should give anyone pride.

  No one should be proud of what he’s done.

  “Hey!” I shout before I have time to think. I shouldn’t bother trying to save this dude, but really? What the fuck are these vamps doing? They don’t have the right to hurt anyone, much less an unwilling victim who hasn’t done anything to them.

  The reality is that I don’t know this guy.

  Maybe he has done something.

  Maybe I haven’t got a fucking clue.

  But I’m more than happy to stop and take twenty seconds to chase these monsters away. I’ve had my life saved before and let me tell you: there’s nothing quite as wonderful. Honestly. Having someone who steps on your behalf and defends you even though it’s deadly? There’s no comparison.

  Besides, vampires are assholes.

  “Leave him alone!” I shout.

  Daisy lets off a slew of expletives in my ear, but I ignore her entirely. I’ve gotten pretty good at blocking out the voices in my head over the past few years. Adding one more to the list doesn’t bother me. Daisy is a sweetheart, but she’s also a dreamer. She’s crazy if she thinks I’m about to let this guy be killed by vamps right in front of me.

  Instantly, the vamps stop what they’re doing and run at me. The guy doesn’t make a move to escape. Fuck. He’s in a bad way. Hopefully he’s not already dead. I punch one of the vamps in the face and kick the other one, but it doesn’t make much of a difference.

  “You can’t fight them! Run!” Daisy’s voice is growing more and more shrill, but I don’t care.

  “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” I growl. I throw another kick and dodge a punch from one of them. One of them grabs me from behind and I thrust my elbow down and back, getting him in the stomach. He loosens his grip enough for me to break free.

  Then I remember the knife.

  I yank it from my bag and without thinking too much, I shove it deep into one of their stomachs. Instantly, the vamp falls over. Before the other one can respond, I repeat the action, killing him, too. They both drop dead at my feet.

  I stare at the knife.

  “What the fuck did you just do?” Daisy is screaming and I can’t think. I tap a button on my wristband and shut off the sounds.

  “Think, Amy, think,” I say. I shove the weapon back in my bag. How can I make the most of this situation? There is no fucking way I’m getting caught with two dead vamp bodies, so I pull them slowly out of sight from the road. I glance over at the guy.

  “Thanks,” he whispers weakly.

  “Good, so you aren’t dead,” I say.

  “Ha,” he says. “Not yet,” but I can tell he’s not going to last very long if I don’t get him some sort of help. I hurry to him.

  “Where are you hurt?” I ask.

  “I’m okay,” he says. “They didn’t bite me.”

  “Did they tag you?” The vampires have gotten sneakier and sneakier. Now if they don’t kill you, they might tag you. They’ll insert a microchip in your body and then follow you wherever you go. This is how they find where you live. This is how they find your family. This is how they find everything.

  This is how they take us out.

  “No.”

  “Then let’s go.”

  “Wait,” the man motions toward the vampire bodies.

  “They’re dead,” I say. “I killed them.”

  “I saw,” he said. “And I promise to help you with your fighting skills later.”

  Really?

  What the fuck is wrong with my fighting skills?

  “But you need to take their jackets,” he says. “And their pants. You might need them. Those are hard to get.”

  I should ask him how he knows all of this, but the truth is that he’s right. I can’t pass over two Mountain uniforms. It’s simply stupid. With a sigh, I hurry to the bodies and carefully take off their jackets. It’s hard to do and vampires smell really, really weird. I don’t know why some people think they’re so fucking sexy. To me they’re just nasty, walking corpses.

  I yank the pants from their bodies and bundle them with the jackets. I shove everything under my arm and hope I don’t fucking drop the clothing while I’m running. Then I move back to the guy whose life I just saved and help him to his feet.

  “Thank you,” he says. “Guess I’ll be going.”

  “Fat fucking chance,” I say. “Those guys wanted to kill you. I want to know why.” He doesn’t look like he was imprisoned. He’s attractive, but not huge. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would go head-to-head with some vamps, so why were they after this dude?

  He looks at me warily, but after a moment of hesitation, he nods. Vampires don’t just randomly attack people. Besides, no matter what he’s says, there’s something wrong with him. I know that if I walk away now, he’s definitely going to die.

  I’m not about to let that happen.

  We have to make it two more blocks to Daisy. I press a button and turn my comm back on.

  “What the fuck?” She squeals.

  “I’m on my way,” I tell her. “Three minutes out, tops.”

  “When this is over, we are so breaking up,” she says.

  “I know,” I tell her.

  I turn the microphone back off and look at my new friend.

  “Shall we go?” I ask.

  He takes my hand and nods.

&nb
sp; Then we’re off.

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