Slay Alive

Chapter 27

twenty-seven

“I don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t this.”

Cade and I are standing in a bustling kitchen. When he opened the door we came face to face with a sous chef holding a rack of lamb. “If you can lean, you can clean. Move it!” They’d thrown a pair of dish towels at us and moved right along like the badass chef they were, because if seeing a hunter and a vampire popping out of a secret door during dinner service didn’t phase you, then you were a badass.

“That chef has seen some shit,” I say. When they turn back our way, I make a show of wiping down the counter in front of me while Cade does the same.

“Ice water in their veins to be sure.” He looks around the kitchen and then nods to a door in the corner. “Come on. We’re definitely in the Umbra Cathedral. This is the lowest level. I used to come down here for a nibble when I attended events. I know the way to where the main event is happening.”

I don’t press if the nibble was food or human.

“I like it. Let’s go before he tries to get me to chop an onion.”

We slip out of the busy kitchen and enter a quiet hallway. Cade points to a door at the opposite end. “It’ll be six stories up from here. When we come out, we’ll be in the vestibule. From there the main doors will be right in front of us. No going back after that.”

I get what he’s saying. Once we leave the stairwell, it’s game on.

“Got it. Stairmaster time then it’s a boss fight.”

The sprint up the stairs is far less kind than our tunnel run but thankfully shorter. We don’t see anyone on the stairs but the further up we go the more I hear voices and chatter from above us. It sounds like a full ass party is going on. When we reach the top floor, I can feel music thumping, the bass of it shakes the floor.

I put my hand on the vibrating door and look back at Cade. “I’ve been to frat parties quieter than this. If they’re partying then that must mean whatever the Ascendents are doing isn’t happening yet, right?”

Cade eyes the door. “You’d think. But this is Briarwood Hollow. Never know with this lot. All right. Come on, behind me, love.” He waves me behind him and I know better than to argue. I get behind the vampire without a word.

“Whatever happens. Stay behind me.”

“I will,” I lie. First sign of trouble, I’m saving his ass.

Cade opens the door and music and laughter spill into the stairway. I move to enter the room but Cade doesn’t move. He hesitates. It’s just for a second but I see it all the same. The way his shoulders go to stone and his hand tightens on the door. As quickly as it happens, it’s gone again. He doesn't want to do this anymore than I do. Anger burns hot in my veins. Cade doesn’t deserve this. The first chance I get to end all of this, I’m taking the shot.

We enter the vestibule and sure enough a party any fraternity would be proud of is in full swing. Except this party is fancy with ball gowns, tuxes and elaborate masquerade masks. A woman in a peacock mask with floating gems whirls by with a golden fox-faced man.

“Okay, this is seriously cool, even if I called it dumb earlier,” I tell Cade. We weave our way through the crowd and he plucks a couple of masks off of peoples’ heads as we pass.

“Shame I wasn’t able to bring you under better circumstances, love.” He settles a bear mask over his head and hands me a raven mask. “Put that on. We’ll blend in a little more while we get the lay of the land. Blending in is a loose interpretation of what we’re doing, considering everyone around us is as fancy as they are while Cade and I are in sparring gear.

True to its name, the Umbra Cathedral is composed of varying shades of black. All the light that shines from the candles burns along the dark walls and the sparkling obsidian chandeliers hanging overhead, is pulled into the walls, the floors. It makes the place glow with energy. All around us the cathedral feels like it’s humming.

In front of us is a set of massive black wood doors that are thrown open. Inside I can see a dance floor filled with couples twirling and spinning but I can’t see the source of music. It must be magic. I crane my neck to take it all in but nothing looks out of the ordinary in the ballroom. I touch Cade’s shoulder to ask him if there’s a second floor we can get access to from where we are but he surprises me when he moves me to the side with a sweep of his arm.

“Cade, what the-”

“Back off,” he growls, going head-to-head with a squirrel-faced vampire.

They hold their hands up. “Can’t fault us for wanting a peek. Not when the Raven smells so sweet.” They speak in a sing-song voice that makes chills run up my spine. I move my hand to grab my stake when they try to get a look at me over Cade’s shoulder. “You haven’t tasted her yet. A waste, my brother.”

10/10 would stake this fucker.

“The only thing that’s a waste is you. Come near her and I’ll rip your heart out and eat it. How’s that for a taste?”

The vampire is apparently an eater and not a fighter. They raise their hands and flit away before Cade can make good on his threat. “What the fuck was that?” I ask, watching the squirrel vampire scurry off. With the exception of Cade, I haven’t had a vampire talk about eating me.

“More vampires in one location means they start to go feral. They’ll feed publicly tonight on the willing.” Right on cue, a man swoons in a vampire woman’s arms. She cradles him close, almost tenderly, as she feeds. My mouth goes dry at the sight of the two of them. The pose looks intimate, sensual. Would that be what it would be like if Cade fed on me?

The end of the world is really cramping my style with exploring the benefits of having a vampire boyfriend.

Cade puts a possessive arm around me. “Stay close.” We walk further into the crowd and into the ballroom. Again, everything looks normal here too. The only thing out of place are the hunters that I see standing at attention in the corner by the onyx altar. Colorful flowers and candles adorn it as well as the space around it and transform the altar space into a lush oasis. Above us is a glass ceiling that makes it feel like the night sky is inside with it. The moon shines bright still and I breathe a sigh of relief when I see it.

The eclipse is still plenty off, maybe another three hours. Thank the gods.

We’re really going to pull this off.

“There’s the hunters. I bet Adrian is around here schmoozing it up.” I look around and sure enough there’s the Nightwarden leader chatting away happily with a pair of vampires. I should throw the appetizer tray a server offers to us at his head.

Instead I grab a handful of shrimp puffs and keep walking with Cade. “He’s a joke. I can’t believe I respected him,” I say and take a bite of a shrimp puff.

“He’s weak when it comes to power. Most humans are.”

“Yeah, I guess.” I pop the rest of the shrimp puff in my mouth. “What do you think? Is there like a fire alarm we can pull? Clear this whole place out lickety split?”

“A what?” Cade asks but I don’t get to answer him because a sound as loud as a fire alarm booms through the cathedral. The music cuts off and a voice begins to speak.

“We are pleased to have you here with us for the annual Eclipse of the Eternal Night Masquerade!” Lucien is at the altar and I gasp, which is a problem with the shrimp puff I’m trying to swallow and I choke. I don’t know where the fuck he came from but the vampire is looking regal and cocky as usual in a crimson suit and cape combo. The room falls silent except for me, because I’m fighting for my life with the shrimp puff I’m gagging on. Cade smacks me on the back and I suck in a grateful breath of air while Lucien paces the length of the altar. There’s something in his hand. It’s a bottle. Shining liquid swirls and moves in it. It looks like pure starlight. Alarm bells go off in my head when I watch Lucien raise it over his head. He’s about to smash it.

I point to the bottle. “That bottle. It’s bad news,” I wheeze out as I catch my breath from my shrimp puff struggle.

“Right. Get the bottle.” Cade starts to shove his way forward but we’re both too slow for what comes next.

“All of you are the very best the city has to offer, which makes you precisely the offering worthy of our gods! With this I open the gates to hell!” Lucien smashes the bottle on the floor and screams ring out. I don’t know if it's from the vampire smashing glassware or from his little statement that we’re all about to be god food.

I pull off my mask and so does Cade. “That went from zero to a thousand real fast,” I say. The room is in chaos. People and vampires alike scream and run and it takes me a second to realize what exactly is going on. The eclipse is early. Above us, the moon turns black and the sky goes dark.

Fuck Lucien and his magical bottle.

“Gods fucking damnit.” Cade swears.

“Okay, new plan. Go for Lucien!” Seems as good a place to start considering he’s the one that started the fucking eclipse and the end of the world early. Cade and I run through the panicking vampires and people. The hunters that were standing at attention are standing like they’re in a daze. Adrian is nowhere to be found. I search the hunter’s faces but don’t recognize too many of them. They look petrified without their leader to give them orders.

Where the fuck is Adrian?

“The doors are locked!” A woman screams. It’s dim but there’s still enough moonlight to see the crowd surge up against the cathedral doors in the vestibule. They’re shut now and it’s sending everyone into a frenzy.

I spot Adrian among those trying to save themselves at the locked doors. “Coward!” I scream at him, even though he’s too busy panicking to hear me. “Hey! Snap out of it!” I yell at the hunters but they don’t move so I do the only reasonable thing I can. I grab a serving tray off a server who despite it all was still holding onto their tray full of canapes and launch the serving tray like a frisbee at the hunters.

“Get the door open!” I order them as a scatter shot of shrimp puffs, mini quiches and deviled eggs hit the hunters. The barrage of canapes snap them out of their frozen state and they start running for the doors.

Behind me, Lucien cackles and claps his hands. A ball of light appears between them and lights up the cathedral. He points at Cade and I. “Ah, the star-crossed lovers. So good to have the guests of honor here. None of this would be possible without you.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask. Above me, glass starts to crack. It sounds the way the pond behind my parents’ house sounds in the winter at night. When the frozen water cools after a warm day and the ice shifts and refreezes. I used to sit outside with my dad and listen to those cracks.

“It’ll come back stronger tomorrow. Just needs some time to freeze over again, mija.”

The glass can’t refreeze. Thumps and thuds sound from above us. I know something is up there just waiting to get in. The Ascendents. It has to be them. Every crack is another second we lose.

“You know, I thought you’d make a run for it. Didn’t peg you as the hero type,” Lucien says. He’s talking to me. The ball of light between his hands floats above us and casts everything in a gray light. I feel like I’m dreaming.

Maybe I am?

I step forward towards Lucien. It’s just the three of us now. “Not much of a runner. More into kicking your ass.”

“I’m glad you’re clever. It would make all of this much more boring.” He looks at Cade. “I can see why you’re sweet on her. I’ll make sure to drink her dry while you watch. Give you a nice show.”

Cade growls low. “I’ve waited a long time to bloody rip your head off.”

Lucien rolls his eyes. “Promises, promises.”

“Why are you doing this? What the fuck did you do to the eclipse and why do you need us?” I need answers. I hear glass shatter and fall from the ceiling. I don’t have much time to get the answers I need to try and understand why any of this is happening. “Why us?”

“Why not you?” Lucien asks. “Why not me? We all have our part to play.” He looks up at the ceiling like a proud papa as more glass shatters. “They’re gods, Bonnie. Our rightful rulers. Vampires aren’t meant to be civilized or live with humans. We’re better than them and when the Ascendents return the old ways will too.”

“You think they’re not going to rip you limb from limb?” Cade laughs. “You’re insane. They’re going to kill every last soul in here, demon or not, and then they’re going to bring down the whole city, you daft ponce!”

“I’m safe from the old ones. Like attracts like, dark to dark. You know this, Cade. You know the truth of it all and you still turned your back on your brethren. You were one of our darkest warriors before you gave it all away. And for what? Her? ” He points at me and snarls. “You knew the truth, Cade! But you made a human precious. Sullied yourself with love and left the fold. When I rip her still beating heart out and feed it to you, I’ll make you our champion yet again. You will be the Nightstalker once more.”

I pull out a stake. “I’m going to kill him now.”

“Good idea. He is talking a rather lot,” Cade mutters.

“I’ve not yet begun to speak, Nightstalker .” Lucien walks forward, eyes trained on me as he speaks. “ When you walk in daylight, violence no more, with secrets told and hearts joined, when you set love loose will you find her in a hunter’s body. A champion you will be.”

Cade flinches at Lucien reciting the prophecy. My prophecy. I don’t even think. I react when I see Cade flinch. I throw my stake at Lucien’s heart. It should be a direct hit but instead of the vampire turning to dust, it’s the stake that turns to nothing.

“You thought it was a prophecy about your soulmate? You fool! It’s about the end of the world. Her heart is the key to everything. The final offering to our gods!”

My mouth drops open. “What the fuck is he-” Glass shatters and the cathedral ceiling in its entirety falls and with it. The Ascendent horde is here. Cade grabs me and shields me with his body from the falling glass. I hold on tight to him while the world turns to chaos and the ground shakes with the footsteps of monsters landing nearby.

Oh gods.

We failed.