Steal the Light (Thieves) (26 page)

“Daniel, we have to go,” I said as calmly as I could. He pulled at me, but my logical brain insisted we leave. “I need to go now. It’s dangerous for me to stay here.”

Daniel swallowed, and just like that, the menace in the air was gone. He shook his head as though ridding himself of bad thoughts. “Right, we have to get her out of here. Let’s move. He’ll be back any time now. If not in this form, he’ll find another.”

His eyes slid away from me, our moment, our connection, gone. I could breathe again, but there was a part of me that resented Dev for breaking it.

Neil went first, scenting the hallway to make sure Stewart hadn’t brought along more friends. Dev followed him, then me. Daniel watched my back. An eerie quiet reigned as we made our way toward the stairs. I could hear my footsteps on the carpeted floor. The path to the stairs was illuminated by well-chosen lighting, each perfectly lit sconce another road sign to where we needed to go. We were utterly alone, the wards we’d placed on the floor now working against us. No one had taken notice of the struggle that had gone on in the room so close to them. We could fight and bleed and die and the world around us would sleep right on.

Neil opened the nondescript door that led to the stairs. We were fifteen floors up, but at least at the bottom there would be a certain amount of freedom. We had cars parked in various places to aid in our getaway. Neil gave the clear sign, and we started through. Neil and Dev were halfway down the first flight when I picked up the pace. The pack on my back felt heavier than before, but I needed to keep moving. My crew was only as strong as the puny little human. I hit the first stair at a run, which is precisely why I fell so hard when I hit the ward protecting it.

I flew back, hitting Daniel in the chest, causing both of us to fall back. So much for hoping we could get through this without dealing with magic.

“Zoey!” Dev crossed the barrier with no trouble. Neil came fast behind him.

Dev put a hand out, hauling me up.

“It’s the box,” Neil said. “Leave the box, and we can get out of here.”

Daniel pulled the box off me before I could protest. He threw it at the barrier, and sure enough, it bounced back, flying right at his face. Daniel caught it.

Daniel pushed me at Dev, securing the backpack to his own back. “Get her out of here. I’ll meet up with you after I figure out how to get out of here with the package.”

“Daniel, leave it.” I had no intention of stranding Daniel. We could figure something else out. Dev took my hand to pull me down the stairs.

Daniel smiled, a sad little expression. “Not on your life, baby. This is your soul. I’m not leaving it behind. I’ll figure out a way around it. Neil, get her as far away as possible, and don’t let her out of your sight. That’s an order.”

Neil nodded, and even as I struggled I felt myself being pulled toward the first step, and then Dev was on the step and I was face first on the floor.

The ward held without the package. Someone didn’t want me to leave.

Dev grabbed my hand again and tried to pull me through, but there was no amount of physical strength that was going to get me through that barrier.

“Zoey, I can’t leave you.” Dev clutched my hand.

“Yes, you can.” I moved back, twisting away from him, moving closer to Daniel. “Neil, get him out of here, and that’s a freaking order.”

I was pissed to see Neil look to Daniel for confirmation before dragging Dev down the stairs. If I made it out of this hotel alive, we were going to have a talk about the chain of command. What can I say? I have control issues.

Daniel and I looked at each other, tension thick in the air.

“Let’s see if you can go up.” Daniel took my hand, and sure enough, I could take the steps going up.

We were halfway up the first flight when the door flew open. Stewart was back. He’d managed to turn his head back around, though the bone jutted out at sickening angle. I gasped my horror when he started talking.

“Do you have any idea how much that hurt?” Stewart’s voice was rougher than before, and his eyes were black with no hint of an iris. He seemed to have trouble controlling his legs, jerking awkwardly with every step. “Well, at least the screaming stopped. That’s something. You like killing, don’t you, vampire? Trust me, this arsehole is dead, and it’s your fault. Add him to your victim list.”

“Go, I’ll meet you on the roof.” Daniel shoved me upward.

Stewart was still talking, his inhuman voice echoing through the stairwell as I climbed as fast as I could. One flight at a time. One step at a time. I didn’t stop though I thought my heart would burst. Every step brought a fresh burn to my pumping legs. If I lived through this, I was joining a gym.

“I don’t want trouble with the Council.” Stewart’s voice echoed through the space. “I really don’t, but you pissed me off. I can’t just let that go, no matter who you are.”

I couldn’t see what was happening, but there was no mistaking the gunshot that shook the walls. The small space made the shot crack in a way that caused my ears to ache. I stopped in my tracks as my hand touched the door to the roof. I shook as I turned, praying to see Daniel behind me. He had a gun. He had to be the one who shot Stewart, and he would be up in a minute, and we would get out of this.

We had to get out of this.

I nearly cried out in relief as Daniel stumbled up the stairs. He held a hand on his chest. Blood coated his pale flesh. His blood.

“That’s silver, you bastard.” Stewart’s voice came ever closer. “Hope you like it.”

A lock held the door to the roof shut, but Daniel placed a single kick and it flew off the hinges. We stumbled into the night. I took a deep breath of the early spring air. There was a chill hanging onto the evening. Before too long, every day here would be hot as hell, and looking down at Daniel, I wondered if he would see the summer. He tumbled to the ground. I fell to my knees and put my hands on his chest to try to stop the bleeding. Tears sprang to my eyes as I pressed close. It was coming too fast. There was too much.

“Danny, what do I do?” My voice broke with every word.

“Run, Zoey.” His breath rattled in and out of his chest like a faulty radiator. “I can still hold him off. Run and hide and call Neil. He’ll come back. He’ll get you out of this. Sarah can get rid of the wards and you can get away from here. You can take the box and give it to Halfer.”

“I can’t leave you.” I pressed harder against his chest. It might have been my imagination or just a wild hope, but I thought the bleeding was a little better.

“You have to, Z. He wasn’t lying. The bullets were silver, and it hit too close to my heart. I can’t survive it.”

“Yes, you can,” I spat back at him. My head spun. “You just need blood. You can take it from that bastard, Stewart, when he finally crawls up here.”

Daniel shook his head. I was horrified to see a tiny trickle of blood drip from his mouth. “Won’t work. The body is dead. Dead blood is as bad as silver. There’s no way out. He’ll be here any minute.” Daniel struggled, but managed to stand, and he pulled me close, his lips on my forehead. “I love you, Zoey. I have since the day I met you. You run and let me handle this. I can handle anything as long as you’re all right.”

And just like that a terrible idea occurred to me.

People sometimes get adrenaline rushes that allow them to do amazing things they normally wouldn’t be able to do. Like the child who manages to lift a car off his father who got pinned underneath. We do amazing things when the one we love is in danger. Daniel was going to die if I didn’t stop it. I didn’t have the strength to handle a demon, even one in a damaged body. I didn’t have the time to out think him. I was out of time and out of options, with only one way to go if I wanted off this roof.

“Daniel,” I said quietly, “Dev says you can fly.”

“Dev’s an asshole with a big mouth.” Daniel pushed me out so he could look in my eyes. He gave me a light shake. “No arguments, Zoey. I died a long time ago, and it’s time to let me go. He’s almost here. I can smell him. Get ready to run down the stairs when I pull him out here. Barricade yourself in the suite and call Neil and call the cops. Hell, call everyone. Promise me.”

I stepped back and hated the fact that he faltered before gaining his balance. I looked at him and memorized everything about him, from his thick, sandy hair that was too short, to his too big feet. I loved every inch of that body. Our life together played through my mind. Every moment had been precious. Even the crappy ones had been worthwhile because they were ours. I wished things had been different. I wished Daniel hadn’t died and we’d had that life we wanted. I wished we hadn’t ended up on this shithole roof where we were probably going to die. I wished a million different endings, but I knew I’d settled on one because I wasn’t going to leave him alone to die.

There was movement in the doorway as Stewart finally managed to make his way to us. He’d changed bodies, but there was no mistaking the glint in those eyes. He had a gun in his hands. “Nowhere to run, kiddos.”

He was wrong.

I threw Daniel one last look. “I’m so sorry.”

His face registered shock as he realized what I was going to do. “Don’t you dare, Zoey!”

But I was already running, and he was slower than normal. I leapt across the wall that separated the roof from the ground eighteen floors below, and then I was free.

Chapter Seventeen

I would like to say that I fell soundlessly through the air. I was a graceful swan floating on the wind, letting fate take me wherever it wanted to go. I was free and flying with no thought but the joy of defying those who would kill me. I would love to be able say all those things.

The reality was more of a high-pitched, girlie scream that seemed to go on forever because falling is really scary.

The speed took my breath away, threatening to stop my heart in my chest. The wind hit my eyes, forcing them to close, but not before I got a real hard look at just how fast the earth below was rushing up to greet me. My arms and legs flailed almost of their own accord as though trying to find purchase and solidness in a world that had none.

It had been a spectacularly bad idea. I’d just jumped off a perfectly good building in the hopes that the guy I was with could, maybe, if I’m really lucky, fly.

I closed my eyes for good, and prayed Daniel could forgive me.

Then I was jerked upward and my heart was in my throat as I flew even faster but in the opposite direction. I flew up, passing one and then two windows before I started to fall again.

I landed with a thud in Daniel’s arms. He tried to nestle me in his arms like a groom carrying his bride over the threshold, but that was so not enough security for me. I threw my arms around his neck and wound my legs as tightly as I could around his waist. Daniel was warmth and security and everything damn good in the world in that moment.

His arms tightened around me and a warm chuckle brushed my ear. “What’s wrong, Z? You were never afraid of heights before.”

“I never jumped off a building before.” My voice shook as I nestled my head between his neck and shoulders.

We floated there somewhere between the eleventh and twelfth floors. I held on for dear life, and Daniel, well, Daniel cupped my ass.

“Hey!” I said, surprised.

“You scare the crap out of me, I get to cop a feel.” he said, proceeding to do just that. “It’s a vampire rule.”

“Fine.” I couldn’t keep the happiness out of my voice. “If it’s a rule then I have to follow it.” I rubbed my cheek against his, so relieved to feel him against my skin. I was alive. He was alive. We had the box. And holy crap, we were floating. “God, Danny, you can fly.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Just call me Peter Pan.”

I was thinking more along the lines of Superman, and I thought about asking why it bothered him. He could freaking fly! I didn’t see how that could be a bad thing. I was about to open my mouth to argue when I realized he was shaking. He had to concentrate to keep us afloat, and I decided to save all questions for after the tour.

Daniel breathed, quelling his shakes, his body steadying again. He anchored me with one hand and the other sank into my hair as he began our descent.

I let myself look around from the safety of Daniel’s arms. I was floating through the spring air with strong arms around me and the lights of downtown twinkling like enormous stars.

“Why isn’t anyone looking at us?” I could see people walking on the street below, some even glancing up, but there was no pointing or shouting.

“I’m shielding us from sight, Z.” His face rubbed against mine. “They can’t see us. I do it every time I have to fly.”

So many secrets. But for the first time in a long time, I started to hope that maybe this little episode would bring us close again.

We descended lightly to the ground, Daniel’s feet hitting without a sound. He readjusted me in his arms, swinging my legs up and carrying me properly.

The people on the street continued to ignore us. They walked by, though many altered their paths as though they could sense us there. Daniel moved toward the parking garage. He stumbled as he reached his destination just inside the concrete walls.