Frieda squealed, backing further into her corner against the bars of the cage. Two hunters circled the cage with stakes, poking them into her back to force her to the center of the floor. Five men aimed guns at us as Anthony approached the entrance of the cage.

“One movement from any of you, and my men will take you down.” His eyes were fixed on Frieda. “Come here, girl. Come on.” He beckoned her over as one would a dog.

Her eyes sparked with fury at his humiliation. But she was helpless. We were all helpless. One movement, and the bullets would be lodged in our bodies, burning us from the inside out. Anthony entered the cage, gripping Frieda by her arm and holding a gun against her temple. He dragged her out even as she screamed. A woman fastened the door behind him as he stepped out into the clearing. He dropped her to the grass, in clear view of all of us.

“Make sure you all watch this,” Anthony said, addressing the crowd of hunters. “Spread out if you have to.”

He gripped a machete and brought it slamming down against her right arm. Steel sliced flesh. Blood spurted everywhere, soaking the grass. Frieda’s screams could have brought hearing to the deaf.

She writhed around on the grass so violently, four men had to bend over her to keep her still. As she tried to lash out at them with her remaining claws and bite them with her fangs, one man lodged a metal ball into her mouth, choking her, tying it around her head like a muzzle. The other men raised stakes to the air and brought them down, digging straight through her shoulders and pinning her down against the soil.

The crowd’s eyes flickered with anticipation. Hungry for blood. Hungry for death.

Anthony hovered over, cutting away her clothes with his blade. Then, using its tip, he etched the mark of a hawk into her skin. Blood seeped from the brand.

They didn’t prolong her pain much longer. Anthony grabbed a stake from one of the men and stabbed it through her throat. He pulled it out again, and finally pierced her heart.

The first weak rays of the sun were now beginning to peek out from behind the horizon. I dropped down to the floor along with the other vampires to avoid being hit by them. A few more minutes, even half an hour, and the sun’s angle would make it impossible to avoid its rays any longer. We’d burn alive, unless they decided to kill us first.

“Don’t worry,” Anthony said, his eyes gleaming as he severed Frieda’s head. He dug a stake into the ground like a mast and mounted her head on top of it. “We won’t keep you here long enough for the sun to have all the fun.”

Chapter 10: Sofia

I ended up staying the night in the Sanctuary. I’d had to ask Corrine to pay a late-night visit to Derek. She explained to him that I’d decided to have dinner with her and we’d ended up having a little too much to drink. She said I’d already fallen asleep on her sofa and would return tomorrow. It wasn’t the most plausible of stories, since Derek knew it wasn’t in my character to get drunk, but it was the best I could come up with in my panicked state.

To my dismay, as the clock struck half past three the next day, I still hadn’t turned back.

“Corrine,” I said, my voice shaking, “you and Ibrahim need to step in for me.”

“Hey, I didn’t sign up for this.”

“I know. I know. But all of this will be for nothing if they don’t at least have one meeting together where they behave civilly, as themselves—”

“That’s all very well said, but what do I tell Derek? He’s going to wonder where the hell his wife is.”

“Just…” My voice trailed off as I desperately racked my brains. “Just tell him I’m at Anna’s place. I left the Sanctuary and decided to visit her and Kyle.”

Corrine stared at me, her eyebrows raised. “That’s ludicrous. Derek’s never going to buy this. He was doubtful enough about the story I told him last night. Besides, he’s going to wonder why Kiev turned up on his doorstep.”

“Just tell Derek that I invited Kiev round for lunch without telling him, hoping they could both make amends. In preparation and without my knowledge, Kiev came to apologize yesterday, to make sure things weren’t awkward over lunch. Tell Derek I invited you too. He’ll have to assume that I’ve gotten held up with Anna and you can suggest that I’ll probably be back home soon.”

“But—”

I crossed the room and gripped Corrine by the shoulders… a little too hard.

“Ouch,” she said irritably, wriggling away from my grasp.

“Sorry. But look, please Corrine, I’m begging you. You have to step in for me. I know it’s a stupid story. But we just need to get them together, okay? Ibrahim can go with you.”

She paused, biting her lip. “Ibrahim!” she called.

I breathed out in relief.

He appeared in the room.

“What?”

“As you can see, Sofia still hasn’t turned back, so she’s going to have to stay here while we go and help Derek with his lunch guests.”

Ibrahim looked less than enthusiastic at being roped into this.

He opened his mouth but I bulldozed over him. “Just try to keep the conversation away from the visits they made to each other yesterday—by any means necessary. They won’t be very talkative, so you two must take the bull by the horns and lead the conversation places where the subject won’t crop up. Remember, Mona will be there too. She’s smart enough to realize what might have happened and she’ll help in keeping the conversation on other topics.”