“Oh, my God?” Britnee said. “I thought Madison was just making stuff up?”

Craig’s face hardened with anger; in one instant, he went from looking like a handsome boy to a formidable man. “What have you done? Where’s Skye?”

Balthazar held up his hands, a gesture that he too late realized might have been more effective if he hadn’t been holding Skye’s abandoned coat. “Skye’s in serious trouble. We have to find her, now, and I need your help.”

“The only trouble she’s in is because of you,” Craig said. “You’re our teacher. You’re not supposed to … mess with any of the students.”

“I’m not a teacher,” Balthazar replied, giving them as much of the truth as he could while sounding credible. “I’ve been pretending to be one, but I’m not. She’s known all along. Skye’s been in danger since before this semester started, and I came to Darby Glen to protect her.”

Both Craig and Britnee stared at him, clearly caught between surprise and disbelief. Britnee finally said, “That is so not where I saw this conversation going?”

Balthazar descended the final few steps so that he and Craig were face-to-face. He said, “Skye’s been kidnapped. If we don’t stop the people who took her before they get out of town, I don’t know if we’re ever going to get her back. I don’t have a vehicle. Are you going to lend me yours or not?”

Britnee raised her hand, as if they were still in history class. “Maybe we should call the police?”

“This isn’t a situation the police can deal with,” Balthazar said. Especially not the handful of rent-a-cops in this small town, he left unspoken.

Craig’s glare only became more intense. “Why should we trust you?” he demanded. “How do we know you didn’t hurt Skye?”

Balthazar’s patience, already frayed, began to break. “Let’s find her and then you can ask her, okay?”

Although he could tell Craig wasn’t convinced, Britnee put one hand on Craig’s arm and said the first sentence Balthazar had ever heard from her that didn’t sound like a question: “I believe him.”

Craig breathed out sharply, then said, “I’m not giving you my car. But I’ll drive you wherever you want to go.”

“That’s a bad idea.” Balthazar didn’t want to drag any more humans than necessary into this.

“No way,” Craig insisted. “If you’re going anywhere in my car, we’re going with you.”

Every second they spent arguing here was a second Skye didn’t have to spare. Balthazar yanked the car keys from Craig’s hand and said, “You’re coming with me, but I’m driving.”

“Watch it!” Craig yelped as Balthazar swerved around another, slower vehicle; they were traveling at nearly a hundred miles per hour despite the high winds and light snow.

“I’ve got this,” Balthazar said. This was definitely not the time to mention that he’d already totaled one car today.

“Can you describe the car the kidnappers are in?” Britnee sat in the backseat. “We could call it in as a possible DUI? So the cops would at least stop them?”

That would’ve been a good idea under different circumstances. “If the police try to pull them over, they won’t be able to help Skye. We’d probably just get the cops killed.”

Craig said, very quietly, “Could that really happen to the police? To Skye?”

What awaited Skye was so much worse that Balthazar couldn’t bring himself to think about it, much less describe it to Craig and Britnee. “This is as dangerous as it could possibly be,” he said. “Which is why, when we find them, I want you both to stay out of it.”

“I could help,” Craig said. Balthazar shook his head once, a swift no.

Britnee said, “I think I would probably be more of a hindrance in this situation?”

“Exactly. Stay in the backseat. That works.”

For a moment, they were all silent; the main noise Balthazar could hear was the roar of the car’s engine. His fear welled up to fill the spaces where their conversation had been. All he knew was his own wild terror that he’d lost Skye.

Don’t be stupid, he told himself. Even if … even if Redgrave has her, even if he’s drunk from her, you know he won’t kill her. You’ll still be able to save Skye. She’s strong. No matter what she’s been through, she’ll fight to stay alive.

The thought failed to reassure him. Every other time Redgrave had tried to take something from him during the past four centuries, Redgrave had succeeded. Anger pent up from those old treacheries, his countless defeats, burned within Balthazar until it pushed the fear out.

Before, Balthazar hadn’t thought beyond retrieving Skye and making sure she remained safe and well. Now he knew he couldn’t rest until Redgrave was finished once and for all.

As they took the next curve, Craig said, “This is around where Skye used to live.” He obviously said it just to fill the silence, but the idea caught fire in Balthazar’s mind. Instantly he knew what Skye would have done.

“Show me where,” Balthazar said, turning in the direction that Craig pointed. Even as he did, he saw the black van, the vampires around it—and Redgrave.

They looked dazed, as though they stood on consecrated ground. No doubt they’d encountered the wraith within Skye’s house … and she wasn’t with them. Maybe she was barricaded inside.