“They’re heading for Mount Tam.”

Because of thinning traffic up the winding two-lane road toward Mount Tamalpais, they had to fall further back in order not to be noticed. Nervousness crept up Yvette’s gut and settled in her throat. What if they lost them?

She didn’t notice that she’d started fidgeting again until Zane put his hand on her arm. “Don’t worry. She won’t get away.” His voice was uncharacteristically soothing, so much so that she gave him a stunned look.

He shrugged as if guessing her surprise. “All evidence to the contrary, I’m not entirely heartless.”

She nodded, speechless at his unexpected show of compassion. The slowing of the van made her look back at the monitor. The two green dots now blinked without moving. “They stopped.”

“Stay back,” Zane instructed the driver. “We don’t want her to hear the car engine or see us.”

The driver stopped and turned off the engine. Then he turned back to them. “I’ll check it out.” He pulled a curtain between driver’s compartment and passenger area before he opened the van door and stepped out, careful not to allow any daylight into the area Zane and Yvette occupied.

Despite knowing that their driver was one of their best human bodyguards and trained in stealth just as she and Zane were, Yvette couldn’t help but worry. “What if the witch detects him?”

“He’s human. She won’t think anything of it. There are hikers around this mountain all day, and he’s dressed the part.”

Feeling silly, she didn’t answer. Of course, Zane was right. But waiting for sunset had never felt so torturous.
Thirty-Four

The cabin to which Bess had brought them was rudimentary: one large room with a corner area that served as a kitchen and a small bathroom off to another side. It felt damp and cold. Haven hadn’t noticed anybody following them, but hoped that the vamps weren’t far away. With several more hours of sunlight—even though very little penetrated through the heavily wooded area—no rescue mission would come before sunset.

When he and Wesley entered the cabin with the witch at their back, his eyes immediately searched for Kimberly and found her curled up on the only bed in the room. She jumped up when she saw them.

“Haven, Wesley! You shouldn’t have come! Now she has us all,” Kimberly wailed.

Wesley pulled her into his embrace. “It’s gonna be okay, sis.”

“At least you’re alright,” Haven noted with relief and patted her shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” the witch droned behind them. “How I hate sappy family reunions.”

Bess was unarmed, except for the ceremonial dagger sheathed at her hip. Haven eyed the weapon covertly. He’d have to get his hands on it later.

“Now sit, and don’t bother me,” she ordered and pushed a blast of air against him. Haven’s balance was uprooted, but he caught himself quickly enough. There was no need for the witch to have any weapons to keep them in check with when all she needed were her powers. Haven recalled his last conversation with Wesley before Bess had swept them away and hoped he hadn’t miscalculated about how to defeat her.

***

As soon as night fell, Zane and Yvette joined Gabriel under a copse of trees. Francine was with him. The remaining vampires scattered, creating a wide circle around the cabin the human bodyguards had scoped out.

Yvette slipped her earpiece into her right ear. It would allow their team to communicate with each other to coordinate the attack.

“We’ll need ten minutes to hike to the cabin, another five to get to the clearing where we believe the ritual will take place,” Gabriel explained.

Francine nodded. “Haven, Wes, and Katie will have to stand in a half-circle around the altar. We’ll have to wait until Bess starts the ritual chanting. Her concentration will be on the ritual and her cognitive senses dulled. It’s the only time she’s weaker than normal.”

“Francine will use her powers to take out the witch,” Gabriel elaborated. “Once she’s defeated, any wards she’s put up will fall and allow us to get the three out and to safety.”

“Understood,” Zane confirmed.

Yvette swallowed hard. It sounded so easy, but nevertheless, she knew a million things could go wrong even with Francine’s help. “Thank you for helping us, Francine. I’m sure it can’t be easy to have to fight one of your own.”

A tight smile formed around Francine’s lips acknowledging Yvette’s words. “Sometimes we have no choice about what we do. Certain things are stronger than us.”