– Nyx –
Every job has its critical moments. Keria and I never talk about them. That feels like bad juju. Instead, we plod through, both being careful to make sure we don’t misstep without ever calling out the risk.
Getting into the castle was one of those moments.
We waited for Valentine to arrive. He had a small company of guards with him—we counted six—bringing the total occupancy of the castle up to 40 vamps plus blood dolls. Nothing two girls with stakes and guns couldn’t handle.
We knew (both from Araminta’s intel and from common sense) that the majority of the vamps would be focused on Valentine, particularly when he first arrived. That was our best opportunity to slip in unseen.
The castle’s security was no joke. Cameras were positioned along the wall, covering every possible approach. But Old Marge came through for us.
Old Marge is a witch. Not the love and light kind, either. Mostly Hoodoo and other less savory forms of magic. She gave us a simple spell jar we could use to summon a little murder—in this case, literally.
We used the incantation she’d shared, buried the spell jar on the edge of the castle’s property line, and then focused our attention and intent on a specific camera. Within minutes, four crows circled and then landed on the wall just in front of the camera’s mount, blocking the view. They cawed and shuffled while we sprinted across an open field to the wall.
We had a few minutes, ten at most, to scale the wall and disappear on the other side. With Valentine arriving, it was doubtful a guard would come to shoo the birds away, but they would only stick around for a bit. Old Marge had been clear about that.
Grappling hooks out, we made quick work of mounting the wall. Then we ran quietly along the walkway to the first set of stairs, taking them down, across a small courtyard, and into the castle itself.
We had a quick errand to run before anything else.
✦ ✦ ✦
Araminta had been cagey about giving us a map of the castle’s layout. She knew we needed it, and she still didn’t want to share it. She seemed most protective of the location of her quarters. But we explained that we had to know to ensure her safety, so she gave over the goods.
That’s where we headed.
While there were cameras all along the wall outside, there were no cameras within the castle. If you’re trying to keep the existence of your kind a secret from the world, you don’t film evidence. That, combined with the hubbub surrounding the big bad’s arrival, made it super easy to navigate to Araminta’s room.
And picking the lock? Keria could have done that in her sleep.
Once inside, we attended to our task quickly and quietly. No more than five minutes passed before the door opened.
✦ ✦ ✦
“You two are not as clever as you believe yourselves to be,” Araminta said after she closed the door. Taking off her mask, she continued. “I knew you would come to my room.”
Keria shifted uneasily.
“We just need to double-check our gear before we get to work,” she said. “We needed a secure spot to do that.”
Our supplies were laid out on a beautiful, antique table off to one side. Araminta frowned in disdain when she saw the stakes.
“My quarters are not a mission preparation area,” she said.
“Would you prefer we not prep?” I asked. “This whole thing could go south real fast if we don’t make sure we’re ready. You have as much to lose as we do, Minta.”
“Do not call me that.”
“The riskiest thing about prepping here right now is your presence,” I continued. “You should join the others. Greet Valentine. Keep up appearances.”
Araminta nodded slowly. “Oh, I’m sure you would like that. However, I was asked to retrieve a ritual armament for the welcoming ceremony. Zillah herself made the request. Someone must have … misplaced … the athame that had been set out.”
As she said this, she casually tossed an ornate ceremonial dagger on her bed. Then she retrieved a very similar dagger from its mount on the wall above what appeared to be an altar.
“Clever girl,” I said.
“More than you know, breather,” she replied. “Now gather your things and leave my room.”
We began to reassemble our gear, carefully putting everything in its proper place in our packs. When we had everything, we put our packs on and moved toward the door.
“Are you not forgetting something?” Araminta asked.
We stopped and turned to face her.
“What do you mean?” Keria asked.
Araminta smirked. “I am not newly turned. Did you think I would be so easily fooled? I know my own quarters well enough to know when something that should not be here has been added.”
“We have all our stuff,” I said.
“And what of that?” she asked, pointing to the shelves beside the table we’d been working at.
She crossed the room and pointed to the biggest volume on the shelf. It was ever so slightly forward from the rest of the books. She hefted it off the shelf and then reached behind where it had been, wrapping her annoyingly delicate fingers around a small block of C4 attached to a radio-controlled detonator.
“It seems you may have forgotten something,” she said.
Keria and I collectively stumbled over our words—something that doesn’t happen often. Araminta didn’t wait for us to compose ourselves. Instead, she crossed the room and pushed the C4 into my hand.
“You are vile, simple creatures,” she said. “Do not make the mistake of thinking you can outflank me. I assure you, I have considered every possible element of this plan, including your predictable betrayal of our alliance. I am prepared to counter you at every step.”
I swallowed hard and nodded quickly. “We had to try,” I said.
“No,” she said curtly. “You have to do nothing save what you have sworn to do for me. If you veer from the agreed-upon plan again, I will end you. Both of you. Now get out of my sight and get to work. Do not trifle with me again.”
“We won’t,” Keria said apologetically as we ducked out of Araminta’s room.
✦ ✦ ✦
Down the hall and around a corner, Keria spoke first.
“She was pissed.”
“Well, she did find a small bomb in her room,” I offered. “I’d be pissed, too.”
“True,” Keria said. She grinned, and her shoulders relaxed. “Just like we planned. Think she’ll find the other surprise?”
“Nope,” I said. “Only the one we wanted her to find. God, I love a classic misdirect.”