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“Something is wrong here!” Demos cried. “Am I writing the symbol wrong?”

But Ryder shook his head. “It’s perfect. It should work.”

“What’s that?” Grayson pointed towards a brick towards the bottom of the wall that flickered with a strange green light.

Ryder went over to it and hunkered down. He touched the brick briefly and jerked his hand away as if it was hot. He got out a phone and took a picture of it before rising to his feet.

“We need to get to another gate,” Ryder said with a grim determination on his face. “What this is, it’s messed up the gate..”

Messed up the gate? Grayson thought. The Sect had Gregory’s letter. They knew where this gate was. They did something to it so that… what? To stop him from going? Delay him somehow?

A cold chill went through him. They did need to get out of there.

“The nearest gate for Nightvallen is thirty miles away,” Demos said with a grimace. “I’ll get us a ride. I know a general House number in this city but--”

“No,” Ryder said with a shake of his head.

“Why not?” Demos’ eyebrows rose.

“Because if Grayson is telling the truth then any Vampire we call may be in on this,” Grayson told him. “We boost a car. We get out of here as fast and quiet as we can. We talk to no one until we get him to the Ever Dark.”

Grayson again wanted to argue he didn’t want or need to go there but that would fall on deaf ears. Besides, he now had thirty miles to get away somehow. To get every Vampire out of his life.

“How many Vampires are there?” Ryder asked him again as he looped an arm around Grayson’s waist.

It would have looked like a friendly hold, but Grayson guessed it was to keep him from running.

“Three. One woman and two men, I think. I got a really good look at the woman, but not them,” Grayson explained. “She’s… really quick. Oh, and I think she’s one of those Ashyr Vampires. That or Horys.” At his words, Demos and Ryder shared another of those looks. “Everybody knows your guys’ powers! They’re not secret!”

“Okay. Fair enough. But why exactly do you think that she was one of those Bloodlines? What did she do?” Ryder asked. His voice was remarkably calm though it was clear he was on alert.

He’s a warrior of some sort. Maybe he was before he was turned. He’s done this before, Grayson thought.

“She threw a door at me… I mean, she threw the door of the store inside…” Grayson grimaced.

Ryder’s expression was neutral. Unlike Demos, who clearly knew Grayson was omitting things, he couldn’t read Ryder at all. It was far more unnerving.

“I don’t know if she used her mind to throw it in or maybe with a gust of wind,” Grayson finished with a shrug. “She didn’t do anything else… I mean… she…”

He again saw her mouth red with Sam’s blood in his mind and trembled. Ryder’s hands moved from his waist to Grayson’s shoulders, steadying him. He normally didn’t like being touched by someone he didn’t know. Hell, even people he did know. But this touch was surprisingly good. Yet he still stiffened and Ryder dropped his hands.

“She killed my friend, too. Like he was nothing,” Grayson got out, his voice tight.

“I’m sorry,” Ryder said simply.

“You sound like you mean it.” The words left Grayson’s mouth before he could stop them.

Ryder lifted an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“You’re a Vampire,” Grayson said as if that should answer everything.

“No time to school him about how Vampires work, Ryder. We have more issues,” Demos said. “I say we haul ass out the back way.”

“Sounds good,” Ryder said.

Again, that arm was around him, steering him to the back of the church and down a hallway that smelled of dry rot and rat droppings. Grayson thought this was the type of place where the homeless and junkies would hang out. He would have stayed here back in the day, but it was remarkably free of people. Only Vampires could keep the desperate away from this place. They neared the back door at the end of the hall when Demos froze. Ryder did the same and was, once more, shoving Grayson protectively behind him.

Before Demos or Ryder explained the sudden stop, the female Vampire’s voice rose up from outside, “I think we’ve been discovered!” Her voice was filled with laughter as if this were going to be fun. “You’d best just bring the boy out to me. He’s been very naughty.” Her voice dipped as she added, “Don’t let me ask twice.”