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“Was it a plane?” The older man’s dark face was creased with worry. “Was it terrorists?”

Shaking his head, Cian opened the door for Amaliya. “I don’t think so. Maybe a gas line or something.”

“I hope so. Hope it’s not getting crazy. It is 2012, you know.”

Amaliya slid into the warm interior of the black sedan and pulled her seatbelt on as Cian took his place beside her. The doors shut with a thud.

“Where are we going, Cian?”

“To Jeff’s store,” the vampire answered. He quickly pulled out of the parking spot, zoomed in front of several cars trying to get out of the lot, and turned out onto the road.

Twisting about in her seat, Amaliya could see their old home still burning. The fire appeared to have skipped to other floors and was consuming the top of the building. She hated to think of the humans affected by the attack on the home she had shared with Cian.

“Do you think The Summoner still thinks we lived there?”

“Possibly. Or it could be a warning shot.”

“What do you mean?”

“A clear signal that The Summoner is coming for us. Even if Etzli and The Summoner know we’re not living there anymore, what better way to let us know we’re being targeted?”

“Do they want us to run away?”

Cian lightly shrugged. “Or they could be trying to get us to go attack them.”

“Or it’s a distraction,” Amaliya suggested.

“To distract us from what?” Cian’s brow frowned at the thought. He maneuvered his car swiftly through traffic, scooting around cars with a supernatural agility that was a little exhilarating.

Amaliya.

Samantha’s voice filled her mind, afraid and desperate. Fumbling with her phone, Amaliya’s hands began to shake.

“Liya?”

“They’re after Samantha!” Amaliya’s quivering fingers managed to activate her screen just as the phone rang in her

hands and flashed an image of Samantha flipping her off on the surface. “Sam!”

“They’re trying to get through the ward!” Samantha’s voice exclaimed. “I need you to get here right away!”

“Cian, how far away are we from Sam’s?”

“Fifteen minutes, or more with traffic,” he answered in a tense voice.

“Amaliya, can you do that trick you did in the graveyard?” Samantha sounded scared and impatient.

It took a second for Amaliya to realize what Samantha was asking her to do. “When I dragged you through the ground?”

“Yeah, but come here instead?”

Amaliya searched her memory of that night. “I think I need the dead on either side to work.” It hurt to think of Samantha crouching next to the dead body of Amaliya’s grandmother when Amaliya accidently pulled the blonde to her side using her death magic.

“Think a dead cat will work?”

Amaliya almost laughed.

“I buried my cat in my backyard,” Samantha explained.