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“I need to find James.”

“Hell no!” he shouted, too loud. He lowered his voice when I shushed him. “I’m not leaving you alone to deal withmymess.” He looked down. “I’m more involved in this than you think. Ineedto help you. Please.”

I closed my eyes against another wave of pain. That was as good as a confession from him, as far as the gems were concerned, but I didn’t have it in me to argue. “Is there anything I can do to change your mind?”

“Not a chance.”

“Fine,” I relented with a sigh. “But at least stay here while I scope out the rest of the house.”

“I don’t think I could move yet if I wanted to.”

I pushed to my feet, making sure he was stable enough to keep sitting.

Then I paused: we weren’t alone.

It was too dark to make out much of their appearance. Unlikethe kitchen, the shades in the living room blocked out the natural light. Two figures stood shrouded in darkness, invisible except for one thing: like cats in the night, twopairs of blood red eyes stared back at me. Vampires.

I felt Kian shift behind me, but I grabbed his shoulder and shoved him back to the ground. “Stay there.”

They giggled in unison, and it churned my stomach. I’d seen this movie before; I didn’t like it then either.

“What do you want?” I asked them.

“Easy,” the one on the left said. “Just leave.”

I scoffed. “Really?”

My gaze was pulled to the right. “We’re happy to let you walk out of here if you let us have the monster upstairs. We won’t risk human life.”

Another voice rang out in the darkness. “But I will.”

Oh, fuck. Iknewthat voice! On quivering legs, I spun, trying my best to shield Kian with my body.

A woman sauntered into the room. The moonlight came in from the kitchen behind her, illuminating her just enough for me to see. She lowered her hood, her long, jet black hair falling over her shoulder in waves. Gone was the bubbly pink and purple woman I’d grown to cherish as a friend. Now, her dark edge only mirrored the evil in her heart. “It’s good to see you again, Ryder.”

I swallowed. “Wish I could say the same, Dani.” Behind me, Kian grabbed my hand, hauling himself to his feet. My heart was in my throat: James was upstairs? I needed to get to him, but how could I beat twovampiresto him?

The creepy twins jolted. “There’s someone coming—another vampire.”

Dani scoffed. “So?”

The one on the right turned to her. “Humans, always so impatient. We’re in over our heads. Better to retreat.”

Lefty responded, the gleam of her eyes narrowing to slits. “But he knows who we are.” She must have been talking about Kian, because I sure as hell had no idea who she was.

“Leave then,” Dani snapped. “I’ll clean up your mess here. Clark and I have unfinished business.”

One twin whispered something to the other, and then they were gone. I should have been worried, but my focus was on Dani. I knew I could take her—I’d done it before.

“W-what do you want?” Damn the quaver in my voice. I saw the smirk on her face grow with every word.

“Aw.” Dani tsked, tilting her head. “If only we had time for pleasantries. As it is, this place is rigged to blow any minute now. Why don’t we just cut to the?—”

Dani grunted as Kian tackled her to the ground. The move took both of us by surprise and was enough to stun her.

“Go,” he shouted. “Get James.”

I didn’t need any further invitation. Spinning on my heel, I tore off down the hallway and up the stairs.