Page 125 of Marked By Moonlight

My knees wobbled, and I backed away.

Szabo and friends,I thought, when more figures separated from the shadows.

Henrik scanned the area in alarm. I did too, then pointed.

“There! The tunnel!”

A small pavilion marked the entrance to a century-old river crossing from Greenwich to the north bank of the Thames, where we’d started.

I took off at a sprint and charged into the pavilion, then down a wide flight of spiral stairs. Around and around, around and around. We were nearly four stories down when feet clanged over the steps above us.

I stopped, staring up in fear. Then Henrik shoved me. “Go! Get moving!”

I jumped down the last few stairs, then raced down the long, sloping tunnel.

Chapter Twenty-Five

MINA

My footsteps echoed along the length of the tunnel. The air was damp and stuffy. The ceiling wasn’t all that high, and the walls weren’t too wide on either side of me. Just wide enough for a pedestrian lane in either direction.

I raced along, wondering how fast Szabo could run. Praying Henrik could reason with him. Hoping Henrik would be inclined to.

A big if.

Henrik followed a few steps behind me — so close, we nearly crashed when I screeched to a stop.

“Dammit, woman,” he cursed, in as much of a hurry as I was.

I pointed a shaky finger at the figure trotting toward us from the other end of the tunnel.

Moments ago, the tunnel had been empty. Now, we were sandwiched in between two groups of strangers. I squinted ahead, praying for a friend, not a foe.

I didn’t recognize the language Henrik spoke in next, but I knew it was a curse.

Foe, then.

“Stay close,” he murmured, turning sideways to peer in both directions.

Never had I imagined I would voluntarily follow such a command coming from him. But I did, brushing his side as we stood trapped in the middle of the tunnel.

Henrik’s eyes shone bright red. His fangs and fingernails extended.

“Over there,” he instructed.

We shuffled over to a small construction zone. I leaned over the low fencing and grabbed a length of metal pipe. Then I yanked out my phone and checked for a signal. Nothing.

It was me, Henrik, and three feet of metal against the two…four…six figures prowling closer, three from one end of the tunnel, three from the other.

“The moment you spot an opening, run,” Henrik whispered.

A noble plan — truly — with zero chance of successful execution. Not with a trio of supernaturals blocking me from either direction.

Marius!I screamed in my mind, half hoping for a miraculous rescue.

But he’d been delayed by a vampire, and all I had for protection was Henrik and my own shaky capabilities.

I sniffed long enough to ascertain that the men on the left were vampires and those on the right shifters. Wolves, their musky scent indicated.