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Chapter Thirty-Seven

All too soon, night fell and Samuel and Luke headed off to the woods. I didn't indulge in a tearful goodbye with Luke – I was shutting down all the emotion inside me so I could act on pure instinct.

I dressed in my old hunting gear; black leggings and a long-sleeved black vest, along with a zip-up jacket to wear over the knives, and anchored my blonde hair in a tight ponytail. I slipped on my most comfortable running shoes, and took a moment to stare at myself in the mirror. My hand moved to my shoulder, feeling the ridges of scar tissue beneath my clothes. I'd survived worse than anything Rachel could throw at me. That bitch was going down.

Before leaving, Clara had handpicked a selection of knives for me, spreading them out over the kitchen table. I had knives of my own, but Clara had always taken better care of her weapons than me and hers were of better quality.

"Are you are sure you have enough weapons?" Elena asked, watching as I clipped sheathed knives to my belt.

"If I take any more I won't be able to run as fast," I said. Speed was the most important variable in this scenario – if I wasn't fast enough to outrun Rachel, we'd never even make it to the woods.

Elena still looked worried.

"Everyone is armed, don't forget," I said. "And if the worst comes to the worst, there are lots of broken branches in the woods that I can use as stakes."

Contrary to what Hollywood told people, wooden stakes weren't all that effective. Trying to get a giant toothpick through bone was not easy as films made it out to be. The best way was to angle the stake up under the sternum and pierce the heart from there, and that required more skill than simply stabbing someone in the chest with a knife. But I'd killed a vampire with a broken branch before and I could do it again if needs be.

Elena nodded and kissed the top of my head. "Be careful, sweetheart." There was real fear in her voice, a mother's fear for her daughter. I pulled her into a quick hug.

"We'll be fine," I whispered.

Subtly armed, I walked out of the house and hit the night-time streets. But I didn't immediately start running – first, I wanted to get Rachel's attention, and that meant looking vulnerable.

I walked down a couple of streets before breaking into a light jog. There were plenty of people still out and about – dog walkers and other joggers, couples heading out on dates, people returning home from work – but no one spared me a second glance. I was just an ordinary teenage girl, nothing worth a second glance. Looking at me, small and slightly built, no one would guess that beneath my jacket I bristled with knives, and inside my heart a slow pulse of anger was building.

Bring it on, Rachel.

I did a slow half-circuit of the neighbourhood. I couldn't go too far from the woods otherwise I might not be able to lead Rachel back there, but I couldn't make it too obvious that I was looking for her.

I'd just completed my circuit when awareness tightened my skin, lifting the hairs on the nape of my neck. Every instinct I possessed told me someone was following me. I kept my face neutral, but inwardly I was coldly grinning. I knew Rachel wouldn't be able to resist what she thought was easy prey.

Anticipation coiled in my muscles, my fighting blood rearing to life. I turned a corner, fractionally picking up the pace. Once I could see the woods I'd break into a full run, but for now I just needed to keep tempting Rachel on.

Rats have been known to kill cats. Clara's words echoed through my mind, and I curled my fingers, imagining sharp rodent claws sprouting from the tips. Maybe I was just a rat in Rachel's eyes, but I was a rat who fought back. It would take more than a psycho vampire with delusions of grandeur to bring me down.

The woods came into view ahead of me, rows of black trunks standing side by side like soldiers. Almost there.

I risked a glance over my shoulder just in time to see a dark shape bob out of view. The stupid bitch actually thought I didn't know she was there. Her arrogance really was her weakness – she was so convinced of my inferiority that she just couldn't comprehend my being smarter than she gave me credit for.

My feet devoured the pavement as I sped up again, straining my ears for footfalls behind me. I heard nothing, but that didn't surprise me. Rachel was very good at keeping quiet.

The woods bobbed ahead of me, getting steadily nearer and nearer, twenty metres...fifteen...ten. Something thumped behind me, the sound of feet picking up speed. If there'd been even a speck of doubt in my mind, it was gone now. Rachel was following me.

Now all I had to do was get her into the woods where the others were waiting. Something surged through me, a fierce, almost ugly anticipation. This would end tonight. After we were rid of Rachel, we would all be free to move on with our lives. The legacy of my old enemies would be well and truly wiped out.

Black branches and rustling clusters of leaves seemed to reach out and welcome me into the woods. My feet left the concrete pavement and thudded on the root-ridged, leaf-strewn forest floor. Somewhere among these silent trunks and branches, my friends were hiding.

A footstep crunched behind me and my hand tingled with the urge to reach for a knife. Not yet. If I played my hand too soon we might lose Rachel, and she'd never fall for this a second time. I had to stay vulnerable.

I ducked under a sagging branch –

– and slammed into a dark figure. I rebounded, almost losing my footing on the uneven ground. Rough bark scraped my palm as I put a hand on the nearest tree to steady myself. The figure didn't move and sudden dread knotted inside me.

I lifted my eyes to Rachel's icily smiling face. Utter disbelief slammed into my chest. I spun around, looking over my shoulder, then turned back to Rachel, who hadn't moved except to tilt her head to one side.

"But...how?" I whispered. This wasn't supposed to happen. Rachel had been following me – she'd been behind me.

"How did I get here first?" Rachel sniggered. "I'm not stupid, little vampire hunter. I knew you'd try something like this."

I felt sick. I'd been so sure that her arrogance was the weakness that would bring her down, but instead it was my arrogance that would wreck the whole plan. I should have thought of a backup plan. I should have made sure that it was Rachel who'd had followed me into the woods.

Rachel scanned the trees around us, and grinned wide enough that her fangs gleamed between her lips. "I suppose all your little friends are hiding out here, waiting for a chance to attack me." She tapped her chin with a sharply-clawed finger.

Hatred rolled over me, thick and hot. She was supposed to die tonight. The last shadows of my life were supposed to be blasted away so Luke and I could finally move on – so we could all move on. And I'd jeopardised all that because I was too stupid and too sure of myself, so absurdly convinced that this would all go according to plan and Rachel would just drop into my silly little trap.

"You're probably wondering who was following you," Rachel said, watching my face. She was loving every second of this. "You didn't really think I was working alone, did you?"

"Madeleine's rogues," I said, the words heavy and bitter in my mouth. We'd ruled out the possibility of them being involved because there'd never been any sign of them, and now that mistake was coming back to bite us. Probably literally.

Rachel laughed delightedly and clapped her hands. "The little rat figured it out. They came back with me to Dalwick, but I've had them living on the outskirts of town so no one in your pathetic little group could track them down."

No wonder Samuel and Elena's inquiries around the other local vampires hadn't turned anything up. Rachel had deliberately kept her friends under wraps so we would assume she was working alone. We wouldn't be watching our backs for anyone else. She hadn't walked into our trap; we'd walked into hers.

"You should learn to tie up your loose ends," Rachel told me. "A smart hunter would have gone after those rogues and slaughtered them all so they never had a chance to come back for revenge."

We'd dismissed the notion because Samuel had been so sure that they wouldn't be back, not without Madeleine to lead them. They were too cowardly to fight back on their own. He'd been right in that respect – they still needed someone to lead them. Unfortunately Rachel more than adequately suited that role.

I closed my eyes. I should have seen this coming. I should have considered the possibility. I should have known that Madeleine's wretched legacy would find a way to survive.

Rachel laughed again, and it grated against my eardrums. "You really are remarkably stupid."

I was telling myself the exact same thing. The dread in my stomach was freezing to ice. I'd screwed this whole thing up.

"And you really shouldn't have tried to trick me, Kiara." Rachel's voice was like a dagger. "If you hadn't, you wouldn't have brought your friends out here." Her smile widened, cold and shark-like. "You wouldn't have left the pretty blonde vampire and the little human girl all alone in that house. Oh well, too late for them now."

Icy horror plunged through me like a knife to the gut.

Riley. Elena.

Rachel knew they were alone – her rogues knew it. I'd insisted on them being left behind for their own safety...and instead I'd thrown them to the wolves.

"Go on, run back to them," Rachel sneered. "If you run fast enough, you might be in time to identify the bodies."

I ran.

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