Chapter Twenty-Eight (Julian)

Shit.

That was probably the only way I could describe our current situation.

So far, our plan was working, but not without casualties. Using the cell phone Vladimir had given me to keep in contact with him and the others, I had learned that Daimonas had been attacked (Vladimir wouldn't go into details) and Seth was bleeding out big time after coughing up his demon whom he'd named Anoki.

And Zephyra was swarming the place for us.

The good news was that Xed had managed to kill at least twenty-eight members, including Jack. While I actually ached at the fact that I hadn't had the chance to kill the bastard myself, it was good enough for me.

We still didn't have time to celebrate our victory, though. We still had a few more generals to kill and Giorgos. All of whom had congregated on the building in order to attack. Giorgos had apparently called them out ahead of time after we had gotten to the city and jumped Orion's girlfriend and they had shown up recently.

Which meant we could kill all of them at once, especially with the bomb Newell had instructed us to plant at the base of the building.

Even a vampire had its limits and having several tons of solid brick and rock fall on your head was one of them.

 Now it was just a matter of keeping Zephyra in the building, staying in the building ourselves long enough to distract them before we made our get away where Newell, Peter, and Walter should be waiting. I just hoped things went well between Walter and Peter. Peter had looked really nervous and upset before we left. I could tell he was worried about Hunter too. No one had seen him since he disappeared from the lobby during his argument with Peter.

But there was no time to mess with him and his petty issues.

We were on a mission and we had to finish it this time, to the very last vampire.

"Are you all right?" Adam asked me, his breath hot against my ear as we hid around the corner of a hallway. I shivered at the feel of it and just nodded to him. He studied me for a second, then reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind my ear. I shivered at the feel of it and tilted my head back, kissing him on the cheek. He smiled very faintly at that before tilting his head to look around.

"Think we should move?" He asked. I nodded. He took my hand and we stepped out from behind our hiding place, moving down the hallway as silently as possible. We had led the group of Zephyra members outside through the back door and into the building where they were now searching the lower floor for us. We had locked the doors and moved toward the center, making our way to the other side of the building where we would make our escape.

But it was getting harder.

There were members everywhere and with everyone non-human, they could hear much better, smell, see. It was dangerous.

"Do you think Seth is going to be okay? Daimonas too?" I asked as we walked. Adam nodded at that, squeezing my hand in his.

"I have no doubt about it. You know Kipp wouldn't let anything happen to Seth. And Daimonas is with Vladimir. I can't think of a safer place."

"But he said Daimonas was attacked."

"That was before Vladimir got to him, but now they're together and Daimonas is safe. You need to stop worrying, Julian. They're fine. We're fine. We're doing great so far, don't jinx us." Adam told me, pausing at the corner of a hallway to peer around to make sure the coast was clear. I didn't say anything to that, just held Adam's hand tightly in mine, biting at my lower lip. I still couldn't shake the bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

And the worst part was that it was the same bad feeling I got before Orion killed Adam back at the church in Detroit. It was the gut wrenching sensation that something really bad was going to happen and it terrified me.

What if Adam died for real this time? What if someone else died? What if I died?

I swallowed hard, trying to ignore it as we made our way down the hallway, only to pull up short as a couple of Zephyra members rounded the corner and skidded to a halt when they saw us, then lunged at us. Adam let go of my hand to catch one guy over his shoulder, slamming him into the floor. The next one came at me, but I spun out of his way and grabbed him by the back of his head, slamming it into the wall with a sickening crack so he hit the floor beside his unconscious buddy.

"You still got it." Adam commented, holding his hand out to me. I smirked at that, taking his hand as we hurried down the hallway. The cell phone in my pocket buzzed obnoxiously and I pulled it out, handing it to Adam, who took it and flipped it open, holding it to his ear as his eyes remained alert.

"Adam here, what do you got?" He asked. There was a pause as I listened in.

"Adam, it's Vladimir," Vladimir spoke, his voice quiet, "I'm on the fourth floor and moving down. The staircases are currently inaccessible. Daimonas and I barely made it out. Also, Newell is on his way to the rendezvous point with Walter and Peter. There's still no sign of Hunter. I'm guessing he's gone somewhere to sulk."

"Of that I have no doubt," Adam replied dryly, then sighed, "All right, Julian and I are moving in that direction. Get anything from Xed and Kipp? Is Seth okay?"

"Not sure. Kipp wasn't picking up when I last called, but I haven't heard or seen anything from that area, so they might just be trying to safely make their way to the exit."

"All right. We're headed that way. See you in a few minutes."

"Okay, and Adam?"

"What?"

"If you see Giorgos, run."

"And why in fuck's name would I do that?"

"Because you're a halfblood and Giorgos is a pureblood. As much bravado as you have, you won't stand a chance against him, and neither will Julian in his current state. Just go to the meeting point. The last thing I need to do is inform Alexander that another one of his family members has died in this battle." With that, Vladimir hung up. Adam frowned at the phone, then looked at me as I grimaced. He sighed and handed me the phone back.

"Hear that?" Adam asked. I nodded.

"Is that gonna stop you?" He asked. I shook my head. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck before shrugging.

"Awesome. Then let's keep moving." He said, taking my hand and leading me down the hallway.

I knew it was a bad idea to take on Giorgos, especially with that feeling in my gut, but I had a feeling the guy wasn't going to fall for our get everyone together and kill 'em all plan. He was smarter than that, just another reason why we needed to take him out as fast as possible. Giorgos was calling the shots, he was the leader. If we killed him, the others would scatter to try and find someone to take his place, but we weren't going to give them the chance. We couldn't.

And I know Alexander was freaking out.

When Vladimir had shown up, he'd shown up alone and given some bullshit excuse about how Alexander was too busy with work to come. It was a lie, especially when his phone kept going off, most likely Alexander trying to get a hold of us so he could come help, but even I thought it was a good thing to keep Alexander away.

He would just be a distraction and he wouldn't let me do anything.

And he'd probably run off and disappear like he did back in Detroit.

Adam reached into his pocket and took out the cell phone again, making me frown as he dialed a number and held the phone to his ear. He listened and I listened, but we only heard endless ringing. Adam hung up and tried again.

"Who?" I asked.

"Newell," Adam replied with a grim expression, "I just got this bad feeling. And it's even worse now that he won't pick up." I nibbled my lower lip nervously as Adam continued to call, but all we got was ring after ring after ring.

What was going on? Newell always picked up his cell phone after the second ring. It was one of his weird OCD things. Kind of like how he made sure all of his clothes were correctly buttoned and his shoes were tied a certain way. The guy was weird, but that didn't mean I wanted something to happen to him.

Even though he could be a pain in the ass, he was also a good ally to have. I could even go as far as calling him a friend. How weird.

"We need to hurry," Adam said at last, "We're going to try and get out. If we run into Giorgos, we'll just bulldoze him. We don't have time to carry this out. If Newell isn't picking up, something happened to him, Peter, and Walter. Which means there's no get away vehicle, which means we're going to be too close to the explosion." I nodded as he took my hand in his and we made our way down the hallway quickly.

We barely made it out of the hallway as another group of Zephyra members swarmed in. Adam pulled me into a nearby office room with another door on the other side of the room. We walked across the room and Adam opened the door carefully, peering out into what looked like another hallway. We stepped out just as someone was coming around the corner.

We both froze for a split second and prepared to defend ourselves when I realized who had come around the corner. Giorgos was standing there with four Zephyra members. Giorgos smiled at us casually as if he hadn't totally destroyed our lives.

"There you are," He greeted calmly, "We've been looking everywhere for you two. You've caused quite a mess in my building."

"It's not technically your building." Adam deadpanned. Giorgos raised an eyebrow at him, then gave him a once over before his smile returned full blast.

"You're the human Orion killed, aren't you? Or, rather, were. It's a pleasure to see that you've decided to stick around. Do you enjoy the power of a halfblood?" He asked. Why was he making idle conversation? It was making the bad feeling in my gut clench tighter. Adam seemed suspicious too, eyes narrowed dangerously.

"It's not bad," He answered coldly, "But I could do without the whole sucking blood thing." Giorgos smirked, folding his arms over his chest. But I was distracted by the reeking stench of blood. It burned my nostrils and stung my eyes. I grimaced at that, reaching up to cover my nose and mouth. Adam picked up on it a second later and flinched. Giorgos paused at that, sniffing at the air and breathing a deep, satisfied sigh that gave me chills of repulsion.

"Ah, right. Well, I'm afraid we don't have time to chat," He said, making Adam and I frown, "Not with that friendly little bomb you planted. And you've seem to have cut off all the exits, but I'm not stupid. I'm asking politely right now-- Take us to your exit and nobody gets hurt." I curled my lip at that and Adam snorted, folding his arms over his chest.

"And what makes you think we'll do that?" He asked. Giorgos smiled and gestured to someone around the corner. A second later, Orion came in, grim faced as he held Newell by the back of his jacket. I winced. Blood poured out of his mouth, caking his chin and the front of his jacket. His wrists were tied tightly behind his back with wire that was slicing through his skin. There were cuts all over his cheeks, hands, and throat. He stumbled, barely managed to keep himself standing as Orion pressed a gun into Newell's mouth, causing him to choke on it. He managed a little hiss that meant he was more pissed than in pain.

"Or," Giorgos offered, placing a hand on Newell's head, making him grow low in his throat, "We could just shoot him right in the head and splatter his brains everywhere. It's really up to you." I gritted my teeth together and Adam glared at him, then looked at Newell.

"You have a knack for getting captured." He deadpanned. Newell rolled his eyes. If it weren't for the gun in his mouth, I'm sure he'd happily shoot off something snarky and sarcastic.

"Make your choice." Giorgos reminded, clenching his hand in Newell's hair and jerking his head up. Newell scoffed around the gun that Orion pulled out of his mouth, surprisingly, allowing him to speak, but his voice sounded mangled and distorted and it took me a moment to realize he was speaking without his tongue, which made me clap a hand over my mouth.

"Bloody hell.... are you waiting for... Go!" He snapped at us. Giorgos frowned at that and threw Newell at the floor harshly. A sickening crack rang out and Newell went still on the floor, blue eyes closed, blood still bubbling out of his mouth and onto the carpet. I flinched and looked at Adam, who didn't back down for a second.

"And once we show you the way out, you'll just throw him in here with us and lock us in the building." Adam told Giorgos bitterly. Giorgos smiled, squinting at him as he stood there calm and cool as if none of this bothered him. Orion stood beside him, but he obviously didn't want to be here. He avoided eye contact with me and Newell, clenching his fist on his gun, eyes downcast.

"Well, think of it as a little pay back for getting in my way." Giorgos offered. A spark of anger flared up inside me as I shot him a dirty look.

"Pay back? If anyone should be getting pay back, it should be me, you son of a bitch." I spat, but I still had a faint lisp from the lack of fangs, which made Giorgos stare at me for a moment before he flashed me a full on grin that sent heat burning in my cheeks.

"Julian. It's a pleasure to see you again. Although, you seem to be missing a few pieces. I heard Jack had some fun with you. It's too bad I'm running out of time, otherwise, I might have fun picking apart your brain to figure out why the demon chose you of all people... A scrawny high school student? And a Grey no less," He added, making me clench my fists tightly, "You know, each clan has its own strength. The Gothicas are powerful in mind and body. The Drakons were intelligent and manipulative. But what about the Greys, hm? Well... They're just a bunch of pretty faces."

I started to go toward him with the intention of punching that shit eating grin off his face, but Orion held the gun right at my face. I glared at the barrel, feeling Adam come up behind me, taking my hand tightly in his.

"Shoot me." I dared him. Orion glared at me.

"Don't tempt me."

"Do it," I challenged, taking a step toward him and making him take one back, which was a little surprising considering how sick and twisted Orion already was, "Shoot me. What're you waiting for, huh? You seemed fine when Jack ripped my fangs out." Orion stiffened and actually looked a little flustered for a second, but Giorgos delivered a non-too-kind slap upside Orion's head, making him wince. Hate and anger flared in his eyes, but he didn't dare argue with his father as he leveled the gun at my head.

"Tell us where the exit is." He ordered. I narrowed my eyes, then stuck out my tongue childishly.

"Bite me." I replied.

"Don't mind if I do." Giorgos deadpanned, coming at me, but Adam moved fast and grabbed Orion's wrist, snapping it and twisting the gun away, twirling it once before aiming it at Giorgos' face. Giorgos didn't flinch or jump back fearfully. He just smiled calmly as Adam pressed the barrel of the gun against his forehead.

"Shooting me won't kill me." Giorgos told Adam calmly.

"I never had the intention to kill you," Adam replied, making me look at him in surprise, watching his eyes darken with a terrifyingly strong look of hate that gave me chills, "That'd be way too merciful for a sick, twisted bastard like you. You're the worst kind of thing that walks the planet. You make your son do the dirty work, you hurt innocent people, you destroy families and relationships, you are experimenting on creatures that just want to be left alone. Killing you would be too good. I want to watch your brains splatter as you foam at the mouth and try to recover as fast as you can before I smash my foot on your throat, and even then, you won't die, so I'll cut your stomach open and let everything come spilling out. Then I'm going to leave you here after stepping on you, so you can slowly starve to death."

Another chill coursed through me as I stared at Adam, whose eyes were locked on Giorgos' with an eerie, hollow glare. Giorgos was stoic now, staring back at Adam with studious eyes, like he was trying to figure Adam out.

"If you attack me, I'll kill the boy." He said, gesturing to Newell, who laid on the floor, blood still dripping past his lips. I flinched at that and looked at Adam, wondering what the heck was going through his mind. He had a really scary look on his face, though. I hated Giorgos as much as he did, but Adam looked like he was about to maul Giorgos whether he was threatening Newell or not.

"You won't," Adam said tightly, making Giorgos' eyes flicker dangerously, "You've been hunting him down for years now. You don't want to kill him. You want to torture him. You'll shoot him in the head to scare us into thinking he's dead, when he'll still be alive when you take him to whatever shithole you climbed out of." Giorgos smiled slowly at that.

"You're an interesting person, Adam. It's too bad you're so attached to the Grey Clan. Because now I'm going to kill you." He responded and didn't say anything more, just took a step back and the other Zephyra members went for it. I winced and stepped back as one lunged at me, but I spun around and caught him by the back of the head, slamming it into the wall as hard as I could before kneeing him hard between the legs so he dropped to the ground. I whirled around as Adam fired the gun off into two of the Zephyra members' heads, causing them to slump to the floor in pain. Adam went to fire the gun at Giorgos, but he was already leaving down another hallway. Adam cursed, and whirled at me.

"Grab Newell and go to the exit!" He ordered. My eyes widened in horror.

"W-What?! No, you have to come with!" I cried, reaching out to grab him, but he pulled out of my reach and just reached out. He took my head and kissed me on the forehead before bolting down the hallway. I went to go after him, but Orion darted out in front of me and swung his foot around, kicking me hard in the face. I hit the floor, breathing hard as I tasted blood in my mouth. I seethed and pushed myself up quickly, wiping my mouth as I faced Orion, who narrowed his eyes at me.

"You're not going anywhere, dollface." He told me sternly. I glared at him, clenching my fists. I tensed up, ready to lunge at him, but I could feel someone coming up behind me. I whirled around, just barely avoiding the other Zephyra member that had crept up behind me. I kicked him hard in the back so he fell at Orion's feet. Orion curled his lip, baring his fangs down at the guy and kicking him hard in the ribcage, making him yelp like a kicked puppy.

"On your feet, mongrel! Because if you don't kill him, I'll kill both of you." He threatened. The Zephyra member gulped audibly and scrambled to his feet, reaching up to rub his forehead where he'd been shot previously by Adam. Orion shot him a dirty look before looking at me with a slow smile. I grimaced, looking around at the other three Zephyra members, who were both slowly recovering from their assault, rising to their feet to face me.

"Why don't you show us the exit?" Orion asked. I glared.

"Why don't you show me your insides?" I returned. Orion twitched, but didn't need to say or do anything because that triggered an attack from the left. I ducked and punched him hard in the stomach. He hissed past clenched teeth and tried to grab me around the neck, but I twisted away and grabbed him by the torso, flipping him over my head and into the floor. Orion made a sound of disgust, probably directed at the Zephyra member. A second one came lunging at me, but I just brought my fist around and caught him right in the nose.

"Jeez," Orion snorted in disgust as he watched the second guy go down, "I can't even. I expected you to be a little more like big brother." I scoffed, wiping my bloodied knuckles on my jeans.

"You may think the Grey Clan is just a bunch of pretty faces, but I'm the one that packs a hell of a punch. Like him." I added when I saw a flash of blonde behind the Zephyra member beside Orion, who blinked and whirled around in time for Lysander to tackle the Zephyra member to the ground, smashing his face into the floor several times until his skull cracked open. Lysander smirked, then tilted his head back to look up at Orion flirtatiously.

"Wow, you're adorable. If you just didn't scowl so much." He added. Orion stiffened, then took a huge step back and gritted his teeth. Lysander got up, flipping his blonde hair out of his face and putting his hands on his hips. He looked as girly as usual in his tight black leather suit that hugged every nook and cranny of his leanly muscled body.

"I wasn't expecting you to be alive." Orion admitted darkly. Lysander snorted, cocking his hip and pouting at him.

"I'm a cockroach, kid. I don't die that easily." He answered.

"Evidently," Orion seethed, then narrowed his eyes, "But I'm not like my father's employees." Lysander nodded at that, before glancing at me.

"Grab the little one and get to the exit. I'll hold off warm and fluffy over here." He told me. I hesitated at that, but Lysander winked at me. I felt a little reassured by that. Lysander had changed in the past year since the incident in Detroit. He had gotten stronger, and faster. I hadn't even really seen him attack that Zephyra member. He was just a blur of blonde hair and black leather. So I left him to Orion as I went to Newell, kneeling down and picking him up into my arms. I was caught off guard by how light he was. He felt incredibly fragile and tiny. It was a huge difference from seeing him awake.

I gave Lysander one last look and he flashed me a thumbs up for going for Orion, who winced and just barely dodged Lysander's punch that caused a huge dent in the wall behind Orion. And then they went at it like a couple of martial art experts on a movie. I wanted to stay behind, to at least watch and provide back up, but he was right. I had to get Newell out of here at least.

I started running down the hallway, holding Newell close to my chest. I came to a set of intersecting hallways, looking back and forth before I went down the left one and found a small set of stairs that I flew down quickly until I spotted a door with a busted exit sign above it. I went to the exit and kicked the door open that led to a small hallway with three doors, one of which led outside to where I could see a familiar Impala sitting out in the muddy parking lot.

I quickly came outside, relieved to see Xed there with Seth, Kipp, and Seth's demon, Anoki. Kipp sat in the back seat, cradling Seth, who was still unconscious, but I could hear his heart beating and his blood pumping, which meant he was going to be okay. Anoki was still unconscious too, leaning against the car door on the other side of the car. Xed stood there like a statue, arms folded over his chest, expression stern, until he caught sight of Newell and I saw those mismatched eyes of his glow in concern.

He dropped his statue posture and came to meet me. I held Newell out to him and he very gently took him into his arms. I paused for a second, watching the way Xed looked down at Newell with amazing tenderness. I didn't think anyone like Xed could be this... soft? He brushed the bloody strands of hair out of Newell's face, using his thumb to try and wipe some of the blood away.

"Where's Adam?" Kipp asked as he gently laid Seth down on the back seat of the car by Anoki. He came jogging over, looking exhausted, but ready to put the smack down on anyone who attacked us. I grimaced at his question, though.

"He went after Giorgos." I answered. Kipp's eyes widened.

"He what?" He asked in disbelief. I nodded, glancing at Xed, who looked up with a stern frown that meant he also didn't like Adam's stupid move.

"I'm going back in to get him, but we need to hurry. That bomb is set to go off in about five minutes," I informed, making Kipp wince and Xed nod, "Where are Vladimir and Daimonas? What about Peter and Walter?"

"Peter and Walter are probably still in the building, trying to get Vladimir and Daimonas to the exit. They should be out any minute," Kipp responded, "But we don't have to worry about them. We need to go in and get Adam."

"We?" I asked. Kipp glared at me.

"I'm done playing a background character that keeps his mouth shut. Adam's my friend too and he's being stupid again. I almost lost Seth. I'm not about to lose you two either. Now let's get our asses in that building and save your suicidally homicidal boyfriend." He snapped. I blinked, stunned at his sudden aggressiveness. Kipp was always pretty playful and laidback. Seeing him snap like this caught me off guard, but he was totally right. We didn't have time to play protective friend for each other; we needed to get Adam back.

"We'll be back in a couple minutes," Kipp told Xed, who just stared at him looking just as surprised as me, "Come on, Julian. We better go back the King up." He took me by the arm and led me to the building.

That's right, I reminded myself firmly.

Adam couldn't kill Giorgos by himself. He'd need our help.

Every King had his knights.