Muffled sounds of chaos breach their bubble of precarious safety. A sign that reads back theatre hangs engraved in gold with an arrow pointing left. Either end of the passage splits into parallel narrow corridors that lead further into the building. The bricked walls fortuitously have only one small window near the ceiling; a few stray pieces of littered glass cover the slated flooring beneath.

When the blast went off, the force shattered all the surrounding windows. They'd been leaving an office-type room after combing through for information. Faster than Hannah could react, Lucas had seized her arm with glowing eyes, and the smell of sulphur had filled the dusty air. She'd felt the strangest sensation of tugging in her middle, and they'd ended up here.

Lucas leans his back against the brick wall. He's not tense in the slightest. "Kane's tough, but not even he can fight against these odds." His brown eyes sweep down her body. "Do you have a weapon on you?"

Hannah gestures at her tight dress. "Does it look like I have a weapon?"

Lucas grins. "I might be really good at hiding one." He's big, with wide shoulders, toweringly tall, and muscular. He's the type of guy who lures eyes in a crowd. He'd probably make even the toughest think twice in a fight. And, surprising enough, he's sort of sweet.

When she'd let slip that she has a rudimentary grasp of magic, he'd given her some useful advice, like working with her power instead of trying to conquer it, which is the opposite of what Valrus had been teaching her, but it's worth a crack. Lucas had even shown her how to unlock a door. He'd been patient, not caring that she'd taken probably triple the amount of time he would have. It's all been rather educational.

Still wearing a grin, Lucas opens the lapel of his suit jacket. A gun is holstered to his side. He pulls back the other lapel. There's another gun. The straps are tight around his broad shoulders and down his back. "Never knew, did yah? You've got to learn to hide it well." He narrows his eyes at her. "Do you know how to shoot?"

At her nod, Lucas unclasps one of his guns and holds it out to her. The chrome silver of the weapon glints off the dim bulb light overhead, swaying ever so slightly.

Hannah takes the gun with a small smile. It's heavy. "Guess I should've come prepared."

"It won't kill a vamp, but it'll put them down." Lucas unclasps the other gun, drawing it out. He steps closer and takes out the magazine. It's fully loaded. The bullets are a light golden colour she hasn't seen before. "These bullets will shatter on impact. Specially made."

A sudden, hard force strikes her back. She's pushed, stumbling against Lucas. Her feet stay under her only because Lucas grabs her arm, her face making a painful whack against his firm chest.

Kane's familiar cursing fills the corridor. "Fucking hell. Get off me."

Hannah pivots away from Lucas. The corridor is so narrow that she has to move flush with the wall. She puts it together quickly. Kane had displaced but had shitty aim. He's ended up on his ass, lifting himself onto a palm with Reid half-sprawled over his legs.

Lucas chuckles goodheartedly. "Terrible, mate."

Reid gives her a stunning smile. "Hannah. You aren't dead. I'm so glad." He takes Lucas's offered hand, allowing himself to be tugged to stand. If the touch lingers, Hannah decides not to notice.

"We're being chased," Reid says, frowning.

"By who?" Hannah asks with a fast heartbeat.

Reid whispers, like they're sharing a secret, "Gabriel's goons."

"Come on. On your feet." Lucas moves behind Kane. He tries to grab Kane's arms to lift him, but Kane's being difficult, fighting off the touch with a closed fist.

Lucas gives up with a sigh. "How many are you at, mate?"

Kane's breathing is ragged. He's holding it back, inhaling quickly, nostrils flaring. A hand on the wall and another on the floor. His hoarse voice is breathy, as if admitting the number is humiliating: "Four. And a barrier."

Reid's expression shifts to worry. "Kenneth..." He crouches down and lays a hand on Kane's bicep. "We could have ran."

"Ran? You're slower than a snail, moron." Kane huffs. "I'm fine. I just need a minute."

Lucas inhales. "I'm on one, so I've got some juice left, but you're going to be flat out in an hour. Not ideal in a warzone. Can you still fight? We've got two civilians here, and I don't know if I can carry you and protect them." It's not said angrily; it's matter-of-fact, hard truths.

Kane lifts his tired head. His eyes linger on Reid and gradually make their way over to Hannah. Gritting his teeth, he uses the wall to push himself to stand.

They all watch silently.

Kane straightens. He wavers for a second, but then, with sheer willpower, he stands strong.

As Reid rises from his crouch, Kane snatches the gun from his grasp and sweeps a cold glare over the gawking room. "What are we fucking waiting for? Let's go."

The dust and debris-laden hallways are eerily noiseless. Their group sticks close to the walls. It's a strange out-of-body experience to pass so many still bodies. Some look to have been killed by the initial blast, missing limbs, and skewered by glass. An unsettling number are missing their heads. Execution style. A massacre.

It's difficult to not be squeamish. Hannah's stomach churns at the overwhelming amount of blood squelching beneath her heels. She's not experienced in seeing such ugliness. Although it seems to be only her, Kane's expression has remained stony, Lucas has kept his eyes ahead, and Reid wrinkled his nose when he'd had to step over a severed arm, but that's it.

They're all insane. It shouldn't make her feel better, but it does.

Reid whispers, "There's an exit in the theater. We can reach the parking lot from there." He's behind her, with Kane taking up the rear. She assumes it's less strategic and more so Kane can drag his feet without anyone noticing.

They turn a corner. There are sudden shouts of surprise. She jumps back on instinct, startled, forgetting she's carrying a loaded weapon, and ends up smacking into Reid's chest. His surprisingly strong hands grab her, keeping them both from falling.

Lucas wasn't startled in the slightest, which is good for their chances of survival. He has the barrel of his gun pushed beneath the chin of a man in a dark blue suit with grey-streaked hair. The stranger looks quite unbothered for being pushed against the wall with a forearm shoved against his chest and the threat of his brains splattering the white tiling with only the slightest pressure of a finger.

"Fuck," Kane mutters.

"Rainer." The stranger's amber eyes flicker Kane's way. There's a slight glow to his gaze that's different than magic, animal. "With you leading the way, maybe my daughter and I won't be slaughtered on vampire ground and entice a blood war."

Hannah nearly replies but keeps her tongue, realising with mild horror that Rainer is not only her last name; it's Kane's.

"Lucas," Kane says, suddenly standing taller, and if they hadn't just witnessed him slumped on the floor close to blackout, he'd look entirely like his normal self, wearing his try-it glare. "Let him go before he bites off your hand. That's Henrik Dalger."

"Clever," Henrik snaps, offended.

Frowning, Lucas drops the gun without argument. "We can't linger. Best we keep moving."

"That's what I've been saying," Kane gripes.

As Lucas backs away, his gaze skirting down the hallway to assess threats, the girl Lucas's bulk had been blocking is revealed.

Reid whispers near Hannah's ear, "The girl—"

"—from the photograph," Hannah finishes in wonder.

She'd seen the picture. Reid had fought so hard for it that he ended up visiting the hospital. And this girl, with black hair, curled to perfection, and amber eyes made vibrant by her violet makeup and facial piercings, would be effortless to spot in a crowd.

Francine's best-friend. Colby.

"You can't go this way," Colby states, her voice holding a natural rasp. "You'll die."

"We just came from the theatre," Henrik says, "and it's a bloodbath. I wouldn't risk it. The masked ones have set up a chokepoint for anyone hoping to escape through the backdoors."

"You've seen them?" Kane asks, hushing his voice. His green gaze is deadly serious, and the sight shouldn't give Hannah butterflies in her stomach, but it does. She'd challenge her sanity, but it's inarguable that Kane's hot, even when their deaths are nearing with every precious second that passes.

Henrik nods. "They're using magic."

Lucas frowns. "Magic?"

"They have a mage," Henrik growls. His suit is unbuttoned, and the dress shirt beneath is worn loose. There are droplets of blood darkening the blue. "Froze one of the Kimberk coven's vampires, paralysed her. She couldn't fight back when the sword cleaved her neck."

Kane sighs and glances at Reid. "Any other ways out of here?"

"The auction room," Reid says without hesitating. "There's an elevator to the main floor for when my—for when something large was brought in and couldn't be carried up the stairs."

Henrik says, "They were looking for someone."

The subtly of Lucas tightening his hold on his pistol isn't missed by Hannah. The way Kane stiffens when Henrik's gaze flickers to Reid, isn't missed either.

"They're looking for another vampire," Henrik states, his amber gaze looking each of them over, slowly, like a cornered predator assessing his threats. "A Kimberk, a real one, blood. They said as much, interrogating thoroughly; we caught a listen before they chopped off the heads of their brethren."

"Henrik," Kane warns.

Henrik ignores the threat of Kane's glare and says to Reid, "Your father's after you."

Reid gasps dramatically. "Oh no!" He laughs. "Oh, wait. He's always after me."

"His people are scattered," Henrik says. "The explosion got a lot of the Kimberk vampires that might have put up a fight. There's a reward for you; do you know that, boy? A hefty one."

"Oh?" Reid says, perking. "How much?"

Kane growls, "He's not with the Kimberk coven. And he's not a vampire. Stop fucking around, asshole; I know you'd never give anyone over to Gabriel."

Henrik's amber gaze narrows at Reid. "Is that true? You're wearing his ring."

Reid chuckles, and the deranged lilt to the sound has them all reacting in varying degrees of apprehension. Henrik takes a subtle step towards his daughter—an animal sensing another predator.

Reid purrs, "You're asking if I care that vampires are being slaughtered?"

Looking over her shoulder, Hannah sees Reid cupping a palm to his ear. "If I strain, I can hear their screams. Of fear. Agony. Let me think...do I care?" His smile ices her blood. "Nope."

Henrik's pale. "That's—"

Before Henrik can finish, Kane is growling, "For fucks sake. Let's get out of here." He strides past and seizes a fistful of Reid's shirt, dragging Reid away from Hannah and down the blood-splattered corridor. He shoves Reid stumbling forward. "You're leading the way, twerp. Auction room. Now."

"Yes, sir," Reid says merrily.

Hannah follows them slowly. Lucas comes into step beside her, brooding, his mouth set in a tight line. Henrik and Colby keep their distance as they follow with the occasional scruff of their shoes on tile or squelch of blood.

Fleeting, but Hannah had seen Kane's face before he'd grabbed and dragged Reid away. Kane's shaken, and the sight has her heart sinking all the way to her uncomfortable heels.

Without warning, the lights in the corridor turn off, stopping them all midstep, and the emergency bulbs turn on. An eerie red hue is cast. Somewhere in the building, an alarm is ringing, the disquieting sound muffled.

Reid sighs. "And there go the lights." As he drawls the last word, there's a faint hiss and click that has them all looking up. The sprinklers for a fire decide it's the perfect time to turn on and bathe the bloody corridor with water frigid enough to induce shivers.

At the end of the corridor, like they'd always been there, staring. Two masked forms stand unmoving. The din of the water sprinkling, and speckling tile is loud, but the beat of Hannah's heart in her ears is louder.

"Kane," Hannah whispers worriedly, clutching the back of his suit jacket, soaked through.

But, surprising enough, it's not a gunshot that breaks the tense standstill; it's Reid. He laughs, the sound coming from deep in his chest and echoing down the corridor.

The vampires don't move. They don't advance either.

"Reid," Kane snarls, grasping Reid's shirt to yank him back when he'd taken a step forward. "What the fuck are you doing?" Kane's grip on his gun is tight, and despite his fatigue, his green eyes gleam with trickles of his remaining magic.

Ignoring Kane, Reid outstretches his arms, palms up. The placation falls short because he's smiling—like a coiled snake that could strike in a mere second, only a fool would fall for such a farce. "You know who I am. And I know you can't touch me. Can you? So run off and tell Azrael he should start counting his days."

The forms slowly look at each other, communicating silently. Hannah can see the glint of a blade in one of their grasps, dripping water and thick droplets of blood, making its wielder's long, orange hair look dim. The other vampire's hands are stained a sickening crimson.

"Leave," Reid growls, dark enough to have a shudder ascend Hannah's spine.

Shockingly, the vampires startle, staring for a few more tense seconds, and then, without incident, they leave.

"Ha! Did you see that, Kenneth?" Reid's fair hair is drenched, with droplets of water slipping down his face and dripping from the tip of his lightly freckled nose.

Taking in their fallen expressions, Reid's smile falters. "What's wrong?"

"Don't do that," Kane says stiffly.

Reid scoffs. "Save us?"

"You said he wasn't a vampire," Henrik growls.

Gradually, Reid's gaze widens as realisation settles, and he looks horrified, paling. He fists his wet hair with trembling fingers. "Kenneth... I didn't mean..."

"Yeah..." Kane says wearily. "Yeah, I know."

Taking a step forward, Lucas says softly, "Take point, love. If we waste any more time, we're dead."

They're silent and tense, letting Reid guide them, traversing hallways of strewn bodies, sticky with blood, and periodically changing their course when coming upon a masked vampire before they're spotted. Although they pass scarcely any enemies, suspiciously, only stragglers.

"Through here," Reid whispers softly, the darkness that had taken his voice gone, much to Hannah's relief. He carefully opens a door of lustrous oaken wood with Kane at his back, gaze vigilant, and a gun ready as a contingency in case something less savoury lies in wait.

The sprinklers have turned off, probably on automatic shutoff, and now there's an inch of cold water to make Hannah's bare feet numb, her heels shucked, and the thin ankle straps held loosely.

The expansive room within is untouched by water. Glossy planked flooring. Echoingly high ceilings with piping and cast-iron filigree. The air holds the heady smell of dust and parchment. Lines of towering, wooden shelving take up the floor space, crammed with boxes upon boxes, wooden and cardboard, teeming with tomes and papers. There's an organisation to it all that Hannah fails to see with her untrained eye. She'd have a headache trying to find anything in here.

Silently, Reid directs them between the shelves, and then they come to an open square area where the high shelves act as walls to the rest of the room. There's a gigantic square oak table strewn with papers, acting as the focal point.

"I haven't been in here since..." Reid swallows, not finishing the thought, and points to a far wall, blocked by abounding shelving. "The elevator is behind there. It'll take us into a garage with a partially concealed path to the parking lot."

Suddenly, Kane outstretches an arm, grasping Reid's shirt and stopping anyone from making for the promise of safety.

The reason for his carefulness comes to fruition quickly. There are subtle creaks in the floorboards, and then, from behind the shelving that leads to the elevator, a masked figure strides into view with a lazy gait. This mask is blood-red, not the usual black she's been seeing everywhere.

The darkness emanating from this creature is nothing like Hannah's ever encountered. She feels strangled by the stiffening sensation. And even more so when the vampire speaks in a satiny voice that seems to shudder the very air with authority: "I knew you'd come this way. How predictable."

Eyes widening with some realisation that Hannah's not privy, Kane grabs Reid roughly, who's looking concerningly pale. But before Kane can conclude the swivel of his heel he'd been making, their exits are already blocked.

At least a dozen vampires have soundlessly flanked them on every side. Wherever a shelf opens, there's a mask waiting to strike until an unsaid order is given. They're screwed.

Henrik growls, raw and animal. He keeps close to a terrified Colby.

Spoken so soft that Hannah almost misses it beneath the ringing of adrenaline filling her ears, Reid whispers, "Azrael."