As Shadows Fade (The Gardella Vampire Hunters 5)

“Christ Almighty. I know you’re angry, but-”

“Max!” she cried, in a combination of horror, shock, and disbelief.

“-try to damn near kill me. ”

“It’s really you!” She nudged her horse up next to his, keeping the sword down at her side.

Max reached over and grabbed her by the front of the shirt, hauling her across the divide between their saddles, and slammed his mouth onto hers. She half fell into his lap, her hands clamping over his shoulders-one of which was damp with blood-and kissed him back crazily.

“Dammit, Victoria, what the bloody hell were you doing?” he said after a deep, desperate moment of holding her close, crushing the breath from her lungs. She felt the damp on his cheek as his eyelashes brushed against her skin.

“I thought you were a demon,” she said, pulling away long enough to shove her weapon back into its sheath. But before she could lunge back into his arms and touch his face, make sure it really was him, his expression changed.

“Look,” he said in a stricken voice.

Victoria saw that he was looking over her shoulder, in the direction of the cemetery. Forgetting her joy for the moment, she twisted around to look.

“Oh my God. ” Her stomach plummeted as she saw the extent of the writhing, coiling black over the cemetery, and she settled back fully in the seat of her saddle. With insistent knees and the pull on her reins, she wheeled her horse around and kicked it into a gallop.

This was why the demon tried so hard to tempt her away. Adolphus must be cracking the portal open.

Thank God she hadn’t listened to him.

Thank God she hadn’t slain Max in her confusion.

Max wasted no time in following her. As they stampeded past the tavern, she saw Brim and Michalas already on their way out the door to join them.

Her sword back out of its sheath again, Victoria bent low over the neck of her mount, its mane flying up and into her face, stinging her eyes, as they pounded along the dusty road. The darkness had been relieved by the barest spread of clouds, allowing, miraculously, a tendril of moonlight to shine through.

Victoria took the chance to look up as they galloped and saw the edges of the clouds lined by moonlight, and saw that it was possible… a bit possible… that they could widen more, and allow even a larger swatch of light to beam through.

Please, God. Give me another miracle.

They could fight back the demons with their swords, trying to beat them as they had in London, and she could pull the orb from her pocket and hope there was enough moonlight to strain through it and close the portal.

As if reading her mind, Max looked over, his horse even with hers. “Do you have the orb?” he shouted.

“Yes. ”

He gave a grim smile, then turned forward again, his sword ready. Victoria let him pull ahead of her just the slightest bit, remembering with a burst of joy that he was back . Max was back, fully empowered, fully restored-except for the wound from her own sword.

And at that moment, she remembered Sebastian. Where was he? Hadn’t he gone for Max?

“Where is Sebastian?” she shouted. “Did you see him?”

Max shook his head, dark hair flying. “He stayed. With Lilith. ” His face remained grim.

He stayed with Lilith? No. Not Sebastian.

She drew in a deep breath, and pushed away the instant fear. This first.

And then… she’d go back to her original plan of finding Lilith and killing her. This time, she’d be going in to free Sebastian instead of Max.

She only hoped he’d still be in one piece.

As they pounded down the small hill into the stony area that cupped the graveyard, Victoria fumbled in the pocket inside her trousers. The orb felt small and warm from the heat of her body, and she closed her hand tightly around it.

The crystal sphere fit easily into her palm, small enough that her fingers nearly met around its circumference. She wouldn’t easily drop it.