Tossing the heart over her shoulder, Bianca stood over Rachon. “You disappoint me, Rachon. ”
Skirting the edge of the graveyard, Jeff headed toward the part of the fence that had fallen down. Pete and Sergio were near that area. Ethan was already on the move, using the confrontation between the vampires to make his escape. The zombies that had been keeping him trapped paid him no heed, their attention on their mistress.
Rachon’s terrified protests and Bianca's mocking responses filled the night air. Jeff watched Ethan jump the fence and dart across the field toward the hotel where his truck was parked. Jeff was glad to see him go. One less bad guy to worry about.
Taking a deep breath, Jeff went in the opposite direction, scrambling over the fallen fence, trying to avoid catching his prosthetic leg. Pete tugged on Sergio, trying to drag him away, but Amaliya's cousin was too big for him to handle alone. Jeff ran to his side, crouched over, and gripped Sergio's other arm.
Pete looked at him in surprise.
“I'm a friend,” Jeff whispered.
Together, they dragged Sergio past the motionless zombies and toward the truck.
* * *
With the sky overcast and the darkness of the night swallowing the terrain completely, Ethan stumbled a few times as he dashed toward the hotel where his truck waited for him. The small LED penlight he kept on his key ring barely penetrated the gloom, but it was enough to keep him from a bad fall.
The dilapidated hotel enshrouded in thick foliage loomed before him, foreboding in its appearance. Though Ethan had seen plenty of bizarre and downright creepy things in his life, he had never seen anything quite as terrifying as Bianca. Necromancers were rare and he had heard stories of their nightmarish powers his whole life, but had never witnessed their raw power. He could still feel the ragged hands of the dead scrabbling at his flesh. The mere memory sent shivers down his spine.
Clutching his pistol, he climbed over the fence lining the road and scurried onto the pavement. The road was empty, devoid of any traffic at such a late hour. Tossing a fearful look over his shoulder, he was relieved to see none of the zombies trailing him. He couldn't even see the farm house and graveyard beyond the line of trees.
Relieved, he fell to a swift walk toward the hotel. He should have known better than to take any job offered by one of The Summoner's offspring, but he had thought with the old necromancer dead there shouldn't be any major problems. He had been horribly wrong.
Ethan's duster fluttered around him, tossed by the wind whistling through the swaying trees. As he neared the hotel, he felt his spine stiffen. It was a small roadside motel, but it still reminded him of other haunted hotels he had encountered on his job. He could imagine all manner of ghosts staring out at him from the hollowed out windows.
Nearing the parking lot, he felt the knot in his shoulders begin to relax. He was almost to his truck. In a matter of minutes he would be safely on the road and away from this disaster. He would never again risk his life for an obscene paycheck if it was in any way connected to The Summoner.
Ethan rounded the corner of the building and felt relief fill him as his truck and camper came into view. Breaking into a run again, he headed toward the driver's side.
The bounty hunter never saw what hit him. One second he was almost to his truck, the next he was slammed into the side of the hotel. His nose burst on impact and his lips split against the hard surface. Crumpling to the ground, he let out a moan. He had lost his weapon in the assault, but he fumbled for his last gun tucked into his shoulder holster.
Something seized his head in a vice-like grip and he grunted, drawing his weapon. It clattered to the ground as his head was twisted brutally about, nearly tearing off his shoulders.
As Ethan died, his last thought was of the glowing eyes of The Summoner.
* * *
Amaliya thought stepping through the portal would be like stepping through a doorway. She was wrong. It felt like she was plunged into icy cold water, unable to determine which way was up or down, lost in an endless ocean of blackness, then her foot set down on the other side and she found herself facing the old hotel.
Remembering Aimee's instructions, she ducked away from the spot she had appeared just seconds before Cian appeared out of thin air. She was surprised to see no sign of the glowing blue oval doorway that had appeared in Zilker Park at Aimee's summoning.
Darting to one side, Cian barely avoided Eduardo. The coyote whirled around once, sniffing loudly, then jogged to Amaliya's side.
“That was a helluva ride,” he said, shivering.
Benchley appeared next and promptly threw up. His sister banged into him as she appeared, knocking him out of her way.
“Oh, fucking gross!” Alexia cried out as she stepped in the vomit.
Cian gripped her arm and swiftly yanked her aside as Benchley crawled away on all fours.
“That was not pleasant,” Eduardo said, his usual smirk nowhere to be seen.
Cian cast a glare at the man just seconds before Cassandra stumbled out of the empty air, clutching Aimee in her arms. They both fell to pavement, pulled down by Aimee's dead weight. They both narrowly avoided the puddle of Benchley's last meal.
Aimee had warned them that she would be completely drained after raising the portal. The young woman who looked strikingly similar to Cian anxiously checked the witch's pulse.
“She's okay. . . . just knocked out,” Cassandra said in relief.