Chapter 35

TOBIAS

Earlier,I could"ve suggested to Maeve we hang around and follow the kids from the club, but after the evening"s disaster that option never arose.

After I watched Ash leave with Maeve, I made a snap decision. I"ll focus on something that"ll help us and get my thoughts away from my fuck up with Maeve. Go back to the club. These new Dominion aren"t particularly powerful—yet—and I"ve no worries that the kids will attack me. If they did, none of them would survive to report back to Gabriella.

I"m disorientated again when I walk back into the place, heart racing with the hope the four stuck around for the night. I"m also on alert for Silas—he"s one person I do not want to see. If I do, I"ve prepared magic to block me from his memories, as I won"t be stunned and unable to influence him like earlier. Silas won"t know who I am if he looks at me.

I struggle to spot the group at first, as they"re no longer loitering in the hall outside the bathrooms, but a quick scout around leads me to the four lounging on one of the dirty, velour sofas on the mezzanine floor. Settling myself at a nearby table, I sip the much-needed whiskey I bought and keep an eye on them—and an eye out for my old friend.

A couple approach and I tense until the guy gestures at the end of the sofa and asks if they can sit. I smile and nod; more camouflage for me.

My glass empties before the group leave, and I tap the side in frustration. I can"t buy another; the kids might disappear when I"m at the bar. Did I make the right decision coming back here? Nobody saw me leave the house ten minutes after our debrief finished. Head fucked, I left.

Temporarily.

But will Maeve think I"ve run if she discovers I"m missing? Blowing air into my cheeks, I pull out my phone to send a text—to Andrei since I can"t engage with Maeve right now.

hey I"m out for the evening but will be back tomorrow

A return message immediately sounds.

where?

following a lead

alone?

I rub my lips as I consider my next move; I"m breaking a rule.

no with Dorian

Andrei"s message flies back.

don"t kill G without me

I smile.

not a chance we"d find her tonight

Movement at the table I"m watching distracts me, and I pocket my phone.

Look how easily I lie to them still; I haven"t contacted Dorian at all.

The group trudge down the metal stairs and I follow, keeping my focus on the taller guy"s distinctive hair as I walk the edge of the dance floor to follow them from the club.

I suck in the cool night air, relieved I didn"t come across Silas again, keeping the kids in my sights as I move. As soon as they reach a dimmer part of the street, the group speed up. All vamps, as I suspected. Gabriella"s recruiting immortals rather than witches who might die.

Or would the First-infused blood stop the witches from dying? I rub my cheek as I match their pace. More likely, the super-charged vampire blood would kill them.

Maeve. The First.

I push the rising nausea away. Please let Lex listen when they catch up with him. The witch must understand he could lose his daughter if he rejects her ideas.

The group veers into the dark again, moving faster as they approach an old stone archway, and I edge into the shadows as they huddle together, talking. Catacombs. Really, Gabriella? The guy who recruited produces a length of black material from his pocket and his girl does the same.

They blindfold the newcomers.

I straighten. The group is heading into the catacombs, and if the blindfolded kids don"t know which parts of the labyrinth they walked down, they"ll struggle to leave. Or is that the idea? I hear the doubt in the recruited guys" voice. How much of the other guy"s persuasion is verbal and how much magical?

And what"s in there?

More Dominion.

Looking up at the thankfully cloud-covered sky, I consider my next move. Sit here all night and watch for others leaving. Or I could return to the house now with my information. What I should not do is walk into the catacombs alone.

Fuck, but this is too good an opportunity.

I rest against the wall in the alcove I shuffled into, and pull my phone out again, staring at the screen. Well, I could turn one of tonight"s lies into the truth, even if I"m not keen on Dorian charging in and disrupting my quiet stalking. I text him.

I found a Dominion base

I tap the screen, watching the group prepare to walk inside.

sort them then I"m busy

Okay, white lie needed.

I think G might be here

I mean, she could be.

where?

Catacombs Camden

Bullshit I checked the place a week ago

Which means he can blood rune his way here.

I don"t have time to explain will you help or not?

isn"t your ubervamp with you? He can help

No and nobody else can get here as quickly as you I swear there"s Dominion in the catacombs

No reply—and the group move towards the dark entrance into the Dominion"s maw. Fuck. I run a hand along my cheek and consider asking Andrei to join me, but even he"d be too slow to reach here in time.

My hand tightens around the phone. I promised no walking away and doing things alone. We all agreed not to threaten ourselves. Even returning to the club on my own goes against what"s acceptable. I slump down the wall slightly, then sigh and pull myself forward.

If Dominion are holed up in there, they"ll still be inside tomorrow.

Won"t they?

Do the right thing for once, Tobias.You"ll need to be in everyone"s good books once Maeve shares your latest secret.

Pissed off, I bury hands in my pockets and bow my head, hunched over as I step out of the alcove to the uneven path leading away from the catacomb entrance.

A yell echoes nearby and I spin on my heel. Someone swearing. Shouting. Inside the catacombs that the kids just walked into. Hmm. Looks like the recruiters might not be truthful after all. Or have they failed a task?

Gritting my teeth and muttering an apology to the others, I change direction and edge towards the entrance. Do humans go far into these tunnels? I can see easily through the dark, but humans would struggle to navigate in the permanent dim.

The place reeks with years of mouldydisuse, air dank and cold, tunnels ahead leading to a maze of derelict, mildewed archways, and passages. The claustrophobia and encompassing blackness would terrify some humans who snuck in the disused catacombs, imagining ghosts from the place"s past. Any who walked into the tunnels now would no longer doubt the supernatural world exists.

Is this the place in Maeve"s vision?

The blindfolded kids are no longer blindfolded, and the two recruiters are now spreadeagled on the filthy ground, each with a new recruit"s boot resting on their necks. The ones on the floor can"t contain the blood yet because, instead of dislodging their attackers, the pair are choking to breathe.

Lucky for them that they"re vamps, I guess, because their attackers have some strength.

"Oh. Interesting," says a smooth, familiar accent, and Dorian strides by. "Good evening, gentleman. Ladies."

"Who the fuck are you?" asks the long-haired guy pinning the other by the neck.

I half-smile to myself as I join Dorian. "Not his favourite question. Who are you?"

"Are you Dominion too?" he asks and slices a look at the guy on the floor. "Should"ve known you bastards didn"t operate alone tonight."

"Hmm." Dorian grabs the guy"s jacket by both hands and hauls him away. His boot leaves the other guy"s neck before Dorian slams him against the mildewed wall. "Are you Dominion, mate?"

"Obviously not," he sneers.

The guy the kid had pinned to the floor scrambles onto his hands and knees, and I throw out a spell before he can move, hitting his head until he slumps back, holding the sides and swearing. I move to stand over him in warning. The girl on the floor beside him whimpers, and the one holding her down no longer smiles in victory.

"We"re a test for them. You a test for us?" continues the guy Dorian holds.

"My, what a tangled web Gabriella weaves," says Dorian. "Pitting her own against each other. Survival of the fittest?"

"I don"t have anything to do with the Dominion bastards," he half-spits. "I"m a spy and here for info."

"Info?" I interrupt. "Do you work for Alaric?"

"Who"s that? What department does he lead?"

"Wait. I know you." Dorian pulls the guy away from the wall and holds his cheeks tight in one hand. "Why are you pretending not to know me, arsehole? You were at Ravenhold. Too young to be there."

"I kinda wiped my memories of that place," he says. "No idea who you are."

Dorian scoffs. "Yeah. Someone wiped your memories, alright."

Ex-Ravenhold. Now working undercover to gather information about Dominion activities.

Oh, shit. Confederacy.

"Tell me, my friend, are you hemia?" says Dorian quietly. "I seem to remember you were."

"Yeah." The guy"s bravado falters, and his stance slackens as he stares at Dorian"s changing face. "Why?"

"Uh huh." Dorian waves his other hand. "And do you work for the Confederacy?"

"Confederacy are infiltrating?" rasps the Dominion guy I"m controlling.

"Seems the Confederacy climbed off the fence and decided to take the Dominion on properly." Dorian"s chuckle echoes and his hands slide to the guy"s neck. "I don"t need you to answer. I can see inside your mind—I bet you have valuable information for me in there."

"Dorian…" I warn, and he glances over his shoulder at me, arches a brow, and without looking back, snaps the guy"s neck.

My focus on the guy at my feet breaks in shock, and the girl who"s standing shrieks as her friend falls to the ground. She makes to run, giving the Dominion kids the chance to scramble to their feet. The guy I subdued lunges at Dorian, who backhands him, and the kid lands on the ground further into the dark, air audibly forced from his lungs.

"Tsk tsk," says Dorian.

"Who the fuck are you?" he chokes.

Dorian shrugs and looks to his left. "Don"t worry, sweetheart," he calls after the Confederacy girl, now charging towards the catacomb entrance. "I don"t kill women or children unless absolutely necessary. But could you pass on a message? Tell your boss that Dorian Blackwood took your friend for a little chat."

The Dominion girl also runs along the tunnel, in the opposite direction, and I catch sight of her sprinting around a corner. My magic hits the girl before she can disappear and she stumbles forward, steadying herself before making to run again.

"Don"t kill me," she begs, unable to move as my magic holds her in place, shaking and not looking back at me.

"I"ve a less lethal way of extracting information from people than my friend uses," I say as I approach. "You"ll walk with me back to your unfortunate friend, and you can answer my questions."

She nods, lip trembling as I shove her in front of me. Both guys now lie on the ground by Dorian"s feet, with heads at an unnatural angle, and he stands over them, hands in pockets.

The girl makes a strangled sound. "You killed Karl!"

"Correct," replies Dorian.

"Omigod." The girl backs up and knocks into me, and I steady her as she startles.

"He"s a vamp. He"ll be alright in a few hours," continues Dorian.

"Whose side are you on?" she rasps out.

"Side?" Dorian makes a derisive noise and crouches down. He reopens a recent wound on his finger with his teeth, then tears through the dead kid"s thumb. "Mine. Only mine. Ever."

"Where the fuck are you going?" I demand as Dorian daubs a blood rune. "You can"t leave now!"

"Tobias." He looks up and sighs. "I"ve more important things to do than chat to low level Dominion. Do you know how long I"ve looked for a Confederacy drone who"s deep enough in this shit to be useful to me? An ex-Ravenhold "recruit"?"

Memories of the beaten, bloodied vamp at the Winterfall House return. I"d protest to Dorian not to hurt the guy, but that wouldn"t work. If he wants information to help against Oskar, Dorian won"t hold back.

As Dorian disappears, I glance down at the temporarily dead hemia he left on the ground, and then to the trembling girl beside me. I"ve signed at least one kid"s death warrant by asking Dorian to come tonight.

But isn"t everybody who agrees to work for either side signing their own death warrant?

Until tonight, I hadn"t fully appreciated the upcoming bloodshed, instead the Dominion surrounding Gabriella were a faceless army we needed to plough through to reach her. These two? Dumb kids. How many dumb kids are about to die in Gabriella"s name?

I jerk the girl back to reality, and her eyes flood with tears, chest heaving. "What"s your name?" I ask.

"Na-Natalie." She swallows. "Don"t kill me. I"ll tell you anything you want to know."

I give a tight smile. "You won"t need to, Natalie. Now, I"d like you to take us somewhere quiet and then, if you co-operate, I"ll let you walk away again." She glances at her friend. "And him. When he re-joins the world."

"Who are you?" Natalie asks. "Who was that other man?"

She"s young. Confused. Told the bare minimum, just like the hundreds of kids before her. The ones Professor Whitlock taught, toeing the Confederacy line, or the ones equally brainwashed by the Dominion"s lies.

"How long have you worked with the Dominion?" I ask.

"Couple of weeks." Again, Natalie visibly swallows.

"Do you know anything about Tobias Whitlock?" She shakes her head. "Maeve Winterfall?"

"No," she whispers. "I"m new. Still training. We"re not told confidential information."

"Such as knowing who your mortal enemies are?" I mutter, almost feeling sorry for her.

"Oh! I know one name. Andrei. He"s the leader"s son who"s joining us soon." Natalie frowns at me when my laugh echoes around us. "Is that you?"

"No. I"m not Andrei, and neither is he." I look down at her confusion. "You"ll take me somewhere quiet, and I will bring your friend, too. Don"t try to run. Understood?"

Natalie nods obediently. Her mind is so damn weak. I haul the dead vamp up and over my shoulder, my other hand on Natalie"s back to propel her forward.

"Do you know the name Dorian Blackwood?" I ask as we make our way along the dank tunnel further into the subterranean maze.

"No. Should I?" she asks, not turning. "Is that your name?"

I"d laugh at how pissed off Dorian would be, but her answer kicks me in the gut.

The kids are cannon fodder.

These Dominion recruits know nothing about what they"ve signed up for and won"t survive long enough to learn the truth.