“Then you won’t be leaving.” Rasputin’s claws extend, his face beginning to reshape. Behind him, those eight minions step out of formation to flank him. “I have business to attend to, and I fear no retribution—not from humans, and certainly not from you.”

“Have it your way,” Jude says with a feral grin—and right on cue, more figures come crashing through the pines behind him. Eyes blazing and faces sharpened like axe heads, two dozen new vampires appear, arraying themselves for battle with rehearsed precision. “I didn’t come armed with words alone.”

Rasputin’s eyes flicker, and over by the rolling cage, the blowtorch extinguishes as silent communication passes between the master and his progeny. He’s got twenty mindless, helter-skelter goons willing to die for him, but as he faces twenty-five of the Syndicate’s hand-picked enforcers, he’s starting to look like he might be at least a little afraid of retribution after all.

Hostility crackles in the air as the two factions square off, and I glance nervously around the clearing, thinking about my great escape. These gangs are ready for battle, but they’re not going to forget what they’re fighting over; and while Jude may speak for the Syndicate, he doesn’t control the vampires backing him up … and plain as day, I can hear four of them thinking about their private orders to take me into custody at any cost. I’m not out of the woods yet—figuratively or literally.

The opposing packs advance on each other, and I step back. It’s cold and getting colder—but my breath leaves no trace on the night air, and I’m hoping neither side notices. Sixteen of Rasputin’s flunkies now fall in line as he closes the gap with Jude, while two stand guard by my parents’ cage and two more focus their attentions on me. The cleric bares his teeth, about to speak … when a ghostly cry pierces the building tension.

An owl swoops across the clearing, its wings spread against the moonlight; as it circles, its call is answered, the treetops coming alive with a strange howling. The raptor banks sharply and plummets—coming straight at me, with dark vapor pouring from its feathers. When it’s four feet away, the creature suddenly rears, erupting into a starburst of smoke that swallows it … and then dissolves to reveal a smiling Viviane Duclos.

“Hi, Auggie.” She surveys the disagreement taking shape around us, and her eyes smolder to life. “Looks like we joined the party just in time.”