Grinning to show his black teeth, Bis took to the air. I pulled the hair out of my face and looked to see Nina and Trent, the woman nodding at his soft question. There was a whiff of honey and pollen as Jenks replenished his energy, the scent mixing with the more earthy smell of ducks and the nearby barrel of garbage. He’d probably tried to impress Bis by flying the entire way instead of hitching rides.

The vampires had begun throwing stones at Bis. I took a breath to yell at them, only to snicker when Bis caught one and threw it right back, making them scatter and swear.

Nina’s steps slowed to a stop, and when Trent continued on, I rocked into motion, respecting her need to be alone. Three more steps, and Trent came along my side. He looked like a businessman on holiday with his briefcase and shiny shoes peeping out from under his slacks. A pinch of worry marred his attempt at a smile, and I slipped my arm around his waist as we crossed the footbridge. I slowed, wondering if Sharps was around. He’d been a big help last time. But the ripples on the surface were only from the wind and current, and tension began to wind its way up my spine and give me a softly throbbing headache.

“I think I’m going to puke at all this sweetness,” Jenks muttered, and I tossed my hair to get him to leave. I didn’t care anymore who saw us together, but Trent was tense.

“You’ve done this before,” I said, thinking he was stressing about the charm. “No sweat.”

“Your soul wanted to be saved,” he said as our steps became one at the apex of the bridge. “You gave me permission to take it. I doubt that is what’s going to happen here.”

“It’ll be fine,” I said. “It has a containment circle, right? Then all we need to do is lure him into it.”

He nodded, but he still didn’t look convinced.

“Hey, ah, Rache?” Jenks said, dropping down in a column of gray dust. “We’ve got company.”

Bis whistled from twenty feet up, pointing at two cars roaring into the park, one at either end to block anyone from going in or out. Cormel’s vampire thugs had turned, shouting at them as, like a clown car, the vehicles began to empty of more men than could possibly have fit in there. All of them looked eager for a fight—all of them were headed our way.

“How dare they ... ,” Nina whispered, her hiss making my skin crawl.

Trent slowed, his gaze on the footbridge and Al’s line beyond it. “I don’t think those are Cormel’s people,” he murmured.