Page 61 of Depths of Hunger
“You used your poison on Heinrich Rainier and his children, didn’t you?” Luca demands, his voice full of anger and disbelief. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. How else could a bunch of garbage like you possibly defeat a real vampire family? There’s no way if it was a fair fight.”
Miller’s expression turns smug. “It was easier than you think.”
I turn to Miller, my rage simmering hotly under my skin. “You killed Russo and planted him in that field with my fingerprint to frame me.”
Miller nods, a smug grin spreading across his face. “We had to test the potion and make sure the poison would weaken you. It has to be tailored to each family line. What better place than prison to make that happen? Unfortunately, you didn’t stay there, so we had to come up with an alternate plan. I thought the drive-by was a nice touch. Marku did well.”
The urge to kill him boils through me, fierce and overwhelming. He’s responsible for all of this—responsible for Mia getting hurt, for every piece of this twisted game. I swear I will see this creature dead.
“What’s your play here? Kill us and then take control?” I demand, my voice sharp. “You know you need to kill my father too.”
“Yes,” Marku says, his voice cutting through the air like a knife. “But he’s already on his way here, so that shouldn’t be too difficult.”
A knot of dread tightens in my gut, but I keep my expression neutral, trying to buy time. If my father’s coming, he might have the antidote. I need to stall. “To take control, you’ll need the Emerald Dagger too.”
Marku shrugs, dismissive. “That won’t be hard. Once we kill you, we’ll go to Venezia and take it. Your people will hand it over once we show them your father’s head. They’ll do it to save their own lives.”
“You assume they’ll be frightened of you, and you also assume the dagger is in Venice. Those are big assumptions.”
Marku’s eyes narrow. “We have it on good authority.”
Miller’s glare cuts toward Marku, and he shakes his head slightly, a flicker of irritation flashing across his face.
A spy. They have a spy inside our organization—both the vampire one and the human. I grit my teeth, vowing that when I find them, I’ll make them suffer. “Your spy might have misled you. We’re not the only members of the Valdici family. Our cousins share our seat of power. You’d have to kill them too.”
Marku glances at Miller, confusion etching his brow. “Is this true?”
Miller scoffs with a dismissive wave of his hand. “They’ve got cousins in the U.S. and Canada, but the dagger is here. I’m certain.”
“But those cousins are still part of the family. You’ll have to kill them too,” I say, my voice firm. “Our kingdom has two centers of power. You’d need to kill every one of us to take over. And don’t forget—you still need the dagger.”
Marku’s face twists into a scowl, but he doesn’t back down. “I don’t care. I’ll find the dagger and kill whoever I need to. Your power will be mine.”
With a sudden, fluid motion, Marku pulls out a gun. The three of us leap in different directions, moving as fast as our weakened bodies will allow. But we’re outnumbered—three against ten. There’s nowhere to hide in this ancient church, only cold stone and echoes.
Luca is hit first. I feel the impact as if the bullet pierces my own flesh. A sharp, visceral pain rips through me as I watch him go down. My heart clenches. I can’t let my brothers die here. They came to support me. I won’t let it cost them their lives.
I grab Luca, dragging him behind the altar, where the shadows offer some small semblance of cover. He looks up at me, his eyes glassy and unfocused. “The bullets are poisoned. I can feel it coursing through me. My power is fading.”
I pop up, firing at two of the turned vampires. They fall, but I know they won’t stay down for long. My bullets aren’t poisoned, and even if they were, if the poison is tailored to specific families, they wouldn’t be effective on these monsters. They’ll be back in the fight before I know it. I scan the room, but I’ve lost sight of Nico. The roarof gunfire tells me he’s at the back of the church, holding his ground. I can only hope he finds a way out.
“Luca, we need to make it to that door.” I point to a small door in the corner, a narrow escape route that leads to the outside. “We can get to the car from there.”
Luca tries to nod, but his movements are sluggish. His eyes are dull, his strength slipping away. “Too weak…to run,” he mumbles, each word a struggle.
I fire off more shots, but the vampires keep coming, relentless. Worse, they’re getting back up, their wounds healing faster than I can put them down. I reach out with my mind, desperate.Father?I call, hoping he’s close enough to hear. I don’t want him too close—close enough to be killed—but close enough to know we need help.
Father?I try again as bullets tear through the fresco behind me, chipping away at centuries of art. Still nothing. Panic creeps in, clawing at my insides.
Luca grabs my arm, his grip weak. A vampire lunges at us from the right, and I shoot him. He falls, but I know it’s only a matter of moments before he rises again. I take a quick look around the altar—there are fewer enemies now, but at least four still have us pinned down. I check my gun: only two bullets left. Not nearly enough.
I hear footsteps closing in, and I spring up, firing both shots. They hit Marku square in the chest, and he staggers back, temporarily out of commission. But his last shot catches me in the side, the bullet grazing my ribs. The pain is sharp but manageable; it’s the poison that’s the real threat. I feel it seeping into my bloodstream, draining my strength. This is worse than before—much worse.
I slump behind the altar, my vision blurring as my power fades. Even turning my head to look at Luca takes all my effort. He tries to move but can barely manage.
Luca, Nico, I’m sorry. I brought you here,I say, the guilt heavy in my chest.
We would go with you to the ends of the earth, Nico’s voice comes through, firm and resolute.