Thirty-seven
The mausoleum Luther had built to immortalize his beloved Vivian was a gothic contraption of limestone and wrought iron the size of a McMansion. Surrounded by mature oak trees, it was sheltered from curious eyes. While there were no gates to surround it, Amaury was certain Luther had already been warned about their approach.
After not being able to communicate with Delilah for hours, Samson had finally received a short message from her before communication broke off again. She had been quite explicit: Luther expected them to try to spring the women from their prison: in fact, he was counting on it. He wanted them to witness their mates’ deaths.
Amaury felt his chest contract painfully at the recollection of Samson’s words. All day he and his vampire brethren had worked on a plan of how to get their women out unharmed. And according to Delilah, Nina was in as much danger as she was. Delilah seemed convinced of Nina’s innocence.
While Samson and the rest of the group were still skeptical about Delilah’s assessment, Amaury felt his heart fill with hope. As a former auditor, Samson’s wife had a bright head on her shoulders, and Amaury pinned all his hopes on her belief.
Even though Delilah had been unable to give them the location where she and Nina had been taken to, Samson had suspected immediately where Luther would be.
After Vivian’s death Luther had disappeared, but not before he’d erected a monument to her, a shrine of sorts.
Amaury glanced back into the woods where his friends were hidden. They needed no light. Their superior eyesight would be sufficient to find their way through the dark. Slowly, they tightened the perimeter they’d formed around the property. With quiet commands over their earphones they communicated their positions to each other.
With all of them essentially trained as bodyguards, they knew they were superior warriors, but unfortunately so were Luther and his men. Amaury and Samson were still unclear as to how many other vampires were working for Luther. There had been no time to do any detailed reconnaissance.
Amaury listened to this headset and moved a few yards closer to the building. At a copse of trees he stopped and trained his eyes onto the mausoleum. He picked up movements. He concentrated and could make out two figures near the steps leading up to the entrance.
“I see two people,” he whispered into his mic.
“I have them in sight,” Gabriel confirmed. “Two of them. Going closer now to confirm identity.”
Amaury held his breath. Without making a sound, he glided forward, seeking out the next bush which would provide him with cover.
“Confirmed, Delilah and Nina are on a podium,” Gabriel’s voice came over the headset.
Amaury looked to his right. Samson was taking cover behind the bush next to him. He nodded to him, before he looked back at the mausoleum. Amaury could make out the podium clearly now.
In front of the steps leading into the mausoleum, Luther had built a wooden podium. And on the middle of it, Nina and Delilah stood motionless, their arms behind their backs. He was still too far away to make out more details.
“Wires,” Thomas said through the earphones, “what’s he want with all the wires?”
“I’m approaching from the back,” Ricky announced. “Following the wires.”
“Any sight of Luther?” Amaury asked. One by one his colleagues came back with a “negative.”
On the podium, Nina and Delilah didn’t move. He trained his eye onto them once more and could now see that their mouths were gagged. Luther obviously wanted to avoid that they would call out to their rescuers. Not that it mattered. Both women could still communicate with their mates if they wished to. No gag could prevent them from doing so.
This could only mean Luther was concerned about the women alerting the remaining vampires to something. But to what?
Amaury motioned to Samson that he was ready to approach. His friend nodded and pointed to an opening between two bushes.
Three long strides and Amaury reached the point. He stepped through it. An instant later he heard a click and snapped his head to the source of the sound. He noticed the small round device instantly.
“Fuck!” he hissed under his breath.
“What?” came Samson’s quick reply.
“Motion detectors.”
There were only two reasons for Luther to have motion detectors: to indicate their approach and to initiate a sequence. A look at Samson who had moved next to him, told him his friend had come to the same conclusion. Something was about to begin.
“Shit!”
***
Nina noticed the ticking sound instantly. It hadn’t been there before, she was sure, but suddenly it had started. She twisted her head to look to her side. She couldn’t ask Delilah whether she heard it too.