~ MARIE ~

All the papers seemed to be here. Whether or not the information was correct was another thing entirely. The door opened and Adrian walked in.

“Why did I see Luke and Grace walking down the hallway?”

“She wanted an exchange of information.” Marie held up the envelope but he didn’t take it.

“Why didn’t you let me know they were here?” His voice was quiet but his eyes burned with anger.

“I only let Grace in and we didn’t play another game.”

“Marie.” His voice held a note of warning.

“I haven’t disobeyed any of your orders.” He scowled. Adrian clenched his hands before he let go and exhaled. He ran one hand through his hair as he looked down at her.

“You said it was an exchange. What did you give her?”

“Information.”

“On what?” He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. She needed to give him something or he might leave her in the room for the rest of the week.

“She wanted information on an item. I didn’t have the information so I sent her to someone who might.”

“What did she give us?”

“Information on the auction hall as well as some of the items being sold.” She held the envelope out and this time he took it. “I also had her tell me when she plans to steal.” Adrian looked up from the envelope. Marie shrugged. “I don’t know if it’s true or not but it seems likely. She said that she intends to steal the item on Friday, which is the day after the auction.” One of the papers in the envelope had detailed information about when and where the upcoming auction would be held. Marie frowned. The amount of time they had left was getting shorter and shorter.

“She’s waiting until someone buys the item and takes it out of the auction hall. The auction hall must have too much security to steal it from there.” She nodded. Adrian looked at his watch. He stood up with a sigh. “We’ll talk more about this later. We need to leave.”

Adrian gazed at her for a moment. Did he have a problem with the way she looked? He didn’t have anyone help her put on her makeup or do her hair so she just left her hair loose like she normally had it.

“This event will be difficult for you. You will only be able to use magic to hide and you’ll be unable to defend yourself if you run into trouble.” She didn’t understand what he was saying. Wasn’t that what the rule she was supposed to be following no matter where she was? Why was this different? He didn’t say anymore after that and led the way back down to the first floor.

Instead of going out to the garden, like she thought he would, he led her to the ballroom they had gone to that first day. It didn’t look any different from when they held the opening ceremony here. The place was just as packed now as it was then but there was a tension in the air that hadn’t been present at that time. It was like the crowd was watching everyone who entered for any sign of weakness.

Adrian chose a spot to the back this time. While they were waiting, Jackson came in and stood next to him. The man had a grim look on his face and Amelia was quiet.

“I’d like to thank everyone for participating. For those who are new to the event, the companions will have three minutes to find their hiding places. After that, the vampires will be free to search for them. After you find your companion, you can come back here for a prize. The prizes are random so being the fastest doesn’t give you an advantage. You are also free to go back to your room instead of collecting a prize but doing so will forfeit your right to a prize.” The man had a savage grin on his face as he raised both arms. “May everyone enjoy our special game of hide and seek! Companions, get ready and….Go!” She didn’t get long to process the man’s words. Amelia grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room.

“We need to find a place to hide! You can hide anywhere except one of the hotel rooms. Hiding in a room with a lock won’t help. You need a place with strong smells or loud sounds. The garden is the worst place to hide. It’s too quiet. Maybe near the kitchen?” Marie was having a hard time keeping up, both physically and mentally. The companions in the room had left just after they did and now they were being crushed on all sides as everyone tried to exit the room. It wasn’t helping her process what Amelia was saying.

“What is going on?”

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“The vampires are going to come find us. If we’re lucky, it’s our vampire. If we’re not, it’s another vampire entirely. The real prize is being able to drink from whoever you want. You can try to fight back but some vampires enjoy it.” Marie tried to keep up but it was hard to run in this dress and the heels weren’t helping.

The crowd surged forward as they passed by a door. Half the crowd split off and headed outside. Someone tripped into Marie and pushed her to one side. She was able to right herself but the people behind her continued to push her forward. Amelia tightened her grip on her hand but they couldn’t fight the crowd and were separated.

“Marie!” She fought to get away from the middle of the crowd. The crowd wasn’t making it easy since they only cared about going forward. Marie went forward while moving sideways and was finally able to push her way to the edge. Marie burst from the crowd and leaned against a nearby wall to catch her breath. The crowd continued to pour out as she looked around.

“Three minutes left.” The speakers above her head crackled as the voice spoke. “Almost time. Almost time.” The woman on the speaker spoke with barely contained excitement. The crowd froze for a moment before the people ran to find a place to hide. Marie scanned the area. She needed to find her own spot. Should she head back in or take her chances in the garden? Adrian said she could use her magic to hide but there was no guarantee that there wasn’t a vampire who could sense magic. She pressed her lips together as she thought. Why didn’t he explain this to her? She would’ve been better prepared. Marie mentally shook her head. Time was running out. Which way should she go?

Marie went down the stairs.

She quickly strode from place to place trying to find a good spot. Most of the areas were taken up by frightened companions. She continued on, checking every place she passed. There must be a place where there were no other people.

“One minute left.” She needed to hurry. Marie took several turns and found herself back in the rose garden with the fountain. No one was here. Even though it was an enclosed space there was no place to hide so no one had stayed here. Marie smiled. This was the perfect place. “Thirty seconds.” She lifted up her dress and stepped into the fountain.

For the first five minutes, she decided to use the spell that concealed everything. It was the same spell she used to leave the house during Mark’s case. She tried not to shiver as she sat waist-deep in water. Now she understood why Adrian had said he needed someone who could defend themselves.

Not that using magic would give her the edge he expected.

If she could sense magic then there were sure to be other people that could sense magic as well. It was an uncommon skill but it wasn’t rare. That’s why she decided to use this spell in the beginning. Any vampire that could sense magic would probably take their time heading her way. They would assume that they’d have plenty of time to reach her since no one else would know she was there. She didn’t know how long it would take Adrian to reach her so she needed to come up with a backup plan in case it took longer than five minutes.

About three minutes into her spell, two men walked by. She tensed.

“Too bad we can’t drain the humans dry. I would love to feel the life drain from their body.”

“Oh, yeah~. So you’re ready to fight another vampire for killing their companion?”

“I know the rules. I’m just trying to scare them.” The other man laughed

“I think they’re scared enough. All I can feel is fear…” They continued to talk but their voices were getting further away. Several vampires walked into the garden after that but none of them stayed. They would look around, see no one, and leave. Marie could feel her spell begin to fade so she switched to Plan B.

Illusions.

They weren’t something she liked to use since high-level illusions required her to concentrate for as long as she used them. For what she was planning on using it for, she would need to be completely focused. If she let the image go for a moment, she’d be left vulnerable.

Marie exhaled softly as she thought about the image she wanted to project. She needed to have a clear image. Slowly, she pushed the image outward. The illusion took hold as the spell faded away. Unlike the concealment spell, she would need to be quiet and hope that the sound of the fountain covered up the sound of her heartbeat.

Adrian better find her soon. She wasn’t sure how long she could keep this up. Marie thought about contacting Adrian but he hadn’t talked to her up to this point. It was unlikely he wouldn’t answer her even if she did talk to him. All she could do was wait it out. Marie tensed as he heard more voices heading this way.

It wasn’t the men from before.

She focused on her illusion even more as she tried to keep her heart calm. A man and woman entered. They leisurely strolled around the garden as they talked.

“Doesn’t having that many put you at a disadvantage in a game like this?”

“You would think that but, no, they are all very good at hiding. In fact, this game has become very boring for me.”

“Really? I quite like the chase. Hunting prey that believes themselves safe has its thrills.” The two of them stopped here and there to admire the roses. They stopped a few feet away to admire a large, deep red rose. The woman pulled a petal from the flower and held it against her lips for a moment before letting it fall to the ground.

“I do love a good chase but I prefer my prey to be worthy. If I chased everything that crossed my path, I would be very tired and bored.” The man chuckled. They turned towards the fountain. Marie forced her emotions to remain calm. The woman walked towards the fountain and leaned on the edge as she looked into the water. The man joined her but he stayed standing. “Do you think Jorge would mind if I threw a penny in?”

“I think he would be insulted.” The man chuckled again as the woman reached out and put her fingers in the water. The woman moved her hand back and forth as she played with the water. Her large, blue eyes looked up and straight into Marie’s.

This was not a coincidence.

This woman knew she was here. The vampire smiled at her. Marie didn’t care what Adrian said. If she was attacked, she would fight back.