Free Avenge by Sarah M. Ross Page A

room with Max, but since this was a work trip and not
vacation, I didn’t feel I should be too disappointed. Cassie took
the key, practically squealing when she eyed the giant master
bathroom complete with claw foot tub.
    “ First dibs!” she called,
throwing her overnight back down and quickly examining each of the
different bath salts and candles that adorned the
bathroom.
    “ You’re going to have to
wait. I think Sadie Ann wants us back to the headquarters so we can
get started. We need to change into our fighting gear and get
going.”
    “ Lucy,” Lola asked. “Will
your new power work okay here in this district?”
    It was a question I hadn’t thought of,
and I suddenly became nervous that I would be without it. I’d only
had my new silver skin for a few months, but I already couldn’t
imagine a battle without it. “I don’t see why it wouldn’t work, but
I’ll check with Max and James to be sure.” I wished I could try it
now, but it only worked when there was actual danger
around.
    The girls and I were changed and ready
for battle a few minutes later when we met back up with our hosts.
“Tonight we’ll visit Bourbon Street and meet up with a few of my
contacts. We may get lucky and spot a vampire, but I’m more
interested in making our presence known so they stop using this as
their huntin’ ground,” Sadie Ann explained.
    “ Remember, though we will
be able to see and hear everything happening on earth, they won’t
see us unless they have a sixth sense. Any vampire or werewolf in
the area will spot us and hopefully report back to their leaders,
and they’ll stop trolling.” James’s voice was confident and he
stood with his shoulders back, arms clasped behind him like a
military leader delivering orders. I bit my lip to keep from
shouting back, “Sir, yes sir.”
    “ I’m confused,” Lola
interjected. Her voice was quiet. She hated being the new kid.
“Wouldn’t it be better if they didn’t know we were here? So we
could capture them instead of scaring them off?”
    “ It’s a good question,
Lola,” Adam responded. Having the most military background besides
James, he was a great source of information. “Both the vamps and
weres have very keen noses, so they’d sense our presence anyway if
we snuck up. By making ourselves known, they’ll try to take us on
head-on. They’ll prepare for it first of course, but they find
their greatest victories and rise in status by defeating their
enemies head-on. They’re not ones to run away.”
    “ And if this clan is as old
as we think they are, they’ll be even more likely to want a
head-to-head battle,” James added as he placed weapons on his thigh
and waist for easy access.
    Lola chuckled and shook her head.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
    “ It seems stupid to me. How
many vampires or werewolves have won against a team of Patroni?
They’re all gonna end up dead because they’re so prideful—not that
I’m complaining. It seems silly to me. What’s the
point?”
    “ It only takes once, one
slip up from us and they win. That’s all they’re looking for
really. One chance to make a name for themselves and obtain more
power,” James reminded her. “And power is all they’re interested
in.”
    I knew that James was thinking about
the Patroni he lost all those years ago, and I changed the subject
to keep his head in the game. “Sadie, I’ve never been to New
Orleans. Tell me what the legendary Bourbon Street is
like.”
    She and Louis both chuckled and shook
their heads sadly before Sadie spoke. “It’s such a shame, you know?
New Orleans has one of the richest histories in our fine nation and
all people seem to think is that it’s a great place to get liquored
up. They seem to forget about the rest nowadays.”
    My face flushed with heat from
embarrassment and guilt. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.
I only—”
    “ It’s okay, I know you
didn’t. It’s a bit of a sore spot for us locals. I really