Free End Game (Vampire Hunter Book 6) by S.C. Reynolds Page A

quiet. Don’t get me
wrong, I was glad she hadn’t contacted Lucas, but I was sure she was plotting
and just waiting for the right moment. And that scared the hell out of me.
    Lucas called me Saturday morning. “You ready for tonight?” he asked.
    “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied.
    “And what about Henry?” Lucas said.
    “He says he’s ready. I don’t know. Henry’s been…distant this week,” I
said. I had barely seen him at school apart from our classes, and he hadn’t
joined me for lunch in the library even once.
    “I’m sure he’s just got a lot on his mind, like all of us.” Lucas paused.
“Nicholas and I will pick you up at 7:30 tonight. We can pick up Henry, too, on
the way. We need time for Nic and me to hide and figure out where Henry is
going to set up shop. It will be tricky making sure we’re all out of view from
Magnus and Tobias. I’m sure Magnus expects me to accompany you, but he’ll know
we’re up to something if he sees Henry or Nic.”
    “Okay,” I said nervously.
    After I got off the phone with Lucas, I called Henry.
    “Lucas will pick you up after he gets me,” I said. “So we can all ride
there together.”
    “No, I’m planning to go myself,” Henry replied.
    “Why?” I asked in surprise.
    “I need to get there early and set everything up,” Henry explained.
    “But there’s safety in numbers,” I said worriedly.
    “I’ll be fine,” Henry assured me. “I’ll text Lucas and get the
coordinates. I’ll already be there when you guys arrive, ready for go time,” he
said grimly.
    I gulped. “Okay. And Henry?”
    “Yeah?”
    “If I don’t get to talk to you, you know, before, well…good luck.”
    “Same to you,” he replied. “And no matter what happens tonight, Aurora,
promise me we’ll still be okay.”
    “That’s an odd thing to say,” I replied. “Do you think I’d be mad at you
if the spell didn’t work or something?” I asked in confusion.
    “No, nothing like that,” Henry assured me. “It’s just I have a feeling
that after tonight life as we know it is never going to be the same. And I just
need reassurance from my best friend that you’ll still be there.”
    “Of course I will!” I said. “And I have every confidence that you are
goingto close the Gates, with Tobias, Magnus and Leon trapped inside.
For eternity.”
    “That’s the plan,” Henry said lightly.
    ###
    Lucas and Nicholas arrived at 7:30 to pick me up. My parents had gone out
to dinner, so at least I didn’t have to deal with my mom tonight. I guess after
seeing me kiss Lucas – despite my claim that there was nothing going on
between us – she figured we were going out on a date. I didn’t actually
even try to deny it. Just told her we were seeing a movie and would be back
later.
    Yeah, front row seats to the new action-packed thriller, The Gates of
Hell, I thought sarcastically.
    “How are you doing?” Nic asked, turning around in the front seat.
    “I’m hanging in there,” I said nervously.
    “We’ll be right nearby,” Lucas assured me. “And as soon as Magnus pushes
Tobias through the Gates, I’ll throw him in after.”
    “Okay,” I said, hoping it would be as easy as they made it sound.
    “The Gates are right around here,” Lucas said, pointing at an open field.
“I’m going to park farther away so my car isn’t in plain sight.” He continued
another quarter of a mile before pulling his car to the side of the road.
    Wordlessly, we got out and headed back towards the field. “Where are you
going to hide?” I asked. “If it’s just an open field.”
    “The Gates are at the edge of the field,” Lucas explained. “We’ll be
hidden in the trees behind.”
    “Where’s Henry?” Nicholas asked. We all scanned the trees and then there
was a low whistle. My eyes focused on where it seemed like the sound had come
from and Henry waved. He was about thirty feet away from us.
    “I’m going to go make sure he’s okay,” I said, starting