Ethan looked at the silver key lying on the table next to the photographs of Maria and the rest of the compromising material.
"Then we start with Hale," he said at last.
"We find a way to take him off the board. After that we go for the dogs and Gérard."
Flash nodded.
"Agreed…"
"Because if we make even one mistake… there won't be a second chance."
"By the way, Ethan. We'll be passing right by it. I know someone or something, that might help you…" Flash looked at him.
Ethan's interest sparked instantly.
"Really?"
Flash set his mug down with a quiet clink and swept a heavy, focused gaze over everyone. The kitchen was small and cramped, smelling of old wood, coffee, and year-old blood.
The light of the morning sun barely filtered through the dirty windows, painting everything in cold gray-blue tones.
"To stop the plague from spreading inside Ethan," he said slowly,
"we don't just need a plan for Hale. We need real help. Mystical help."
"There's a witch in New York. Old and very powerful. I know most witches were killed or driven out of places where vampires rule, but I still have contacts."
"Her name is Zeydana Grave. She lives in Brooklyn, in an old mansion on Clinton Street. They say she knows how to work with things like this, curses, souls, blood bonds, and wisteria."
"If anyone can stop what's crawling through Ethan, it's her."
Gideon leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.
"A witch? Seriously? We're trusting witches now?"
"We don't have a choice," Flash answered sharply.
"Ordinary methods don't work here. The stake isn't just a weapon anymore, it's become part of Ethan."
"And if we don't find a way to seal or at least slow down this connection, in a couple of days Ethan will stop being Ethan."
Bruno nodded, though his face remained pale and tired.
"And how do we even get to her? New York isn't our city."
"And it's full of Corvin people, Anna's eyes…"
Ethan sat in silence, staring into his mug. The black lines on his neck pulsed faintly beneath his collar.
He could hear the voices inside the stake whispering, now carrying a new, satisfied tone. But he stayed quiet and listened.
At that moment the air in the kitchen suddenly changed.
First came a light chill. Then a faint haze seeped through the crack in the old window frame.
It was thin, almost transparent at first, but it quickly thickened, swirling in the air like living mist and beginning to turn into black Luft.
All four men jumped up at once.
Gideon yanked out his pistol and aimed it at the window.
"What the fuck is that?!"
Bruno grabbed the knife that had been lying next to the bread and pressed it to his chest.
Ethan instantly raised the black stake, ready to strike. His eyes widened with rage and fear.
Flash kicked his chair back and drew his revolver, aiming straight at the center of the haze.
"Back!" he barked.
"Everyone back!"
The haze spun faster. It poured into the room through the window like a living thing and began to coalesce in the middle of the kitchen, two meters from the table.
The shape became more and more human, tall, feminine, with long red hair that seemed to float in the air.
The guys were on edge. Gideon's finger was already on the trigger.
"I'm shooting on three!"
"One…" he began.
"Two…"
The haze fully took form.
Anna stood before them.
She wore a long black coat, damp with morning dew. Her hair was slightly disheveled. She looked almost human, except for the absolute, unnatural haze that surrounded her.
"Don't shoot," she said calmly. Her voice was low and velvety.
"I didn't come here to kill you."
Gideon didn't lower his pistol.
"Anna…" he growled through his teeth.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
Bruno stepped sideways, shielding Ethan.
"One move and I empty the whole magazine into you," he snarled.
Flash said nothing. He simply kept his revolver aimed at her chest, finger on the trigger.
Ethan stood slightly behind the others, gripping the black stake tightly. His eyes burned with fury.
Anna slowly raised her hands, palms open, showing she was unarmed.
"I felt the deaths of Roy and Laurent. Then I realized it was you. I felt that Ethan… had changed."
She shifted her gaze to Ethan.
"You possess a dangerous curse. Weren't you taught that you shouldn't kill a vampire with an ordinary object?"
Ethan glanced at Flash and gave a quiet snort.
She took one small step forward. Everyone tensed even more.
"I'm not here to kill you. I came to talk. Because what's happening with Gérard… it doesn't concern only you."
"It concerns everyone."
Flash finally spoke. His voice was cold and dangerous:
"Talk. But if I feel even the slightest threat, you'll die before you can blink."
Anna looked at him, then back at Ethan. There was no malice in her eyes, only weariness and a strange, almost motherly concern.
"Then listen carefully," she said quietly.
"Because we don't have much time."
She stood in the middle of the cramped kitchen, completely calm, as if she were at a social reception rather than under the barrels of four guns.
And the black stake in Ethan's hands vibrated quietly, almost joyfully.