Hourglass by Claudia Gray

Balthazar. She had arrived here only a few minutes after the rest of us and was inspecting the new rooms, while I meekly unfolded scratchy blankets in the far corner. “That’ll make it worse.”
    “Not if he’s had blood lately,” somebody said. “And how long do you think a strapping guy like that goes without blood? I’m guessing a day or two tops. Besides, it’s bad enough for him tied up like that, and we can make it a whole lot worse.” In the corner of the room, Dana paused in her work like she might object, but she didn’t.
    Eliza shrugged. “We need him able to talk. We’ve got to find out why they chose to attack now.”
    I already knew, but confessing that would have left me chained to the wall beside Balthazar.
    Finally, around 3 A.M ., the last hunters to remain with our group staggered in. Raquel came through the door first, and she bounded into Dana’s arms like they’d been together for years instead of a couple of weeks. The smile on Raquel’s face was sobrilliant that I would’ve been happy for her, if I could’ve forgotten the danger Balthazar was in.
    Lucas and Kate walked in last. The flickering light from the one bulb in the room painted strange shadows on their faces. Kate seemed to have aged ten years in the past day. Her dark-gold hair, usually slicked back, was disheveled, and her expression was empty. With his hand around her forearm, Lucas gently guided her to one of the pallets. His jeans and T-shirt were smeared with blood that I knew wasn’t his own.
    When he saw me, he gratefully pulled me into his arms. I whispered into his ear, “Outside. Now.”
    Though obviously exhausted, Lucas nodded. As we walked out through the separate door for the basement stairs, I expected someone to ask what we were doing, or why, but nobody did. They were too tired to care. Raquel was already stretched out on her pallet, and probably the whole group would be asleep within ten minutes.
    “Okay,” he said, his voice ragged from weariness, once we had stepped outside. The lights across the river provided nearly the only light. “What’s up?”
    “They’ve taken Balthazar prisoner.”
    Instantly, Lucas was wide awake. “Hell.”
    “They’ve got him chained up in there.” I pointed to the main room. “Lucas, I think they’re going to hurt him.”
    I hoped Lucas would tell me I was being ridiculous, but he didn’t. “That happens sometimes,” he said, grimly. “Most people don’t like it, won’t do it. Eduardo—he felt different.” His gazebecame distant, and I wondered what measure he was taking of Eduardo now; he’d been both Lucas’s fiercest enemy and the closest thing to a father he’d known since early childhood, and now he was gone.
    Swallowing hard, I said, “Lucas, you didn’t—you would never—”
    “I haven’t ever.” But Lucas didn’t sound like he felt good about that answer. “If you’d asked me two years ago if it was okay—roughing up a vampire to get some information—I’d have been all for it. Only reason I never got mixed up in a situation like that was because I was too young.”
    “And now?”
    “Now I know better, because you taught me.” He put his hand on my cheek, and despite everything, I smiled.
    “We have to get him out of there. Is there any way to talk to Eliza—to explain that you knew him at Evernight? We can tell them that he doesn’t kill people. I could talk to her, too, and I bet Raquel would stand up for him.”
    Lucas shook his head. “That’s not happening. Eliza’s not going to let any vampire go, not ever.”
    “Then how do we keep them from hurting Balthazar?”
    He was quiet for a few long seconds. When he spoke, his voice was almost too low to hear. “Bianca—the only way to do that might be to kill him.”
    “What?”
    “That is not something I want to do,” Lucas said, every word intent, “but if the choice is between a quick death or a slow oneafter being worked over by those guys for a week? I’d pick