Biting Cold: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel (CHICAGOLAND VAMPIRES SERIES)

back just as the momentum would have taken me over the edge. An uncontrolled fall into the depths wouldn’t have ended comfortably.
    “Jesus,” Ethan said, settling me back from the edge, his hands shaking with nerves.
    “I guess they took the lift,” I said, glancing down over the edge. “How are we going to get down there?”
    “It’s thirty feet,” Ethan said. “I can jump it, but you don’t have the experience.”
    “That’s not entirely true.”
    Ethan slowly looked at me.
    “While you were gone, I learned how to jump. Well, how to fall, anyway. Jonah taught me.”
    “Ah” was all Ethan said. But he looked at me for a moment, an expression of mild curiosity on his face.
    “He helped me while you were . . . gone,” I explained, not that he’d asked for an explanation.
    “I’m not jealous, Sentinel.”
    “Okay.”
    “I have no need of jealousy.”
    I was equally amused and aroused by the bravado. This was Ethan in the fast lane, hugging the curves instead of constantly riding the political brakes.
    “Back to the point,” I recommended. “Whoever goes first could send the platform back up?”
    “Too noisy. We’ll need to be quiet once we’re down there. Between them, they probably already know we’re on our way, but there’s no sense in announcing it.” He looked at me. “You’re sure you can do it?”
    I wouldn’t deny that this jump, as all others, scared me, but I didn’t think he needed to hear that now, and my fear certainly wasn’t a very good reason not to do it. If I avoided everything I was afraid of, I’d never leave the House.
    “I’ll go first,” he said, and before I could agree, he’d disappeared, leaving a whoosh of air in his wake. Two seconds later, I heard his feet hit the ground.
    My eyes were finally accustomed to the darkness, and I glanced over the edge. Ethan signaled a thumbs-up. When he’d cleared the way for me, I resheathed my sword, took a breath, and took a step.
    The worst part about jumping as a vampire—and really the only bad part—was that first step. It was as unpleasant for vampires as it was for humans—that sickening lurch of the stomach, the sudden sensation of falling, and the fear you wouldn’t survive the jump.
    But then everything changed.
    The world slowed down as if to keep up with you. Dozens of feet became a single graceful step, and as long as you kept your knees soft, the landing didn’t pose a problem at all.
    I landed in a superheroine crouch, one leg bent, the other extended, a hand on the ground and the other on the pommel of my sword. I looked up at Ethan through my bangs.
    His eyes blazed fiercely with pride.
    “You can do it,” he whispered.
    I stood up and adjusted the belt of my katana and the hem of my jacket. “Did you doubt me?”
    “I didn’t doubt,” he said. “I . . . had reserved judgment.”
    I humphed but let it go. God willing, there’d be plenty of time for me to harass him later.
    We peeked into the hallway that led away from the elevator shaft. The lights were on, and there was no sign of Tate, Mallory, or Paige.
    I glanced over at Ethan, my vampire-proximity alarm. He was wincing against what I assumed was another Mallory-spawned headache, but he was still on his feet.
    “Do you think Paige led them directly to the book?” I wondered.
    “Depends on the state she left in. And we won’t know that until we see her.”
    “Strategy?”
    Ethan looked around. “If they want the book, they’ll have to get to the bottom of the silo. But I want a look before we attack them head-on. Let’s check the launch room. We can check the hole and figure out where they are. Radio silence from here on out. You remember your signals?”
    I nodded. Luc had taught the Cadogan House guards a series of hand gestures we could use to signal one another during missions. They’d come in handy before and would definitely be handy now, when we were trying to hide our presence from a former mayor and testy witch. Assuming they didn’t already know we were coming, which seemed unlikely.
    Swords drawn, we moved down the hallway. Ethan skirted the right side, and I skirted the left a bit behind him. We listened at each door we passed, trying to detect sound, but there was no sign of it, even with vampire senses in full operation.
    It probably didn’t help that the place was loaded with concrete to protect the missile from attack. I wasn’t really sure how that would affect the loosing of an ancient evil, but I had