The room had been transformed into a makeshift bedroom. Whoever had been in here last had left the overhead light on. A bed covered with a pink-and-white floral comforter stood in the middle of the room. Someone had apparently lived in the church before the vampires had taken over. Even though I'd never seen the Count of Counts, I had a hard time believing the floral decorations were a part of his touch.

Then again, most bad guys have a huge weird streak.

An old wooden desk was pushed into one corner of the room. A nightstand next to the bed held one of those lamps with the body of a vase.

Dinah followed me, her ears flattened against her skull as she scanned the room. The muffled scream sounded again. I stayed against the wall. The worst thing you can do in a fight is walk out into the open without checking to make sure no one's there.

"Do you hear that?"

Dinah nodded, keeping as low to the ground as her height would allow and slinking along the opposite wall.

I heard a noise, almost a knock, but not quite. The lamp wobbled on the nightstand.

"Shit." I holstered the Pro.40 and walked around the bed.

"Keep an eye on the door," I told her as I picked up the lamp, jerking the plug out of the wall. Someone was in the wall behind the nightstand. Call me careless, but I was betting it wasn't a bad guy.

I put my hand flat against the horrendous wallpaper. "Jacob?" I asked, lowering my shields slightly. I sensed a presence of cool energy but couldn't tell if it was him.

The next blow vibrated against the palm of my hand. It had to be him. "Get away from the wall," I said. "If you can hear me, get away from the wall." I waited for the space of a few heartbeats, then picked up the nightstand. I didn't care how much noise I made. The only thing I suddenly cared about was getting whoever was behind there out. I really hoped the others were kicking some ass in the other room.

I slammed the rickety wooden nightstand into the wall. The corner of the table caved part of it, but not enough. The nightstand broke and splintered on impact. I grabbed the edge of the hole in the wall, bracing myself with my foot against the baseboard, and started tearing pieces of plaster away with my bare hands. I could've shifted, could've called the beast to the surface, but it was unnecessary when I could just as easily dig a hole with my human hands.

Tearing the plaster away allowed some of the light to shine into a small room beyond.

Jacob was slumped over on his side, his arms shackled behind his back. A strip of dirty cloth speckled with blood and saliva was bound between his lips.

"Jacob. Oh, Jacob, what have they done to you?"

A bass growl shuddered across my spine. Every hair on my body suddenly stood at attention.

"He wasn't cooperating," a masculine voice said. I whirled around to find Maddox's huge frame standing in the doorway. Dinah sank low, her ears drawn back, ready to attack. Her own bass growl rumbled against her chest, building as it flowed out of her muzzle. She snapped at the huge bulk of vampire in the doorway, snarling and showing her sharp teeth. Maddox either didn't care or didn't feel particularly threatened.

His eyes met mine across the room. At first, I thought his pupils were dilated, but then I realized they weren't. His irises were as black as his pupils.

He took a step forward, and Dinah snapped again. He stopped, finally looking down at the massive werewolf.

"I don't mean any harm," he said.

"I'm supposed to believe that?" I slowly reached behind me to draw the Pro.40.

"I want to help."

Dinah gave another threatening snarl, discouraging him from stepping into the room. Not many vampires wanted to wrestle with a werewolf. Maddox was built like a bodyguard, like he was used to throwing people around, so I imagined he was stronger than most vampires. In truth, the two of us against Maddox were probably an equal match when it came to strength, but alone...alone either one of us would probably have gotten our butt kicked.

Maddox didn't make a move to step into the room. He turned, looking down the hallway. "Get the boy," he said as I heard a door slam shut somewhere. "I'll take care of the others. Once you get the boy, ask him about me. Find out for yourself if I'm trustworthy." He turned and, in a blur of speed that belied his heavy bulk, disappeared.

I'd torn apart enough of the wall to reach in and touch Jacob's shackled arms. His legs were restrained at the ankles. He wiggled, trying to get closer to me, to help me get him out of the dark prison. I got a good grip and pulled, dragging him over the jagged edge of plaster. I jerked him against me, turning him around, and tore the knot behind his head.

The corners of his mouth were bloody where the gag had begun to tear into his skin. His head lolled forward and I put a hand on each of his shoulders, bracing him, holding him upright. He blinked, as if he was having a hard time fixing his gaze on any one thing in particular.

"He's..." Jacob's voice was hoarse like he'd been screaming for hours. He coughed, trying to clear his throat, which made my heart hurt. He was just a boy.

"He's okay," he said at last. "Maddox. He was bringing me food. He got in trouble for me." He cleared his throat again. "That's when they put me in the wall."

The youth that had been in his eyes the last time I saw him alive was no longer there. That cool energy, the smell of night air...

I put two fingers under his jaw. "Let me see."

He did what I asked. Slowly, as if it pained him, he opened his mouth to reveal a set of fangs.

"I told you not to. Why?"

"I had to know." He shivered. "He's got Bea. He'll turn her."

"He hasn't done it yet?"

"He saved it for tonight."

I touched the shackles at his wrists. "Let's get these off you."

Gently, I helped him turn around so I could get a closer look at his bindings. The metal clasps were secured around his wrists by a lock in the middle. Blood gleamed on both his wrists. He'd struggled against them. If a vampire was weak enough to be unable to snap a lock, he had to be starved. I curled my index finger around the top loop of the lock and pulled, popping it out of place. I did the same to the lock between his ankles.

"That's the best I can do right now. Are you okay?"

I could tell it hurt him to move his arms. Vampire or human, being held in the same position for too long would eventually hurt. He looked at the metal bracelets. "I'm fine."

The wall in the hallway shuddered before I heard footsteps approaching. I drew the gun, aiming at the doorway, and didn't lower it when Maddox appeared. His hands and one side of his face were covered in blood.

"We have to go," he said.

We stared at one another for several moments while I debated whether to trust him. Jacob had said the vamp was on our side. I hoped he was right.

"Fine," I growled, "but pull any stupid shit, and I will make sure you are well and truly dead."

"Understood," he said, motioning us out of the room.

"Do you know what's going on downstairs?" I asked him.

"Your friends have discarded the Count's pawns. We need to be with them when they face the Count himself."

I didn't argue but followed him. Dinah took up the rear and we placed Timothy in a protective circle between us.

If anyone wanted him, they'd have to get through us first.