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We blurred across the open area at a full run, reaching the doors within seconds and putting our backs against the wall Elyssa pressed slowly down on the outside door handle until it clicked open It sounded like a cannon shot from where I stood, but the noise from the lively crowds at the bars across the road would hopefully cahtliss trotted between us and into the wide corridor ahead Wooden pallets with furniture and other odds and ends leaned haphazardly against the walls giving us so for the one with their favorite Snuggie on it

Nightliss dashed ahead and vanished at the far end of the corridor I wasn’t sure how the little cat would tell us if soerous lurked around the next corner since neither of us spoke meowish, so I followed Elyssa’s lead and kept low and quiet We reached the propped-open doors of the next entryithout incident We peeked around the corner The first sentry Stacey hadthe nearby vicinity

The interior of the cole with a hallway that ran the perimeter on all three upper levels The basement could be reached via the elevator from the front lobby, by a service elevator in the back hallway, or by the door that was halfway down this hallway on the right The service elevator would be too noisy, so we needed to reach the basehtliss sat and stared at the doorway, the tip of her tail twitching up and down She looked to us and then waved her paw at the door to the basement and meowed

"What does that mean?" I asked

"I have no idea but I don’t see any sentries," Elyssa said

Nightliss hissed as Elyssa started down the hall I grabbed her arht her back "Just wait aopen and a vao shorts and a kickball T-shirt sto clenched in his hand He punched the htliss dashed between his legs and down the stairs The va uard," the vampire muttered as he stalked down the hall toward us "You need to learn how to dress," he said in a whiney voice "God, I hate Britney I swear I’onna pee in her blood supply"

Elyssa and I crouched behind a pallet and waited until the disgruntled vampire disappeared around the corner at the other end of the hall

We made our way down to the basement door and stepped onto the stairs The corridor was so dark I could hardly see anything I groped for Elyssa’s ar?" she whispered

"I can’t see"

"Are you kidding ht vision kind of sucks" I hoped that whatever night vision had tried to turn on the night the y attacked me would work automatically because I didn’t kno to hed "You are such a newb" She grabbed my hand and led me down the stairs It almost felt like old times

We reached the bottom of the spiral staircase nearly two-hundred stairs later and peeked into the well-lit baserandly down the center of the ceiling with a disco ball hanging aardly froht fixture Marble columns ran up the two-story walls and arched across the dome-like roof Bunk beds and cots lined the sides in neat roith a ay splitting the cavernous rooiant army barracks Some areas had cubicle partitions, probably for privacy or silence

Several leather sofas surrounded a huge plasma television screen at one end of the chamber An Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and all the accoutrelass entertainnized i in a Dance Central dance-off versus two guys Body Movin’ froe sound systeood tily at the entertainment center and pulled me down into a crouch just in time to hide from two more male vampires as they rounded a corner and walked past, anias

We stayed low and dashed across the open space to the left side of the base cubicle-style divider hid a mess of electrical cords Behind the divider and a few feet doas the door Nightliss had meowed about to Stacey The little black cat looked at reen eyes and extended a paard the door

"I never realized cats were so snored ht so she could study the arched doorway The door was solid hardith heftya skeleton key ht open I felt incredibly relieved Then I noticed two metal plates at the top and bottoray roan as netic," I whispered

Elyssa nodded and studied the keypad to the left She gaveto keep the tre able to hex this thing I drew a circle around ainst it The air crackled, indicating I’d at least done that part right I waited After a few heart-pounding seconds, the pressure in hat the keypad, I willed it to ain "Poof" Still nothing

Elyssa gave an exasperated sigh and examined the sturdy metal conduit She pulled out a knife and pried at it

I i to that blasted keypad without anything actually happening My hair felt like it was standing on end, probably fro uselessly around me Elyssa peeled the metal conduit away and stared at the thick wires inside it I gave upthe keypad one last dirty look and flipping it a bird

"Just die already," I hissed through clenched teeth