We'll Go Down In History

Chapter 42

Hope's pov

We soon make it to the 'Welcome to New Orleans' sign at the city's eastern borders. 

All of my attention is focused on worrying about Lizzie that I don't even hear it.

But Josie does. She grabs my hand, and pulls me off the road and into a clump of trees. Not a second later, fifteen black SUVs pull up behind the border. All of their headlights have been dimmed down, which is why I didn't notice them until now.

A woman and a man exit the SUV in the middle. It's clear that they're trying to be as quiet as possible. They fail in this, however, for they are almost immediately spotted out by three of my dad's vampire guards, who have been quietly waiting in the shadows.

A gunshot is heard when one of my dad's vampires shoots a wooden bullet at the woman. She glances down at her chest, and digs the bullet out without so much as a pained groan. At the same time, the man standing next to her uses three butcher's blades to cleave off the vampires' heads.

I clamp a hand over Josie's mouth to stop her from screaming. My guess is that this man and woman are members of the Strix, the ancient and elite beings who all work for Elijah.

"Mohinder! Bring it out," the woman shouts.

At her words, a short but muscular man exits another one of the SUVs. He lugs out a sleek black coffin from the trunk of the car, and lays it at her feet.

"So, Claire," Mohinder asks, nodding to the coffin, "Exactly what is it that's in here?"

"A special shipment from Italy," the man standing beside Claire replies.

"Is that it? Is that really all you're going to tell me?" Mohinder demands.

"What more do you want? Shen Min's explanation is all that you need to know about our precious cargo," Claire says, kneeling down and flipping the coffin open.

Shen Min steps forward, and glances at what's inside the coffin.

"It seems as though the trip was far too much for her to handle," he states.

'Her'? I wonder with a frown.

Claire tosses Shen Min a blood bag. Catching it with one hand, he leans down and grabs a fistful of dark blonde hair with the other. I quickly realize with a sense of dread that a woman was trapped inside that coffin this entire time.

Shen Min tears the blood bag open, and shoves its contents into the woman's mouth. She was barely conscious before, but when blood touches her lips, she gasps and flails around. She manages to release herself from Shen Min's grasp, but he quickly raises his foot and kicks her to the ground.

"Who the bloody hell do you think you are?" the woman coughs out.

"Tell the others to get ready," Shen Min tells Claire and Mohinder. The two of them walk away, leaving Shen Min and the woman all alone.

"You have no idea who you're messing with," the woman snarls. "Incendia!"

A burst of flames appears on Shen Min's jacket.

"On the contrary," he says, not appearing to look worried about the fire in the slightest, "We know exactly who you are."

In a single swift motion, he removes his jacket, and the fire sputters off into nothing once it hits the cool mud.

"Valerie Tulle," Shen Min snarls.

Valerie Tulle? Why does that name sound so familiar? I glance down at Josie, and see that her eyes have widened in surprise. Clearly, she knows who this 'Valerie' is.