I ran over to the spot where Ambrus had been standing mere moments before and looked around hurriedly, but I didn’t see Ambrus anywhere. He seemed to have vanished entirely, though I suspected that he had probably just stepped into the Shadow Way. I was just about to follow him myself when I heard groaning behind me and looked over my shoulder to see Bart sitting up, rubbing his stomach where Ambrus had punched him not more than a minute or two ago.
“Ow,” said Bart. “First time I’ve ever been punched by a half-vampire. Not too different from being punched by an actual vampire, though it still hurts a lot.”
“He got away,” I said, looking back into the shadows. “And I’m going after—”
“You won’t.”
I turned around again to see Lucius walking toward us. His back was no longer smoking, but h
