“Not yet,” I said, “We need to figure out who he is and what he wants.And that means questioning him.Which means?—”
“Which meansIget to have some fun.”Rathiel flashed me a rare grin, one that showed his fangs, and stopped my heart dead in my chest—but not from fear.From somethingelse.Something exciting.
It took me a few seconds to pull my attention away from Rathiel and glance back at our tail.The guy was still there, trailing behind us at a steady pace.But what struck me as odd was how little he seemed to care that I kept checking on him.He didn’t bother to close the distance, and there was no urgency in his steps, like he wanted us to know he was there but wasn’t in any hurry to catch up.The whole thing was unsettlingly strange.
We continued down the street, and I led us toward a narrow alley just ahead.The dim light from a nearby streetlamp barely penetrated the shadows, making it the perfect spot for a more private conversation.If we were going to confront this guy, I wanted it to be somewhere away from prying eyes.Somewhere we could handle whatever happened next without causing a scene or exposing the paranormal community to humans.Yes, it was two in the morning, but I knew from experience that a fair number of humans were still awake at this hour.
We strode deeper into the alley, the sound of our footsteps echoing off the walls.Once we reached the middle, I stopped and turned, Rathiel at my side.Our pursuer appeared, but he hesitated at the mouth of the alley, as though surprised to find us waiting for him.
“Why are you following us?”I called out, my voice echoing down the alley.
The guy didn’t answer.Instead, he pulled his hands out of his coat pockets and strode closer.Too close for comfort.His gaze flicked between me and Rathiel, assessing, calculating.Then, a slow, almost amused smile spread across his lips, which pulled back to reveal an incredibly sharp set of fangs.A second later, he lifted his hands, and claws sprung from his fingers.
Okay, a vampire.We could handle that.Especially seeing as how Rathiel was literally the progenitor of all vamps.
“Why do you think?”he finally replied, his voice dripping with condescension.
I clenched my fists, suddenly wishing I had Inferno’s Kiss or any of my blades here.“I’m not in the mood for games.What do you want?”
“It’s not what I want,” he said.“It’s whathewants.”
Disappointment had me blowing out a slow breath.Lucifer.Because of course it was about him.Which made this guy a hellspawn vamp.
Before I could answer, the sound of approaching footsteps rose to my ears.I straightened just in time to watch six additional shadows fan out behind the vampire, blocking off the alleyway entrance.The presence of bright, glowing red eyes confirmed my suspicions.Mr.Toothy and his friends were hellspawn vamps.And we’d walked right into their trap.Lucky us.
One vampire, no sweat.Two or three, sure.But eight?Eight was a bit much—even for Rathiel and me.
I silently cursed in my head and inched closer to Rathiel, whose body vibrated with tension.
“So much for a friendly conversation,” he said.
“Yeah, I’m starting to think this might have been a bad idea,” I admitted as I shed my winter jacket and silently gestured for Rathiel to do the same.We’d need our full range of movement.
Without another word, the vamps circled us, their movements synchronized like they’d done this a thousand times before.Maybe they had.But they didn’t know us.They didn’t know what we were capable of.
And they were about to find out.
ChapterFifteen
The vampires didn’t wasteany time.They lunged at us in unison, their fangs gleaming and their claws flashing under the faint streetlight.I barely had a second to react before the first one was on me, his claws aiming for my throat.I ducked and spun, instinct taking over as I let years of hand-to-hand training guide me.I might not have my blades, but Rathiel had taught me how to turn anything into a weapon—including my own body.
I grabbed the vampire’s outstretched arm and twisted, using his momentum against him to throw him off balance.A quick elbow to the jaw sent him stumbling back, but he didn’t go down.Expected, considering their infernal heritage.Guess I’d simply have to hit a bit harder.I landed another strike, this one packed with far more punch, and the vamp dropped hard.
Rathiel was a force of nature beside me, moving with a lethal grace that belied his size.He caught one vampire by the throat, his fingers digging in with inhuman strength, and lifted the bastard clean off his feet.The vampire thrashed in Rathiel’s grip, but it was no use.Rathiel’s hold was like iron, unyielding, and with a single, swift motion, he slammed the vampire into the alley wall with enough force to crack open his skull.
The vampire let out a strangled gasp, his eyes wide with terror as blood trickled from his mouth.Rathiel wasn’t done.He tightened his grip, his own claws digging deeper into the vampire’s throat, cutting off any chance of escape.With a swift, brutal twist, Rathiel snapped the vampire’s neck.The vampire’s body went limp.Rathiel wrenched his enemy’s head to the side, and with a sharp jerk, ripped it clean off.Blood sprayed across the alley walls, and the body crumpled to the ground in a heap.Decapitation was the surest way to kill a hellspawn, after all.
It’d been alongtime since I’d witnessed that level of brutality, and I thought I might toss my cookies.Thankfully, I barely had time to register what Rathiel had done because another vampire was coming at me, claws extended, and fangs bared.I ducked under his swipe, spinning around to deliver a kick to his gut that sent him staggering back.He recovered quickly, but I was ready.I charged forward and grabbed him by the arm, flipping him over my shoulder.He hit the ground hard, but I didn’t give him a chance to recover.I dropped to one knee, grabbing his head with both hands, and twisted with all the strength I could muster.
The vampire’s neck snapped with a sickening crack, but I knew that wasn’t enough.I had to finish him,Mortal Kombatstyle.I tightened my grip on his head, gritting my teeth against the strain, and with a cry, I wrenched it free from his body.
Warm blood splashed my arms, and I squeezed my eyes shut while silently willing my gag reflex to settle down.Idefinitelypreferred using blades to my bare hands.This was brutal—and disgusting.
I tossed the head aside and turned to find Rathiel locked in combat with two vampires at once.They circled him like wolves, trying to find an opening, but Rathiel was too quick, too powerful.He ducked and dodged their attacks with ease, his movements fluid and precise.
One of the vampires lunged at Rathiel, but he sidestepped at the last second, grabbing the vampire by the hair and slamming him into the alley wall.The force of the impact stunned the vampire, and Rathiel didn’t hesitate.He reached for the vamp’s head, and I looked away a second before the sound of ripping flesh and sinew rose to my ears.I turned back in time to watch the body hit the ground and Rathiel turn to face the other vampire, while I faced the remaining three.
Their eyes gleamed with a mix of fury and bloodlust.But they weren’t stupid.Clearly, they could see Rathiel and I weren’t easy prey.But while we had the skill, they had the numbers.The odds certainly weren’t in our favour, and they seemed unwilling to back down.
