Dorian had one side of him pinned against the stone wall, Aiden jumping in on the other, both of them scrambling to keep the savage vampire in check.
“Listen to me, Gabriel,” Jaci said softly. “You can fight her. Youhaveto fight her. Don’t give in.”
She watched the struggle play out across his face, pain and fury, fear and frustration, his body trembling beneath Dorian and Aiden’s hold.
And then, as suddenly as the terror had begun, it was over.
Like a balloon poked with a pin, Gabriel deflated, all of the violence draining away as he sighed and slumped forward into Dorian’s arms.
“Holy shit,” Charley whispered, and all Jaci could do was nod. It’d all happened so fast… Viansa had slipped through the protective magic, hijacking Gabriel’s mind and…
She closed her eyes, relief flooding her limbs. It could’ve been worse. So much worse.
“Everyone okay?” Isabelle asked. “Gabriel? Are you hurt?”
Gabriel shook his head, and Dorian finally released him.
But then Gabriel’s eyes went wide with some new fear, and he dropped into a crouch, narrowly ducking the fist that rocketed into the wall above his head.
Dorian’s fist.
“Fuck! The bitch is still here!” Gabriel grabbed Dorian’s legs and dropped his ass to the ground, and the two vampires wrestled for control, snapping and growling, fangs tearing through clothes and flesh as they fought like feral cats.
Amidst a flurry of shouts and blurs, Cole, Aiden, and Charley tried in vain to wrest Dorian and Gabriel apart, but the two vampires wouldn’t let up. Jaci had no idea whether Viansa was still in Dorian’s head or whether she’d jumped back into Gabriel’s, but one thing was clear—if they didn’t stop her, soon they’d be Hoovering up more than just Renault’s ashes.
“Do something!” Jaci shouted, but who the hell was she talking to? What could anyone do against an invisible enemy who could break into their heads without warning, turning them all into monsters?
“Jacinda.” Isabelle grabbed Jaci’s arm, her voice low and urgent. “I’ve got an idea. Buy me some time.”
“How much?”
“As much as you can.” Isabelle slipped away, disappearing down the tunnel that led back to Augustus Redthorne’s old laboratory.
“Viansa!” Jaci held up her palms, calling twin bursts of hellfire to life. “Time to fight your own battles, you coward. Show yourself!”
The vampires were on their feet now, Gabriel dodging a blow to the jaw. With a vicious bite, he tore a chunk out of Dorian’s shoulder, blood spraying across his face.
The wound healed at once, and Dorian cocked his arm back for another blow.
“Show yourself, succubus!” Jaci unleashed a surge of hellfire just over their heads, and the vampires ducked, narrowly avoiding the scorching silver flames. When they rose to their full heights again, their eyes were clear, the bloodlust that had overtaken them all but gone.
“Did she… Did she leave?” Gabriel panted, dragging the back of his hand across his bloody mouth. “Is that fucking succubus gone?”
“Hell no,” came the chipper reply—this time, from Charley. “Why would I leave when the party’s just getting good?”
“Charlotte!” Dorian swept her into his arms, wrapping her in such a tight hold, she could barely move. “Fight her, love,” he said. “You’re a lot stronger than she is.”
“Am I?” Charley laughed, cold and cruel, but then Viansa jumped again—Cole.
He snarled and dropped to the ground, his muscles twisting and bunching, bones popping as he shifted into his wolf form. Gabriel and Dorian jumped on top of him, Gabriel pinning him down while Dorian fought to hold his snapping jaw shut.
“What do we do?” Gabriel asked. “What the hell do we do?”
Cole finally stopped struggling, and the bitch was on the move once more. Aiden was the next target. He blurred at Gabriel, smashing his fist into Gabriel’s gut, then blurring into Colin, taking him down with a mean uppercut.
Before Colin could even retaliate, Viansa jumped back to Charley. Back to Aiden. Dorian. Cole, still in his wolf form.
Hellfire surging in her palms, Jaci watched in helpless agony as her sister swept through the group like a raging virus. They couldn’t catch her, couldn’t force her out, couldn’t risk wounding her.
