“Bitch,” he spits, and I cackle, throwing my head back, and that’s when the two goons rush me, but I expected as much. They fight dirty, because otherwise they’d never stand a chance, and they know it.
I wait until they’re near enough for me to kick out into what can only be described as the splits, knocking both of their heads back so hard that they each fly backward, giving me time to slam back to the ground, unsheathing the sword at my back.
Not giving them a chance to retreat, I step forward, swinging the blade through the air, and slice the closest vampire’s head clean off his shoulders. It drops heavily to the ground, rolling to the feet of his king of the night. He kicks the head away, motioning for the other to attack. There’s no love amongst monsters. They simply run in packs in order to wreak havoc on the city they infest.
I roll my eyes. “Have you learned nothing? You’re both dying tonight.”
His head tips back and he shrieks into the night once more. I shrug at the approaching demon.
“Guess you choose death.”
I inhale, concentrating on moving the stored electricity through every synapse. It rushes over me like waves on a shoreline. My body tingles and every hair stands on end as I push the energy out of me and into the sword in my hands.
“Patet via lux et tenebrae,” I whisper into the night.
Light the way and clear the darkness.
My eyes open in time to see the weaker vampire running toward me. I lift the sword and, without preamble, run it straight through. The demon disintegrates into thin air, allowing me to swing around just in time to lop off the head of the one who was supposed to be the leader.
Pathetic.
Sheathing Solis—my trusty sword—I huff out a frustrated laugh.
“That wasn’t even fun.”
Slow clapping begins behind me, and I don’t need to turn to know Zeke’s found me. It’s not hard when we both are drawn to the demons’ presence. It’s like my own personal beacon, and Zeke never fails to follow it.
“Impressive, Tori.”
“Very valiant of you to watch without offering help,” I say tersely, annoyed at his presence.
“Didn’t look like you needed help. I was enjoying the view,” he says, looking me up and down. “You look good in leather.”
“Good deity. Do those lines really work with the human girls?”
He barks out a laugh. “Always with them, never with you.”
“And they never will.”
“I like the chase.”
“You should stop. You’re wasting your time,” I say, moving past him. “Why are you here, anyway?”
“We cleared an alley north of here. Five vamps had a girl trapped.”
“Is she okay?” I ask, spinning toward Zeke.
“She will be. I compelled her to forget and sent her on her way.”
I nod my head, pleased that the girl wasn’t hurt.
“Any other sightings?”
“Not tonight. It seems abnormally quiet for this time of year.”
He’s not wrong. Typically, springtime in New Orleans is crawling with vampires. Add mayhem like Mardi Gras, and the evil descends. I don’t know what to make of the change. It has been unusually quiet for months, and nothing good can come from that.
“Where are your human pets?” I jab, truly only caring about one.
