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“You got your pound of flesh out of Owen. Let him go,” Nolan shouted as well.
“Not even close,” Aldo hissed.
“You think you can keep Nolan from us?” Colette raged. Four of the five vampire bodyguards converged on them, hammering their fists on the barrier so that it flashed gold with each strike. Nolan winced and crowded closer to him.
“Sky? Can this hold?”
“Yeah, we’re safe.” Sky frowned at the vampires as they snarled, clawed, and beat at his protective circle.
“Can it outlast us?” Colette taunted. “Can you hold out until sunrise? That’s hours away!”
Sky sighed. “Yeah, I can, but I’ve got more important things to do with my night than waste my time in a parking lot with a bunch of vampires.” He turned to Nolan and dug through his bag for two prepared vials he kept for an emergency. It wasn’t one of his most powerful spells or even his scariest when it came to vampires, but it would definitely leave an impression.
With a couple of whispered words, Sky tossed one small vial to the front of the car and tossed another near the rear, away from the cluster of angry vampires and outside the circle he’d made with the grave dirt. The liquid inside was red, but when the glass broke and the liquid hit the ground, it became a deep pool of endless black.
The vampires attacking the barrier stopped and took a step back, looking from one puddle to the other.
“Sky?” Nolan hissed.
Before he could answer, a fist came out of the puddle near the front of the car. A fist followed from the other puddle. But this wasn’t a fist like Frank’s. No. This was a meaty, black, stone fist the size of Sky’s car. Enormous iron manacles followed the fists with rusty, clanking chains still attached. Hulking black creatures with impenetrable skin and glowing red eyes owned those fists. Curved horns grew from their hairless heads, putting them each taller than a three-story building. As they turned and took in their surroundings, the chains from their wrists dragged loudly along the pavement.
Each of them reached into the portal and drew out a weapon. The first grabbed a spiked mace while the other pulled out a saw-toothed blade.
At the sight of the two monsters, the vampires scurried into their cars without saying a word. Sky grinned until he heard a soft, strangled noise escape from Nolan. The human edged closer so that his arm pressed tight against Sky.
While keeping his eyes on the minions, he tilted his head toward Nolan. “They’re like Frank, just bigger,” he whispered.
“Like Frank?” Nolan repeated, his voice trembling. “Do you have enough sandwiches?”
A deep belly laugh jumped from Sky, and the creatures jerked at the sound. They both let out an earth-shaking roar that sounded like boulders tumbling down the side of a mountain, but what they said was:
“Sky! We missed you!” They both raised their weapons in the air and shook them. “Can we play?”
Nolan pressed even closer. “Oh, shit! They’re pissed!”
“Later. I’m having vampire trouble,” Sky called out and jerked his chin at the SUV in front of them.
The two minions lowered their weapons as they turned toward the vehicles holding the bloodsuckers. Their red eyes narrowed and a low growl rumbled in their throats. Now they were pissed.
Aldo had paled—which was a mean feat for a vampire—as he hung out the rear window and pointed at Sky. “This changes nothing! Twenty-four hours and we get our shifter, or we’re replacing it with one of the Banks brothers.”
After delivering that annoying but chilling threat, Aldo dropped into the SUV and it sped off with a squeal of tires and smoke. The second SUV followed close behind, darted into traffic and narrowly missed colliding with other cars.
“Fucking idiots,” one minion grumbled, drawing a snicker out of Sky.
“Thanks, guys! You did your job!” Sky informed them. “You scared off the vampires.”
“Yay!” Both minions shouted in celebration, though it sounded like a frightening roar. They slammed their weapons together, and thunder crackled across the dark sky.
“Sky?”
He immediately smiled and patted Nolan’s arm. Muscles trembled and bulged under his fingertips. “It’s okay. I know they appear scary, but they’re actually very nice. This is Bob.” He stopped and pointed at the one with the mace. “And this is Kevin.”
“Kevin. Bob,” Nolan repeated in a flat voice. “Are you shitting me? Are those really their names?”
“No, of course not,” Sky cackled. “No one has a name in the underworld. Naming is a human societal construct. I call them Bob, Kevin, and Frank. Makes it easier to remember everyone. I mean, I could have named him Gigantaur the Destroyer, because it seems more fitting, but that takes too long to say.”
“Are you done with us?” Bob inquired.
“Can we go sightseeing?” Kevin chimed in.
“That’s fine, but you have to promise to head home before sunrise, and no making any messes. No scaring people.” As he spoke, Sky pushed off the vehicle and ran his foot across the dirt ring, scattering it and breaking the seal with a soft pop. With the protection circle gone, Sky made a fist and lifted it to the creatures.
