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Samuel moaned and pulled away slightly. He gave Nick a wide, blood-soaked smile. “I wondered if you’d put up more of a fight.”
Nick already felt weaker, but his anger surged. Rage filled him, and the void flared again, pushing through his body.
Samuel smirked. “I can’t let you do that, Nick.”
He pulled his arm back and smashed a fist against Nick’s ribs. Nick cried out and the void flickered and faded. It pulled inside him, retreating again, and the black veins faded.
“No more tricks up your sleeve?” Samuel asked.
His head was screaming with pain shooting through his entire body, but still, Nick realised something. Samuel was trying to subdue the void. Physical pain kept it hidden.
Cara had guessed that Nick could use his void against vampires, and Nick knew he could steal their strength, but this was different. Samuel was winning. He already won. He shouldn’t care if Nick took his strength away for a few minutes.
It was more than that. It had to be.
His head was spinning with thoughts of magic and energy and black holes.
Nick turned his head to the side with a groan, and there was blood in his mouth, tasting like burnt copper. “Finish it, then. Get it over with.”
Samuel sighed. “Disappointing, Nick. I expected more from you.”
Nick lifted his head, exposing his neck, and the vampire pressed his mouth against Nick’s neck and fed.
His moans and movements grew more and more invested, and Nick felt himself getting weaker. He didn’t have much time. When he was sure the vampire was distracted, consumed by bloodlust and pleasure, Nick forced himself to reach for the void.
The darkness was hiding in a ball in his chest, beaten back by pain and exhaustion and shock. For the first time, Nick encouraged it. He wasn’t just letting it out, he was embracing it. Nick coaxed it out of the ball, using his anger and fear to entice it. He thought about Brett, Cara, the witches, the hatred everyone had towards him because he was a void, and he thought about his father. His dad. Henry.
The void lunged to the surface.
The vampire stiffened and Nick grabbed onto him, wrapping his arms around his back and locking his wrists together. His arms were weak, but he pushed the void power into them. Samuel pulled back, but Nick didn’t let go.
Nick found that vampire energy, the smoke and mist, and he thought of Jackson. It was the same energy. It hung like smoke around Samuel, and it was inside him, too. It coursed through Samuel’s body.
The void pulled that cold, undead energy into him.
Samuel pulled away quickly, but Nick didn’t let go. The void drained his energy and gave it to Nick. It lent him strength, and he kept his arms locked around the vampire. Samuel couldn’t push him off.
Black veins swept power through his limbs. The void thrived in the moment, eagerly drinking the new source of power.
Samuel struggled against him, stumbling backwards, but Nick went with him.
“You need me alive,” Samuel rasped.
The void rose and fell in towering waves of power, and Samuel’s legs gave out. They hit the ground together and Nick almost lost his hold, but he tightened his grip before Samuel could free himself.
“You have no idea what you’re capable of,” Samuel snarled. “I can teach you, tell you what you need to know. You need me.”
Nick growled and pulled harder. The void grew bolder and the black lines spread from Nick’s skin onto Samuel.
The void lines on Samuel were different, hazier, less defined, but they wrapped around the vampire’s arms and chest, pulsing as they drained the supernatural energy from his body.
Samuel gasped, choking on his next breath, and he stared down at himself, seeing the black lines crossing his pale white skin.
“No,” he rasped.
His skin lost its colour and turned brittle and dry. His wide eyes went bloodshot and lost their focus as he looked up, staring blindly into Nick’s face. His hair lost its shine, and strands began to fall from his head. His cheeks hollowed, his body went limp, and a final gasp of air came from his mouth.
Nick pushed himself away from Samuel and tried to breathe.
