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Cara opened the door and Nick went first. The others followed quickly, scanning the room, but Nick was already staring at the figure crouched against the back wall.
“Brett?”
Shadows covered him, but his head lifted, and Nick could feel his gaze locked onto the three of them. He stood slowly, shuffling forward, and when he stepped into the light, Nick froze.
Brett was pale, his movements stiff, and his eyes were bloodshot red. His clothes were torn and bloody, and the blood was dark, almost black, on the side of his neck.
He bared his teeth and let out a deep, resounding growl.
***
Chapter 24 - Cara
Cara’s stomach clenched. Brett was a vampire. He stood in front of them, back hunched slightly, and his eyes narrowed. He was coiled to spring into action, but he hadn’t moved yet. She froze, her whole body screaming at her to run.
“We’re too late,” Jay said. “He’s gone.”
“He can’t be,” Nick said, still staring at his brother. “We can fix this. Somehow. We just need time.”
“He’s a vampire now,” Jay said. “He’s already dead. We need to finish him before he hurts anyone else.”
Nick went still. “You mean kill him?”
Cara didn’t take her eyes off Brett. “Jay, just wait-”
Jay lifted his hands and she felt the surge of magic.
Everything happened at once - Jay thrust out his arms, Nick threw himself at Jay, and Brett recoiled, hitting the wall hard. Cara pulled on her magic but nothing happened. The wall cracked where Brett hit it.
Nick grabbed Jay and black lines flashed across his skin. Jay jerked away from him with a strangled gasp. Cara reached for him, but Jay was stumbling back with his hands clutched against his chest.
Brett growled at the violence and jumped back, and the cracked wall broke. An explosion of strength that seemed impossible, even for a vampire, and then the wall started to crumble.
Sunshine streamed through the hole in the wall, bathing Brett in a halo of light.
“Get away from there!” Nick roared.
Brett hesitated at his brother’s voice, but he looked at him, and Brett saw the black lines covering Nick’s skin. Cara knew what was coming, but she couldn’t stop it. Brett saw something that wasn’t his brother, and he stumbled away from them. He went backwards through the hole in the wall.
“No!” Nick yelled.
Brett stopped in the sunlight, but nothing happened. He frowned, running his hands over his arms as he felt the sun on his skin. He didn’t combust, he didn’t burn, he just looked uncomfortable.
He wasn’t dying.
“Brett?” Cara asked, keeping her voice low. “Do you feel anything?”
His eyes flicked to her. “Yes,” he said, his voice coming out in a croak.
She glanced at Nick. “Stay back,” she said. “You don’t look like yourself right now.”
Nick gave a reluctant nod, clearly understanding that he might scare Brett if he tried anything.
“What do you feel, Brett?” she asked softly. “Is it the sun?”
Brett frowned and turned, squinting towards the bright sun that was warming his back. “I think so.” His voice was like gravel, but as he kept speaking, he started to sound more normal. “I don’t like it.”
“Come inside,” she said. “It’ll feel better when you get out of the sun.”
