Snod holstered his weapon, hurrying to his side and pressing a desperate kiss to his lips. He could
taste blood, but refused to pull away until Frankie pushed him.
“Obe! You can’t be here!” Frankie said angrily. “Terrell left to feed, but he’s going to come back! He
will kill you!”
“Not today,” Snod said passionately.
“Obe, please, go! Now!” Frankie ordered firmly, his strong voice cracking as he begged, “Please!”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Snod insisted, kissing Frankie’s forehead and gazing at him adoringly.
“Not without you.”
“You beautiful fool,” Frankie sighed sadly. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Snod said earnestly, reaching up to remove the chains that were holding Frankie. He
suddenly felt an icy breeze, the hair on the back of his neck standing up.
Frankie’s eyes widened and his mouth parted to speak, but it was too late.
Snod found himself suddenly flying over the railing of the stairs, crashing down onto the floor. His
gun fell out from the holster, clattering several yards away. There were cold fingers curling around
his throat, lifting him up and pinning him to the wall.
Terrell.
He was grinning madly, laughing happily. “Oh, yes. Hello, Obadiah. I was so hoping you’d be stupid
enough to come for Francis.”
“I missed you, too,” Snod hissed defiantly. “Couldn’t stop thinking about killing you.”
“I love that fire in you,” Terrell purred nastily. “I can’t wait to put it out.” He bared his fangs to strike,
but suddenly roared in pain.
Snod grunted as he fell to the floor again, looking up as Terrell turned around to face Ephraim.
There were two darts sticking out of his back.
“What the hell is this poison!” Terrell shouted furiously, reaching over his shoulder and clawing at the
darts. He ripped them out, knocking Ephraim across the face so hard he spat out blood.
Snod dove for his gun, but Terrell had blinked back beside him and kicked him ferociously in the
side. He couldn’t reach the weapon, groaning and trying to catch his breath. He was certain a few of
his ribs were broken, hissing at the pain when he inhaled.
Ephraim tried to use the moment to attack again, but Terrell was too fast. There was a loud crash as
Terrell slammed Ephraim into the railings of the stairs before he could fire another shot, the wood
