I found him at the back of the store, the crazed man with the bat, battering the glass of the freezer section. An employee stood at the end of the aisle with a phone to his ear. A woman with rounded eyes stood behind him, wringing her hands.
As I moved forward, a little kid ran out from around the corner, frightened.
“Nope.” I sprinted as the man with the bat caught sight of the newcomer. He turned as the kid skidded to a stop. The bat lifted.
“Nope,” I said again, and launched through the air.
My shoulder hit the center of Bat Guy’s back. We crashed to the ground. He writhed under me like a wild thing.
“Get that kid out of here!” I screamed, trying not to show extreme violence in front of the kid. “Get him out!”
The woman sprang into action as another female frantically came around the corner. Bat Guy tried to bite me.
“You don’t have fangs, idiot. Your teeth won’t do much to me.” I punched him in the side, trying to do it all subtle-like as the ladies dragged the stunned kid away. I did it again.
The man growled, a demonic sound.
“Are you actually possessed, or how does this work?” I muttered, letting loose with the punches. I landed one on his head, then a second, slowing him. Using that to my advantage, I yanked him over and shifted him onto his stomach.
He still writhed, but more weakly.
“The foundation of you is still human, at least,” Isaid, out of breath. I pinned his arms behind his back and sat on him. “Be still, or I’ll knock you out entirely. You’re going to hurt when you come to, believe me.”
He bucked, trying to get me off. Clearly he didn’t believe me.
“Get some rope to tie him up,” I shouted at the employee, punching the man again. This guy just would not settle down. “C’mon, let’s go. I need to get on the move again.”
Twenty minutes later, time spent tying the guy up and herding the employees like cats to calm everyone down, I finally walked out of the store. The sound of sirens crowded the air, reinforcements called in to deal with all the crazy that had recently gone down. Night had fallen, punctuated by a message from Darius asking my current location.
I glanced around for any other signs of violence. When I didn’t see anything new, I walked to a corner so I could see the street signs. After sending Darius the info, I kept going, wanting to see if anything drifted my way. I had to assume the demon and/or his fan club were keeping tabs on me. You don’t just lure someone to a location and then let them wander away randomly. They were probably coming up with another plan to attack. Or at least annoy, since the last attack had been paltry, at best.
Deep shadow fell over me as I passed under the coverof bushy trees, blocking the glow of streetlights. The rustling of fabric caught my ears. Shoes scuffing against the cement.
I spun, my hand reaching for my sword. Too late.
Two shapes, moving entirely too fast, zoomed at me. My hand closed around my sword hilt, but they were already there, grabbing my arms and yanking me with them.
Two middle-level vamps. Fast and strong, but not fast and strong enough. Boy, had they picked on the wrong girl.
I twisted, jerking an arm free, and crashed my elbow down on a shoulder. The vamp staggered, clutching at me. I hooked two fingers in his mouth and ripped, employing the fish hook. That was a nasty one.
He thought so, too.
He howled and clutched at his face, still keeping pace but flinching away from me. I used the few seconds of his shock to whip my legs around, throwing the other vamp off balance. I tore my arm out of her grasp but didn’t drop away. Oh no. They had gotten themselves into this mess, and I was going to make sure they regretted it.
Sword forgotten for now, I wrapped an arm around her neck and swung my legs a second time, throwing myself onto her back. My feet thudded as they hit the ground, forcing her to bend over backward. She struggledto stay upright, clutching at my neck.
I swept her legs out from under her again as the guy vampire got his wits about him and his face started to stitch back together. I kicked out, clipping his chin with my boot. Bone cracked and he went whirling, back to clutching at his face.
The girl vamp writhed, but I had a swift punch with her name on it, breaking her nose. “Who sent you?” I demanded, punching again.
“I did.”
That voice. I knew that musical, pleasantly pitched voice.
I kicked the guy vampire again, sending him wheeling out of the way, before turning.
My stomach curdled.
