My power might be weak for a hundred-year-old but not a two-year-old.
“Though if you had reached your majority, I would expect you to have the knowledge and skill to heal such minor injuries. For that matter, a small fall like that shouldn’t have caused the damage it did.”
I avoided his eyes, staring off into the other room. It was only a matter of time before he arrived at the right conclusion. Or the wrong one for me.
“How old are you?” he asked.
“That’s a rude question. Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to ask a woman her age?”
He arched an eyebrow. “Should we start this whole process again?”
I grimaced. No thanks. I had no interest in doing that again. “I’ve been a vampire for two years.”
Thunder clouded his face, his eyes turning nearly black and his fangs slid out as he growled.
I scooted back, not wanting to be too close in case he tried to grab me again. As fascinating as it was watching him turn bestial, I thought one flying lesson for the night was more than enough.
“Where is your sire?” he snarled.
I said carefully, “Your guess is as good as mine. I woke up in the morgue and have been on my own ever since.”
“You should have been reported to the local clan. They should have taken you in to educate and train.”
He made me sound like a puppy.
He grabbed my arm and hauled me up. I struggled in his grasp, my feet sliding among the debris from the island countertop.
“What are you doing?” I snapped, punching him in the ear.
He snarled, showing both fangs. “Stop that.”
Like that was going to happen.
I kicked him in the knee. He barely broke stride, giving me an irritated look.
“Let me go,” I yelled.
It didn’t matter what I did. It was impossible to slow him as he marched me to the door.
“You’re coming with me. I must take care of this matter, but when I’m done I’ll put out feelers and find a clan to take you.”
My struggles doubled until he was pretty much dragging me bodily down the hall. I was not going to make this easy for him. Vampires weren’t derailing my life a second time.
One of my feet caught him right in the back of the knee, sending him stumbling into the wall. His grip loosened and I shot past him, running for the door. A tackle sent me crashing to the ground with him on top. I turned into a raging typhoon of claws, biting teeth and vicious blows.
He grabbed my collar and lifted me an inch off the ground then slammed me back down, momentarily stunning me. He thrust his face close to mine and said, “Enough. Continue this and I’ll break both legs and carry you out of here.”
I glared up at him. It was clear he was stronger than me. I needed to bide my time until I could escape. I wouldn’t be able to run if my legs were broken. For now, I’d let him think he’d won.
Seeing the surrender on my face, he hauled me up and pushed me in front of him.
“Let’s go.”
He’d won for now, but one thing I was extremely good at was being patient. I just needed to wait for my moment.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE VAMPIRE PUSHED me forward, forcing me through the back entrance of a well-known nightclub just off Spring Street in the Arena District. The place was only a ten-minute walk from the condo, but the vampire chose to drive, taking nearly a half hour instead. Once again, I’d had to leave Cherry behind.
