“I’m going to rip out your werewolf’s heart,” Conroy spat. “And then eat it in front of you.”
“Gonna be difficult to do that in your current position,” Quin said.
“Plus,” DJ said, voice strained from holding Conroy down, “pretty sure that Quin would be dead without his heart, so you’d poison yourself with his blood. It’s not the revenge that you think it is.”
Conroy spluttered a vague threat, but the heightened pressure that built in the room distracted Kit. He whipped around to see Roxy and Xavier stepping into existence through an invisible door, landing on the altar.
“Oh wonderful,they’rehere, too,” Tati muttered under her breath.
“We’re doing this again?” Roxy asked, folding her arms in front of her chest.
“Yes,” Kit confirmed. “We needed to get in touch with you, but Conroy wasn’t amenable to our polite request.”
“So you resorted to attempted murder?” Xavier asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
Kit shrugged. “It seemed the quickest way to get your attention.”
“If you wanted my attention, little one, all you had to do was ask,” Xavier said.
“Stop flirting with my boy,” Quin said. There was an underlying threat in the words that got Kit hot under the collar.
Xavier chuckled, but dipped his head in agreement.
Roxy rolled her eyes. “Will the new vampires please let Conroy go?”
Shaun’s gaze flitted to Kit’s. He pursed his lips, then nodded. Shaun jumped up and, once he was out of reach, Rake and DJ let go of Conroy’s arms. The second he was free, Conroy cursed and blurred after them.
“No,” Roxy snapped. “Stand down.”
Conroy ignored her, advancing on Shaun with a snarl. Kit couldn’t do anything but watch as Conroy caught up to Shaun, dodging between Rake and DJ as they attempted to block him. The two grappled, Conroy’s height giving him the advantage. He flung Shaun halfway across the room before DJ barrelled into him, throwing him to the ground.
Kit wanted to check on Shaun, but he couldn’t leave Quin standing alone as an easy target. Seeing their leader was no longer at immediate risk of being beheaded, the other vampires sprang into action. Kezia and Tati seized the opportunity to go for Rake, who hissed like a feral cat and lashed out at them with his claws.
They didn’t land, however. Rake’s fingers moved through the air as if he was swimming through a thick pool of oil. Kezia let out an oddly truncated shriek, and Tati’s attack ceased before it truly began, her legs seeming to root to the spot.
The slow-motion wasn’t Kit’s imagination. He looked up slowly, his eyes taking a while to fix on Roxy, who had both hands raised in front of her and was chanting words that made no sense to him. Kit tried to speak but found himself unable to move.
“You will allstand down,” Roxy intoned.
Everyone dropped to the floor, dancing puppets with their strings cut. Once Kit got over the shock, he flexed his fingers and realised he could move again. He rose to a crouch, tension coiling in his gut. Quin groaned as he shuffled onto his knees.
Conroy was the first one back on his feet. “Roxy, you cannot deny me the pleasure of killing the ones who dared to attack me in my territory,” he boomed.
“It wouldn’t have happened if you’d just let them speak to us,” Roxy said.
“That’s victim blaming!” one of Conroy’s creations said, their chin-length hair bouncing around their face.
“Conroy, tell your creations to go upstairs, or we’ll make them,” Xavier said.
Conroy clenched his jaw hard, but threw a hand towards the stairs. “Go.Now,” he said. “And take the humans with you.” It was a command layered with compulsion, and half of his vampires seemed to be affected. The other half heeded his word anyway, muttering compulsions to the humans and staring daggers at Roxy and Xavier as they went past them.
“But, Master—” Kezia started.
“You and Tati keep an eye on them all,” Conroy said. “I’m trustin’ you with that.”
Kezia nodded and walked to the stairs. Tati looked like she wanted to argue, but Kezia grasped her arm and pulled her along.
The vampire who’d spoken previously dragged their feet, glancing back at the rest of them. Kit stood to watch them go as Xavier raised a finger and said something incomprehensible. A small fire burst into existence under the vampire’s arse, speeding them along. Kit couldn’t cover his mouth fast enough to stop his laugh. Xavier caught his eye and winked.
