Stephen stood, his body all elbows and angles and anger. “He’s ill, and we are leaving.”
The tutor shot out from behind the desk and planted himself in front of the door. “Mia said you are with me until 1p.m. You will not leave until then.”
Stephen’s body slowly transformed into more graceful curves and languid movements, and the hair on the back of Kilian’s neck stood at attention. When Stephen took a step toward the tutor, Kilian shot to his feet and moved between them.
Kilian needed to move this guy before the demon took matters into his own hands and Stephen chose to let him. Kilian considered the tutor with unvarnished contempt. “You are blocking a pissed-off demon and a sick vampire. That is not a smart move for a human... or a selkie.”
The tutor jerked back, startled that Kilian had recognized him. When selkies set their coats aside, they were almost indistinguishable from humans, but Kilian had worked with one in Massachusetts. He knew the smell.
“Seriously?” Stephen cried in delight, the dangerous glissade vanishing under uncoordinated humanity.
“Yep,” Kilian confirmed. “Selkie versus demon and vampire—you know how that would end,” Kilian warned. He eased his hold on the hunger that lurked under his ribs and let his eyes turn red. The tutor held his own for a good three seconds before he retreated behind his desk.
“You are not dismissed,” he whined, but at least he had physically moved out of the way to do the complaining.
“Tough.” Kilian opened the door and the three guards brought automatic weapons to bear immediately. Fur broke out down the closest guard’s arms, so they’d startled the werewolf. Kilian held up his hands. “We’re heading back to our quarters.”
The farthest guard, not a werewolf, said, “You’re off-schedule.”
Stephen slipped under Kilian’s arm. “Tough shit.” He tugged Kilian down the hallway even though they still had assault rifles pointed at their heads. “He’s not feeling well.”
“The vampire is sick?” The wolfed-out guard didn’t even pretend to hide his incredulity. Kilian lost his balance and listed to the side. He would have hit the wall, only Stephen caught him in a surprisingly strong grip.
“Have Mia send a magic user,” Stephen said.
“Have Mia check to see if any holy relics of Christianity got smuggled on base,” Kilian said, his voice thready. That was his best guess, although he was also starting to question the wisdom of sex with a demon. His guts protested, and he tried to heave, but a vampire’s body was not built to throw up. Instead he gagged.
“Shit, shit, shit,” Stephen muttered as he tightened his grip around Kilian’s waist. Kilian’s vision grayed and he clung to Stephen’s shoulder. When Stephen shoved him into the elevator, Kilian clung to the handrail and tried to avoid falling on his ass in front of soldiers who would mock him later.
“Move away,” someone ordered.
Kilian must have lost time somewhere because Mia was there instead of Stephen. From the commotion in the hallway, it sounded as though Stephen was giving them hell, but Kilian's head was fuzzy, and the world kept wavering in and out of focus. Mia knelt next to him and cupped either side of his face the way a mother might when trying to get a recalcitrant child to look at her. “Kilian, the demon is trying to possess you. You need to fight it.”
“What?” Her words darted and scattered like startled birds and Kilian couldn’t arrange them in a logical order in his head.
“The demon. It's trying to take over.”
“No, it's not!” Stephen shouted. He sounded supremely frustrated and Kilian tried to move towards the sound. However, Mia blocked his path.
“Don't listen to the demon’s lies, Kilian. You need to fight this. You are a vampire. There is no room for another demonic power in your soul.”
“Not demon,” Kilian mumbled. Why did everyone always assume that Judas vamps were demonic? Maybe Judas was evil, but Judas vamps weren't descended from Judas. They were descended from magical thieves, which was not any worse than being the descendent of someone cursed by a god. Children were not to blame for whatever idiocy their parents got up to. In his head, Kilian could articulate all of that, but the words were too thick for speech. They blurred and his tongue tangled so silence was easier.
“Enough of this, demon. As long as you are on my sacred land, you are not stronger than me. Either you release him, or I will make you pay.” Mia put her back to Kilian, facing Stephen who stood with his limbs bent at unnatural angles. Black veins surrounded his eyes like a bandit’s mask.
“I am not cursing him. Get him some help.” Stephen tried to press closer, and Mia brought her hands up in a gesture that Kilian recognized too well. She spread her fingers to disperse the magic she was about to fling. But before she cast any spell, an elite wolf guard fired a Taser. Electricity arced through the air and Stephen's mouth opened in a silent scream.
But Stephen didn’t falter.
He took another step closer to Mia, and blue light gathered around her fingers. Another Taser , and Stephen's back arched. His movements became pained and jerky, but he didn’t stop. Mia chanted her spell, magic flowing around them in a powerful current. Stephen stiffened, but instead of retreating, he leaned forward and waded into Mia’s magic.
Mia’s panic drifted through the air like cigarette smoke that burned Kilian’s nostrils.
“I'm not cursing him,” Stephen snarled. His eyes were black and his face had so many thick veins that it looked as though the demon was swallowing Stephen, leaving only a narrow sliver of natural skin to peek through the darkness. A werewolf guard opened fire, and the echoing thunder of automatic rifle fire in an enclosed space slammed Kilian back into the wall.
Kilian expected to see Stephen tip forward, his body riddled with holes. Instead, Stephen waded inexorably closer. “I will destroy you,” Stephen snarled.
Mia cast another spell, but Stephen’s arm grew long and gnarled and knobby. He swiped his claws through Mia's shoulder before he flung her backwards out of the elevator. Kilian brought his hands up to defend himself, but he knew he had no hope of surviving. The demon was too strong, and whatever magic had gotten into Kilian left him weak.
