Suddenly, he appears from the shadows and lurches forward, arms out. His hands strike me hard and the blow shoves me back into the wall. Everything happens so fast, and the blunt blow to the back of my head leaves me a little stunned. The vampire opens his mouth, showing off his fangs, and slowly lowers his mouth to my neck. His grip tightens on my arms and his nails dig into my flesh, breaking the skin on my arms. His teeth make contact with my neck.
And then he stops, jerking away as if I’m offensive.
“Malefica,” he snarls, nostrils flaring. His red eyes are wild with rage, and his grip on me tightens. I fight against him but he’s so fucking strong. “Malefica!” he shouts, but not at me. He turns his head and says it again, as if he’s calling to someone.
The one-second distraction is all I need. I bring my arms up with as much force as I can muster, breaking his hold on me. I drop down, extending my leg and kicking him, knocking him off balance. I scramble away as he hits the floor, kicking him hard in between his legs before twisting away and rushing down the hall. I need to get out of here.
I’m not equipped to kill the vampires.
I’m having a hard time moving in these fucking heels.
And I’m mad as hell right now, making me act out emotionally instead of logically.
I can hear the vampire sputtering behind me. The smell of sulfur gets strong but I don’t risk a look behind me. I don’t have time. I need to get to the club and hope they don’t follow. They ran away from the crime scene. I don’t think they want to be caught.
They don’t want people to know they exist.
Lights and music dance through the hall, and my heart beats faster the closer I get. I’m almost to the corner. If I can just make it around, make it to where I’m close enough to be heard, I’ll—
Shit.
Another vampire rushes forward, coming around the corner with his mouth open in a hiss. I come to a halt, almost tipping over in these stupid fucking heels. At this point I think taking them off and being barefoot is a better bet.
Heart in my throat, I take a step back, fully aware there is another vampire encroaching only feet behind me. The new vampire is tall, with dark eyes and even darker hair. I move away and my back hits the wall.Motherfucker.
The new vampire tips his head down, inhaling deep. A smile creeps over his face, revealing yellowed fangs. He shudders with pleasure and smells me again.
“Creep,” I huff, and push off the wall, punching him as hard as I can in the face. He blinks, the pain there and gone in just a second, and snarls at me. The other vampire is drawing near, and the tall one with the dark eyes springs forward. I jerk away, subsequently twisting my ankle. I’m never wearing heels again.
I slip back into a doorframe and slide down, my head hitting a doorknob on the way. It would hurt, regardless, but I hit my head in the same spot I’d been bashed with the rock. Pain sears through me, bringing little stars to my vision and a twist of nausea to my gut.
I blink rapidly, trying to clear my vision. The scab was scraped off and blood seeps down my hairline and onto my face. As much as I try to ignore the pain, it winds through me, blinding me and making me unable to move.
And that’s all the vampires needed. That one second where I’m stunned.
One of them grabs my ankle and yanks me forward. I fly back, desperately lifting my neck to keep my head from hitting against the hard floor. I thrash and kick, doing everything I can to get away. The sharp bottom of my heel clips one of the vampires in the face, tearing the skin on his cheek.
He recoils, letting go of my leg. His hands fly to his face, and I know it’s not the pain he’s reacting to. He’s concerned about his looks and doesn’t want a mark. I press my hands onto the floor and push myself up, spinning and kicking the first vampire who attacked me. I use every ounce of strength I have to shove the other away.
Using the doorknob above me, I hoist myself up, but the vampire I kicked in the face grabs me by the waist and throws me to the floor. Hard. So hard, it knocks the wind out of me, leaving me gasping for air on the floor.
His hands go around my neck and he licks the blood dripping from my torn-open scab, shuddering the second his tongue is against my skin. He laps up more and lets out a moan. The other vampire is on the floor next to me now, putting his mouth over the small punctures in my arm made from his nails.
I only have a few seconds before I run out of oxygen. It doesn’t take long to be strangled to death, and I don’t know how I’m going to break free from the vampire’s grasp. Desperation rises inside of me, and watching the vampires get off from drinking my blood makes me mad.
Really fucking mad.
I raise my hand and grab the face of the vampire on top of me, digging my fingers into his eyes and nose. Heat burns in the palm of my hand, almost as if I’m touching a hot iron. Only it doesn’t hurt. Suddenly, the heat bursts into a bright ball of light, radiating out from under my fingers and glowing a fiery red.
I dig my nails into the vampire’s face, and the smell of burning flesh fills my nostrils. I don’t let myself think about the how or the why. All I know is I’m holding fire in my palm and it’s not burning me.
But it’s burning them.
The vampire screams, jerking his head back. Charred and blackened skin falls in flakes down on me. He lets go of my neck and brings his hands to his face, cradling his burns. He pulls away, flesh still glowing from the fire. I bend my legs up and kick him hard in the chest. He falls back, reeling with pain from the burn.
The vampire next to me scrambles away, mouth open in a hiss. On shaky legs, I get up, holding my hand out in front of me. My ears are ringing and exhaustion threatens to take over.
Using magic requires a lot of energy.
