“How many?” Hasan asks as soon as we land.
“Six,” I tell him. “I think I killed two.”
“You think?” Thomas asks.
“I got one with the stake and he turned into goo. I slashed the other in the throat with the stake and he bled out. I think. Can vampires bleed to death?”
“Not so much to death, but they can be drained of their blood and left in a state of suspended animation for an infinite amount of time,” Jacques tells us.
The info seems to be a shock to everyone, not just me this time.
“How the hell do you know all this stuff?” Gilbert says, shaking his head, and eyes Jacques curiously.
“You’re getting off point,” Hasan counters.
“Right.” Gilbert narrows his eyes and smiles. “Let’s go kill these motherfuckers.”
“Let’s strategize,” Jacques says.
“No time.” Hasan lifts his head, eyes narrowing to try and see through the fog. “They’re here.”
My heart skips a beat and I try to push out of Jacques’s embrace, which only makes him hold me tighter.
“No, Ace,” he whispers, mouth against my ear. “You could get hurt.”
“I know.” I tip my head up and meet his eyes. Little lines of worry form around his beautiful dark eyes. Hesitantly, he lets me go, hands lingering on my waist as if we’re the lovers from our dreams, forced to say our final goodbye.
My skin prickles and the smell of sulfur fills the air. Hasan lunges forward, colliding with a vampire whose eyes go wide with shock at the sight of him. Hasan’s hand wraps around the vampire’s neck and he lifts him off the ground. The vampire’s feet dangle and he kicks at Hasan.
Thomas and Gilbert rush forward, disappearing into the fog. Jacques turns, spreading his large wings. His dark eyes dance, looking dangerous. He turns, giving me a look that saysno one hurts you and gets away with it, and catches another vampire, twisting its arm backwards, demanding it tell us where the sire is.
Another vampire soars through the air, landing on Hasan’s back. I rush forward, stake raised, and sink it in beside the vampire’s shoulder blade. He jerks back, hitting me across the face, and falls. The force of his body sends the stake in deeper, hitting his heart. He collapses in a puddle of disintegrated blood and bone.
The vampire in Hasan’s hands looks like a rag doll, and in one swift movement, he twists his neck. I turn away, not wanting to see him rip another head off. It’s not something you can unsee.
Hasan turns, standing in front of the vampire Jacques has in his grip. He squares his shoulders and opens his wings.
“Maybe he needs a little persuasion,” he says, voice booming. He turns his head to me. “Still have that stake, Ace?”
“Fine,” the vampire spits. Jacques twists his arm again and I hear bone pop and break. “She’s long gone by now. Don’t bother.”
“Tell me her name,” Jacques demands. Is it wrong to be getting turned on right now? Both Jacques and Hasan look so strong and powerful.
“My name”—a silky-smooth voice comes from behind me as slender hands wrap around my neck—“is Nariah.”
She jerks my head to the side and slides her finger over the puncture wounds on my neck, making me flinch.
“Let her go.” Jacques’s voice rings out through the fog, deep and commanding.
“Yeah…that’s a no from me. I had a good thing going on. Fresh blood from the clinic. Feeding off willing victims at the bar. And she had to go fuck everything up,” Nariah says, bringing her finger to her mouth. “You do taste good, honey. I can see why these guys like you so much. But what I can’t figure out is what the hell they are.”
“Let her go,” Jacques repeats, and releases the vampire he has in his grasp, turning him over to Hasan, then spreads his wings.
“Take another step and I’ll rip out her jugular. We both know I can do it.”
Jacques balls his fists but doesn’t move. Nariah presses one of her fake, pointed nails into the bite and drags it down. I clamp my jaw shut, refusing to scream.
“Where are the others?” Nariah asks. “I know there were two more. Try anything, and she’ll be dead before she hits the ground.”
