Zack nodded. “Great decision. Can you stand?”
“I don’t know.”
Zack backed up enough to give Vincent room to try, but when Vincent started to tip, he ducked in to support him. From the start, Zack had known Vincent was thin. However, touching him was like holding up a ghost. Zack clenched his jaw and shoved his anger down. How many humans had Seamus done this to? Had he ever hurt Roger like this?I’m going to burn the bastard’s heart out.
They made it to the hallway. Every foot felt like a triumph. But once they got to the hall, Zack realized he had no idea which direction to go. If he went looking for Roger in the ballroom with an injured, collarless Vincent hanging off him, that would be a slap in the face to Seamus. As much as Zack would love to deliver an actual slap and then some, antagonizing Seamus while they were weaponless was the epitome of poor planning.
Then Roger stepped into the hall from the junction that led toward the ballroom. A lock of hair had slipped from his ponytail and added a moodiness to his striking profile. He glanced down the hall and spotted Zack. Despite the distance of fifteen feet, Zack noticed that his eyes were ruby red. His brows were pinched, and his frown only increased as he neared them.
“What’s this?” Roger asked.
“Seamus left him like this,” Zack replied. “I couldn’t. I know?—”
“We’re already in deep shit.”
Zack drew in a breath to argue that they needed to do the right thing.
Instead of launching into an argument, Roger picked Vincent up and cradled him in his arms. “Give him your bow tie.”
Blinking, Zack undid his bow tie and gently draped it around Vincent’s neck, though he didn’t tie it. “Why am I doing this?”
“This way, he’s technically claimed.” Roger began to walk down the hall, though he turned away from the ballroom and toward the front door. His steps were long and quick. Zack had to hurry to keep up.
“I can’t promise you’ll be safe with us, little one,” Roger murmured to Vincent. “I may only be giving you minutes.”
“I’ll take it,” Vincent replied and clung to Roger.
That kind of talk made Zack itch for a weapon. They passed what was supposed to be a fancy display of swords in scabbards. Begging a higher power to listen, Zack reached for a hilt and pulled. Steel rang, and he had a saber in hand. It’d be nothing against a vampire as old as Seamus, but it felt useful. Zack swished it twice in the air to get a measure of it. The balance was fine, though he hadn’t fenced in ages.It’ll work until I get my dagger. It’ll have to.
“Takashi and the others?” Zack asked.
“Meeting us at the exit,” Roger replied.
Meaning Roger had been looking for him to prepare an escape. Zack frowned. “What happened after I left?”
“I’ll tell you when we’re safe.”
What do I feel like safe might take a while?Zack scanned the rooms as they passed. People were starting to take note of them, and the buzz of conversation took on a confidential energy.
The cold gave Seamus away. The creep of his aura drove goose bumps along Zack’s skin. He spun and continued to match Roger’s pace while moving backward. The shadows weregrowing deeper behind them. Deep enough to hide a vampire attempting to cloak himself.
Hunters learned a few spells. Without his dagger, Zack lacked the extra focus it could provide, but he honed his anger into the energy he needed. He stretched out his hand and demanded, “Manifestate.”
The shadows rippled. They didn’t part, but they did reveal the shape of a man striding toward him. Zack lunged and drove the saber point forward.
Seamus twisted to the side, and the blade missed him. Then, he moved with lightning speed.
Thoughts, intuition,memorycould move faster than a vampire. Zack’s higher cognitive functions were registering where the cold had gone to, but he was already in motion, and he slammed his elbow into Seamus’s gut hard enough to send the vampire against the wall. Utter surprise filled his features.
Zack let his lips curve into a cruel smile and held the blade to Seamus’s throat. “Back. The fuck. Off.”
“Thief,” Seamus snarled.
“Rapist,” Zack replied. “Abuser. Murderer. Should I continue?”
Seamus began to move forward.
Shadow cold as black ice forced Zack against the opposite wall of the hall and shoved Seamus back to where he’d been.
