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.
Jacques’s voice rings in my ears. Magic. Motherfucking magic. I look away from the vampire for half a second to glance down at the flames surrounding my hand. My heart jolts again and I lurch forward, causing the vampire to jerk away.
“You picked the wrong girl,” I spit, not caring I just said the most cliché thing possible. Along with the exhaustion comes a high, and I’m riding it to the top right now. I make a move toward the vampire, ready to press my hand to his chest and burn him until there’s nothing left.
The other vamp is still on the floor, madly hitting himself in the face to try and put out the flames. I curl my fist and the flames intensify.
Holy.
Shit.
I’m controlling it. A wicked smile takes over my face and I round on the other vampire, holding out my hand.
“Not so scary now, are you?” I taunt, narrowing my eyes. “I know all about you and how you’re turning people into vampires. And I’m going to stop you.”
His snarl disappears and his eyes widen in fear. I advance, squinting from the bright light emanating from my hand. The power flows through me, intoxicating. Something clicks inside of me, and it’s like a missing part of myself—a part I’ve always been looking for—is suddenly unveiled.
I’ve fought tooth and nail to find my place in the world, and no matter how good I was at my job, how successful I became in my field, it wasn’t enough.
Now I know why.
This is who I’m meant to be.
I raise my other hand, staring at my fingers, and feel a spark hit the palm of my hand. I inhale and will the fire to spread. Holding flames in both hands, I look from vampire to vampire.
“You’re fucked now. Tell me who’s turning people into vampires and I’ll make it a quick death.”
The vampire with the burned face pushes up onto his knees, lips pulled back. He growls, but doesn’t dare come at me, not when I’m holding some sort of unexplainable magic fire that I conjured out of thin air.
Slowly, I move away from the wall, still not liking being pinned against it even though I have the upper hand right now. Though as long as I can keep the flames going, I’m safe.
The unscathed vampire lunges for me but stops himself before he gets close enough to get burned.
“Hah. Nice try, asshole,” I leer. “You’re not so tough now when—”
A wave of exhaustion hits me and the fires dim, flames dying down to embers, falling from my hands. I blink, suddenly dizzy.
And then the fires go completely out.
16
Goddammit.
I flick my fingers out, desperately trying to reignite the fire…the fire I have no idea how I started in the first place. The vampire with the burned face is still a few feet away, and the other is looking at me apprehensively, not sure if I intentionally quenched the fires or not. I can’t waste time letting him figure it out.
Not if I want to live.
I turn and sprint down the hall, but instead of turning and going back toward the club, I go the opposite direction to the door labeled exit. It could lead me into a dark storeroom for all I know.
I take my chance and push on the bar. The door swings open on rusty hinges and yellow light from the streetlamps spills into the building. I race outside, up a few cement steps, and emerge into the alley behind the bar. The sounds of the night go on around me. No one in the city knows there is a network of vampires hiding out inside Delirium. They’re completely clueless to all that lurks in the dark.
Panting, I reach inside my bag and pull out my gun. If one follows me out, I will shoot. I know a bullet can’t stop a vampire, but it can at least slow him down enough for me to cuff him. And then what? Take him back to the estate and ask Hasan to rip his head off, too?
Something moves overhead. I stumble back, loose gravel rolling under my heels. I steady myself, flick off the safety, and raise my gun. The streetlamp a few yards from me shatters, raining glass down on the pavement and bringing the dark back to the night.
My breath leaves in a huff, and the chill of the spring night sets in, awakening every nerve in my body. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end and goosebumps prickle down my spine. I inhale, trying to summon the strength to start the fire, but I feel so depleted inside. I spin, hearing something scuttle down the alley and behind a dumpster.
And then I feel it. Or more specifically, him.
“Were you following me?” I lower my gun and stare at Hasan. His large frame takes up most of the alley and his wide wingspan blocks everything from view.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?” I cock an eyebrow and put a hand on my hip. “Someone could have seen you!”
“I know stealth.”
“Yeah, maybe years ago, but now we have night vision and infrared cameras…it’s risky.” I step closer. “And I don’t want anything to happen to you.” Saying it out loud makes me realize how deep of a fear it is. So many bad things can happen if they’re seen.
They’re not human. It wouldn’t go over well. Hasan can rip vampires apart with his bare hands, but how will he stand up to a military-grade machine gun? Or worse.
“Nothing happened to me,” he says gruffly, and strides over. “But I can’t say the same about you.”
I let go of the front I’m holding up and the exhaustion hits again. Using magic took everything out of me. “I’ve been better. Good news is, I found the vampires.” I motion to the door. “They’re down there. I thought they would come out after me, but…” My vision starts to fade and the world spins. Hasan’s strong arms wrap around me, and he cradles me to his chest.
“If they come after you, I will kill them.”
“I know.” I look up, eyes fluttering. I’m close to passing out and I cling to Hasan, fighting to stay conscious. “I’m hoping they do come out.”
“I need to get you home.”
“Home…the estate.”
He spreads his wings. “Hold on.”
“Wait,” I protest. “No, no way.” I won’t say I’m scared of heights, but I will say I’m not their biggest fan. “Someone could see us. Get a five-second-long clip of video on their phone and it’ll go viral overnight. Then everyone will know you’re awake, and correct me if I’m wrong, but something tells me there are people—or things—out there who won’t be happy about it.”
Hasan stops, turning his head down to me. I’m still in his arms, feeling a bit like a child but needing his protection right now.
“How do you travel?”
“In a car. Just, uh, give me a minute to get my head on straight and I’ll drive us. Unless…” I look at the door.
“Ace,” Hasan says sternly. “You can hardly walk. You cannot fight vampires now. And, trust me, they’re long gone.”
“Yeah, I bet you’re right and they ran away with their tails tucked between their legs.”
“Vampires don’t have tails.”
“It’s a figure of speech.” I let my eyes close and my head fall against Hasan’s chest. God, he’s so muscular. And warm. It feels so damn good to be nestled in his arms right now.
“Rest,” he instructs, and moves deeper into the alley, finding a turned-over crate to sit on. He keeps me in his lap, holding me with one arm and using the other to run his hand through my hair. “You’re bleeding again.”
“It’s the same wound busted open. I’ll be fine.”
“It doesn’t look fine.”
“It doesn’t now, but it will. It’s fine, really.”
“If you say so.” He rakes his large fingers through my hair again, then sweeps them over my arm. “And you’re bleeding here.”
“Fucking vampire cut me with his nails. And then licked my blood.”
Hasan’s body tenses. “They drank your blood?”