A sound snapped. Charlie swung his gun around and fired at another vampire. Again the bullets did nothing but slow him down. Charlie stood up and darted across the room, attempting to draw the intruders away from Sarah and me, but only one took the bait.
I gritted my teeth. Two very different kinds of magic inside me fought for control. There was the rush of anger and fear, but also something new—a fierce desire to protect those I cared about. I was afraid to let the new feeling take over, worried it might not be strong enough, but when I saw the nearest vampire pick up Sarah by the hair, I had no doubt which magic would be more powerful. The love for my friend was far stronger.
Mentally, I took hold of a chair and pushed it toward the vampire. It knocked his legs out from under him, and he dropped a still-screaming Sarah. I rushed to her and half-dragged her into Charlie’s office with the others. A few men stood ready to charge out and help fight, but I pushed them back.
“Stay here and get everyone out the fire escape.” I closed the door and turned back around to focus on Sarah’s attacker, but he was gone.
On the other side of the room, Charlie was trying to get out from beneath another vampire. I lifted a paperweight from a desk, and using a combination of strength and magic, threw it at the longhaired vampire. The paperweight hit him directly in the temple, and he fell off Charlie, stunned.
Charlie scrambled toward me. Blood from a deep cut above his eye dripped down his face. He took me by the arm and pulled me toward his office. “You’re getting out of here. Now.”
From above, hiding in a corner, the vampire who had attacked Sarah dropped down. He lunged for me, but Charlie pushed me out of the way and kicked at the vampire, making the vampire stumble back several feet. Charlie quickly removed two wooden daggers from each of his sleeves.
“You came to the wrong office,” he said and swiped at the vampire in a circular motion. He missed but was already swiping with his other hand, so when the vampire moved, Charlie was able to catch the vampire’s shoulder.
The vampire growled, showing the razor sharp fangs that filled his mouth, and rushed Charlie. Judging by Charlie’s wide-eyed expression, he was faster than Charlie expected. The vampire slammed into Charlie, sending his body flying into a wall behind him, which buckled under the pressure.
I jumped to my feet and thought of the moves Charlie had taught me. I punched my fist hard into the vampire’s throat, causing him to stumble to the ground gasping for air, a habit he had no need for. I moved to help Charlie, but already the vampire was back on his feet and coming for me again. He swung his fist quick and hard, easily connecting it with my face. I fell backwards directly into the arms of the other vampire who I’d hit with the paperweight. He wrapped his arms around me.
“You’re going to pay for that one, beautiful,” he said in my ear.
Charlie struggled to get up.
“Eve,” he mumbled. The other vampire kicked him hard in the face, and Charlie fell over unconscious.
I grabbed the arm of the longhaired vampire holding me and bent over quickly, flipping him to the floor. I needed powerful magic and fast. I thought of the children at the Academy, of Charlie, and of Lucien. This filled me with a burning power hotter than I thought I could stand. In one fluid motion of my finger, I sent both vampires flying through the air. Their bodies smashed high against the wall where they remained frozen, arms outstretched. My head burst into a million colors of pain, but I maintained their position.
“Say cheese,” the longhaired vampire said.
I looked up just as a bright flash filled the room. Over by the window, the dark outline of a man or vampire—I couldn’t be sure from this far away—had taken my picture. Before I could react, he jumped through the window, breaking the glass as he went. Both vampires laughed.
I responded by raising all the pencils from the desks. They came together and rushed at the two vampires, but I stopped them inches before their hearts. They weren’t laughing any more.
“Settle down there, missy. We were just having some fun,” Longhair said.
“Right. Harmless fun,” the other said. “So let us down, and we’ll get out of here.”
“Who sent you?” I asked.
Silence.
“I will ask one more time. Who sent you?”
They glanced at each other but remained silent. I didn’t hesitate. Mentally, I shoved one of the floating groups of pencils directly into the heart of the longhaired vampire. His body wilted and caved within itself until there was nothing left but dust.
I fell to my knees, the pressure in my head reaching a whole new level, but I still managed to maintain my grip on the last vampire. Through my clenched teeth, I said, “Tell me who sent you or you’ll end up just like your friend.”
“The Dark Prince,” he said, his bottom lip quivering like a puppy.
“The Dark Prince? I need a real name.” I let the pencils hover closer.
“I don’t know! Really, I don’t!”
“Why was my picture taken?” I asked, pressing my hand to my aching head.