Because it was my dumb fucking luck.
The amulet was nothing more than a decoration. I’d managed to use up all of its energy. Research had informed me that every charm had limits, each one only able to take so much before they were useless. I’d preferred to believe Marigold’s thrifty little stone was different.
Oh, how wrong I was.
Only time would tell if the amulet would recharge, but I might not get the chance to learn how the fucking thing worked with and without batteries. All the vampires in the room stalked toward me like the predators they were, eyes gleaming wickedly in the ballroom lighting.
I slipped Sucker into its proper place and went for my Brownings, getting into a fighting position as I rose. If I was going to survive this ordeal in one piece, there was only way to make it happen.
I was going to have to do it on my own.
Chapter Nineteen
I fired a quick succession of shots, aiming for the vampire’s chests. At first, none of them seemed to care, continuing forward as I moved back. Then those I’d hit started crashing to their knees. I heard their servants’ horrific wails as their masters died. I was aware of just how profound their loss was. Once the mark was gone between a necromancer and their master, it left behind an enormous void.
The same void I experienced when Paine’s life had been snuffed from existence.
There were only fifteen or so vampires in the room—of which I’d taken down four. Even with my silver bullets, eleven to one odds sucked. One of the necromancers who’d lost her master charged me and I took her down with a slug between the eyes. I wanted to feel guilt, but my adrenaline was pumping, my heart racing.
Do what you have to do, find Disco and Jenny, and get the hell out.
“I don’t want to kill you,” I told them all, shifting my weight from side to side as they headed in my direction again. “It doesn’t have to be like this.”
The bastard emotion known as hope was stupid to hold on to. The vampires in the room were out for blood—my blood—and they weren’t going to let something like silver bullets stop them.
Damn it.
Left with no other choice, I started shooting, continuing to aim for their hearts. Another two went down, then a third, fourth, and fifth. I didn’t have time to reload when the chambers in the guns emptied, so I tossed the guns to the ground and pulled out the Desert Eagle. I managed to get one shot off—taking down a sixth vampire—when the final five rushed me and took me to the ground.
The gun flew from my hand, spinning across the floor like a pinwheel. One of the vamps grasped a handful of hair and bashed the back of my head against the ground, making me see stars. There was no way to fight back. They held down my arms and legs, keeping me flat on my back.
“Don’t kill her!” Victoria shrilled, and I turned my head, seeing that Dimitri had pulled the knives from her hands and was helping her stand. She glowered at me, a beautiful hot, bloody mess. “You’re going to beg for death, but I’m not going to give it to you. You’re my toy now, destined to suffer for eternity. I’m going to do things to you that you can’t begin to fathom.” She smiled through a grimace, a few of the red tearstains on her face dried and flaking. “You will pay, Rhiannon Murphy. You will pay.”