There was nowhere for me to go, nowhere to hide. There was a loud click that drew my eyes to the vampire who stood in the corner of the hallway, a rocket launcher on his shoulder. A puff of flame and smoke erupted from the launcher.
I flattened myself to the ground, and the rocket cleared me by mere inches. The projectile exploded against the wall behind me, and the entire courthouse shuddered and groaned. The humans screamed, filling the air with their panic-stricken cries.
Slithering forward, I opened my mouth, intent on snapping my fangs over the leader, piercing him through. I didn’t want to kill him, but he was trying to kill us. I had to stop him if I could. His eyes were on mine, unafraid.
“I can see why Remo keeps you around. You are a useful tool, aren’t you?”
I hissed, and venom flicked with the explosion of air, splattering at his feet, where it ate away at the tile. He took several steps back, and I shot forward again.
With my attention on him, I didn’t see the rocket launcher go off again. I heard it, though, and rolled, taking the impact on my upper belly.
I braced myself for pain and heat, for the explosion of flesh and blood.
The projectile blasted into me with a shimmering burst of fire and shrapnel, bounced off my scales, and fell to the floor. I rolled on top of it, effectively putting out the flames.
I didn’t feel anything more than the pressure of the impact. Dang, my scales really were something else.
“Boss, I’m out of ammo!” the rocket-launching vampire yelled.
The vampires pulled back, running away down the long hall. The leader pointed at Remo. “We aren’t done.” His eyes slid to mine. “And neither are we, snake girl. I’ll skin you alive and make boots out of you before this is finished.”
Wonderful, now I was on his list of enemies too. Seemed I was struggling to make friends in my new world, but I was excellent at making enemies.
“Go suck a corpse, Santos.” Remo pushed himself slowly to his knees. I waited until I was sure all the vamps were gone. That the hallway was kinda safe. Someone touched my side, drawing my attention.
Tad stared up at me, his hand pressed against me. “You can shift down, sis.”
He was right, but I liked being this big. And kinda badass. The prideful thought rolled through me, and I immediately regretted it. Pride was just another sin to add to the list I had going against me.
The loss of adrenaline sucked away the Drakaina form, and the smoke curled around me once more. In seconds I was back on two feet. I wrapped one arm around my chest and the other around my lower bits.
Naked as the day I was born, mind you, but that wasn’t as bad as it sounded.
No, it was the crowd of humans behind me that stared with horror-stricken eyes, open mouths, and the occasional whimper that bothered me. Like I hadn’t had enough of being judged in my life.
Speaking of . . . Judge Watts stood at the front of the group, shaking his head.
I knew that their stares had nothing to do with me being naked either. What they’d seen was beyond any other supernatural they had ever encountered before. I knew it too; when he’d made me, Merlin had told me I’d be a special snowflake. He wasn’t kidding.
I was one of a kind.
Judge Watts took a step, his hands fisted at his side as if he’d like to take a swing at me and was barely restraining himself. “Only because it’s the law will I reconvene our session in three days at four p.m. You will send someone in your stead. A lawyer, if you must, but anyone human will do. You will not be welcome in my courthouse, and if you step foot inside, I will have you arrested.”
One arm wrapped around my chest, I stood there shivering. Tad took a step toward the judge, dropped my papers at his feet, and yanked his robe off over his head. “Give it up, old man.”
“That’s my robe! Bailiff, order!”
The judge would not give up the robe easily; he fought and grumbled, they tussled, and Tad finally wrenched it off him with a final yank.
“Here.” He handed the robe to me, and I pulled it on, the scent of Old Spice, or maybe that was Prejudiced Old Man, heavy in it, making me crinkle my nose.
“Thanks.”
“Maybe everyone else wants to stare at you, but the last thing I want to see is my sister parading around naked.” He gave a mock shudder and picked up my papers once more. Another time I would have smiled.
As it was, I knew I’d just lost any chance at reclaiming any portion of my life. I sniffed softly, my lips trembled, and I turned away before the crowd could see me cry. I didn’t want their pity. I just wanted to be treated fairly. I wanted the same rights everyone else had.
A set of arms wrapped around me, and with the embrace came the soft smell of cinnamon and honey. I buried my face into the crook of Remo’s neck.
“I’m sorry, this is my fault,” he said.
“No, no, it’s not. It would have come out eventually. Roger had a video of me at the stadium,” I said.
“Don’t cry, we’ll find a way to make this work.”
My emotions were in a tumult, and my pride had been hurt. “So you can make use of me again? Was that other vampire right? Am I just a tool to you?” I pulled back, sniffed, and wiped a hand over my cheeks while I clutched at the robe.
His dark eyes with that tantalizing hint of violet tugged at me, and the sincerity in his voice eased the sharp dig of uncertainty in my heart. “I doubt anyone could use you, Alena. But maybe we should talk so we can clear the air.”
I turned and stopped, staring at Judge Watts. He wore a white wifebeater tank top and a pair of bright-pink boxer shorts. He already hated me; I might as well make it a good and solid hatred.
“Pink panties don’t suit you, judge. Then again, maybe they speak to your inner cowardice when it comes to being someone who is supposed to uphold the law and speak for justice. Something you apparently don’t know a thing about.”
I swept past him with my chin up and my heart breaking inside of me. The crowd parted around me, whispering, some of them even crying out as if my touch would infect them. I couldn’t help myself; I stopped in the thickest part of the crowd, right where Roger and Barbie stood. I bent over at the waist and coughed three times into my hands.
Slowly, grimacing, I stood back up, wiped my hands on Roger’s shirt, and patted his face. “Oh, sugar snaps, I must be coming down with something.”
He choked and scrambled back; now I wasn’t the only one with a wide circle around me. The other humans pulled back from Roger as quickly as they got out of my way.
“Alena! How could you do this to me?” he cried out as he pawed at his clothes in an attempt to take the “infected” shirt off.
“Have a good Monday, Roger!” I wiggled my fingers at him. “Maybe you should have your will updated?”