by Nina Bangs
“I always think things through.” Adam drew a gun. “Please don’t move. I’m very good at head shots. Even if I don’t kill you, I’ll put you down long enough for my friends to finish you off.” Adam smiled, and there was real enjoyment in his smile. “I’d enjoy watching that.”
“Fin will hunt you down.” For once, Lia hoped Fin was monitoring her thoughts.
Adam seemed unconcerned. “Christine promised I’d be under Zero’s protection. Checkmate.” He glanced at his watch. “We’ve wasted enough time. First I get rid of my dark fairy.” He stepped aside so they could see the circle on the floor.
Then Adam rattled off some words in a language Lia didn’t understand. From his gestures, she figured he was saying something like: “Get your ass into the circle.”
While Adam was speaking, his vampires closed in around them. Lia glanced at Utah. They were surrounded.
Fin’s voice in her head almost drew a startled yelp from her.
“Adam’s been trying to get into your mind since you entered the tunnel. He failed because I’m shielding you and Utah. I think Kione can take care of his own mind. None of the Eleven’s beasts will fit in the tunnels, so I’m sending in Shen. I’ll keep Zero from interfering.”
Shen? What could he do? Then she stopped thinking about Fin’s assistant as she watched Kione move toward the circle.
He was obeying a little too easily. Didn’t Adam see that? Guess he was too caught up in his own power trip. Lia edged away from Utah. She could almost hear the howl of his beast. Any second now . . .
Kione stepped into the circle and stood waiting. He looked bored. “Say your words, vampire.”
Adam frowned. He liked creating fear, and Kione wasn’t cooperating. Lia slipped her hand into her coat pocket and gripped the gun Jude had loaned her. Zero still had her sword, but she now had all her shiny new vampire skills to make up for its loss.
Adam’s arrogance would bring him down. He wanted to drag out their deaths, play with them. A major mistake. You didn’t give your enemies time to prepare.
If Adam thought Utah would stand quietly until it was his time to die, he was stupid. Maybe he thought he and his vampires could react fast enough to keep Utah from releasing his beast. Maybe he even thought Utah wouldn’t take the chance of becoming raptor in the confined space of the tunnel. If that’s what he thought, he was wrong on both counts.
Utah waited until the moment Adam’s attention switched to Kione. That moment was all he needed.
Adam had never seen how fast Utah could change. Utah leaped, and by the time both feet hit the ground, he was raptor. The vampires were a second too slow. Adam’s bullet slammed into Utah, but Utah in raptor form didn’t even flinch.
Lia’s fighting instincts kicked in. She knew better than to get in front of Utah. Adam might have trouble killing him, but she’d make an easy target. And getting caught between the raptor’s huge body and the tunnel wall was asking to be flattened. So she ran behind him. Way behind him. As a few of the vampires were learning, his tail was a lethal weapon all on its own.
Gunshots echoed through the tunnel again and again. Then she heard the click of Adam’s empty gun. The candles flickered out. The darkness was a blanket settling over her—suffocating and totally black.
Something savage and eager woke in her. Even without light, she could see the shadows of Adam’s vampires moving in to attack Utah and her. Where was Kione? She curled her lip to expose her fangs. Bloodlust flooded her, burned through her body, screamed its need to tear, and kill, and feed. Lia launched herself at those shadows.
For the first time in her life, she fought as vampire.
Blood. Nothing else mattered. She forgot about her gun. She would rend flesh with her bare hands, sink her fangs into soft throats and drink from spouting rivers of blood, bathe in the warmth flowing over her hands, her body.
Lia loved it. She’d never felt this alive when she was human. Had she ever been human? She couldn’t remember what it felt like, couldn’t remember anything that came before the blood.
Her enemy was all about speed, strength, and fangs. He thought that was enough. Lazy, stupid vampire. Didn’t he know that she’d kill him because she wanted it more—the blood, always the blood. Lia realized she was laughing wildly. Why? Didn’t matter why. It felt so good, why shouldn’t she laugh?
Even when something flung her to the floor, she kept on laughing. Her hands slipped in the puddle of blood collecting around the head of one of Adam’s vampires. She didn’t know where his body was, didn’t care. She had to get up to kill some more. More blood. She needed more damn blood.
Something slithered past her. It felt like . . . a snake? What would a snake be doing in the middle of this?
Before she could think about that, someone yanked her to her feet. Lia leaped at him . . . and immediately ended up back on her ass. She tried to puzzle through the reason for this, but she couldn’t think past the scent of blood all around her. Bloodbloodblood—
“The bloodlust has you, Lia. Fight it.”
The whisper sounded familiar, but she couldn’t think. In front of her, the dark mass that was her beast methodically tore apart vampires. He wasn’t even trying to drink their blood. That puzzled her. Wait, her beast? Why was he her beast?
The reason eluded her. Lia turned her attention back to the killing. But there were no more moving shadows. Everything was still. No, it couldn’t be over. She could smell so much blood, and it just made her want more. More death. More, more, more.
“The battle’s over. Adam has fled. He was the only one to escape.”
Fled? Who the hell said fled? Did real people talk like that? Lia scrambled to her feet. Nothing knocked her down again, so she looked around. Everything was quiet. No more moving shadows. And her beast was gone. Where? Frantically, she looked around. For some reason, it was important that she find him.
Candlelight flickered on, and in its dim light stood a figure. It had a head, body, two arms, two legs, and a neck. Prey!
She launched herself at the figure and hit it with enough force to send both of them to the ground. Lia bared her fangs and struck at his throat. Only his throat wasn’t there anymore. He’d moved his head aside and was gripping her shoulders to keep her away from him. How did he have the strength to hold her like that? Furious at being denied all that hot sweet blood, she slashed at his arm, the only part of him she could reach.
Lia barely got to lick his blood from her lips before that unseen force slammed her off him and onto her ass again.
“Newly made vampires are tiring. Piglets at the trough. No self-control.” The voice sounded resigned.
The man she’d attacked rose to his feet. He leaned toward her.
She bared her fangs and tensed for the leap.
“Lia.”
The word was a hand pressed against her heart, freezing her in place. No, it wasn’t the word, but the voice that stopped her. She knew the voice. Utah?
The driving need to kill eased, the crazed blood chant quieted, and Lia was left standing alone with her horror. She stared down at her blood-drenched coat and hands, and knew the blood coated her face too, could smell the coppery scent of it everywhere.
She looked up to meet Utah’s gaze. The quiet sadness there made her glance away. Lia drew in her breath. Blood trickled down his arm from an ugly gash. Had she done that? She couldn’t remember. Yes, you can.
She scraped her hair away from her sticky face. “I lost it, didn’t I?”
“Gloriously and completely.” Kione didn’t seem overly upset about it.
She dared a quick glance back at Utah. The sadness was gone from his eyes, replaced by . . . nothing.
“We need to bandage that arm.” She looked around for something that wasn’t already soaked in blood.
“Never mind. The bleeding’s almost stopped. I’ll take care of it later.” Utah didn’t sound mad.
She would’ve preferred mad.
The corners of Utah’s lips tipped up in
a humorless smile. “I hope you’ve had your rabies shots.”
“Not funny, Endeka.” She took a deep breath and really looked around her.
Bodies of vampires lay everywhere. “Did the three of us kill all of them?”
“We had some help.” Kione nodded toward a shadowed alcove.
Lia frowned. A snake stared back at her. Brown, about six feet long. Looked unassuming.
“That’s an inland taipan, also known as the fierce snake. One bite has enough venom to kill one hundred adult humans.” Utah walked toward the snake.
“Don’t.” She couldn’t hold back her warning.
Utah glanced over his shoulder. “This is also Shen’s shifter form. He can wiggle into small spaces, and the enemy never sees him coming.” He grinned at the snake. “He’d return to human form, but he left his clothes upstairs.”
Lia sighed. Of course it was Shen. What else could she expect from an assistant to Fin? As she watched Shen slither back up the tunnel, a thought occurred to her. “You keep your clothes when you go from one form to another. Why?” Not a really important question, but she needed a few minutes to put the pieces of her psyche back together again.
Utah glanced down at his still-bleeding arm. “That’s because my human form never goes away. It’s not lost to my beast. If we’d been fighting in bright sunlight, you would’ve seen the shadow of my human form within the beast.”
“But the opposite isn’t true.” Kione seemed intrigued.
“No, my beast stays hidden until I need it. Fin seems to think it’s because my humanity is stronger than my beast, that someday my soul might be completely human.” Utah shrugged. “I hope that doesn’t happen soon. My beast is keeping me alive.”
Lia changed the subject. “Adam escaped?”
“He bailed when he saw his vampires going down. Guess he figures they’re expendable. Bet he has a lot more where they came from.” Utah took one last look around. “Let’s get out of here. Fin will send in a cleanup crew.”
Lia didn’t wait to see who was following her. She was outta here. Now. She could hear Utah’s footsteps close behind her as she strode down the tunnel. “I’m surprised you’d get this close to me after what happened.” That’s right, rub salt in your wound.
“You seem okay now. I think you’re a lot like me. You have your own beast, only it doesn’t have a separate form like mine.”
“I’m nothing like you.” But even as she rejected his comment, she was thinking about it.
“Yes, you are.” He’d moved closer. “You were crazy with bloodlust back there. Your beast was in control. I know the feeling. I’ve been there.”
Talking about bloodlust. “Don’t get any closer.” Even now, she could feel the compulsion to turn and kill him tugging at her. “Oh, and so we keep my killing urges straight, what I’m feeling now is Zero’s compulsion. What I felt back there was just a new vampire’s killing high.” She made an impatient noise. “I always thought I could control the bloodlust when I became vampire. Shows what I know.”
“You were fighting for your life. The adrenaline rush tipped you over the edge. Understandable.”
“But I enjoyed the killing.” That’s what she couldn’t forgive in herself.
“Welcome to the predators’ club.” He didn’t back off. “I think in a calmer situation, you’ll be able to handle this.”
She knew her laughter sounded harsh. “You have more faith in me than I have in myself.” Time to change the subject. “That rabies crack was mean.”
He chuckled. “I was pissed. You’re lucky. Most vampires that try to rip out my throat end up chasing their heads down the street.”
She fell silent. The vampire thing still stood between them. Oh, he accepted her as a partner, but she couldn’t see how he’d ever again accept her as his lover. And that realization hurt. It hurt a lot.
By the time they’d reached the door to the cellar, Kione had caught up with them. They climbed the stairs to the art gallery. Tor, Q, and a fully dressed Shen waited there.
Shen grinned. “That’s the most fun I’ve had since Philly. Oh, and next time watch where you put your big feet, raptor. You almost got my tail. I’ve never tried to bring down a dinosaur. Might be fun.”
Utah didn’t rise to the bait. He was too busy worrying about Lia. She looked like she was thinking serious thoughts. He hoped those thoughts didn’t involve changing her mind about going back to Philly. “Time to head home. I know I’ve had enough for one night.”
“Go without me. I have some things I want to check out.” Kione didn’t elaborate.
“If you need a ride, Fin can—”
Kione waved Utah’s offer away. “I don’t need a car. I never needed a car.” He proved his point by simply disappearing.
They walked to where Greer still waited in Utah’s car. Lia climbed into the back. Utah didn’t give her a chance to argue. He slipped in beside her and closed the door.
Greer handed her a few packets of hand wipes and then pulled out of the parking lot. He cranked up the radio. Utah figured he was signaling that he wouldn’t be listening to anything they said. Good. Because Utah had lots to say.
“Stop beating yourself up over what happened tonight. It’s over. We move on from here.”
“We move on?” Once again, she’d pressed herself against the far door, putting as much distance as possible between them.
She scrubbed at her face and hands with the wipes hard enough to take off a layer of skin. He could tell her to stop, that the stain was gone, but he knew that wasn’t what she was really trying to get rid of. The memory of blood stayed a long time.
“Yeah. You’re my partner, but you won’t be much help if you’re fighting Zero’s freaking compulsions.” Utah knew she wouldn’t appreciate sympathy, so he appealed to her sense of duty. “Let’s figure out how to get rid of them.”
She narrowed her gaze. “How?”
How? A good question. “Fin said he’d need someone to help him, someone with more power than Kione. Who do we know that would qualify?”
It didn’t take her long to come up with a name. “Seir.”
“He gets my vote too. So all we have to do is find a way to contact him and then convince him to help the brother he probably hates by now.”
She closed her eyes. “That’s assuming he’s not working for Zero, in which case he won’t do squat for any of us.”
When she kept her eyes closed, Utah figured she didn’t want to talk. He left her alone for the rest of the drive home. After Greer parked the car, and they walked into the lobby, Lia signaled for Utah to let Fin’s assistant go up in the elevator alone.
“What do you have in mind?” Utah knew what he had in mind, but he supposed it wasn’t going to happen. He’d had time to think about it, picture it, all the way back from Old Town. He must have a death wish.
“Maybe this is crazy, but Seir has waited outside Fin’s condos in three cities. Is there a chance he’s still waiting?”
“After the way Fin treated him?” But he glanced toward the door.
“There’s one way to find out.” She must’ve seen his hesitation because she rushed to explain. “You’re right. I can’t work with you like this. So we either get Seir to help, or I get a different partner.”
“You fight dirty, lady.”
She smiled. “It’s called desperation.”
They walked back out into the night. Utah led the way. “We’re only staying out here for a few minutes. If anything looks off, I mean anything, don’t try to fight it, just run back into the building. I don’t think even Seven would take a chance entering Fin’s space.”
Lia nodded as she scanned the darkness. “Seir?”
Utah tensed. He hoped to hell nothing else was out here.
“Fin’s going to lock you in your rooms and never let you out again. He’s a control freak, and you just keep doing things without telling him first.” Seir’s mocking voice sounded right behind them.
Utah spun, a growl rumb
ling in his throat. Lia simply gasped. Seir stood only a few feet away.
“Did I startle you?” Seir looked amused.
“Why the hell are you still hanging around here?” True to his predator nature, Utah got aggressive when someone surprised him.
“Why the hell are you out here calling my name?” Seir mocked him. Then he took a close look at Lia. “You’re wearing a whole blood bank. Must’ve been a hell of a vampire coming-out party.”
Utah couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “We just got back from clearing out Adam’s nest of vampires in the Shanghai Tunnels.”
“Hey, bet you loved that, raptor.” He looked from Utah to Lia. “But maybe you don’t hate the bloodsuckers as much as you used to. Maybe you’ve decided that not all vampires are the devil’s spawn. Maybe you even—”
Utah sprang at him. He didn’t bother to call out his beast. He wanted the satisfaction of planting his fist in Seir’s grinning face. He really needed to do this.
Only Seir wasn’t where he was supposed to be, and Utah ended up punching air. “Hold still, you bastard.” He turned to find Seir standing by Lia.
Fin’s brother laughed. “I’d think about why what I said made you so mad, Utah.”
“Stop it, both of you.” Lia focused on Seir. “We need a favor.”
Seir’s smile turned savage. “And why should I do anything to help my loving brother?”
“Not to help Fin, to help Lia. She’s picked up a few compulsions she wants to get rid of.” Utah hated to ask for anything, but he wouldn’t hesitate this time.
“I want to kill Utah, and I don’t want to hunt Seven.” Lia looked uncertain about Seir’s reaction.
Seir shrugged. “Doesn’t everyone want to kill Utah? I wouldn’t blame that on Seven.”
“I feel a compulsion coming on to kill you.” Utah sympathized with Fin.