Jocelynn Drake - Nightwalker

As the birds scattered, I lifted my left hand and focused on anything that was flying. Feathers instantly caught on fire, filling the room with a horrid stench. I killed only a few, though I wished I hadn’t been forced to kill any of them, but it was enough to clear the air. The birds of prey scattered, with some heading out the open door while others flew up to find sanctuary on the third floor.

With the birds preoccupied, I turned my attention back to the entryway in time to see a naturi edge forward, his wrist crossbow aimed at me. In a single, liquid movement I pulled a knife from Danaus’s belt and flung it at my adversary. The blade buried itself in his throat and nearly severed his head. He fell backward, the shaft firing harmlessly up at the ceiling. The dead naturi from the animal clan disappeared into the dark doorway, out of sight.

“Come out and play, blood drinker,” sang a melodious voice outside the door.

“You come in. I’ll reunite you with your brother, Nerian,” I replied, tightening my grip on the sword. Some part of me was relieved to find that it wasn’t Rowe once again calling out to me.

To my surprise, the naturi stepped into the doorway, short sword drawn. Danaus raised his gun, but I put a restraining hand over the top of the weapon. “Take care of our other guests, and cover my back,” I said, motioning with my head toward the opposite end of the hall and the back door as I rose to my feet. The telltale sound of claws clicking across hardwood indicated that several wolves had found their way into the manor. Danaus and Michael had their own set of problems while I took care of the naturi in the doorway.

Barely topping five feet, he looked like a slender youth, more akin to a young willow than the human he was supposed to resemble. His long blond hair was pulled back, revealing a face similar to that of a fifteen-year-old boy, with its fresh sprinkling of freckles and wide green eyes. But his appearance belied the years of experience that hummed through his thin frame and filled his narrowed eyes.

“I thought we’d see Nerian together. I understand he had some special plans for you.” A malicious grin split his young face. A chill crawled up my skin, sinking sharp fangs into my muscles. He was from the light clan, I had no doubt. Neither us could summon fire to destroy the other.

Closing the distance between us, I swung my sword with enough force to cleave his body in two. He sidestepped the blow for the most part, and deflected what he couldn’t escape with his blade. He was quicker than most naturi I had encountered so far, each movement precise and fluid like a dance. Was he another form of Danaus? A creature that had studied the fine art of hunting nightwalkers?

The chaos around me dulled and the sounds trickled into my ears now as if enveloped in cotton. There was only the naturi standing before me in a pair of worn blue jeans with the left knee torn out. Hatred burned in his almond-shaped eyes.

Our swords scraped and clanged, searching for an entrance into the soft, meaty parts of the body. Dodging a thrust aimed to place his blade between my ribs, I brought my own sword down. He backpedaled, moving smoothly out of danger. With teeth clenched, I tossed my head, moving a lock of hair from where it had fallen in front of my eyes. The creature tried to use the momentary distraction to his advantage, slashing at my stomach. I was ready, catching his blade with mine and pushing him back toward the opposite wall.

I screamed. A searing pain splintered throughout my left shoulder, like someone had shoved a red-hot knitting needle into it. Someone had put a naturi dart in my shoulder. The pain slithered under my shoulder blade, slinking down through my muscles like liquid fire. I barely managed to block the naturi’s next two attacks as my mind struggled through the fog of pain.

“Danaus!” I shouted, kicking my blond adversary back against the front doorjamb.

“We’re being overrun from the back!” His deep voice boomed over the sound of singing steel and breaking furniture. “Hurry up!”

“Fine,” I growled to myself. My left arm was starting to go numb and was nearly useless. I couldn’t close my left fingers around a weapon if I had to.

“You look tired,” the naturi mocked. “Want a drink?” He tilted his head to expose the long line of his throat. I feinted with my sword for his neck, then abruptly switched directions and plunged the blade into his heart up to the hilt.

“I’m not into junk food,” I said as I slowly withdrew the blade and slashed it through the air, removing his head from his neck. The unattached member bounced and rolled away, his wide, gemlike eyes staring up at the ceiling, lost and unfocused. “Tell Nerian I said hi.”

Spinning around, I found my companions barely holding a mix of naturi and wolves at bay at the opposite end of the hall. Inside the salon that held Sadira and the others, I could still hear the constant crash of furniture and gunfire. Sadira’s thoughts were muffled but her fear was still riding high. However, that was matched by anger, which was encouraging. Sometimes the only thing that kept you moving was raw anger and hatred.

Gritting my teeth, I lifted my left arm. A low groan broke from my throat as the pain threatened to overcome my fragmented thoughts. I ignored it as best as I could and focused on a collection of creatures drawing closer to Michael and Danaus. It took only a couple of seconds for each one to explode in a glorious ball of fire. Only when they thumped lifelessly to the floor did I finally extinguish the flames. I’d taken an ugly risk using my powers. If I used them too often, it would leave me exhausted and vulnerable. Not a good combination when battling the naturi, particularly since I wasn’t at full strength before this battle even started.

My left arm dropped back down to my side and I swayed on my feet. I opened my mouth to ask for a naturi count from Danaus when Michael rushed toward me. Stunned, I didn’t think to move when he turned his shoulder into my chest and sent me back toward the open entryway. I stumbled over the body of the naturi I’d killed moments ago and landed hard on my butt. My left hand fell in a cool, wet spot on the Oriental rug. Glancing down, I discovered I was sitting in a spreading pool of blood that was leaking from the dead naturi. I frantically wiped it on my shirt and pants, desperate to be clean of the stuff. I imagine there is truly no stranger sight than a vampire wiping blood off like it carried the plague.

With fangs bared, I tore my gaze from the blood back to Michael, a vicious curse on the tip of my tongue, when I instantly stilled. He stood over me, his face slack. His blue eyes were staring blindly at some distant point I could not see. Something cold slipped down into my bones and knotted in my throat. A small, damp spot in the middle of his chest was growing by the second across his shirt while his skin paled to a gut-wrenching gray.

Behind him I heard the soft, liquid squish and suck of a blade being pulled from muscle and flesh. I noticed then that the door to the first room off the hall was open, when all the doors had been closed moments before.

I lurched forward on my knees, catching Michael’s limp form as he fell forward. Lowering him to the ground, my eyes never wavered from my angel’s pale face. Beside me, I felt more than saw Danaus attack the one that had stabbed my guardian. With a trembling hand, I smoothed his golden locks from his forehead, inadvertently smearing some of the naturi’s blood across his perfect skin.

Michael’s eyes drooped closed and his full lips briefly formed my name.

“Sleep, my angel,” I whispered, my voice as rough as concrete. I bent down and pressed my parted lips to his. “You’ve done well.”