Frost (Midnight Ice Book One)

by Kaitlyn Davis

  Chapter Eleven

  Freaking Jax, Pandora thought while tumbling head over heels in midair, a moment before her body slammed into a concrete wall and crashed to the ground.

  The next second, she was on her feet.

  Vampires were pretty tough to break. And luckily, so were titans.

  "What the hell?" Jax cursed as he rolled up from the ground in one smooth, mostly uninjured motion. Standing next to her, he eyed the driverless car that had run them over and was now rolling in reverse for another round of target practice.

  "Come on." Pandora grabbed his hand, quickly flicking her gaze back toward the boardwalk, noticing the vampires vaulting over the rail the same way she and Jax had. "We've wasted too much time."

  She tugged on his arm, making for the road again.

  But then a dumpster ripped free of the wall and rocketed toward them at full speed.

  "Duck!" Jax shouted, dropping his entire body to the ground and taking Pandora down with him.

  The dumpster soared harmlessly overhead and crashed into the opposite wall, fissuring the concrete.

  "Please don't tell me this vamp is telekinetic," Jax muttered, already up and running.

  "Oh, he's not telekinetic," Pandora replied.

  But the blast of a gunshot drowned out her response, thundering across the narrow alley. Then another. They turned the corner, exited the driveway, and cut into the main road. But it was too late.

  Pandora glanced over her shoulder, vampire senses on high alert as she zeroed in on the two bullets zipping through the air, moving not in a straight line, but turning the corner and following her.

  "He can manipulate metal," she admitted, grimacing as the two little spheres moved closer. This is going to hurt.

  And then she was knocked off her feet as the two bullets slammed into her back, one after the other, sending her flying. And because the world was against her, she sailed right into a lamppost, snapping her back, and dropped like dead weight to the ground.

  "Mother f—" Pandora cried out.

  But Jax interrupted, screaming, "Dory!"

  Easing to her knees, Pandora reached behind and plucked the two bullets from where they’d become embedded in her back, unable to break her skin. She hissed with the pain. ’Cause sure, they wouldn't kill her. But that didn't mean they didn't hurt like hell.

  "I'm okay," she groaned and stood, then twisted her sore spine. "I'm okay."

  But her ears had already picked up on the feet pounding around the corner. The vamps were close—too close to lose on the streets. And apparently Claude, the head vampire of Washington, DC, really knew how to hold a grudge and hadn’t been joking about his total disregard for the most sacred rule of the supernatural world—secrecy.

  "Inside," Pandora said, turning toward the glass doors at the front of the hotel. But once inside, she realized there was nowhere to hide, no hallways, nothing except two huge escalators that were completely exposed.

  What else could she remember from those blueprints?

  How could they get away?

  "Let's go," Jax urged, taking the steps two at a time as the vampires barreled through the entrance after them.

  About halfway through the ride, the spinning steps started to slow. Pandora grimaced. Come on. Come on. But it was too late. The escalator started to roll backward, to spin down. So they ran and ran, like hamsters on a wheel, but it was no use.

  "I'm going to throw you to the top," Pandora muttered.

  Jax gaped at her. "Excuse me?"

  She sighed. "We don’t have time. I'm going to throw you to the top and then go invisible. They'll chase after what they can see, and I'll circle back around to help. Got it? Can you handle them on your own for a while?"

  He lifted his brows, offended. "Do you really have to ask?"

  She made a face at him and then cupped her palms, kneeling down for more leverage as the escalator carried them both farther and farther down. Jax held her gaze as he stepped one foot onto the launch pad she'd created with her hands. Before he had time to say anything, she jumped up with everything she had, flinging him as he pushed off of her fingers. Jax sailed toward the floor above and landed with a tuck and roll. The second he got to his feet, Pandora disappeared, launching herself over the side of the escalator and dropping fifteen feet to the ground. She huddled in the shadows, watching and waiting for the vampires to make their move.

  As predicted, they immediately raced up the escalator after Jax.

  Well, all but one.

  The worst one.

  "Oh, Pandora," Claude whispered in a creepy singsong voice, searching around, trying to locate her despite her invisibility. His blue vampire eyes blazed, stark against his pale cheeks and onyx hair, impossibly bright. "What a fortuitous coincidence that you would come stumbling back into my life while I was here on business. Do you remember all the glorious plans I have for this place? Plans I thought you shared? Plans your little stunt in my prison delayed? You got away once but not again. You can't hide from me."

  Wanna bet? she thought, wrapping the darkness closer to her body, diving in even deeper.

  "I can sense the buttons on your jeans, the studs in your ears," he murmured, gaze zeroing in on her hiding spot. "I smell the iron in your stolen blood."

  Well…crap.

  "Claude," she said, still remaining invisible as she backed away. But he followed her movements with his eyes, smelling her even if he couldn’t see her. "Can't we talk about this?"

  He smirked. "Talk? You want to talk?"

  Pandora stepped back.

  He stepped forward.

  She moved to the side.

  So did he, casually and calmly walking closer and closer with each passing second, not the least bit concerned, not the least bit rushed.

  "Let's talk about how I shared my dreams, my plans with you. How I offered to keep you safe and warm when one of my peers was hunting you,” he said.

  Pandora bit her lip—that had been a few months ago when the head vamp of LA had been hot on her tail. And sure, Claude had kept her safe, but not for free. She worked her butt off stealing things for him as payment, things like paintings from the Oval Office and the blueprints for this hotel and a ring from the home of the head vamp of Philadelphia, just to catch his attention. Pandora had been vital in laying the groundwork for this little sanctuary of his.

  But clearly he's forgotten those little details. Pandora grimaced as he continued to drone on.

  "And how did you repay my kindness? By breaking into my prison, releasing my prisoners, and disappearing without a word. Let's talk about how you helped that little witch I'd been tracking for months get away, about—"

  "She was fifteen and afraid," Pandora snapped, unable to stop herself.

  He paused, lifting his brows and laughing quietly to himself. "Now that's sweet. Did she remind you of someone? Yourself, maybe?"

  No, Pandora thought, sullen.

  But she had to keep him talking, keep him distracted. If she could just get away for ten seconds, just enough to find a more crowded place with more metal, she might lose him.

  "I," she said, stuttering fearfully, trying to make him think she was afraid rather than focused, "I didn't mean it."

  But her eyes were sharp as they scanned the entry. Going back outside would maybe work if she could get through the doors. The cars and the noise might be enough. But Jax was the other way, was deep inside the hotel, facing off against three vampires. He was strong, but the odds against him were stronger. No, outside was out.

  So she spun, ignoring Claude as he continued droning on about the prisoners she'd released, the conduits it had taken him months to capture, the other vampires he'd spent years tracking, lifetimes in some cases. And then she saw an elevator bay on the other side of the room.

  That was it.

  Her one chance.

  Still invisible, she edged around the outskirts of the room as Claude's gaze followed, his eyes popping wide when he saw the light for the elevator blink on.


  He stopped midlecture. "Really, a metal box is your grand plan?"

  Pandora pressed her back against the sliding door, hearing the elevator sink closer and closer, listening to the hum of the sliding cables, not responding. The light went out. The doors behind her opened. And everything happened in an instant.

  Claude leapt for her, surging across the room faster than a human eye could blink. But Pandora was ready, because she wasn't human. And while he could sense the metal in her veins, he couldn't actually see her. And that metal box he'd been so snarky about? Well, she was hoping it would mask her scent just a little, just enough.

  So when he reached for her, ready to pin her against the back wall of the elevator and snap her neck, Pandora ducked. And he didn’t realize. He toppled, legs fumbling over her crouched body as he tripped and fell into the open elevator right as the door started to close.

  That split second was all she needed to run.

  He was standing in a blink and turning to face her, to find her. He forced the doors to slide back open. Metal handles clinked against the glass doors behind her, screws falling to the ground as the knobs broke free. They raced toward her while the escalator sped in reverse.

  But Pandora scrambled, scaling the wall to the next floor as the handles blew into the spot where her body had been and embedded into the stone with the force. Claude tugged on the metal he could sense in her clothes and her blood, but it wasn't enough to stop her, and she'd known it wouldn't be. Because like all vampires with power, he had a dirty little secret. Tatsuya's had been eye contact. And Claude's was saturation. He could sense all metal, but he could only manipulate it when it was concentrated enough for him to grab on to. The bullets in his gun were specially crafted to be heavy enough for him to control. But the earrings she was wearing? The buttons on her jeans? The iron in her blood? It was all too small for him to really latch on to. And if she could just move fast enough, the amount might be small enough that he'd lose track of her entirely.

  Pandora hooked her fingers around the ledge, then tossed her body up and over the railing just as the metal sliding door to the elevator ripped free of the frame and sped toward her. But it soared harmlessly overhead as she landed smoothly on the second floor and ducked low to the ground. Claude hurried behind, zipping up the escalator, hot on her tail. To her left, a truly confused woman sat behind the check-in counter, gaze on Claude and the broken elevator door that had come to a screeching halt in the middle of the lobby. Pandora raced past her, past the security guards, through the room, noticing for the first time that there was an arch lined with bright white statues garbed in togas spanning the foyer, somewhat resembling the Roman Colosseum. The ceiling was painted to look like the sky. And the hallway in front of her was lined with columns, decorated like the Roman Forum, with a plaque that said Caesar's Atlantic City. She did a double take as she raced past a man dressed like a gladiator holding a round shield and an alarmingly large sword.

  I really hope that's plastic.

  But there was no time for jokes.

  Where are you, Jax? Where are you?

  While she ran, she stretched out with her ears, hearing Claude's light and swift steps behind her, searching for Jax's voice, for anything. But all she heard up ahead were ringing slot machines, shuffling cards, clanking chips, and a bloodcurdling scream.

  Wait, what?

  Yup. A woman was screaming at the top of her lungs, utterly and completely losing her mind.

  Pandora grinned.

  That's my cue.

  And sure enough, when she barreled into the casino, it took less than a second to spot Jax. He was standing in the center of the slot machines, hands latched around a vampire's ankle, spinning to gain some momentum before he released. The woman screamed again as the vamp went flying across the room and slammed into a poker table that snapped in half with the force of the blow. Of course, a second later he stood right up and charged Jax, who was by that point already preoccupied with another vamp who was charging him while holding a craps table over his head. And, yes, then he threw it at Jax, who dove to the side, twisting in midair to swerve out of the way, and landed on his feet with all the grace of a jungle cat.

  And he was grinning.

  Full-on grinning with the high of the fight.

  Freaking Jax, Pandora thought, but the corners of her lips pulled up against her will into a smile as she raced over to join him.

  "Time to go," she murmured.

  Jax gasped, clutching at his chest, losing focus. "Jesus, you have to stop sneaking up on me like that."

  "Sorry." She shrugged, still invisible. "It never used to scare you."

  "Yeah, well, we didn't used to get in so many fights." He punched another vamp in the face, then twisted to kick another in the gut. "I'm a little too busy with all the bloodsuckers trying to kill me to focus on tracking you."

  Pandora rolled her eyes, but she had to admit he was sort of right when she jumped onto a vampire's back two seconds later, then clung to him like a leech as she sliced her nail across his throat, cutting deep and taking him out for a few minutes at least.

  Before her feet even touched the ground, Claude was there.

  Stupid, stupid, Pandora cursed.

  Jax could never slice open a vamp's skin—fight, yes, but cut, no. Only another vampire's teeth or nails could do that. Which meant she'd made herself too obvious, and paid.

  Claude encircled Pandora's throat with his pale hand, gripping deep as his fingers sank into her skin, choking her, cutting off the flow to her brain.

  She snapped out of the shadows, becoming visible once more as he pushed her back. Her spine slammed against a wall as he squeezed tighter and tighter, bringing his other hand to her neck to finish the job, trying to pop her head right off with the pressure.

  Not like this, she thought.

  Not like this.

  Pandora cleared her mind, searching for the calm within the fear. Most people tried to rip off an attacker's hand, but with a grip like that, not possible. Others went for a strong punch to the side of the head, or they tried to sneak a kick to the groin, but in most cases, the blow wouldn't be strong enough to break a choking grip. But she knew better. Thanks to her titan roots, she'd trained better. And the way out was actually relatively simple. Lifting her shoulder and bending her head to the side, she trapped his palm in the groove, holding it in a vicelike grip. Then she twisted in one fast wrenching motion, dragging his ensnared arm with her and dislodging his grip as he lost his balance.

  Before Claude had time to grab hold again, Jax was there. He slipped the head vamp's own gun out of its holster and sent every remaining round directly into Claude’s pale exposed neck. The bullets lodged deep in the pliable skin of his throat, not breaking skin but burying far enough to cut off the vamp’s circulation, pinching his veins. Claude dropped to the ground with a groan, but it would only stop him for a minute, two tops.

  "Let's go," Jax ordered, making a run for it. She followed him, sprinting through poker tables before racing up a set of stairs in the middle of the room to another level of the casino. At the top, she grabbed Jax by the hand and yanked him into a narrow opening between two metal slot machines.

  "What—?" he asked.

  But Pandora slammed her palm over his mouth and wrapped her other arm around his hard body, drawing him close. Eyes zeroed in on the steps they'd just crested, Pandora reached for the shadows, diving into the darkness, saying good-bye to the world of the light and taking Jax with her. Just as Claude's head appeared, the two of them disappeared, vanishing from the light.

  She had no idea whether or not it worked. She'd never tried to bring someone else into the shadows with her, to make another living person vanish from sight. But she remembered Sam's words from the day before in Tatsuya's prison, as he'd pressed his palms to the glass cage encasing her and slipped easily through as though the barrier didn't exist at all. You're so much stronger than you know, he had said, watching her sadly, so much stronger than they
led you to believe.

  And in that moment, she had to trust that he was right, that he knew something she didn't, that even though he was little more than a mysterious phantom who had suddenly popped into her life, he wanted to help.

  Claude reached the top of the stairs and scanned the room. His gaze roved every inch of the casino floor, sliding over the slot machines, under the pool tables, across the bar, into and out of every crevice. The other three vamps stopped behind him, waiting for orders, not nearly as strong as their leader.

  Pandora didn’t breathe.

  Jax didn’t either.

  Hidden in the shadows, they were utterly and perfectly still, stopped on a moment, waiting to see what would happen next. But Pandora's mind raced full speed ahead. He'll smell the iron in my blood. He'll smell the power coursing through Jax's body, sense the heat emanating from his veins, blood too alluring to ignore. He'll smell us. He'll find us.

  Except he didn't.

  Instead, Claude sneered, hissing as he dropped his sharp gaze and straightened his suit jacket, smoothing out the wrinkles. Running a hand through his black hair, he glanced around once more and then motioned to his henchmen. The group of four turned around and slowly descended the stairs behind them.

  Pandora waited a full ten minutes before relaxing her grip on Jax's strong arms, before reluctantly stepping away from his warm body and releasing the shadows.

  "We should go," she whispered, unable to meet his eyes.

  He didn't speak as they cautiously followed signs for the parking lot, keeping their focus sharp. He didn't speak as they broke into a car and hot-wired it to a rumbling start. Didn't speak as they eased onto the street, careful not to draw attention as they merged with traffic and left the shore behind them.

  He waited until they were on the highway, zipping quickly away, before finally saying the one thing she knew would be on his mind. "When did you learn how to do that? How to take someone into the shadows with you?"

  Pandora bit her lip, staring out the window. "About an hour ago. I've never done it before."