by Kat Cotton
I moved around, checking out the three likely holding spots for the Demon Child. There was no unusual activity around any of them, no signs to let me know where he’d be. That kid could come from anywhere and sweep through the crowd before I could get to him. My hands balled into tight fists. My body tensed. I was ready for the fight. No matter what. This had to be the moment.
The mayor cut the ribbon. Everyone cheered. Those darn baby polar bears sure were popular. Then the mayor got whisked off in a little golf cart thing and the crowd surged forward. At first, I got caught up in the swell. Bodies slamming against mine, edging me in. I pushed back harder, though, getting clear of them.
Then, suddenly, a force knocked me to the side, pounding into me.
“Pretty lady,” he said, throwing his arms around me.
Far better for the Demon Child to be on me than feasting on other people. Still, my ribs hurt. Even with his strength lessened in the daylight, he hit me like a sledgehammer.
His arms fastened tight around my neck, his breath brushed against my skin. He clung to me like he had at the nightclub. This was the moment. I couldn’t hesitate. I couldn’t let his cuteness distract me. This kid had killed Cassie Manchelli and a bunch of other people. If I didn’t stake him now, he’d do it again.
Before I could get the stake out, he’d grabbed me as though I was a rag doll and dragged me to the carousel. The damn carousel.
He threw me into one of the carriages while he mounted a horse. My back crashed into the back of the carriage and my legs sprawled in the air. He looked back over his shoulder, laughing. This was not one of the crowning moments of my demon-fighting career.
I grabbed the side of the carriage and hauled myself up. As I clambered out of the carriage, the Demon Child jumped off his horse. That damn carnival music played, making this whole thing freaky as hell.
I wouldn’t chase him. That had been my mistake last time. He ducked and weaved among the horses, bobbing down as the horses lowered, jumping up as they rose.
“Catch me,” he called.
“Can I play on the carousel?” a little girl said. “That boy is having fun.”
Hell, no. That was the last thing I needed. Luckily, the father pulled her away.
The Demon Child turned to the little girl, though, and the look in his eyes changed from playful to famished. That hungry smile crept over his face.
I needed to get him off guard, and even though it turned my stomach, the fastest way to do that was turn on the sexual thrall.
“Hey, kid,” I called.
I fired my sex eyes at him, being careful to keep it low grade so he didn’t scare. He practically turned to jelly. All his feeding frenzy got shot to shit by pubescent hormones as he blushed and giggled.
Now that I had his attention, I grabbed the vial of blood out of my bag. I hoped it would entice him without triggering his need to feed. The stopper wouldn’t come out of the vial. Damn it. I had to keep him locked in my gaze, which made me fumble all the more.
I needed to get some better vials.
I finally got hold of the stopper and twisted it out, waving the top to get the scent to him.
He rushed me.
I grabbed him in my arms.
“What are you doing with that child?” someone yelled.
I couldn’t exactly tell them this child was an evil force planted by the mayor. I needed to get this kid off me and into a stake-able position. There was only one way to do that.
The crowd around us had thinned and became more orderly as people got into the polar bear enclosure. I couldn’t wait for them to clear completely. That could take hours. If I got spotted staking the kid, people would just have to deal with it.
I threw myself to the ground with him on top of me.
“Ha, ha, pretty lady,” he said, stroking my face.
His crush was cute and all, but really embarrassing.
I pinned his arms with my legs while sitting astride his stomach. He’d turned into all doe eyes and loving murmurs. He shot me that chipmunk smile, but I was immune to his cuteness now.
Luckily he was still love-struck. Otherwise, he’d be able to throw me off him without breaking a sweat.
With the stake in my hand, I took aim. One false move and I’d be totally screwed. At least I could position his heart easily enough, it beat so fast. I rested my other hand on his chest so I knew where to aim.
I plunged that stake. As it sunk through his muscle, I waited for him to turn to dust beneath me.
But, nothing?
Around me, people screamed. The tinny carnival music of the carousel played. We rotated around a changing scenery of people, all of them looking at me in horror.
Beneath me, the kid writhed, obviously in pain, but very much alive.
Stupidly, I checked out his face. His eyes blazed and his features twisted. I’d hurt him, I’d betrayed him. It was as though he couldn’t quite believe that I’d done that.
What had gone wrong?
With the palms of both hands, I pressed down on the top of the stake, forcing it further into his body. Maybe it hadn’t fully pierced the heart. I pushed it until there was only a thin end sticking out.
This wasn’t working. Maybe my aim had been off.
I pulled the stake from his body. The gush of blood spraying everywhere confirmed that I’d gotten his heart.
My aim had been true. The heart had been pierced. Why was he not dust? What did it mean? He wasn’t a vampire?
The shock washed over me.
Time seemed to stop. The screams around me, all the movement, happened in a blur. There was just this kid and me, and a mountain of questions.
Then pain ripped down my arm. A searing pain, as though I’d caught fire. I pulled it away, screaming. My screams mixed into those of the crowd.
Next, my thigh seared.
It wasn’t fire, though. Blood. Blood spatter covered my arm and my thigh. Every single one of those spots had blistered like I’d been sprayed with acid.
The tights on my legs had even melted and turned to hard polyester balls where the blood had hit me.
What was in that kid’s blood?
No time to think about that. I needed to get out of here. Fast.
Security rushed me. Cameras clicked.
As I jumped off the carousel, my thigh pulsated with the pain. I couldn’t run, not without putting myself through agony. I didn’t have much other choice, though.
I tried to ignore that throbbing and push my body as fast as I could.
Most of the crowd was gathered on my right. I ran to the left.
“Get her!”
Footsteps pounded on the concrete behind me.
With tears blinding me, I ran through the zoo.
Everyone was at the polar bear enclosure. That gave me no crowd to hide in. There was just me and the pursuers behind me. A few stragglers walked through the zoo, but that was all.
I had no idea where I ran. Only that people chased me. The aching in my leg increased with each footfall. Pain shot through my body, so strong I wanted to vomit.
I wouldn’t be able to stand this long enough to get back to my car.
The foot thuds got closer to me.
I weakened as the pain increased.
Seen from anyone else’s point of view, I’d been a crazed weirdo trying to stab a cute little kid. I’d be the worst person in the world. Unless the kid went on a killing spree. I doubted that would happen now, though. They’d want him out of there as fast as possible until his vampire healing fixed that hole in his chest.
I rounded a corner.
A garden area with overgrown bushes. Perfect.
I hit the ground and slide undercover of the vegetation.
Their footfalls thudded past. I waited for more sounds and, when I was sure I was safe, I hauled myself to my feet.
My heart pounded, but I needed to find a better place to hide until I figured out how to get out of this zoo unseen.
The dirt stuck to the burn on my
leg. Not the best thing, but I had no time for first aid.
I slowed to a weak limp. Around me, elephants blared and lions roared. In the distance, the human voices blended in with the other animals.
I spotted a large enclosure filled with leafy plants not far off. It was out of public view and sheltered. I wouldn’t be safe there for long, but maybe I’d be stronger if I rested a little.
Using the walls to support me, I made it inside. It had become cold, so cold. I needed to sit down. All around me, voices squawked. No, not voices. Birds. This place was the bird enclosure. Huge birds swooped down at me. I put my arms over my head, until I realized the enclosure held them in. Some of them flapped against the wire, their feathers falling on me.
The squawks became an unbearable cacophony while the stench of bird shit made me nauseous.
Beady eyes glared at me.
These birds were crazy. Surely they didn’t normally act like that. I had to cover my ears to block out their noise. They could shut the fuck up instead of trying to alert security that I was here.
There was nowhere to rest, and if I tried to grip the wire to hold myself up, the birds would be able to peck my fingers off.
Water seeped over the concrete floor. I followed that water, and around a corner of the house, I found a tap.
At least I could wash the blood off me. I ran the water over my arm, the blood seeming to turn silver before washing away. That might’ve been my mind hallucinating from the pain or the weird UV lighting in the place. I sat on the ground and positioned my thigh under the tap, getting the blood off my leg.
As the water hit it, my skin burned all the more. I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming out loud even though my screams would’ve been nothing compared to the bird noise.
Some of the blood ran away, but it stuck to my wounds. I ripped off my t-shirt and used it to scrub my arm and leg.
“What’s that lady doing?” a kid asked.
“Nothing, come away.” The woman shot me a look.
I couldn’t stay here, not with people after me, but I couldn’t move. I’d rest a minute, then work out a plan.
Except my surroundings blurred and I had to fight to keep myself awake. Darkness descended. The last thing I was aware of was someone swooping down to pick me. They couldn’t be human. They were silver and shimmering. They had wings, big white wings. No, that was the birds.
Wait, the birds had gone quiet. Or maybe my hearing had just stopped.
The silver, shimmering person scooped me up off the ground. In their arms, I felt safer and happier than I’d ever felt before.
What was it? An angel? I was dead? Everything went black.
Chapter 26: Lair
“She’s waking up” was the next thing I heard.
I had no idea what was going on, but the voice sounded familiar.
The memories came rushing back. I’d been captured, but at least I was still alive. And the burning pain was almost gone. If I was in jail, though, it was a super-comfortable jail. I sunk back into the fluffy pillows, wanting more of that sweet sleep oblivion.
Hey, wait, this was way too comfortable. Was I dead? Was this heaven? That angel had appeared to me, just before everything went black. A hand smoothed the hair off my forehead. If it was heaven, I’d just enjoy the fuck out of it. It smelled good and felt good, and was a helluva lot better than dealing with the mess I’d made of things.
“Don’t let her go back to sleep.”
That voice sounded mighty familiar too. This wasn’t heaven, that was for sure. Maybe it was hell. I was just being lulled into a false sense of security.
I opened one eye and peeped around me. It was him alright. Damn vampire. Nic.
“Are you okay?”
Kisho sat beside me and put his arm around my back, supporting me to sit up.
“No. Let me sleep.” I fought against him. Maybe he could just lie beside me while I slept. That would be nice. I could snuggle into the sweet smell of him.
“Not a chance. You’ve slept for two days, and we need some answers from you,” Nic snapped, as though my sleeping had actually taken something away from him.
I tried to curl back into sleep, but Nic shook me.
Two days? Wow, that was an epic sleep. It broke my previous record.
Now that I’d started to wake up, though, my biological needs kicked in.
“Toilet?” I tried to get up, but my legs didn’t work. Shit. Not good. I fell back on the bed. Hopefully, I was just weak from not eating or moving. Once I got moving again, they’d be fine.
Kisho helped me up, his arm around my waist. I leaned against him.
“Lean on me,” he said.
It was the first time in my life I’d been the weak one, letting a man support me. Wow, I could totally see why other chicks were into this shit. It made my insides mushy, and not just a wanting-to-have-sex kind of mushy. A whole other mushy. If any other guy made me feel like that, I’d probably stake them, but there was something about Kisho that I trusted.
He’d never screw around with my feelings. He’d never… Wait, that was my fuzzy post-coma brain talking. The dude was in a weird, complicated relationship with Nic. He was the son of the Vampire King. He’d lied to me and stolen my book. I had no reason to trust him at all, except for that strong arm around my shoulder that felt so good, and the soft crush of his body supporting mine—oh, and that sweet smell.
Luckily, the bathroom was in the next room.
“You can go now.”
I was not pulling my panties down with him standing there. That was just too personal. And God, I’d been sleeping for two days, who knew how gross my underwear would be? I didn’t want him seeing that.
“I’ll stand outside. Call if you need me.”
I nodded. When I finished peeing, I tentatively tried to stand. This time I could support my own weight. I washed my hands and walked weakly to the door.
“You should’ve called me.”
“Nah, it’s better that I do it myself.”
As much as I liked leaning on him, I didn’t want to deal with the mushiness again. I had to kill that part of me.
We went back into the room. Now I was more aware of my surroundings, I realized it was all Barbie pink with a ruffly white bedcover. The whole room looked like a five-year-old girl’s dream. So frilly, so pink, so girlie.
“Is this your room?” I asked Nic.
He rolled his eyes. “This is an Airbnb. We can’t help the decor. And no, it’s not my room. Like I’d give up my bed for you.”
Fair call. But I grinned at the annoyed look on his face. I might be coming out of a two-day coma, but I still had it.
“So, you rescued me from the zoo?” I asked Kisho.
He shook his head. “Not me. Nic.”
Huh? Nic rescued me? Why? I thought I’d dreamed that bit about a shimmering angel swooping in to carry me off, but in the right light, Nic would look angelic. If he kept his mouth shut. The pale skin, the blue eyes. Wait—his eyes were blue now?
“You actually left your lair?” I said to him. I guess he had to at times. After all, he was a motivational speaker and all that, but I’d never known him to leave.
“I do sometimes. And, yeah, don’t bother thanking me for rescuing you or anything.”
“Thanks.” Then I grinned. “You like me, don’t you? You totally like me. I always suspected.”
Instead of snarking back at me, he turned away. Whoa. That was not the reaction I’d expected at all. I came over a bit woozy. Obviously from the coma. I turned away too. I was not interested in Nic. Kisho, I had a thing for. I’d admit it, but Nic? No way.
Instead of thinking about him, I tried to assess the damage to my arm from the burns. I expected to see ugly scarring, but the skin looked as good as ever. Like I’d never been burned at all. That was not right. I checked my thigh too. Again, no scars.
“I’m totally healed? You didn’t do that thing where you feed me your vampire blood to give me super healing powers?”
“So what if I did?”
I shot up in horror. OMG, gross. He’d fed me his blood. We’d be bonded for life. I did not want to bond for life with him of all vampires. If I had feelings, he’d feel them. If I thought things, he’d hear it. We’d have that pull on each other.
“He’s joking,” Kisho said. “We used a poultice. It might be borderline magic, but definitely not vampire blood.”
That time when the mayor had wanted me to stake Nic, maybe I’d made the wrong decision. Nic’s eyes sparkled with glee. Bastard. I’d been really freaked out for a minute, and that couldn’t be healthy for someone coming out of a coma. Although, if I’d staked him back when the mayor had asked me, I might not be alive to come out of
that coma.
Heck, I owed Nic my life.
“Okay, enough playing around. We need to work out what happened there.” Snappy Nic returned.
“The Demon Child did not die. That’s what happened. Also, I’m starving. I haven’t eaten for two days. And I’d kill a man for a coffee.” I smiled at Kisho. Despite his lies, he’d never be the man I killed. “Not some shitty herbal tea.”
“You could really do with a shower too. You smell worse than the undead.” He chuckled at his joke. It wasn’t even that funny.
Now that I could stand unaided, a shower would be good, but fresh clothes to change into would be a bonus.
“Hey, Nic, do you have some frilly panties I could borrow?”
That was so much better than his stupid undead joke. He just screwed up his face at me. I laughed, but maybe he did actually have frilly underwear. I would not actually wear something that had been next to his genitals. Well, unless that something was Kisho. I really had to figure out their relationship.
Kisho handed me a backpack. Nic’s underwear? I opened it. It was my own clothes.
