the watchful eye of the guards who were stationed around the main city of their realm, where all the elders resided. She made it to the veil and caught the guard on duty unaware. I never would have been so lax. The guy should seriously be embarrassed.
Myanin took a deep breath, staring at the veil. She glanced over her shoulder and looked back at the place that had been her home for her entire existence. Myanin knew without a doubt she would never return. With a deep breath and a raised chin, she stepped through the veil and into the room where Thadrick had had the veil placed.
His scent hit her immediately, and she felt the sting of his betrayal all over again. Myanin gritted her teeth and forced herself to ignore the painful feelings. She’d been burying them deeper and deeper. There was no place for sadness in revenge.
She stood very still, listening for any sounds, but the house was empty. She couldn’t even sense him. It was obvious he hadn’t been here in quite a while. She looked around, unsurprised that the place was opulent. Thadrick had always indulged himself. He was spoiled and liked his comforts. Her eyes settled on the front door, and without another thought, Myanin walked over to it, opened it, and stepped out into a city she knew nothing about.
“No biggie,” she muttered under her breath. “I got this.” At least she thought so, until she found herself surrounded by a group of males. She immediately dropped into a fighting stance and stared them down.
“We weren’t expecting you,” the man directly in front of her said. His voice was rough, as if he didn’t use it very often. His hair was long and stringy, and his black eyes were sunken into his face. The man’s lips were so thin they almost seemed non-existent. His clothes were stained with… Myanin narrowed her eyes to get a better look at the stains.
“Is that blood?” she blurted out before she could think better of it.
The man shrugged. “Sometimes my dinner fights back.”
That’s when it hit her. “Vampires,” she growled.
“Give the djinn a cookie,” a voice said, three men down from the apparent leader.
“You said that I wasn’t who you were expecting,” Myanin said, deciding to ignore the baiting words. “Who were you expecting?”
The vampire’s head tilted at an angle that was creepy as hell as a smile formed on his lips, revealing his sharp teeth. “You don’t have to play games, djinn. You know who lives here.”
Myanin shrugged. “Maybe I like games.” She didn’t. “Maybe I like to play with my prey.” She did.
“You think we’re your prey?” The vampire chuckled; his head still tilted oddly.
“I think you have no idea who you’re dealing with.” Myanin pulled the double short swords that were on her back, concealed beneath her shirt. They came out with a satisfying sound of metal being rubbed against its scabbard.
“You think you’re going to fight all of us?” a different vampire asked. He looked like he was one pint of blood loss from blowing away. He must not be very good at catching his prey.
“I know I am,” Myanin corrected. “Less talking, more killing. I’ve got places to be.”
The head vampire took a step back and then gestured to two of his peons. They moved toward her, dropping low and circling her, no doubt trying to take her back and front. They thought that would make her an easy opponent. They’d clearly never fought a djinn before.
Myanin let the vampire who had been moving to her left take his position behind her, and the one directly in front of her grinned, as if they’d already won. She heard the vamp behind her move, and when his breath hit her neck, she bent forward. His body hit hers, and she wrapped an arm around the back of his neck, flinging him over her shoulder. As soon as he was on the ground, she ran one of her blades across his neck. Blood spurted out and the man gurgled. It wasn’t a death blow because she hadn’t decapitated him, but she was only just getting started.
The other vamp ran at her. His hands sported long claws, and he hissed like a cat. Did that really scare people? As soon as he was on her, Myanin ducked down under his reaching arm, turned, and stabbed the short sword in her right hand directly into his spine. Apparently, taking out two of their little group was