Better off Dead A Lucy Hart, Deathdealer - By Eva Sloan Page 0,85

letting in no light from the outside.

Lucy turned to check out the wall behind her and jerked back reflexively when she saw her—Delia—not two feet away, sitting still as a statue in a straight back chair. The chair was made of black wood, with intricately carved swirls of leaves and fruit, the feet fashioned into old fashioned lion claws. The sight of Delia, so close, her eyes as terribly cold as ever, made Lucy cry out, made her lurch away and scramble clumsily to her feet and stagger away from the vampire.

Delia canted her head, watching Lucy’s progress intently.

“What do you want?” Lucy’s voice sounded hoarse and feeble to her. “How did I get here?” And before she finished the question she flashed back to the graveyard, her grandmother and Abbey walking away, and then...

And then Superbitch here tackled me!

Delia patiently sat in her chair as Lucy tried to shake off the effects of the head wound which had left her unconscious in the first place. Lucy could feel where Delia had hit her, like she’d been hit by a baseball bat, and just touching it made her eye feel like it was about to pop right out of its socket.

Delia just sat there, staring, not uttering a word, a small smile playing at the edges of her mouth. Her makeup was minimal: eye liner and mascara, a hint of silvery eye shadow, and that smirking mouth accented by iridescent pink lipstick. Add to that she was wore a sleeveless black silk blouse and matching skintight leather pants; she looked like a very pretty monster.

Standing, the room started to pitch and spin on Lucy. She felt like she was about to barf. She clamped the hand not covered in blood to her mouth, and choked back what wanted to come out. Squinting shut her eyes, she forced herself to breathe. After a moment the world felt like it had finally stopped spinning.

To Lucy’s surprise, Delia was still sitting patiently in the chair—hadn’t moved a muscle, and she still had that stupid smile on her face.

Lucy staggered away from the vampire, her sneakers making little squeaking sounds as she fell against a wall, and then seeing the front door she ran straight for it. She Slammed against the thick, unforgiving wood and clawed at the door knob. It wouldn’t budge. She searched with her eyes and with her fingers for a latch, finding only a key whole.

A dead bolt…emphasis on dead…

Lucy pushed the thought out of her mind. She couldn’t afford to freak out, not now, not when she was locked in a house with a deranged vampire that hated her guts.

I’m so screwed!

Just then Delia rounded the corner and walked with a graceful gate right up to Lucy. She stopped about two feet away, and sniffed the air. “I love your perfume…oh, wait…that’s not perfume…it’s fear.”

“Stay away from me!” Lucy shrieked.

“Did you know,” Delia said thoughtfully, “you can taste fear in blood? It’s like adding curry spice to the mix…but better.”

Lucy gasped when she saw Delia’s teeth slide down into place with a snick, lethally sharp and white as snow. But then she felt that wonderfully familiar heat rage in her skull again, smothering the pain, and leaving her suddenly pissed off instead of scared stiff.

“You skank! Where do you get off?” Lucy leaned forward meeting Delia’s sinister gaze. “Sure, I might have kissed her boyfriend once—”

“I saw you with him just tonight.” Delia said in an even tone. “A porch is hardly a private place.”

Okay, that sucks…

“Multiple times, then,” Lucy amended. “But don’t forget this was all your idea in the first place. If you’re looking for someone to blame, look in a mirror.”

Delia shot Lucy with a look that screamed, You moron!

“Okay, so you can’t actually see yourself in a mirror, but you know damn well what I’m talking about.” Lucy stood up straighter and stared the vampire down again. “Plus, you must be plain stupid. Last time—” Lucy stopped and thought. Last time she could control Delia…sort of. But she had tired quickly. If it hadn’t been for Gabriel jumping in, she’d been vampire tender vittles.

“Last time what?” Delia said, looking curious and psychotic.

Lucy took a deep breath, focused on the annoyed heat burning in her head. “Open the door.” She automatically felt her power radiate out from her, and with it a large chunk of her physical strength abandoned her.

Delia leaned forward looking at Lucy with faux confusion. “Can you say that bit again? I didn’t