Don't Touch My Men - Helen Scott Page 0,28

just so, although to me, it looked bland as all hell.

When I opened the door to a room that was drenched in red velvet and lace, I winced. Someone was leaning a little too hard into the vampire stereotype. I’d been so distracted by the decorations that I almost missed the vampire that was slinking toward me along the wall, pressed against it like it could disappear into the shadows if it needed to. Not that it actually could. Only ancient vamps really had those kinds of powers.

Without even fully looking at the vamp I whipped my blade out to the side and took off one of her arms. She let out a startled shriek and retreated to the corner. I knew she would heal, there was nothing about taking a limb off that was life threatening to a vamp, but it would probably keep her in that corner until Fang could decide what to do with her.

As I continued, the rooms were getting bigger and more luxurious, so I had to hope that I was almost to Fang’s suite or wherever he was holed up. Of course, the second I opened the last door in the hallway I was in, I saw a cluster of vamps. They were all clawing at a door where I had no doubt Fang and my sister and possibly others were taking refuge.

The problem was that as soon as one noticed me, they all did. Which meant that they all launched themselves at me at the same time. I spun and ran like a bat out of hell, or at least I tried to. Claws ripped down my back, leaving gashes that I knew were probably already bleeding and driving them into an even higher frenzy as I fell to the floor. If they pinned me, I was as good as dead.

So I did the only thing I could do—I shifted to the deadside.

The cold mist of the deadside wrapped around me almost immediately, clinging to my skin like bad soap. I pushed to my feet and moved a few feet in one direction before shifting back to the world of the living. It got me up and away from the feral vamps and gave me a second to get my head on straight before we started this dance all over again.

This time when they saw me, I was already charging them with my sword poised to strike. I took off one head before the others could even react. This was going to go down differently than last time, partly because as they were still in awe over the fact that I seemed to disappear and reappear. I ran to the door and pounded on it. “Fang! Get your dead ass out here and help me!”

I swung the sword once more, taking the head off a vamp that dared to get too close. It wasn’t just a little too close though, it was enough that it was almost inside my defenses, almost too close for the sword to work its magic. When I heard the door behind me open, I said, “Thank fuck. Help me take out these last three.”

The three vamps in question were pacing just out of my reach, prowling around me like the predators they were. But this prey wasn’t about to go down, at least not without taking them with me. I knew if I left the doorway, I’d be exposing my back to one of them, so I tried to stay put. The last thing I needed was them surrounding me.

When there was no response I glanced over my shoulder and saw no one at first, then Adelle appeared, pulling her arms back and letting her throwing knives fly. One hit its target perfectly, square in the heart, and the vamp turned to dust in front of our eyes. The other missed slightly, but it slowed the vamp down enough for me to launch an attack of my own.

With one vamp remaining, and it being scared out of its feral mind, I didn’t hesitate to swing around and attack. I sliced through its neck and relished the moment for a second. Sometimes, I wondered if I’d been born at the wrong time, since I seemed to come alive with a sword in my hand and blood on my blade. When I spun toward a noise behind me, I had to quickly move the tip of my sword so I didn’t hit Adelle, who was moving out of the room.

“Mother