already do. After all, the most damage Leo has seen me do is to my own head. I wish he had seen me kill the first hellhound.
Ugh. That’s a terrible way to think. I wish he had seen me kill something because then he might think I’m not a screwup! As if it takes murder to prove your worth.
Although in our world, it kind of does. It’s why no one has ever taken me seriously before. And why I’m afraid killing things is the only way to get them to believe in me now.
“Wait in the car,” Leo says to Cillian as he climbs out.
“Right, because I want to be the scene in the horror movie where you run back to the car, flooded with relief that I’m at the wheel, until you put your hand on my shoulder and I fall over, and you scream, but I can’t scream because I’m dead, and the monster is already behind you and I can’t warn you because, again, I’m already dead.”
“No one is going to die,” Rhys says, “and no one is going to scream, because—”
A high-pitched scream tears through the night.
Instinct takes over, and I run toward it. I can hear Leo and Artemis behind me. I turn into an alley two down from where we parked and spot a girl slumped on the ground. At the far end of the alley, a shadow disappears. I crouch beside the victim. She’s breathing. But her neck is bleeding and she’s glassy-eyed with shock.
“Which way?” Artemis demands.
I point. Artemis sprints away, followed by Leo.
“She bit me,” the girl says. She’s maybe eighteen, twenty tops. Curls that put anyone’s to shame framing a sweet face. A face that’s going alarmingly pale. I gently remove her hand from her neck. I know what I’m doing. I’ve studied for this exact scenario. I can do this. I can.
“Someone get me a clean cloth,” I say, peering at the wound. It’s bleeding, but the flow is steady, not pulsing or spurting. “There are no air bubbles. That’s good. That means your esophagus wasn’t punctured. Your breathing won’t be affected. You’re still getting plenty of air, so let’s focus on steady breaths. Deep, steady breaths. Do you do yoga?”
“A little bit,” she says.
“Good! Good for you. Think about your breathing. Focus on that. We’re going to put pressure on this wound.” I hold out my hand for the requested cloth. Rhys hands me his outer flannel shirt. I fold it and press it against the girl’s neck. “You’re doing great. Breathe in, two three four, out, two three four.”
A light hand on my shoulder tells me Cillian is here too. “Cillian, call emergency services. We don’t know how much blood she’s already lost. Tell them to hurry.” I look at the ground, knowing I won’t see anything helpful. And sure enough, there’s no pool of blood.
Vampires are efficient, I have to give them that.
“You’re doing great,” I say. “What’s your name?”
“Sarah,” she whispers, locked onto my eyes like I’m the only thing anchoring her to consciousness. I probably am.
“Sarah! I love that name. Just try to take nice, deep breaths. I’m going to keep pressure on the wound, and soon the paramedics will be here to get you to a hospital.” I keep my tone low and soothing, the way I would want to be talked to. The way Artemis used to talk to me when I woke up from nightmares insensible with terror.
“I don’t see anything,” Artemis shouts. “Are you sure?”
“Kind of busy!” I shout back. Sarah tries to look in Artemis’s direction. “Hold your head still for me, okay? That’s good.”
Artemis runs back to us. “Your attacker. Did she make you drink blood?”
I glare at her in exasperation. Sarah needs to relax right now, though I get why Artemis is asking. If the vampire had forced Sarah to drink its blood and then she died, she’d come back as a vampire. But she isn’t nearly so far gone, which Artemis would understand if she knew as much about human bodies as she does about vampire attacks. Or if she had asked me.
Sarah keeps her focus on me. “No. We met online. She seemed nice. Said there was a cool club hidden back here. And then she— God, do you think she was rabid?”
“It might be good to get checked out.” That’s probably a less horrifying scenario than reality. Poor Sarah.
“Nina,” Artemis says, “we’re losing time.”
I take Sarah’s wrist with my free hand. Her pulse is