To Kill a Vampire - A.K. Koonce Page 0,26

when his master’s hand touches it for a mere second with jagged nails turning in, curling into a claw like form, that’s when it happens.

Atticus expected obedience; he expected a servant and a follower.

He didn’t expect me.

With all of my rage and rising emotion, I lunge toward the one responsible for it all. Atticus’ thin body plummets to the ground beneath me, a seething hiss is all that is heard. We tumble out of the cave and the warm wind whips at his loose clothes. He claws at me, scratching his torn nails down my face before finally gripping my throat just as my fingers wrap around his smooth scalp. With all the strength I possess, I fling his head into the concrete, a triumphant but sickening cracking sound echoes thought the night. His power weakens just slightly before his hands release entirely, and in the blink of an eye he’s pushing out of my grip and scuttling away from me.

He heaves a breath, his chest rising and falling in the moonlight, his fangs on full display. Steady fingers run along the back of his skull, flinging blood to the ground as he scowls at me. Rage and pity seem to shine in his eyes. I think he might loathe me and love me with the way he glares at me now.

“You don’t want me as an enemy, girl.”

“My name is Fallon,” I say as I raise my chin at him.

Shane uncurls from his spot on the ground as another hulking wolf stalks over to my side. A glimmering red light ignites the woods as Asher joins us. And to Atticus’ very apparent surprise, Declan steps up to my other side – the highest form of insubordination.

Assessing red eyes skim over each one of us. It’s as if he’s framing us in his ancient memory among the centuries of thoughts. He’s keeping us close in an important part of his malicious mind.

Atticus has fed on his friends and on at least one villager. But it isn’t enough to rejuvenate the strength he’s lost over the last decades.

His attention lingers on me as my nails bite into my palm, my fist clenching so tightly I feel blood trickle through my fingers. Fury shakes through my arms, my jaw strung tight as I watch him with an angry glare. A pleased smile tilts his lips as he leisurely walks closer to me, sending a hum of growls through the two wolves at my sides.

“You’ll never know what kind of presence we have on this beautiful, cursed world,” Atticus whispers to me. His strange words circle in my mind as his gaze trails over my skin. He leans in a breath closer, spiraling adrenaline through my limbs that settles in my fists. “You’ll never know, because you’ll never break your curse, darling.”

My hand strikes out to him, clamping through the air at nothingness as he leaps high into the night, landing atop the cliff hundreds of feet above the cave we’re standing inside.

My feet stumble as I scurry after him, leaping but missing, my body scraping along the side of the rocky ledge and my nails breaking off into the granite. An angry breath leaves my lips as I heave myself up over the ledge, jumping to my feet in an instant.

Nothing but a warm breeze greets me, toying with my hair, sending it across my face as I glare into the darkness. The shadows are heavier, hiding things from me. It’s as if he’s all around me but not at all.

“I’ll see you again ...” His whisper crawls through the wind.

My fists clench at my sides realizing how much I just lost. A scream rumbles through me, echoing into the wind.

He’s gone.

Thirteen

A Terrible Vampire

Asher

I’ve never wanted to murder something so much in my life. And I can’t. I can’t help her. Only she can help herself. It kills me to see her fail.

“She won’t make it much longer without blood,” Kaino says to Shane, talking about her as if she isn’t right in front of us.

“That’s not true,” Declan adds. “Vampires are resilient by nature. She could make it another month at least.”

“Without having an accident?” Kaino shoots back, his jaw strung tight as he stares at the speechless hybrid.

Fallon sits against the cave wall, twirling something in her small hand. Long, dark lashes feather against her cheeks as her eyes close heavily. Her head tilts back against the rock. The appearance of defeat in her small frame crumbles my heart.

I lower