One Immortal - Tia Louise Page 0,69

I see her cheeks are slick with tears. Her nose is running.

“I don’t… know… what—”

“LIAR!” He snarls, but just as he starts to tear her throat out, my partner dives through the opening, knocking him back. Star instantly falls in a heap as a loud yelp screeches from my partner.

The vampire has both hands on his body, and I see his pale head in my partner’s throat, shaking side to side. More heart-chilling screeches come from Stuart.

“STUART!” I yell, pushing my arms against holly, fighting to get through the fucking hedge.

I’m finally out and running, grabbing inside my jacket for the stake.

The monster throws my partner to the ground, a limp, black heap of fur. His whimpers meet my ears, but he doesn’t get up. He appears to be paralyzed. Or injured so badly, he can’t stand.

I’m inside the small shelter facing the vampire. The blur that once clouded his features is gone, and I see he’s taken a huge bite out of my partner’s neck. But even with the blood covering his mouth and chin, I recognize him, and the shock hits me like a tidal wave.

“Sloan?” I can barely say his name. I take a staggering step back. “You did this?”

He sneers. “I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

At the sound of his cruel, vampire voice, any compassion I might have had is erased. Star’s life, Stuart’s life… Alison’s life. Melissa.

All the rage in me races back. “So have I.”

Just that fast, his demeanor switches. He straightens, takes a cloth handkerchief from his pocket, and wipes his chin clean as if dining in a fine New Orleans restaurant. “Always the good little boy scout aren’t you. Or should I say the good little soldier?”

At those words, understanding floods my mind. He’s prepared for me. He saw me in the street and blinded my vision. He saw me today when he was tracking Melissa and did it again. He knows about my immunity. He knows all my methods as a hunter. He taught me how to hunt his kind.

Now I’m alone, facing him. My partner is bleeding out. The vampire saliva will work against his shifter powers, and if the wound is severe enough, he’ll die.

Star hasn’t recovered from her injuries or else she’s staying down. I don’t have time to lose if I’m going to finish what’s left of my former mentor and save them.

I start with the charges, each one of them fueling my determination to beat him. “You raped Melissa. You forced her to drink your blood against her will—”

His eyebrows shoot up, and he starts to laugh. “Really? That’s what you’re charging me with?” His laugh is a grating, animal noise, and I can’t help noticing again how much he’s changed since I knew him.

The light in his face that used to guide our hunts has turned cruel and sinister, and his mockery is as wicked as the thing we killed in the cemetery.

“I’m only getting started, bloodsucker,” I growl.

He takes a step to the side. “I see you’re using the old lingo,” he scoffs, casually waving a hand. “Will you call me demon next?”

“If the label fits.”

All at once, he’s serious. He straightens as if having an idea and turns to face me. The white shirt beneath his black tuxedo jacket gleams in the lamplight just like his skin.

“Do you remember when I taught you to hunt?” He watches me intently, as if measuring my reaction.

I remain neutral. I’m well aware he knows every move I’ll make to bring him down. I’m on guard against tricks. “Of course, I remember.”

He nods and takes a few more steps along the perimeter of the pavilion opposite me. “We were an unbeatable team. We just never had a chance to prove ourselves in any real fights. Still, my brains combined with your muscle… I was invincible!”

I almost laugh at his fucking arrogance. “Then why are you here now—as a vampire? Clearly someone bested you.”

I’ve heard of vampire blood causing madness, but I’ve never spoken to one long enough to verify it. His eyes lower as if remembering something from long ago.

“She was so beautiful.” He speaks the words in hushed, longing tones. “She came to me at the reflecting pool, in the sculpture garden. Her long, red hair undulated in waves like magic.”

“She used her hypnotic powers on you.”

“If she did, she didn’t need to. She entranced me from the start. I would do whatever she asked. Lilith…”

A whine from the back corner reminds me Stuart’s condition is