an outraged roar, Grigori rolled onto his back, but Edward was ready for him. Straddling Grigori's legs, he laid a heavy silver crucifix on the vampire's chest.
Grigori went rigid as the silver burned his flesh. Though the cross was not heavy, he could feel it weighing him down, clouding his vampyric powers.
"Edward!" Marisa shrieked. "What are you doing?"
"Killing a vampire."
"Stop it!"
"Don't interfere, Marisa."
"Stop this, Edward! Are you crazy?"
"Look at him, Marisa! Come and see him as he really is."
Lips parted, fangs bared, Grigori glared up at Ramsey, but Ramsey refused to meet his gaze.
"He's evil, Marisa! A killer! He's got to be destroyed."
Grigori sucked in a deep breath. The silver burned his skin like a fine white flame. "Edward, release me."
"Your mind games won't work, vampire." Ramsey drew a stake and a wooden mallet from inside his jacket. "Not this time."
Grigori went suddenly still. Marisa, who had been watching in horror, felt a palpable tremor in the air, a vibration, like static electricity, and knew that Grigori was summoning his power.
It was an awesome thing to see. Or not see. There was nothing tangible, nothing visible to the naked eye. Yet she sensed the power building within Grigori, bubbling to the surface like lava from the depths of a sleeping volcano. Why didn't Edward feel it?
She held her breath, afraid to watch, unable to look away.
And then Grigori lifted his arms, placed his hands around Ramsey's waist, and stood up in a single flowing movement, carrying Ramsey with him. The crucifix tumbled from Grigori's chest to the floor. He wrapped one hand around Ramsey's neck and lifted the man off the ground, then ripped the heavy silver chain away from his throat.
Marisa gasped when she saw Grigori's neck. It was raw and red.
Ramsey squirmed in the vampire's grasp, his face turning purple, his eyes bulging, as his breath was slowly choked off. The stake and mallet hit the floor with a dull thud, and he wrapped his hands around Grigori's, trying to loosen the vampire's deadly grip on his neck.
"Grigori, don't hurt him!"
"He was going to kill me."
"Please..." Marisa clasped her hands in an attitude of prayer, uncertain if she was asking Grigori to be merciful or begging for divine intervention. "Please."
Grigori focused his gaze on Ramsey's face. "Can you hear me, Ramsey?"
Edward nodded as best he could.
"You leave me no choice but to kill you."
Edward stared up at him, his eyes filled with resignation.
"Grigori, don't," Marisa pleaded softly. "Please let him go."
The vampire turned his head to look at her, and she felt his power slither over her skin. His dark eyes were filled with pain and rage. She wanted to look away, wanted to run away, but she stood where she was, knowing Edward's life depended on her. "Please don't hurt him."
Grigori gazed at her for a long moment, and then he lowered his arm, allowing Ramsey's feet to touch the floor. Wondering if he would live to regret what he was about to do, he relaxed his hold on the man's throat, though he did not release him.
"Look at me, Edward, and pay close attention to what I tell you. Do not cross my path again. You will not like what happens if you do."
His hand tightened around Edward's throat. "Do you understand me?"
"Y-yes."
"Don't make me kill you."
Grigori held Ramsey in his grasp a moment more, and then released him.
Edward gasped and stumbled backward, his hand massaging his throat, his eyes glinting with hatred.
"Edward, are you all right?"
Ramsey nodded, but he didn't take his gaze off the vampire. Never, he thought, never had he been so close to death. He thought of all the vampires he had hunted and destroyed, thought of the many times he had congratulated himself on ridding the world of evil. Only now did he realize how lucky he was to be alive. None of the other monsters he had destroyed had possessed the kind of power Chiavari possessed. If they had, he had no doubt that he would have been killed long ago. All this time he had thought himself a master vampire slayer. He knew now that all the creatures he had destroyed had been easy to find, easy to dispatch, because they had been young vampires, newly made, vulnerable.
Grigori jerked his head toward the door. "Get out."
Edward didn't meet the vampire's gaze as he backed toward the door.
A tight smile curved Grigori's lips as he willed the door to open. "Remember what I said, Ramsey. Don't cross my path again."
With