Page 86 of Dark Obsession

“I’m flattered,” Cody said, “really. But we need to be going.”

“Yeah, about that.” Paul stepped into the glow of an overhead LED, smiling and showing his fangs. “I can’t let you do that.”

Cody triggered his gun, releasing a long stream of water. The powerful smell of the garlic made Demetrius’s eyes water, but he could still see well enough to realize Paul had dodged the shot and was nowhere in sight.

Demetrius held his own water rifle low and ready. “Everyone back to back!”

The group shifted, all of them facing in a different direction standing hip to hip. Behind Demetrius, Jugs let out a gasp and pulled his trigger. Then Clarabell, followed by Tracey.

“He just keeps darting into view and running off again,” Agatha said. “Fucking vampires.”

“We need to keep going,” Demetrius said to Cody.

“I know,” Cody said. “You get everyone else out of here.”

“No.” Demetrius looked at Cody’s profile. “We stay together, remember?”

Demetrius had just turned back when he saw Paul rushing directly at him. His mouth was open wide, eyes glowing within his furious expression, and the security light above gleamed along his fangs. Demetrius pulled his trigger at the same time as Cody. Both streams caught him in the chest, the water splashing up onto his neck and the lower part of his face.

Paul’s shriek echoed off the brick wall behind them, making everyone flinch. Seconds later, there was no sign of Paul.

“Guess that took care of it,” Demetrius said as he tried to see everywhere at once.

“For now.” Cody started forward again. “Let’s go.”

They made it to the back of the hair salon before they heard the first scream out on the street. The sound made them all stop in their tracks.

“What the fuck was that?” Agatha’s voice was just above a whisper.

“Are they attacking the firefighters?” Oliver said. “Do they want the whole town to burn?”

Zenona’s voice was calm when she answered him. “Probably. It would leave everyone outside, exposed and vulnerable.”

“No thresholds they’d have to ask permission to cross,” Tracey added.

“Son of a bitch,” Jugs turned in a circle in his spot. “Why do all the monsters hate on your town?”

“The mummy was over in Glenmont,” Oliver said. “Weird to say, but I miss that limping relic right now.”

Dave pulled him in against his side. “Vampires are a whole different lineup.” He looked at Cody. “Any thoughts, big brother?”

“Stay alive until dawn.”

“We need to help the firefighters,” Demetrius said. “Let’s go down to the cut-through, see if we can get out to Main Street that way.”

They moved quickly along the back alley, taking turns checking the dark corners and behind dumpsters. Demetrius didn’t know which was worse, running into a vampire or not finding them. The cut-through was a walkway that ran between Main Street and the alley behind the storefronts, and it mirrored the one on the other side of the street that led to the big public parking lot. Over the years, the downtown merchant’s guild had commissioned a local artist to paint murals on one wall of both cut throughs. The mural in this one depicted farms with different crops and the woods surrounding town. Decorative trees inside large concrete planters provided shaded spots for people to sit at wrought iron cafe tables and chairs and socialize, but the tables and chairs had been overturned, and splashes of red stained the mural closer to Main Street.

“Not looking good,” Jugs said, barely audible.

Demetrius and Cody were in front, cautiously leading the others past the planters and seating arrangements. The blaze roared out of their sightline, the orange light flickering off the walls ahead. Smoke stung Demetrius’s nose, and he could feel the heat crowding into the narrow space. The fire had devoured all the moisture in the air, and his skin was tight and lips dry, almost chapped.

Another shout from out in the street, high-pitched and terrified. It made him jump, and he heard Cody let out a quiet curse. How many vampires did Bastian have on his side? Would Marlowe be able to help them?

When they were a few yards from the end, two figures stepped out from either side, blocking their path. They were only silhouettes against the backdrop of the fire, but Demetrius figured one was Leo, the vampire who had murdered Andy Wilkerson, and by the height and body shape, the other was Paul.

“Guys,” Tracey said quietly.

Demetrius looked over his shoulder. Bastian and Annie walked slowly toward them from the alley, both smiling and eyes glowing red.

They were trapped.