Page 102 of Dhampira

“Olnava,” Lorcan murmured.

“That one,” Vander said.

“And vampires call it voice,” Lorcan added. “Not roar.”

I shrugged. “Roar makes more sense.”

Vander smiled at me as we moved past the statue. “I happen to—” He snapped his mouth shut, his expression abruptly alert. And cold. He stalked forward, growling, “Rix.”

The Everless disappeared. Vander charged ahead, his boots kicking up leaves.

A man burst from behind a tree and raced away from us. After a few paces, he looked over his shoulder. “Uci!”

Blue light sizzled through the air. Vander ducked it mid-stride, and it struck a tree behind me.

A witch. Another would-be assassin.

Lorcan’s growl rumbled the ground as he shot past me. The man spat another word I couldn’t catch, and more blue streaked past my head. Lorcan blurred.

A second later, he tackled the man to the ground. Lorcan pinned the witch to the forest floor, his thighs straddling the witch’s hips and hands locking around his throat.

“Who sent you?” he demanded.

The witch’s face turned red. His lips moved as he struggled for air.

Vander stood over them, his chest rising and falling as he caught his breath. “He can’t answer questions when you’re strangling him,” he told Lorcan.

Lorcan yanked the man upward by his throat and then slammed his head against the ground. “Who sent you?” He loosened his grip.

The witch coughed and then sucked in air. His hair was dirty blond, and it was hard to tell his age, but I sensed he was as young as he looked.

“Answer me!” Lorcan growled.

“I—” The witch dragged in another labored breath. “Uc—”

Lorcan plunged his face to the witch’s neck.

“Fuck,” Vander muttered. Digging feygeld and a knife from his pocket, he walked a quick circle around Lorcan, dropping stones as he went. “Get over here, Corinthe.”

I hurried forward and stepped over the rocks just as Vander said, “Zid.” Blue flared around us.

The witch cried out, clawing at Lorcan’s arms, but it wasn’t long before his struggling slowed. Lorcan’s throat worked as he quickly fed. The witch’s eyes fluttered shut, and his skin turned white and then blue.

“Enough,” Vander said, frowning at Lorcan’s back. Lorcan didn’t stop. The witch’s mouth gaped. A white film covered his eyes.

Cursing, Vander bent and grabbed a handful of Lorcan’s jacket. “Enough, Lorcan, he’s already gone.”

Lorcan jerked free, his growl rumbling the ground under my feet as he remained locked to the witch’s vein.

“Stop, damn you,” Vander said. He bent and wrenched Lorcan back by both shoulders. Flesh, blood, and bits of bone sprayed the leaves as he ripped Lorcan from the witch’s throat. The man’s ruined neck gaped wide, his spinal column exposed.

“Let go of me,” Lorcan ordered, his voice guttural as he fought Vander’s grip. His eyes were black. Blood smeared his chin.

Vander yanked him over the witch’s body. “Not a chance.”

Baring his fangs, Lorcan hissed. Then, quick as a snake, he struck at Vander’s neck.

“Watch out!” I yelled, but Vander dodged at the last second and Lorcan’s fangs closed on empty air. The ward’s light wavered as the men stumbled over the edge. Vander drove Lorcan back inside and then delivered a brutal blow to Lorcan’s ribs.