Page 47

My heart accelerated, and judging by the way his gaze, which I now realized was deep purple, had darkened even more, he’d heard it as well. “Thank you so much for the kind…um offer, but old dudes aren’t to my taste, and I make no exceptions.”

He blinked, saying nothing for several long seconds.

I’d surprised him, apparently, throwing his words back at him.

“You are delightful,” he said without even the tiniest hint of a smile.

“Thank you.”

“You’re sure you won’t stay?”

“Positive.”

He inclined his head. “Maybe we’ll see each other again sometime soon.”

“Maybe, but probably not.”

His lips actually curled up in a seriously rusty imitation of a smile. “Well, sadly, it seems we’ve come to the end of our conversation. I would advise you to leave my club as soon as possible, or I may change my mind and decide to keep you after all.”

And that predator stare told me he meant it. Shit. I turned and got the hell out of there.

The stairs were a blur under my feet as I ran down. The goon in the suit, vampire as well, probably, watched as I rushed past. I pushed my way through the pulsing crowd, getting bumped and smothered by people laughing, dancing, and unaware of who stood above watching them and totally oblivious to the danger they were in.

I didn’t know if he was the one who’d taken Amy, Imogen, and Marina, but he was a threat to everyone here.

The club was dark, and the lights flashed, the music so loud I felt disorientated as I struggled through the throng. I spotted an exit sign glowing across the room and only realized it was an exit to the back alleyway when I reached it. There was no way in hell I was risking that.

I turned and took two steps back the way I came—

Someone grabbed my arm and yanked me back so hard I momentarily thought my arm had been pulled from the socket. Hard fingers dug into my skin and shoved me into the darkened corner.

A shadowed face got in mine. “Not so fast,” the male said, and this one was a demon—one who could pass as human, just.

“Let me go,” I said as calmly as I could. “I’m a friend to the knights. You hurt me, they will hunt you down and send you back to Hell.”

He flinched, freezing momentarily. No demon wanted to draw the attention of the Knights of Hell. The demon hunting warriors kept Roxburgh city clear of scum like him. But then he seemed to rally. The creep must think he’d get away with whatever he planned. “How will they know, if there’s nothing of you left?”

I pulled my small knife from my pocket, and he laughed at it. But I had no intention of trying to cut him—though I was pretty sure I could cause some damage, I was angry enough. So much so, it smothered my fear.

I held up my palm and sliced a wide X. He frowned, thrown by what I’d just done. I took advantage of his confusion and slammed my palm to his forehead, pumping everything I had into him. His body locked in place. “In this spot you will rot,” I hissed into his face.

He dropped to his knees, the tendons and veins in his neck standing out, jaw clamped tight.

I leaned over him. “Weren’t expecting that now, were you?”

He growled at me through clenched teeth.

“No matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to leave this spot. If someone tries to move you, you’ll feel pain like nothing you’ve ever experienced.”

I’d never used the spell before, I hadn’t even known if it would work, honestly. It’d just kind of come to me one night, and using it now had felt like second nature. I’d asked Willow if she’d heard of the spell. She hadn’t, neither had Else or Mom. So I didn’t know for sure if the whole pain thing was true, but he didn’t need to know that.

I’d also seriously overshot my power, draining myself almost dry. Fear did that sometimes, especially if you weren’t used to using magic in combat. Now I’d messed up and left myself vulnerable.

I needed to get out of there.

A figure in dark jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt appeared out of nowhere. Another vampire. I lifted my blade. “Stay back.”

He ignored me and something silver flashed. A moment later, the demon frozen in front of me was ash on the floor. The hooded guy took a step back. “My master apologizes for what just happened. You’re free to go.”