Jacques snaps his fingers, and the twins turn at the sound. Along with night vision, the guys have impressive hearing. They leap onto the roof.
“What the fuck, Ace?” Thomas says when he sees me.
“Vampires,” I croak out, and Jacques shakes his head, signaling for them to shut the hell up. He points to Hasan. Gilbert nods and takes off, running and jumping off the roof. He returns a few seconds later with Hasan. His face mirrors the same horror as the others at the sight of me, making me wonder just how awful I look.
Jacques tightens his hold on me and takes flight. More aware of what’s going on around me, I risk getting hit with my fear of heights and look around. It’s incredible to be soaring through the air.
He lands in the yard again, behind the shed and in a tangle of weeds near a cluster of trees. We’re not far enough from the house to be safe from vampires, but if we go any farther, we risk being seen.
“How many?” Hasan asks as soon as we land.
“Six,” I tell him. “I think I killed two.”
“You think?” Thomas asks.
“I got one with the stake and he turned into goo. I slashed the other in the throat with the stake and he bled out. I think. Can vampires bleed to death?”
“Not so much to death, but they can be drained of their blood and left in a state of suspended animation for an infinite amount of time,” Jacques tells us.
The info seems to be a shock to everyone, not just me this time.
“How the hell do you know all this stuff?” Gilbert says, shaking his head, and eyes Jacques curiously.
“You’re getting off point,” Hasan counters.
“Right.” Gilbert narrows his eyes and smiles. “Let’s go kill these motherfuckers.”
“Let’s strategize,” Jacques says.
“No time.” Hasan lifts his head, eyes narrowing to try and see through the fog. “They’re here.”
My heart skips a beat and I try to push out of Jacques’s embrace, which only makes him hold me tighter.
“No, Ace,” he whispers, mouth against my ear. “You could get hurt.”
“I know.” I tip my head up and meet his eyes. Little lines of worry form around his beautiful dark eyes. Hesitantly, he lets me go, hands lingering on my waist as if we’re the lovers from our dreams, forced to say our final goodbye.
My skin prickles and the smell of sulfur fills the air. Hasan lunges forward, colliding with a vampire whose eyes go wide with shock at the sight of him. Hasan’s hand wraps around the vampire’s neck and he lifts him off the ground. The vampire’s feet dangle and he kicks at Hasan.
Thomas and Gilbert rush forward, disappearing into the fog. Jacques turns, spreading his large wings. His dark eyes dance, looking dangerous. He turns, giving me a look that says no one hurts you and gets away with it, and catches another vampire, twisting its arm backwards, demanding it tell us where the sire is.
Another vampire soars through the air, landing on Hasan’s back. I rush forward, stake raised, and sink it in beside the vampire’s shoulder blade. He jerks back, hitting me across the face, and falls. The force of his body sends the stake in deeper, hitting his heart. He collapses in a puddle of disintegrated blood and bone.
The vampire in Hasan’s hands looks like a rag doll, and in one swift movement, he twists his neck. I turn away, not wanting to see him rip another head off. It’s not something you can unsee.
Hasan turns, standing in front of the vampire Jacques has in his grip. He squares his shoulders and opens his wings.
“Maybe he needs a little persuasion,” he says, voice booming. He turns his head to me. “Still have that stake, Ace?”
“Fine,” the vampire spits. Jacques twists his arm again and I hear bone pop and break. “She’s long gone by now. Don’t bother.”
“Tell me her name,” Jacques demands. Is it wrong to be getting turned on right now? Both Jacques and Hasan look so strong and powerful.
“My name”—a silky-smooth voice comes from behind me as slender hands wrap around my neck—“is Nariah.”
She jerks my head to the side and slides her finger over the puncture wounds on my neck, making me flinch.
“Let her go.” Jacques’s voice rings out through the fog, deep and commanding.
“Yeah…that’s a no from me. I had a good thing going on. Fresh blood from the clinic. Feeding off willing victims at the bar. And she had to go fuck everything up,” Nariah says, bringing her finger to her mouth. “You do taste good, honey. I can see why these guys like you so much. But what I can’t figure out is what the hell they are.”
“Let her go,” Jacques repeats, and releases the vampire he has in his grasp, turning him over to Hasan, then spreads his wings.
“Take another step and I’ll rip out her jugular. We both know I can do it.”
Jacques balls his fists but doesn’t move. Nariah presses one of her fake, pointed nails into the bite and drags it down. I clamp my jaw shut, refusing to scream.
“Where are the others?” Nariah asks. “I know there were two more. Try anything, and she’ll be dead before she hits the ground.”
I look from Hasan to Jacques, trying to tell them it’s okay. They both look so worried, and the pain on Jacques’s face matches what I saw in the dream.
Only this time, it’s real.
I’m not going to let this bitch get the best of me. I close my eyes and inhale, bringing in energy around me, and I hear a voice inside of me telling me what to do. I bend my elbow and hold up my right hand.
“Ignis,” I say, and feel a rush go through me. It comes from my chest, cascading through my whole body and into my fingers. Fire surrounds my hand again. I curl my fingers into a fist, watching the flames move with me.
And then I hit Nariah in the face. She shrieks and moves away, long nails tearing the flesh on my chest. Her cheek is smoldering, but she’s not catching on fire as easily as the others. She lets out a roar, eyes glowing a fiery red. I can’t keep the fire going much longer.
Two large figures come from the sky, and Thomas and Gilbert each grab an arm. She thrashes, putting up a good fight for the two of them. I don’t waste time. I rush forward with my hand out and press the fire into her chest. She screams in pain as the fire catches. She’s not burning fast enough, and I feel like I’m going to pass out. I stumble back, vision blacking, but not before I see Hasan plunge a stake into the burning cavity of her chest.
“I got you, Ace,” Jacques whispers, and his arms wrap around me once more.
“This might hurt,” Jacques warns before he gingerly presses a warm, wet rag to my neck. I’m sitting on the couch and he’s tending to my wounds. Thomas and Gilbert are outside, patrolling to make sure we got all the vampires. I had seen six when I left the house, and we killed them all. Better safe than sorry, of course. Hasan is also standing guard outside, keeping the same mentality.
Jacques carried me in the house and wrapped me in blankets, gently setting me down on the couch. I felt like a porcelain doll being wrapped in bubble wrap for shipping or something, but I didn’t object.
Wincing, I rest my head against the couch. “Does it look like a hickey?”
“What’s a hickey?” He leans in, moving hair off my neck.
“A mark left on your neck, or other parts of your body, from someone sucking on your skin in a sexual way.”
“Oh. And no. It looks like a bite mark.”
“Good, because that would be an awkward thing to explain at—fuck—work.”
Jacques wipes more blood away. “I thought you liked your work.”
“I do. This whole thing is a mess. Was a mess. I think. I hope.” I sigh. “The sire and the new vampires are gone, we know that, but no one else does. We solved the case by killing a shit-ton of vampires, but at work, this is going to go unsolved.”
“I’m sorry, Ace. Balancing two worlds isn’t a burden you should have to carry.”