Page 48 of Resurrection
Silence follows so long that I think that everyone left. When I try to move around Marcus, he wraps one of his beefy arms around my waist, pressing my back to his chest. We both stiffen at the contact; I almost snarl at him, but bubbles from ripples in the water make me swallow the sound.
“She is gone. Let’s get out of here,” the bored one says, and Marcus disappears from behind me.
“Not so fast, my friend.” I watch his profile when he grins at the two idiots.
“How nice. One of you and two of us.” I’m not sure who snarls at Marcus like I don’t exist.
“Lucky for you then.” Marcus chuckles.
“What? I’m not allowed to play?” Leaning my shoulder on the entrance wall, I smile sweetly at the gawking idiots, seeing their faces for the first time. Both are strangely unremarkable. “I’ll stay here and watch if you like, but you’ll have to tell me who pulls your strings. And if the almighty Khan knows about it, too.”
“Like Kali gives a shit what Khan knows.” The shorter of the two—and whinier judging by all the complaining he’s been doing every time I’ve been around him—glares at me. His buddy whacks him in the back of his head, making me giggle.
“Kali and who else?” Marcus gets their attention back to him, so I glide slightly closer.
“No more talking.”
The one that always sounds bored dives at Marcus. Everything around me slows down, and it’s like watching them move underwater. Marcus bends his knees, preparing to meet the idiot in the air, not paying attention to the other guy. The sneaky little shit pulls out a wicked-looking dagger, the silver steel blinking at me when it catches the light for a second. Pushing off the wall, I lunge at him like a battering ram. My body collides with his, sending us crashing at the opposite wall a second before Marcus and the other guy slam into each other,the slapping sound of flesh hitting flesh resonating through the tunnels.
Rocks and concrete rain on my head while I grip the idiot’s wrist, keeping the dagger away from my person. Snarling, he wraps his other hand around my throat, squeezing for all he’s worth. For a moment, it feels like he is about to rip my head clean off my shoulders. Then, I feel the switch flip. His hand goes slick around my neck, and his eyes go comically wide. I have no idea what he sees, but it must be scary enough to freak him out.
The one that is fighting Marcus starts screaming in a high-pitched voice that hurts my ears. Twisting the hand that still holds my throat, the crunching sound of breaking bone sends an excited shiver through me. Taking hold of both his wrists, I lean over him, holding him down with my whole body while I turn around to see why his friend is screaming.
My heart starts thumping faster when I see Marcus fight. He moves like water. I never thought someone as muscled as he is can twist his body in that way. For every kick or punch aimed his way, he bends and twists, evading it by a hair. Every movement of his arms and legs connects with his opponent, sending the guy bouncing off the walls, limbs bending in unnatural angles. Locking his gaze with mine, Marcus snarls and sinks his fangs in the guy’s neck.
I laugh when his eyes glint with a dare. Winking at him, I let him see my fangs slide slowly under my upper lip. Turning my attention to the idiot underneath me, I give him a big grin, making him whimper. A thrill goes through my entire being a second before I strike, my teeth parting the flesh of his neck like it’s made out of Jell-O. Warm, thick blood sprays over my face and chest, forcing my hunger out like a breaking dam. After the first gulp from his life force, I know nothing more.
Chapter Forty-Six
SEBASTIAN
Reigning in my emotions, I hide behind my glass while Andrei keeps coming in and out. I made him spread a rumor around the hotel that I’m so weakened, he and Marcus are worried I might not pull through after my last encounter with April. Seeing me in my tattered clothing helps solidify the lie.
And now we wait.
My right fist keeps clenching and unclenching, anxiety eating a hole in my gut since I found April gone. The woman will succeed where thousands of years have not.
She will drive me insane.
“Minchia!”Fuck!
“I totally agree with that.” Andrei saunters in, a grim look on his face. “No one has tried to leave the place, yet.” Dropping unceremoniously opposite me, he rubs a hand over his face. “I guess it would’ve been too easy if they just sprinted out as soon as the news of your imminent death started spreading.”
“That is the least of my concerns right now.” Dismissing him with a wave of my hand, I sigh, leaning back in my chair and closing my eyes. “Marcus is not back yet?”
“No, but I would’ve thought that would be the last thing to bother you right now.” I see him frowning when I pry my lids open to peer at him. “You keep forgetting April is not a sheltered girl who doesn’t know what she is doing. She survived all those years on her own. If there is anything that girl knows, it is how to survive. She’ll be back even if he doesn’t find her.”
“After Eshe’s warning, I’m not willing to take chances.” My mind is swirling with all the pressure, tightening the noose around us. “Guilt makes me be too lenient when it comes to her. Like a lovesick fool, I tiptoe around her, and that may very well cost her, her life. She is immortal now but not fully transformed. I overlooked something…” Murmuring more to myself than him, I feel the pressure building in my chest.
“We knew she would be different,” Andrei supplies helpfully.
Snorting, I lift my head to look at him. “Different, yes. Not still human. Something went wrong, and it cannot be my blood. I’m the only one that ingested her first blood. She should’ve awoken as her real self.”
The pounding on the door jolts us both to our feet. My glass slips from my hand, the crystal shattering on the wooden parquet as amber fluid sloshes over my shoes. Andrei is yanking the door open with a sharp jerk of his hand, glaring at the Guardian anxiously shifting his feet at the door.
“Marcus is coming fast, he is carrying…” his words trail off when a blur pushes him to the side, slamming his shoulder in the wall.
My body freezes in disbelief when Marcus stops in front of me. He looks like he has walked through a grinder, his clothing shredded and blood coating him from head to toe. Snarling, he trembles, his entire body coiled up like a spring. Just his eyes are feverish, burning with rage and fear. But that’s not what freezes my world.
