Page 17 of Tainted Souls
Her hand opens and I fall to the ground, gasping for air. Pins and needles shoot through my body as oxygen floods back into my bloodstream. She extends her arm to me, an invitation straight to hell. Only a fool would fall for that.
I cough, choking on my own desperation. “Thanks,” I wheeze out, “but I’m good.”
Her smile doesn’t falter. If anything, it grows wider, sharper.
“So unaccommodating,” she remarks, giving her nails a cursory inspection. “Just like your brother.”
The mere mention of him releases a flood of anger and betrayal within me that I can’t contain. Of course she knows my brother.For Blod’s sake, Saul.
“I’m nothing like my brother,” I say, struggling to my feet, willing my limbs to cooperate.
Her eyes glint with wicked intent. “Well, why don’t we find out?”
A tautness snaps through her posture, telegraphing the blow before it comes. I brace myself for the colossal impact of her fist in my face, knowing it will connect with enough force to shatter a human skull. There’s no dodging this. Not with her speed and my current position.
My arm comes up to block my face as I take a step back, preparing myself for the worst, expecting a blank mind until I wake in some dark cell, forced to bend to her every will.
A blur of motion drops from above, a shadow detaching from the night itself. The figure slams into the woman with devastating impact, sending her flying into the wall across from us. Mortar cracks and dust billows as her body creates a crater in the rock-hard bricks.
My heart stutters as I recognize the silhouette standing protectively before me, his charcoal hair identical to mine.
No, it can’t be.
It’s beenyears.
“Saul?” I whisper, the name tasting like ash on my tongue.
He doesn’t respond or turn around, his attention fixed on the woman who’s already extracting herself from the rubble as her wicked laughter echoes through the empty street.
“I was wondering when you’d show.” She brushes debris from her shoulder with one refined flick, the gesture so composed it borders on insulting. “I must admit, your timing is impeccable.”
“Apologies. I was busy preparing your coffin,” Saul taunts, his voice deeper than I remember. While the Whiteshade with a problem and my criminal twin are having some sort of villain stare-down, I try to take this opportunity to sneak my way out.
I scramble to Max’s side, frantically checking his pulse—strong, but erratic. Blood trickles from a gash on his temple where he hit the pavement.
I hear Saul scream. “Seraph, watch out!”
A sharp crack splits the air, followed by a wet thud as one of the vampires’ bodies crumples to the ground near me, a clean hole through her forehead. Aimed to incapacitate, not kill.
Keepers.
The remaining vampires scatter under the hail of gunfire. I trace the shots to their source and spot them—General Lee’s special forces, clad in tactical gear, their faces obscured by helmets with built-in targeting systems, weapons trained on the vampires.
“Not the girl,” says the general, swiping his digital interface closed as he looks toward me and my brother. “She’s a Pennian.”
“What about the guy?”
The general gives a curt nod of approval, signaling green light.
I know what that means. Redmoore will lock him up for betrayal, endlessly torture him for information, and use any means at their disposal to bend him to force his compliance. He may have done me wrong, but he’s still family.
If he’s to suffer, it’ll be under my watch.
My heart pounds out of my chest as a deadly bullet leaves its barrel.
Leaping toward my brother on instinct, I push him away with force, bracing myself to catch the lumen shot instead. It shimmers teal in the air as if to mock me and my foolhardy attempt at heroism.
Saul’s face—at least what little of it I can see beneath the black veil of cloth that’s drawn up to his nose—is filled with devastation as his back meets terrain. The footsteps of keepers echo like hammers on stone as they close in on us.
