Page 136 of The Ghost and the Graveyard (Knight Games 1)
Rick growled. Teeth snapped near my head. Disoriented, I took a deep breath and tried again. The images came back and, this time, I concentrated so hard sweat dripped down my face. I could hold this. I could see what Rick saw.
Half-shifted, Rick grappled with Marcus. The vampire had grown three times larger since the hunting shack, engorged with human blood. Rick's fist shot at Marcus, who turned into a thick black smoke at the point of impact. Whirling, Rick saw the vamp reform behind him, and pulled his own vapor act, narrowly escaping the vamp's slashing claws.
From my front row seat inside his head, I felt Rick's teeth extend from his mouth in the partially shifted way I'd seen the first night we were together. He was resisting the full change. In close combat, it would make him vulnerable. A split second hesitation and Marcus would have the advantage.
Rick tackled Marcus and the two rolled head over heels across the floor. But before Rick could sink teeth into him, Marcus went up in smoke and rematerialized again, lifting Rick by the neck and pounding him against the wall. I had to do something. If Marcus was going to die, it would be up to me.
Heart pounding, I adjusted my sweaty grip on Nightshade. I tried to take a deep breath, but the air rattled in my throat. I only managed a shallow fill of my lungs. Using the image in my head, I walked forward ten big steps, broke my connection with Rick and opened my eyes. In the darkness in front of me was the reddish splotch. Marcus noticed me. I sensed him turning to take me out. But my blade was already around. That part of me that was the witch sprung into action. My sword glowed like a supernova as it sliced through Marcus' neck. Blood sprayed. His head dropped and rolled in the ethereal light. The vamp's blood hissed acid-like on the floorboards. Black ooze pooled near my toes. I stepped back. Slowly, the light from my blade began to fade.
"Nice work," Rick gasped.
Clapping echoed through the barn. The buzz of electricity flowing into cold bulbs reverberating through the large space, and fluorescent light glowed from above. I blinked, trying to force my eyes to adjust. The blood stench seemed to grow stronger as I saw the source. Cows, deer, and even a bear hung strung up from the ceiling near where we'd entered the barn, dripping blood into ruts in the floor that drained, presumably, into the basement. The system was messy. I looked at my hands and saw the remnants of blood, grit, and animal hair I'd crawled through searching for Nightshade. Gross. Rick and I had slain Marcus in a section deeper within the barn near a stage with a paneled screen instead of a curtain.
The panel slid aside to expose the source of the on-going applause. In a suit that draped across his muscular frame like it was some sort of living material, a man approached. His hair was slicked back, movie star style, a deep chocolate color you rarely see in real life. I could tell immediately that he was a vampire, not just because his swagger was smoother than any human could pull off, but also because his eyes were too big for his head, like they belonged in the skull of a nocturnal animal. His pale features had a chiseled appearance, down to the straight white teeth that filled his mouth.
He approached me with a sardonic grin. "Very nicely done, Hecate."
"Julius," Rick hissed. The name might have been a curse.
The vamp ignored Rick and moved toward me. "Allow me to introduce myself," he said with a voice that was both masculine and honey sweet. He held out a hand to me, closing the distance between us. "I am Julius, leader of the Carlton City free coven. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." He bent to kiss my hand and his eyes flicked up to meet mine. His irises were as yellow as a candle flame and luminescent.
I pulled my hand away before his lips could touch my skin.
"Marcus was here to meet up with you. Why?" I asked.
"I have no idea." He looked accusingly at Rick. "Why was he out of the graveyard? Padnon and I have been away until just this moment."
Padnon? The man I'd battled in the parking lot of Java Jane's stepped forward, his wrinkled face sending an icy current through my nervous system. Instinct took over. I launched myself forward, flipping onto the platform, Nightshade coming around toward Padnon's neck. The blue glow from my blade told me the demon was as good as dead.
A lightning fast blur came from my right. Thunk. I flew backward, caught by the waist. Julius! His other hand wrapped around mine, restraining Nightshade. Fangs grazed my neck.
He turned me to face Rick who was crouched, ready to pounce. "Don't move, Caretaker. I'll drain her like a bloodbag." Julius's tongue licked up my jugular.
Rick didn't move, although I could feel his frustration through our connection.
A firm hand thrust me forward, sending pain shooting through my shoulder. I tripped off the platform into Rick's arms.
"You must have manners, Witch, if you come into my house," Julius hissed.
I turned to face him, Nightshade still in my hand.
Julius tipped his head and pointed toward Marcus's remains. "I only wished to congratulate you on a fine kill. You are a natural, my dear. I'd introduce you to my associate, but it seems the demon Padnon has already made your acquaintance."
How close Padnon had been. And now, how easy it would have been for Julius to kill me. Why hadn't he? I gripped Nightshade tighter, but Rick's hand on my elbow stopped me from a repeat performance. Probably wise. My intuition was doing cartwheels. Rick squeezed my elbow. I glanced up toward a hayloft above us and saw no less than fifteen sets of yellow eyes looking down on me from the shadows. This was a big coven. A very big coven. A very big, pissed off coven.
"We need to go," I mumbled to Rick. He nodded and widened his eyes at me as if to say, no shit. My jaw still wasn't working right, and with the adrenaline wearing off, the pain in my shoulder was almost unbearable. It was dislocated for sure and maybe broken. Plus, I was exhausted. Two beheadings in one night was a lot for a girl.
"Rick is a lucky man to have won you so easily," Julius said, his tone cryptic. "Padnon and I thought you would wait before joining yourself again."
"Watch yourself," Rick snapped.
"Why, Enrique? Should I not tell her the whole truth about who she is? Would you prefer she live believing only your version of the truth?"
"Let's go." Rick took my good arm.
"Wait. What's he talking about?" I narrowed my eyes at the vamp.
Julius had the look of someone you couldn't trust. When he smiled it seemed like there were more teeth in his mouth than there should be. He was shifty, and he was a vampire. Still, I was curious like any person might be about a particular piece of gossip. It probably wasn't true, but I wanted to know anyway.
