Page 140 of The Ghost and the Graveyard (Knight Games 1)
"You're right, of course. But diplomacy may be in order."
"What good is having a bone sword if I'm not allowed to use it?"
His previously serious composure broke, and he flashed me a half-smile.
We hit traffic on the exit to MacArthur Avenue. Still, we made it to the parking lot of TiltWorld in ten minutes-less than half the time it usually took me to drive to the hospital. Rick paid no attention to the Closed for the Season sign as we rumbled up to the gate. A plywood cutout of an alien torso jutted out of a tilting spacecraft above the entrance, its grin indifferent to our arrival. Rick pried the lock open with his bare hands and swung open the massive chain-link door. Climbing behind the wheel, he drove through and then closed it behind us. We drove all the way to the back of the amusement park, the rollercoasters and midway games eerily abandoned.
The sun had finished setting, and the darkness outside the car window reminded me of Marcus' advantage. He could see in the dark and I couldn't. Not to mention he was probably three times as strong now from the hunter's blood. I wasn't sure how big this coven was, but Marcus definitely had the upper hand here.
We reached the Barn Blast, but for some reason I didn't think this fun house would leave me laughing. "I'm scared," I said to Rick. "He's killed me once. I don't want it to happen again."
"I'll keep you safe, mi cielo."
We exited the car and scanned the woods to the west of the warehouse. I didn't see anything. "No red dot. Maybe we beat him here."
"Come," he whispered. Rick motioned for me to follow him to the back door of the barn.
The red dot glowed to life again. "Here. The door. He's gone through here," I said.
He reached forward and twisted the knob. It was locked, but with a slight push of his hand, Rick broke the mechanism, and the door swung open on its hinges. The dark inside was thick, blinding.
"Stay with me," Rick said. "I can see in the dark."
I drew Nightshade, hooked my fingers into his t-shirt and followed him over the threshold. A suffocating smell filled my nostrils, earthy sweet copper I was all too familiar with. I smell blood, I thought to Rick. Better to use our connection than to risk calling attention to ourselves. Then again, Marcus had fed thoughts into my head last night. Maybe it didn't matter.
Not when you have Nightshade, Rick thought. She protects you from vampire mind tricks.
Oh.
The blood you smell is from the animals. There are carcasses hanging from the ceiling. It looks like they've been draining the blood. This is a good thing. It means they're not using humans.
My shoulder bumped something that felt like meat and bone. I could hear the clink of chains above me and an awful image of a strung-up deer filled my brain. I had serious trouble thinking of this as a good thing.
Be vigilant, mi cielo. I'm not sure I'll be able to smell Marcus over the stench.
We turned a tight corner, deep inside the barn now. Crack. I lost contact with Rick. My skull hit something hard and bounced. Boof. A sharp pain erupted in my ribs. I slid across the floor, Nightshade slipping from my hand. Head throbbing, I patted the gritty, sticky concrete, frantically scanning the darkness.
I heard scuffling in front of me. I had to find my blade! Searching more aggressively through the filth on hands and knees, my hand landed on bone. Nightshade. Her energy sang to me. I gripped her hilt, rolled my legs above my head, and flipped to the balls of my feet. Shit! That was new. Had I ever moved like that before? Rick? Rick? I called with my mind.
To your right!
A fist (or some other bony body part) hit me, and the whole right side of my face exploded. I sailed sideways, my left shoulder slamming into a wall I couldn't see. Luckily, my suddenly tough and nubile body seemed to know how important Nightshade was, and I landed with her still in my hand. I forced myself to stand, the pain in my shoulder, ribs, and head making me gag. My face hurt like he'd broken my jaw and my left arm hung useless at my side. Luckily, I was a righty.
The scuffling grew near. I circled my blade around me in a move that must have been remembered from my past life because it surprised my conscious mind. I hit nothing.
I closed my useless eyes in the dark and focused on my other senses. Fists hit flesh. Growls. A shuffle across the floor in front of me. I smelled blood but also the sulfur scent of vampire. I had to do something, but how?
Use my eyes, Rick thought to me.
Like it was obvious or something that I could do that. I reached out of myself with my power, into Rick's head. Behind my closed eyes, images flickered, a zoetrope of choppy action washed in red. The motion made me nauseous. I broke the connection.
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.
