Page 36 of Unbound

“Are you all right?” Xavier rushes out.

“Yeah.” Though I feel like I just chugged way too many drinks. “The demon is manipulating the energy somehow. The spike in EMF is making me dizzy.”

“Where?” Xavier asks.

“To your left. Three feet.”

He gets me to my feet and speeds away, swinging his arms out in front of him. I take a slow, deep breath and release some of the energy swirling around me. Instantly, I feel better.

“Other left!” I shout. Xavier blindly swings in the opposite direction. “Two feet back!” This time, as Xavier moves forward, Theo comes speeding down the hallway and collides directly with his brother. The demon laughs and runs right past them, throwing open the exit door and disappearing into the alley. As soon as it’s gone, whatever confusion it cast over me lifts.

Xavier speeds back over. I’m leaning against the wall, slowly sliding downward.

“Are you all right?” he asks, pulling me into his arms. My heel catches on a missing piece of tile, and I misstep, leaning harder against him to keep my balance.

“I’m okay,” I tell him. “But the demon knows I can see it. It did something that made me disoriented.” I point toward the door. “It ran outside.”

“How the hell are we supposed to fight something we can’t see?” Theo asks, adjusting his tie.

“I can see it,” I tell him. “And so can Delphi. This thing seems to have masked itself from humans somehow.”

“We’re not humans,” Theo replies. Then he tips his head, coming to the same realization I did earlier. Originally, vampires were human.

“We have to go after it,” I say, taking another breath to steady myself. “Who knows what it can—” I cut off when someone came running from the direction of the stage, screaming.

It’s the bartender. Her hands are covered in blood. Theo rushes toward her, fangs drawn, and catches her by the shoulders. She holds her hands up, and I can see tiny shards of glass embedded in her skin. I’m not bothered by much, but that looks fucking painful. I cringe.

“You’re okay,” Theo tells her, catching her gaze. “And you’re calm.” Like Governor Richards, being influenced by the demon makes it harder for her to fall under a vampire’s command. It takes Theo another attempt to get her spellbound, but finally her expression goes blank and she listens. She calmly lowers herself to the floor to wait for the EMTs. The rest of our group follows the bartender into the hallway, stopping when they see us.

“You guys okay?” I ask.

“We’re fine,” Ryder answers.

“All hell is breaking loose out there,” Antonio says, pulling a knife from a leather bag. He flips it around and hands it to me.

“I had no idea you could sing so well,” Mabel says, looking surprisingly unfazed by everything else happening around us.

“Oh. Well, yeah.” I shrug. “Just one of my many hidden talents.”

“You always crushed karaoke,” Ryder says. Xavier turns toward him. If looks could kill, Ryder would be dead on the floor.

“Okay, what’s the plan?” Delphi asks. “Because that demon is freaking me the fuck out.”

“Everyone take one of these,” Antonio says, opening the leather bag. He passes out knives, and we pour some of the vanquishing potion over each blade.

“Delphi and I are the only ones who can see this thing,” I repeat. “And now it knows I can see it.”

“Do you have any idea where it went?” Mabel asks.

“No.” I look toward the exit. Then screams erupt somewhere outside. “But I don’t think it’ll be hard to find.” I tighten my grip around the knife. “Subtlety isn’t exactly this demon’s strong point.

We regroup in the alley behind the piano bar. It’s dark and narrow back here, and it smells like trash.

“All right,” Antonio says, naturally taking his usual position as leader of the group. “We need to split up and find this thing. Two groups—one with Wren and one with Delphi, since they’re the only ones who can see it.”

“Zeke and Mabel stay here and do damage control,” Xavier interrupts. Mabel isn’t old enough to hold someone spellbound, but Zeke definitely is. Keeping her with him also keeps her out of harm’s way, more or less. Yes, she has vampire strength, but I know Xavier is thinking along the same lines I am.

Mabel is too sweet and innocent for this.