Page 52 of Vampire Visions

Sloane was standing before him quicker than I could blink. One second she was in front of us, the next she had her fingers wrapped around the vampire’s throat. “Being female doesn’t make me any less capable of getting the job done. Being ignorant keeps you from understanding what I do for vampire kind now and what I can do in the future.”

“Pulling the hero card already?” he asked, barely able to speak past her grip.

“I’ve told everyone that will listen. I’m not the hero here. I’m the anti-hero. I’ll do what needs to be done, but I’m going to do it my way.” She stopped talking abruptly, laying her right hand over his heart. “What have you done with my mage?” She all but snarled in his face, tightening her grip as she glared into his eyes with murderous intent.

I glanced around, trying to spot Palmer but failing. It wasn’t like him to disappear, and I was suddenly fearing the worst. York started untying his shoe, and it took me a moment to realize that he was going to do his talking to the earth thing. Stone, still in his demon form, stood from his kneeling position in the crowd, striding to Sloane with Briggs hot on his tail. “We’ll find him,” Stone promised, the concerned quality of his voice a stark contrast to his usually mellow tone. He brushed off the remaining scraps of his clothing and shot up into the sky to start his aerial search. Briggs began weaving through the vampires, sniffing as he went.

“Sloane,” Novak called out, but she didn’t respond. “Trouble, Mon Coeur, we have another problem.” She turned her head far enough to make me bristle, the odd twisting something I’d only ever seen Stone do. Her demon nature seemed to always be more prominent when she was struggling with her rage.

“Let someone else handle him, Trouble.” Novak appeared serious enough to make me do a double take. “Jack tried to open the door to the basement, where we sent everyone that couldn’t fight, and the spell to open it from the outside has been changed.”

“Fuck,” she growled. Slinging the vampire in her grasp to the hellhounds, she commanded them, “Watch him,” before blurring the short distance into the ballroom. I had to sprint to catch up. Jack was already there in his hellstead form, burning through layers of the floor. Not fast enough for Sloane.

Her hands lit up with hellfire, transforming from a vibrant orange to a light blue as it rolled up to her elbows. When her arms were completely engulfed, she gritted her teeth, slung her hands in the air, and threw them down in quick succession. A pillar of hellfire rose up above us, slamming into the floor with enough force to shake the foundation of the house.

Jack shifted back to his human skin, sharing a look with Sloane before they both dove headfirst into the massive hole she’d just created. Literally. As if she was diving into the deep end of a pool, she pushed her feet off the ground and jumped. The graceful arch didn’t take away from the tension radiating through her body.

“Why is that so hot?” Novak questioned as he peered over the edge of the abyss Sloane and Jack had just disappeared in. I rolled my eyes at him. Now wasn’t the time for his commentary.

“I don’t know,” Grim confessed, “but it always surprises the fuck out of me when they do shit like that together.” He shrugged his shoulders casually, picking debris off his jacket.

“Shouldn’t we help them?” The unknown was freaking me the fuck out. How deep was it? I didn’t hear them land. I hadn’t heard any screams or gasps or growls.

“You can,” Grim told me, nonplussed. “I just want to watch.”

“Yeah, I don’t mind being arm candy either. I’m gonna sit this one out, but I am gonna go down there to watch them,” Novak stated as he stepped off the edge, free falling to what could be his fucking death.

I walked back outside, needing to distance myself before I plummeted to my death behind them. I knew I was freaking out about nothing, but the load of shit from the night was finally sinking its claws into my nerves. All the plans had fallen apart, exactly like Sloane had planned. I didn’t understand how that was possible, but here we were.

What I needed… was to know that Palmer was okay and then have Sloane and Novak come back in one piece. Then I wanted a stiff fucking drink and a whole day of sleep. The night; however, wasn’t as ready to wind down as I was.

22

Sloane

Sunday Early Morning

As Jack and I finished cleaning up the last of Kadence’s rogue army — that had been hiding in the arena portion of the basement — I stopped to watch Grim. He was healing the elderly vampire-mage who’d kept the small group safe before we’d arrived, praising and calming her as he worked. She was physically fine, though she was exhausted. I felt the same way, but there was still so much to do that I didn’t have time to rest.

Yet.

Tomorrow.

I’d rest tomorrow for sure.

While we’d been taking care of that, Stone had dropped down my impromptu hole and told me that he’d found Palmer. He was alive, but banged up. My mage had been hit over the head with something and had a large cut as a result. He was most likely concussed, and his leg was broken above his knee. Vaughn was patching the pissy mage up as I leaped out of the crater and onto the ballroom floor. I’d need to have that repaired before my father returned home.

Thinking that I’d possibly lost Palmer — or worse, all of them — was an eye opener. In the past week I’d grow used to their constant company, and I wasn’t ready for that to end. He may have been acting distant, but I trusted Palmer. I wanted him around, to get to know him more, to maybe, eventually, care about him enough to call it more than lust. Yeah, my feelings were all over the place. Sighing to myself, I looked around the ruined ballroom.

York had hogtied the four vampires who refused to show loyalty to the Vampyre name. They were laid out on their sides, unconscious, near the entrance to the once grand room. I almost let a giggle slip when I really studied them. With their feet and hands bound together in front of their body and mouths stuffed full of leaves, it was quite the sight to take in.

“Who knocked them out?” I questioned my guys as we all watched Vaughn work his frigid fae healing powers on Palmer.

“Oh, aye, cause a broken leg is gonna stop me from wieldin’ my magic.” Palmer huffed. “That’s how it works, alright. Did your injuries stop you, Love?”

I rubbed my left hand over my mouth to smother my smile. “You’re cute when you’re mad and pouting,” I told Palmer with a wink.

“I’m not feckin’ poutin’,” he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.