Page 72 of Throwing Shade
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“Laurent.”I held up my hands. “It’s me. Miriam.”
The wolf barked and lunged. I jumped behind a marble statue, narrowly missing having a chunk taken out of my thigh.
Zev caught hold of Laurent’s ruff, and all the fur on the wolf’s body stood on end. He strained in the vampire’s hold, white flecks of foam on his muzzle.
I pressed farther back behind the sculpture. My cloaking didn’t do squat in Zev’s presence, I couldn’t outrun or outfight a wolf, and Delilah couldn’t best the vampire with physical strength.
From his magic to psychological warfare tactics, Zev was more powerful than me. I’d assumed that Laurent and I would meet these vampires on our terms, and between his abilities and mine, persuade them to either hand Jude over, or assist with finding her.
I rested my head against the cool marble, the wolf’s growls obscuring all other sounds, damning myself for my cockiness, then slapped myself lightly on one cheek. I had all the time in the world to berate myself, provided I got out of here.
Since Delilah had a hard outline where I stood, I animated her and sent her up the wall behind me, careful to keep her out of any spotlights, while I kept Zev talking to distract him. “What if Jude swears she’ll never make another golem for anyone?”
“Her record is already blemished,” the vampire said.
“Then let her unblemish it,” I said tightly.
While I couldn’t see the others from my hiding spot behind the statue, Delilah’s vantage point on the ceiling noted them clearly. It was getting easier to stay in both my vision and hers at the same time.
Zev still restrained Laurent. “Some tarnishes cannot be shined away.”
“Come on. It’s never too late to give someone a second chance,” I said.
Just a little closer…
“How human,” Zev scoffed. “You speak of morality on one hand and then argue that lies and broken promises should go unpunished when it impacts you.”
“How easily you distanced yourself from my kind,” I said. “You drape yourself in humanity like it’s a tailored suit to put on, but it’s no longer an essential part of you.”
Delilah dropped to the ground in the same pool of light in which the others stood and kicked Emmett in the ass.
He flew into the wolf, knocking the animal free. Laurent yipped, startled, and Emmett sprinted across the room, the wolf hot on his trail.
Zev tried to follow, but couldn’t move, because I’d crept up behind him and seized his shadow.
Emmett wrestled with the wolf, who bit him, then sneezed and spat out a mouthful of clay. The golem’s pompadour went skidding across his floor, his bald head nicely proportioned.
Zev stepped to the side, not immobilized one iota by my magic. “What outcome were you expecting?” he said. “Do you really think that someone like you can kill me as you did my young associate?”
Still gripping the vampire’s shadow, I gaped at it with a sinking feeling, Like Titanic-level sinking. Desperate, I crumpled it as hard as I could, but instead of icy darkness curling through my fingers, the shadow turned to fog, reforming on the ground several feet away.
I swallowed. How could I kill the vampire with the lighter if I couldn’t paralyze his shadow?
Would that tactic even work on him at all?
The wolf circled me and I held my hands up like I was some exotic animal tamer. Who knew that would have been the most relevant career choice in my life? I fought back a lump in my throat. How was I supposed to reason with a wolf driven mad by compulsion? We were supposed to keep giving each other grief until we found Jude together, not until he ripped my throat out.
I backed up involuntarily.
Zev smirked. “How sweet. I see you two are having a heartfelt reunion, so I shan’t intrude further. Though, it’s a pity his joy in seeing you again will probably tear you apart.” He strode out the door, locking it behind him.
Emmett ran past me and the wolf pounced, knocking the golem to the ground. The wolf snarled, Emmett screamed, and a clay leg clad in shredded green cotton flew across the room.
I snapped my fingers. “Yo! Huff ’n’ Puff!”
Laurent jumped off the golem and came at me, but his shadow wasn’t moving correctly. It jerked along in starts and stops, with a limping wounded quality to what should have been a fluid gait. Okay, I saw dybbuks in shadows—could it also be that I saw vampire compulsions?
