Blood Rights

‘Absolutely.’ Mikkel seemed pleased with himself.

‘Did you kill them?’

‘No. They had the area warded, and she fought my magic hard. I almost didn’t get her out. Plus I thought I should bring her to you immediately.’

‘Hmph.’ Tatiana bent down and stared into Fi’s eyes. She couldn’t help but stare back. It was like looking into an abyss. A vile, familiar abyss. ‘Is the other comarré with you? The girl? What about the vampire helping her?’

Fi lay there, helpless to answer. Not that she would have anyway. If she was going to die in the jaws of a vampire for a second time, she certainly wasn’t going to give either of them any help hurting her friends.

‘Ignorant chit. You think you can best me?’ Tatiana slapped Fi across the face. Pain radiated through her cheek, causing a shocked tear to spill over the stinging skin. Anger blossomed in Fi’s belly. Warm, comforting anger. And the renewed urge to fight. She definitely wasn’t giving this bloodsucker any help.

‘Answer me,’ Tatiana screamed, spittle flying into Fi’s face. Disgusting. If she’d been able to move, she would have spit back.

Mikkel shook his head. ‘She can’t. I’ve got her bound with one of my spells at the moment.’

Tatiana rolled her eyes as she stood. A muscle ticked in her jaw. ‘Then unbind her before I slit both your throats.’

That got him moving. Good to know who wore the pants in that relationship. He whispered something, and the numbness seeped out of Fi like ice melting. Before she could wiggle her fingers, Tatiana scooped her up by the front of her hoodie and held her so close Fi could count the eyelashes fringing her possessed silver eyes. Those eyes …

‘Where. Is. The. Girl.’

It wasn’t a question, it was a demand for an answer. So Fi gave her the same answer that used to make her parents crazy. Nothing. She added a yawn for good measure.

Tatiana shook her. ‘Answer me.’

‘Don’t … tell her anything … ’ The words drifted from behind Tatiana, slow and labored. The woman had to be Maris.

Tatiana whirled, clutching Fi one-handed like a rag doll. She backhanded Maris, snapping her head to the side. ‘Shut up, old woman.’ Tatiana inhaled what sounded like a sob. ‘You’re lucky you’re still alive after what you did to my precious Nehebkau.’

Wincing at Maris’s pain, Fi wished she had one of those Golgotha blades like Chrysabelle carried. Or Doc’s switchblade. This close, Fi could have easily buried it in Tatiana’s heart. Her hands twitched with the thought.

Maris’s eyes fluttered closed as her chin sagged to her chest.

Tatiana returned her tarnished gaze to Fi. Her nostrils flared and her lips curled, showing off her fangs. ‘Tell me what I want to know and I’ll spare your life.’

Fi flared her nostrils. ‘You should brush more.’

Tatiana shifted hands to take Fi by the throat. Her icy fingers closed over Fi’s neck like a vise grip. She smiled, and Fi’s bravado took a small step back at the expanse of teeth. ‘I like to play games too. Maybe we should play one together.’ She pulled Fi closer and dragged a nail down her cheek. The burning left behind meant Tatiana must have cut her. A second later, Tatiana licked a drop of red off her finger. ‘You should know I always win.’

‘Then let’s have a tanning competition. You go first.’ Where was Doc? Even if he couldn’t shift into anything more than a house cat, his half-and-half stage was pretty damn scary. And she could use some pretty damn scary on her side right now.

Tatiana opened her mouth and pressed her tongue into the sharp tip of one fang. Blood welled up instantly. ‘Do you have any idea how much a vampire bite hurts? How razor-fine fangs are?’

‘Actually, you dumb cow, I do. Do you know how much a varcolai bite hurts? You’re going to, because my boyfriend’s teeth are way bigger than yours.’

With a shriek, Tatiana flung Fi across the room. She fell into a low table, her arm snapping beneath her as she landed. The pain sucked the breath from her lungs but only for an instant. Giddy with the irony that she was about to die a second time at the hand of the undead, Fi opened her mouth and laughed. Living in Mal’s head had exposed her to horrors no creature should have to see. If Tatiana thought a few broken bones were going to—

Fi stopped laughing. It was entirely possible that Mal and the rest of them had made it into the estate. They could be in the building. If she yelled loud enough, maybe he or Doc would hear her. Both of them had pretty amazing hearing. She smiled at Tatiana. ‘You are so dead.’

Tatiana smiled back. ‘It’s amusing when my food talks back.’

Lifting her good arm, Fi flipped Tatiana the bird before screaming as loud and as long as she could. A snap of Mikkel’s hand cut off her air. Bits and pieces of her life flickered in her vision, a mash up of her memories and a few that had to belong to Mal. Her mother’s face morphed into one of Mal’s victims. Her college boyfriend changed into a vampire holding a blindfold. As her world went dark again, she suddenly realized why Mikkel and Tatiana seemed so familiar.

Mal bent his head sharply to the left and right, cracking the bones in his neck. It didn’t help. The voices scraped against Mal’s skull like teeth on steel. Some of them howled. Some of them cursed. Some of them wept. And each step deeper into the house made them louder. Concentrating had become a chore. He glanced at Chrysabelle. Maybe he should grab her body armor again. The sting of silver cut through the chaos, if only until the wound healed.