"So does that make the fact that you kill people any better?" He leaned against the wall, smiling.
The damned man was gorgeous, she had to give him that. Maybe that was her weakness. Maybe that was why she decided to answer. He was also the first man in centuries able to keep up, and she hated feeling so alone in the world.
"No. It just means I'm not the enemy. I only kill things more evil than me."
His head jerked toward the door. "Yeah, but you need to go." His head snapped around, he pointed to the window, then ran - right at her. "Now!" Power flared back into his eyes.
For a moment, she'd almost hoped they could be friends. She'd dared to think he might be on her side. Dahlia was an optimist, but she wasn't a fool. When Thane rushed her, she spun, running as hard as she could for the dusty windows lining the upper half of the exterior wall. She ran hard, but Thane was just as fast. With his longer legs - and better shoes - he was gaining.
Then she leapt, propelling her body into the cracked and brittle glass. The dress was a total loss, but better that than what was left of her soul. As her body tumbled through the air, she saw him rush to the opening and lean out, one arm reaching for her, but it was too late. She was already out of his grasp. Unfortunately, the landing was going to hurt, no matter what she did.
Dahlia pushed away from the veil, sliding back toward the afterlife as much as she could, and felt her body begin to dissolve. It made the ground hurt just a bit less. She bounced once, then rushed back toward reality, thankful she'd learned that little trick. It was just enough to keep her bones intact, even if it meant she lost all the energy she'd managed to consume doing it. Now she was going to need to feed again, but she couldn't risk it with a damned inquisitor after her.
From above, he called her name. "Dahlia!" When she looked up, she saw him leaning out toward the street below, more heads in the shadows behind him. "I will find you. Run all you want, but the Inquisition will never let you go!"
She just kept walking. So the bastard regretted his moment of kindness? That wasn't shocking, but it didn't mean he'd catch her. Thane was good, but he hadn't lived long enough to come up with half the ideas she'd already perfected. If he wanted to catch her, he'd have to find her first.
She had no intention of that happening again.
Chapter Five
THANE
The blonde hit the window hard. Glass shattered and she kept going. Falling. Tumbling. Just as Thane reached the ledge and leaned toward her, the woman's form began to dissipate. Everything about her blurred, making her look like some dream he couldn't quite recall.
Behind him, the door to the stairs burst open. He could hear the sound of men. Some were yelling, and it sounded like a mob, but Thane couldn't take his eyes off the woman. Dahlia. That wasn't her name, but it would do. Time slowed as she fell, and then her body crashed into the concrete below. She should have splattered. He expected to hear a crunch.
The woman's body bounced hard, and then she simply stood back up. No longer was she stunning. Now, she looked abused, broken, and definitely bloody. If nothing else, that should warn her potential victims to stay away from her, but Thane had a feeling it wouldn't.
Behind him, men poured into the room. Thane didn't even need to look to know they were the priests, so he yelled out something to make it clear he'd been trying to stop her. That was to cover his tracks, because the things he'd talked to her about could get him accused of blasphemy - or worse. If any of these men knew he'd intentionally let her go, they'd kill him. The bigger question was why he'd wanted to.
When she and her partner had run from the club, the priests had tried to corner them. His team had moved to flank. The backup units had called for more. How many people had been down there, and Thane was the only one who'd been able to keep up with her? What had happened to the superiority of priests over hunters?
Never mind her insistence that he had to be a priest. The woman mentioned a century like it was nothing, but she didn't know about hunters? Where the fuck had she been hiding, and how old was this monster? What did she know that he didn't, and why was the Church keeping it to themselves?
"What happened?" a priest snapped at him, breaking him from his thoughts.
Thane knew the voice belonged to one of the muckety-mucks he should grovel to. This guy clearly had a little clout, even if his street clothes didn't exactly show his priestly rank. Sadly, Thane was too tired to care. That woman had pushed him hard. Her hits had hurt, even if he'd tried not to show it. On top of that, he'd let her drain him, and now he was paying for it.
Still, they'd expect an answer. Hunters were nothing more than grunts in their faith, and any priest outranked him because of it. Slowly, Thane turned to face the man and shoved his hair back from his face. It had the added benefit of showing off the scrapes and welts that woman had left him with.
"What happened is that the supposed thrall beat the piss out of me," he replied.
The man nodded, his demeanor softening. "Where's your clavum?"
Thane waved his hand in the general direction. "One's on the floor over there somewhere. I tried to surprise her and she knocked it out of my hand. I couldn't get the chance to pull another." He paused, shifted, and jerked his chin at the man. "Maybe next time we can get a little better intel? We went in there thinking we were going to take down a fledgling vamp. Instead, we got two of these things, and I'm pretty sure the blonde was the more powerful of the two."
The man's eyes narrowed, but he didn't contradict any of that. "So why were you making out with that thing?"
Thane just gave him a disgusted look. "You said the vampire had taken her as a thrall. I thought I was about to save that poor girl's soul. She came on to me, and you had us all watching the Asian girl. Basic plan is always to separate the thrall, remove the vamp, and then see if the thrall can be converted."
"You're supposed to listen to your ward." The priest pointed at the tattoo on Thane's arm. "What else did you think the burning was?"
"It didn't burn," he grumbled under his breath.
"What?" the priest asked, stepping closer.
Thane took a deep breath. "I said it didn't burn."