"You were going to rape us," Mei snarled, pushing her soul closer to reality.
Her skin blanched, her eyes turned dark, and the guy on the ground froze. Dahlia kept sucking at the man in her arms, glancing at the one dazed on the ground to make sure he didn't get up. Whatever these idiots were high on tasted good, like a little spice in their blood, and she wanted to enjoy it.
Then Mei pounced on her victim. Her form seemed to blur with the speed of her movement. The guy screamed one last time, and then the nu gui was on him. The man's sound died with a gurgle, his legs thrashing when he couldn't figure out what to do to escape. The guy Dahlia was feeding on began to slap at her side, too weak to truly beat her off, but it meant he was still alive.
She lifted her mouth. "Thought this was how the game was played?" she taunted. "The bigger, badder, and scarier things kill the weak ones."
"I just... I don't..." the man panted.
"You're going to bleed out regardless," she promised. "I bit too deep. You're dying and don't even know it yet."
Then the first guy began to stir. It started with a groan as he came to, his head rolling from side to side. "Raúl, run!" Dahlia's meal gasped.
"Mei!" Dahlia called. "Dinner's on."
Mei's head snapped around, giving Dahlia's meal a very clear view of the monster she'd become. "Yum," the nu gui breathed.
Then she scurried over to her next meal. The guy Dahlia was feeding on tried to scream, but Dahlia slapped a hand over his mouth and shoved her face back to his neck. The terror gave a nice bite. The fear hormones were being dumped into his bloodstream faster than she could drink it back.
He was too weak to get away. The other two men were completely still, but since Mei was still feeding, Dahlia could only guess that they weren't completely dead. Or at least the one she was eating now wasn't. Then Dahlia's meal began to get heavy.
His muscles gave out. The blood turned bitter, devoid of vitality. With a disgusted grunt, Dahlia let him drop. Just to be sure, she moved to the body Mei had discarded, checking for a pulse. It was there, faint, and the wound on his throat was still bleeding. While Mei continued to eat, Dahlia checked the men's pockets, looking for a little extra cash.
The first one's wallet was empty, except for an ancient condom that was probably no good and a few pictures. The next had seven dollars, which was better than nothing. He also had a credit card, so she took it. By the time she was done, Mei was finished with her meal and looking through that man's wallet.
But the sounds of sirens were getting closer. Most likely, someone had heard the screams and called the cops. It was always possible that there was a camera back here somewhere, which would suck, but Dahlia sure couldn't see one. Still, that meant it was time to go.
"Get anything?" Dahlia asked.
"Ten fucking bucks," Mei grumbled, pushing that into her pocket. "But hey, he had a Starbucks card, so we're taking it."
"Sounds like a plan," Dahlia agreed. "And the cops are coming, so we need to go."
Mei just tapped at her own cheek. "You got a little smudge about here."
"You're clean," Dahlia assured her as she wiped at her own face. "Where's the bag?"
She pointed at the wall. "Dropped it before bashing the first one." With a huff, she pushed to her feet, jogged over to get it, then tilted her head to the darkness beyond. "Back east for a bit?"
"Or keep going west and hope they haven't figured it out?" Dahlia asked.
"South," Mei decided. "See if we can get into Dallas proper, and maybe all the way through to the other side. We've been hovering on the north edge, so that should confuse them at least a little."
"Sounds like a plan," Dahlia agreed, and together they began walking toward the closest highway, just visible in the distance.
Chapter Twenty-Two
THANE
"We got 'em!" Dale bellowed into the room. "Moving in five minutes. If you're late, you miss out."
Thane grabbed his clavum and shoved both pairs into the loops inside his waistband. He was already dressed, so with that, he was ready. The others weren't far behind, but Dale was still talking.
"We have a 9-1-1 call in Irving near 114 and Airport Freeway," he announced. "Two women being harassed by a group of three men. Call claimed they were gang members, Black or Hispanic. The women..." Thane looked over in time to see Dale smile. "One Asian woman, approximately five foot two, and blonde who was much taller. Five-ten, the caller guessed."
"Bingo," Thane breathed, feeling his guts sinking.
"Police are en route, expecting to arrest the men. We have priests mobilizing to meet us there, another group listening in to the police scanners, and we're calling in the other team. This is an all-hands-on-deck situation, men, so let's show the Church what we can do. If they find the men dead, we'll know it's our demons."