And then he ran.
Chapter Fourteen
“Oh hell no.” Not five minutes earlier the guy had been accusing me of failing because of my cowardice, and now he was running away? There was no way I was going to let Alexandre Peyton get out of here by fleeing the fucking scene.
His gang got wise to his plan then, and as a unit they surged towards me until I was at the edge of the pit, on the precipice of tumbling back in. I was not going down there again. Not until this was over, and only then to reclaim my boyfriend. I was surrounded on three sides by vampires, and at my back was a giant hole.
Get your shit together, Secret.
One of the vampires lunged for me, and I sidestepped in time, sending him reeling downwards into the pit. For a brief moment I feared what he might do to Desmond, until I heard a pitiful scream, followed by the sound of flesh being shredded.
Some of the other vampires heard it too because they stepped backwards as a group, not wanting to be the next victim to plummet into the waiting teeth of the monster below.
“Get out of my way and you don’t have to die.”
One of them, a woman barely bigger than me, laughed out loud at this. “You’re outnumbered and outmatched, and you still think you can threaten your way out of this?” Her voice was rich with a French accent that would have made her sound charming in any other situation. Now it made me want to pummel her even more.
“Wasn’t the pit supposed to hold me? Wasn’t the wolf supposed to kill me? Your so-called leader ran for the hills when I got out. He knows something you guys don’t.”
“What’s that?” she sneered dismissively, taking a step closer.
My sword cut through the air, shining boldly. When my hand stilled, a single drop of blood fell to the floor at my feet. The whole circle went still, and the woman blinked at me.
“I’m a lot scarier than I look.”
Her lips parted, and a stream of blood issued forth. Then the two halves of her body fell apart in opposite directions, slapping against the floor and onto the shoes of several of the nearest vampires. There were still two dozen of them. The odds shouldn’t favor me, but now their attention was on the slabs of meat that had once stood among their ranks.
In the past, I’d have considered leaving them alive. I’d have tried to find a way to let them go or to bring them to their council for proper justice. But that time of my life had passed. These people had willingly helped my enemy. They’d watched with gleeful detachment as he’d dropped me into a pit with an angry wolf, and they’d waited for the blood to flow.
The blood was going to flow now, but it wouldn’t be mine.
I raised the sword again and looked around the circle, pointing to each of them in turn. “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.”
At least a half dozen followed Peyton’s lead and bolted, one slipping in the mess of blood and gore on the floor.
“Who’s next?”
“I am.” A vamp who hadn’t been part of the crowd rose from the seating behind them and stepped through the group. He was a behemoth, pushing seven feet tall.
I think I was supposed to be intimidated by his size.
A few of the remaining vampires chuckled and sneered, stepping back to give him room. Clearly they thought I should be scared.
If I had a quarter for every giant vampire or monster I’d dispatched, I’d be at least a dollar richer. And I’d use that dollar to bet on me. The odds clearly weren’t in my favor.
I’d probably walk away with a nice investment on my return.
Again the handle of the sword felt hot to the touch. I could practically feel it humming under my palms.
It had tasted blood, and it wanted more.
“I think you’ll do nicely to satisfy the blade,” I said to him.
The vamp looked momentarily confused, as did the group around him. Were they expecting me to shit my pants and dive back into the hole for protection? These guys were slow on the uptake.
After pointing the sword towards his feet, I traced the air on the way up. “If I had my guns, I’d go for the knees first. The bigger they are the harder they fall, and all that. Then…” I lifted the sword so it was in his eye line, “…I’d blow your head off.”
This wasn’t a threat. This was just how I dealt with guys like him.