Chapter 13 #2
The other vampire answers, but he talks softly enough that I can’t hear. The other two grin instantly, agreeing to whatever he said. Before I take another breath, they move with unbelievable speed and surround me.
“You’re not leaving,” one of the vamps croons softly.
His voice is strangely warm, dulling my anxiety. I twist to face him; thrown by the gentle way he speaks. Everything about him is now friendly and approachable.
No matter how hard he tries to pretend he’s nice, a big part of me knows he’s about to hurt me. I glance at him before looking at his friends. “Please don’t do this.”
For every step I take away, they take one closer.
“This?” one of the vampires question unnecessarily, mocking me by dancing around just out of reach.
The magikal raises his hand again and points his finger like a gun. The air around him shimmers like a mirage in the summer before his energy blasts out.
Whatever magic he was casting, works this time. I throw my hands up defensively and somehow whatever he did ricochets off me and hits them. They all stagger backward, groaning in pain.
I’m equally stunned and frozen on the spot, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. The closest vampire to me drops to his knees screaming for help and holding his upper arm. The others start stumbling off in all directions, clearly in pain, somehow hurt too.
It takes a second for their injuries to register, but as soon as I see the evidence dripping onto the ground, my ears ring and my vision tunnels.
I fight to stay upright—it would be dangerous to faint now—but my eyes jump from one of my would-be attackers to the next, pausing on the liquid pooling under them. The world tilts slowly as gravity starts slipping away until everything goes black.
Regaining consciousness is never fun. Dizziness swirls in my mind as it tries to right itself, and unwanted snippets of my past taunt me. Today’s memory is bad—I’m in the ER, the doctor’s scrubs are covered by proof of how hard he tried to save my mom.
I squeeze my eyes shut, forcing myself to sit up, to remember I’m no longer there as I whisper desperately, “No more. No more.”
I step from one nightmare and open my eyes to another.
One of Professor Cane’s friends, the vampire, is squatting in front of me. Mere inches separate us. My hand jumps to cover my throat, and he watches me, emotionless and silent.
I get I should be standing up and running but gods, he’s distractingly good-looking. His dirty-blonde hair looks like it’s been recently trimmed and suits his strong features. The five o’clock shadow dotting his jawline adds a generous sprinkle of smuttiness to his aesthetic.
Still, he watches me.
My head spins under the weight of his pretty steel-gray eyes. Maybe he’s doing the same thing the other vampire tried, lulling me into a sense of docility before he attacks . Again, I know I should feel panicked, but I don’t because despite not knowing him, I feel as though I do.
My mind races, flipping between claims he wouldn’t hurt me while also recognizing he’s a vampire who could drain me in a heartbeat.
I know I should focus on his ability to destroy me in a single bite, but I’m caught in the strange insight that we share…
something. My conflict, and the way he consumes my thoughts makes little sense.
It must be one of his powers working. I shut my eyes and crawl away from him, severing his connection.
And it works. When I open my eyes the sense of familiarity is gone, and I’m left knowing again that I’m in a shitty, and dangerous situation.
In the time he distracted me, things have gone from bad to worse.
The three guys who attacked me are now unconscious.
I try to stand, wanting to make sure they’re alive and breathing, but a giant black wolf keeps pacing in the distance that separates us, snarling at them and growling at me.
The vampire—that I-know-but-don’t-know—suddenly appears in front of me, and with one look he starts to ensnare me again.
I shut my eyes and blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “Please don’t hurt me.”
He ignores my plea. “What happened? Did you hurt them?”
My eyes fly open.
“Me?” I squeak. My gaze jumps back to them before I glance around, because the good-looking vampire said something so ridiculous I’m sure I’m being punked.
He’s not laughing, and those earlier feelings of history and intimacy I thought we shared are long gone. Instead, he’s staring at me suspiciously and vibrating with irritation. “Yeah, you.”
My hackles go up, and before I can stop myself, I scoff at his insinuation that I’m the one responsible for the unconscious students. I was the one who was attacked!
The wolf snarls, perhaps picking up on my energy, but that pisses me off too.
Rationally, I know it would be bad to lose it in front of them, they’re supes after all, and I’m nothing but the new Nom. I shut out all the noise and focus on slowing my breathing until I’m sure I won’t erupt. Only when I’ve got a hold on my emotions do I answer as calmly as possible. “I’m a Nom.”
“I know. So, how about you explain exactly what it is you did? Because those three,”—the vampire’s arm flies to point to the three supes—“are more than capable of defending themselves. Which means you’re responsible for this.”
I hear what he’s saying, but it’s so absurd I surge to my feet, swept up in indignation.
The wolf circles closer but my attention is locked on the vampire who rises with me.
My finger hits his chest as my anger spurts out like a geyser.
“Yeah, you’re right. It was me. On my run, I thought, ‘hmm, what would make my morning complete? Oh, I know, how about I lure in some supes and see if I can get my primal kink filled?’ I was so damn close, I tell you, so damn close.
They were a cat’s whisker away from being lured into my trap, but at the last minute they realized, hence all the grievous bodily injuries, then you showed up and saved the day. How’s that?”
I barely stop shouting before I twist away from them faster than a tornado. I storm off, humiliated and irrationally angry, due to his ignorant view of the scene. Of course, he thinks I’m to blame. I’m a Nom, and the scapegoat.
Perhaps hiding out in Magikster Ballin’s room for detention will be the best course of action. I can’t believe I just mouthed off to supposedly one of the strongest vampires at Thales, when the wolf—whoever he is—was close enough to hear.