Page 53 of Wake the Dream

“You are going to pay for this.” Illaria directed her comment toward Daniel. Wanting her hands around his neck.

He shrugged obliviously. “I refuse to let you shame me. This is my choice, Illaria.”

“And was it your choice to cheat on my sister?”

“Hey, I resent that! It’s not cheating if you don’t go all the way.” Pained, Daniel raised a hand to his heart. “Yelena was very special to me.”

She also wanted to slap that stupid hat off his head and make him eat it, but instead clamped down on her disgust so hard that she nearly choked. “You can’t be serious.”

The moment thick with tension, the four parties poised to attack, Illaria chose to make her move before the rest of them. With Mrs. Macy’s eyes focused on Kieran, Illaria dug her elbow into the older woman’s side. The pointy bone bit into soft tissue.

She ducked, moving preternaturally fast seconds before the gun went off, bullet embedding harmlessly into the stone of the fireplace. Swinging out with her leg, the heel of her boot raked against Mrs. Macy’s ankle in an attempt to take her down.

A fighter Illaria never claimed to be, although she’d had her fair share of scrapes. She did the best she could with raw animal instincts and a fierce desire to make good on her promise to decapitate Daniel. He had it coming.

Mrs. Macy had surprisingly good balance, though. She jumped out of the way in time to avoid the boot and launched down with her own leg. It caught Illaria in the shoulder, sending her to the floor and the breath from her lungs.

Black spots did the rumba in front of her eyes. Mrs. Macy, with her shoe firmly planted in the middle of Illaria’s back, bellowed some kind of banshee-like warning to the rest of the household. Waking the occupants with her volume.

Which brought on the vampires.

Illaria would have never guessed Kieran to be right on that count, the grumpy mid-morning fangers who were in worse moods than a teenager woken up for school. They poured from their rooms like a horde of ants toward a juicy morsel of food. Except angry. Getting-vengeance-for-your-murdered-family-in-a-movie angry.

Eyes glowed red in the gloom and Illaria opened her mouth to warn Kieran of their approach. No need. Daniel had his hands around the detective’s neck, pressing him back against the wall. An opportunist to the core.

Illaria shifted enough to grab Mrs. Macy’s ankle and twist. It gave her enough wiggle room to jump up.

Mrs. Macy charged her with a growl, knocking Illaria off her feet and sending her stumbling into the coffee table. Down again. She landed on her haunches, knocking her shoulder against the glass and causing the mugs of tea to crash down to the floor.

“You came here and threatened my family,” the old woman taunted. “Get up.”

Illaria didn’t have the time to taunt back, which part of her desperately wanted to do. Instead, she gathered her energy, surging up, ignoring the twinge of pain in her shoulder. She’d heal.

“What aboutmyfamily, you old hag?” Illaria grabbed the tray used to bring out the tea and swung it at Mrs. Macy’s head.

She ducked, but not quickly enough to avoid a blow.

The vampires swarmed. Illaria jumped, her attention riveted on them, giving Mrs. Macy the opportunity she needed to fight back.

Her arms came around Illaria’s midsection, locking her hands at the wrists and squeezing. Stronger than she looked for a human.

The breath left Illaria in a groan. Struggling to move, she called to her magic, the burn beginning low in her belly. It sputtered and threatened to go out, which was at least better than the last time she’d tried to draw on her magic and found nothing. Better, yes, but not nearly enough to help.

She drew from there and clapped her hands together with whatever force she could muster. The mini tornado whipped out of her, drawing its energy from her core. It broke Mrs. Macy’s hold on her and gave Illaria enough time to surge to her feet, winded but unharmed.

She sprinted across the room toward Kieran, determined to break Daniel’s arms. One of the vampires came at her and knocked her off her feet. Before she could hit the floor, steel bands in the guise of arms came around her waist to drag her away. T where, she didn’t know.

And pretty sure she didn’t want to find out.

Illaria screeched and fought. Lashing out with her feet, she kicked at the vampire’s kneecaps without conscious thought. The creature still had her suspended in the air, carrying her squirming toward the darkness of the cave-like rooms.

Mrs. Macy ordered the rest of the vampires to hold them down. “Take care of the threat, quickly,” she called out, her cheeks flaming.

Two more vamps rushed into the hallway, their attention focused on Illaria. Maybe it would give Kieran some kind of advantage.

Some time to get out of the chokehold and help her.

Illaria’s attention zipped down to the vampire holding her the instant his fangs scraped across her neck. Ohhellno. She sent another blast of air magic out—nearly the last of what she had—this time behind her. As soon as the vampire was two steps away, she lashed out with a fist accompanied by more magic. It sent him flying into the side of the fireplace. The stone crumbled with a resounding thud.

---