Page 64 of Pleasantly Undead in Dark River

I felt like the worst person in the world. “I wish I could help, Ashar. I do. I’m working on something with Titus, and hopefully we can find a cure for everyone soon. But I can’t. If it was just my blood…” Hell, I wouldn’t mind feeding him every other week. He really was sweet. He had dark hair and eyes that sat too huge in his face. He reminded me of the geeky kid next door and I didn’t want him to suffer. But it wasn’t just blood he needed, and I wasn’t ready to pimp myself for the greater good.

His face fell a little, and I felt fucking terrible. “I’ll talk to Titus? Maybe they’ll put you in the first trials?” He brightened a little, and I smiled back. I’d do that. I had sway now, and I could use it to help people like Ashar. His eyes drifted past me, and his eyes went from happy to something a little more interested.

“I don’t think I introduced myself. Hi, I’m Ashar. Sorry to interrupt.”

Everly flushed bright pink and I grinned. Oh shit, they would be so freaking cute together. I stepped to the side so they could introduce themselves properly.

“Asher, this is Everly. My friend.”

I was one of those people who never really learned from their mistakes. I would always touch the flame twice to check it was really hot. Always binge eat Chinese food even though it made me want to puke.

Always trusted the friendly face.

As soon as my foot crossed the threshold of the apartment, Ashar reached out and snatched me from the doorway.

I grabbed at the wall, my nails tearing off as I scrambled for a hand hold on anything. But he dragged me down the stairs and into the alley without slowing his steps.

No! No fucking way. Not again. Instead of dragging against him, I leapt and wrapped my body around his head like a damn spider monkey, slamming my fist into the base of his neck. He grunted, stopping suddenly, and the motion threw me forward onto the hard gravel. It scraped my skin and Ashar was on me in a moment, licking at the wounds and drops of blood.

No semblance of the sweet kid was left. It was all the darkness.

“Fight, Succubus. I love it when they fight. It makes breaking them so much more delicious. My collection of broken toys.”

Well, that was fucking creepy. I was on my feet and running away, but he was so damn fast. He grabbed the back of my neck, halting me and tossing me into the side of the brick wall with enough force to make my brain whirl. He was on top of me in an instant, his hands around my throat. I gripped his wrists, squeezing hard, trying to break his hold, or hell his wrists. I’d take either option now.

“Get the fuck off me!” I screeched, scrabbling backwards, aiming a kick at his head. I got him in the nose, but he was feral now.

He moaned deep in his chest. “Make it hurt.”

Well, he was fucked. No kink shaming, but I was strongly against the whole non-con in my fiction, let alone in real life. He stepped back though, looking confusedly at his hands. My compulsion. Why hadn’t I thought about that shit before now?

His words finally penetrated my brain. “Wait, your collection? You’re the damn Collector?”

Ashar grinned, the charm leaking back into his eyes. “That’s what they call me in the darkened alleys, where only the diseased can survive. I like it though. It sounds kind of badass, right?” His earnestness was back, and I realized that Ashar wasn’t on the edges of madness at all. He was fully damn unhinged.

I threw my head forward, landing a headbutt to his face. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. No one wins with a headbutt. My teeth rattled in my skull, but it had the right effect. He reared back as blood gushed from his nose and down his chin.

A high pitched whistle had us both turning to the mouth of the alley. I barely had time to comprehend what was happening before there was a huge hunting knife lodged in Ashar’s right eye.

He went down like a dead weight as the knife did damage I didn’t even want to think about. Everly stood at the end of the alleyway, panting hard. I looked at the incapacitated vampire at my feet, and I vomited up popcorn and macaroni and cheese all over him.

Everly was beside me inhumanly fast, checking me for injuries. She heaved, and I heaved along with her.

“I’m sorry,” I moaned.

She waved me away. “I’m a sympathetic puker,” she groaned as she dry heaved again.

Putting a hunting knife through someone's eye hadn’t fazed her but half-digested mac’n’cheese? That was her hard limit. A hysterical laugh bubbled up my throat but came out as a sob.

So I did one thing I never thought I would. I slid down the wall and buried my face in my knees. I tugged on all my connections at once. It would bring them to me, my lovers, my heart. Until they got here, I was just going to cry a little instead.

Chapter Thirty-Four

No one had been able to stop Lucius from chopping the now re-dead Ashar into a thousand pieces. Literally a thousand. He counted as he chopped. When his knife had grown dull, X was there to hand him another one.

Judge was in a rage, but I don’t think it was aimed at Ashar. It was aimed at himself, and apparently the guys shared his rage. “She should never have been alone,” X repeated for the hundredth time.

“I know,” Judge growled back.

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