Page 22 of The Devil's Waltz

I close my eyes and allow myself to drown in my surroundings. The pulsing beat of the music and the thick, warm air. It’s not exactly paradise, but it’s enough to ground me for a fleeting moment before I let the monster take control. Exhaling a sigh, I walk toward the back exit, following people who are going out to smoke. All I need to do is pick someone and get them away from the crowd.

There’s a small group of girls who look too young to be here, passing around a joint and laughing. I could interject and pull one of them away—it would be painfully easy. The darkest, most depraved part of me enjoys a challenge, but tonight, I just want to get this over with as quickly as possible.

I pause mid-stride, picking up the sound of a muffled female whimper and a sharp male exhale. My eyes narrow, and I’m moving past the group of easy targets and toward the other end of the back parking lot.

Fear is like a siren call, pulling me into the narrow space between two buildings. It’s not wide enough to be considered an alley, making it the perfect spot for seclusion. It’s far enough away from the smoking areathat unless someone screamed, no one would hear a thing. Which begs the question, why isn’t this girl screaming? The answer comes a moment later when I step into the dark, damp space and find her pressed against the building as a middle-aged guy holds a pocket knife to her throat.

Tendrils of fear pour off the girl. She can’t be much older than twenty. Her cheeks are stained with tears and her pulse is jack-hammering, especially the arterial vein in her neck.

I wouldn’t have to do anything to feed off her, save for knocking her attacker aside.

She turns her wide-eyed gaze to me and sucks in a breath.

My legs start moving on their own, and the guy turns to follow her gaze, his bloodshot eyes landing on me and narrowing.

“Get the fuck out of here,” he grumbles, his breath rank with alcohol.

I arch a brow at him. “Or what?”

He blinks at me, perturbed at my lack of concern toward the weapon he’s now pointing at me. Considering it’s not made of obsidian, I don’t have anything to worry about. Especially when I could easily pluck it from his hand faster than he could blink—which is exactly what I do.

The girl chokes on a sob, and the fear oozing from her makes me grit my teeth. The monster growls deep in my chest.

Take her. Take her. Take her.

I grab her arm, shoving her toward the end of the buildings, and bark, “Get out of here.”

She flees without looking back, the sound of her crying growing quieter the farther she gets.

I can’t take the chance of being caught out here if she reports what happened. I fold the knife shut and slip it into my back pocket, then turn to the guy whose heart is beating faster now that we’re alone.

He shuffles back a step. “What the fuck is your problem?”

I shrug, picking a piece of lint off my jacket. “How long do you have?”

“Look, I don’t want any trouble.”

This is painfully cliché.

I laugh harshly. “I think that’s exactly what you wanted.”

“Is that chick your girlfriend or something? Fuck, she was all over me in the bar. She wanted—”

“Stop talking,” I cut him off sharply. “And here’s a tip—if she’s crying and you have to threaten her with a knife to keep her quiet, shedoesn’twant anything to do with you.” I shoot forward at a speed too fast for him to track, grabbing his throat and slamming him against the brick wall. His eyes widen at my all-black gaze and his lips part in a silent scream as I dig my fingers into his throat.

I’m not sure what he sees when he looks into my eyes. Everyone’s worst nightmare is different. I could see it if I wanted to, but I’d rather get it over with than see what has tears streaming down his stubble-covered cheeks.

Fear ripples off him in black, silky ribbons. They wind around my arm, settling into my skin and making it tingle with electricity. I inhale slowly as energy fills me. My veins sing with power, and my grip on his neck tightens almost to the point of cutting off his oxygen.

His complexion turns paler by the second, his eyes bulging out of his face and his heart pounding in his chest. If it gets much faster, he’ll likely have a heart attack.

I should let him die. It’d be a public service to wipe this scum off the earth for good. But it’d also be hypocritical after I told Blake not to kill anyone tonight.

The monster relishes in the vitality flooding through me as I step back, letting the man go.

He sinks to the ground, his shoulders shaking with quiet sobs. The front of his jeans is dark from wetting himself.

I don’t look back as I walk away and pull my phone out of my pocket, texting Blake to hurry up. I’m ready to get the fuck out of here.

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