Page 44 of Knave

Mouse’s eyes widened, her hand going for a dagger but finding it gone from her hip, still lodged in the vampire’s head. “He’s coming!”

Ferris whirled around, widening his stance, wishing he had a gun on him. It had barely made a difference when Mouse shot the ancient, but maybe if he took multiple shots…Shit.The wild look in the vampire’s eyes told Ferris that he was too far gone to care about anything but feeding. The vampire ran toward them, hunched, claws out, fangs bared, nearly every bone on display beneath his skin. Mouse’s dagger still protruded from his head.

“Fuck!” Ferris shouted. He needed to buy Mouse time to escape. Against all his training as a guard, he turned his back on the enemy, and shoved Mouse through the hole in the wall. She fell backward into the room with the strange relics. “Get out of here.”

He couldn’t lose her. If he died right now, the fucker would only go after Mouse next—he had to kill him. Ferris whirled around, baring his own fangs at the vampire. Eyes trained on the dagger in the bastard’s skull, Ferris sprinted forward using his vampire speed.

If he could get the dagger, he could use it to—

The vampire punched Ferris in the side of the head. Stars burst in his vision and then the momentum of the blow sent him crashing into the wall before tumbling to the ground. His temple took the impact and then… darkness stole his vision. Mouse screamed and he stumbled toward the sound. He shook his head, pressing his eyes shut. The sound of shattering glass and splintering wood echoed through his skull.Fuck!Blinking rapidly, the stars finally broke through the blackness. A few more times and he could finally see. Mouse screamed again and he leapt to his feet.

Fucking motherfucker!

Ferris darted through the hole and into the hidden room. Gulping sounds greeted him first. His body froze, the world seeming to crack in half as he locked onto the horrific scene before him.

Mouse, splayed on the floor, surrounded by shattered glass. The vampire straddling her lifeless form. Head bent to her neck. Feasting. His vision faded around the edges, fear and anger blistering through him.

No!

Not Mouse.

Teeth bared, blood boiling in his veins, he dove for the vampire, everything moving in slow motion, and latched onto the dagger in the vampire’s skull. Ripping the blade free, Ferris drove it straight down into the back of the fucker’s neck, severing the spinal cord.

“Mouse?” He yanked the vampire’s lifeless body off her and threw him to the side. “Mouse, are you okay?” Pausing, he waited for her reply, but it never came. “Luv, you need to wake up.”

She was silent. Unmoving.

Ferris spared a moment to rip the vampire’s head from his body, then to tear his heart out, not willing to risk another attack while he saved Mouse. He barely noticed himself doing it, even as black blood sprayed over his hands. Mouse’s throat was torn to shreds, bright red pooling from the wound. Her chest still.

Bone was visible inside her neck. Tendons and muscle exposed. Her glassy eyes stared up at nothing. Ferris fell to his knees beside her. “You’ll be okay,” he promised her. “I’ll save you.”

Lifting her to lay her head in his lap, he really noticed just how deep the vampire had torn into her. There were only a few inches of skin still holding her head to her body, but the spine hadn’t been severed. It wasn’t too late…

It wasn’t fucking too late.

He bit into his wrist and pressed his skin to her lips, allowing the blood to drizzle inside her. There was enough in him to save her, even if it drained him dry. All she had to do was drink. But his blood pooled into her mouth and spilled over the corner of her lips.

“Luv?” Tears blurred his vision. “Luv, you have to drink.”

Still, her lips didn’t move against his skin, not even a tiny twitch.

“Please!” he screamed, the sound reverberating off the walls. “Mouse. Don’t do this to me. Don’t you dare fucking die!”

His heart thundered painfully in his chest as he pressed his wrist harder against her mouth. The blood leaked down her chin, spilling into the open wound. She wasnearlydecapitated—that didn’t count. He’d seen Rav bring back vampires in similar conditions.Worse.With their skin peeled back from their skulls, flesh scraped away from limbs until all that remained was bones. All she had to do was fucking drink.

“Please, luv.” Hot tears flowed down his cheeks. He bent over her small frame and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Please. I love you. I’ll do anything.Please.”

This wasn’t fucking doing a damn thing. Ferris pulled his wrist away and laid her carefully onto the floor. Rav had used an IV. But Ferris didn’t have any needles … hadn’t since he’d stopping using drugs. Pressing his ear to her chest, he heard a faint thump of her heart. Too quiet, too irregular.Fuck!She wasn’t going to make it. He tore across the room, yanking books off the shelves, smashing the glass cases open. Rampaging like the vampire had.

Only one thing mattered.

Mouse.

In his entire miserable life, he’d never been able to hold onto anything good. Not his friends nor his family. Not Ellie. Their baby. Everything he touched turned to fucking shit. It withered and died. But not Mouse. She was immortal. Too full of life for it to be real.

Ferris stood amid his chaos and gasped for breath.

But she was gone. Her eyes … they were just like Ellie’s had been that day in the car. They weredeadeyes. He collapsed beside Mouse, gently wiping the hair from her face, a crackling sob breaking in his chest.

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