Page 47 of Death Warden
I’d never been interested in bikes before. The thought of riding one had never crossed my mind, but now, with the beast of the bike between my thighs and the frozen world whipping past my visor, there was no denying the exhilaration expanding in my chest.
This was power.
This was freedom.
We wound down residential roads and then through Little Town, where storefronts were lit up prettily for evening trade. We zoomed down country roads bordered by forestland and then back onto the highway skimming the main city lit up bright before diving into a metropolis of towering buildings and traffic. The street soon narrowed, becoming rundown and deserted.
Riley decelerated and the roar of other bikes filled the night. She came to a standstill, Toni and Jessie behind her.
I leaned forward slightly. “Everything okay?”
“I’m not sure.” Riley sniffed the air.
“Vamps,” Jessie called out.
They appeared a moment later, seven figures on bikes hurtling toward us down the deserted residential street. I caught sight of an emblem on the front of the first bike.
“What the fuck?” Toni said.
The vamps came to a halt, positioning their bikes to pin us in.
Riley tugged off her helmet. “Grave Spirits patrol. Haven’t seen you guys before.”
“You don’t see the Lurkers,” one of the vamps said. “Not until we choose to be seen.”
“Help me!” a male voice cried.
Toni got off her bike. “What you got there?”
“Dinner.” The vamp hissed, showcasing yellowing fangs.
Shit, vamps drank synthetic blood, but I’d heard of a faction who believed in drinking only from the vein. They were mostly outcasts, shunned by other vamps. What were they doing in Frostgate?
“You don’t belong in Frostgate,” Toni said. “Drop the man, and we can escort you to the border peacefully. Resist and you’ll leave us no choice but to use force.”
“Force?” As the vamp climbed off his bike and his comrades followed, I noticed the black squirming bag tied to the back of his bike. “You think you can force us to do anything?”
“Help, please!”
They had a man in the bag.
Riley climbed off her bike. “Stay put,” she said to me.
“It’s against MC syndicate law for you to form an MC,” Toni said. “And you do not have Grave Spirit approval to be in Frostgate, so I’ll give you one last chance. Drop the man, and allow us to escort you to the border or—”
“Or what?” the vamp spat.
Riley stepped forward, her frame shimmering and wavering. “Or die.”
She burst from her skin, landing on all fours in hellhound form.
Toni and Jessie did the same so that the vamps were faced with three huge beasts. I glanced from pale vamp face to pale vamp face, expecting to see doubt, fear, something, but they were all looking at their leader, who was smiling.
Riley pounced at the leader, but she never reached him. An invisible force shoved her back. She fell to the ground, shook her head, then glared at the space beside the vamp.
Wait a second. I switched to gray sight and bit back a gasp. We were surrounded by ghosts. Shimmering, dazed-looking specters. They hovered by the vamps like spectral bodyguards.
Riley got to her feet and attacked again. The ghost slammed into her, forcing her back. Toni and Jessie attacked too.
