Page 93 of Love Lives
Miko shoved the crystals into her pockets and looked around herself.
Aldrich heard the subtleclickof his cuffs opening.
It was just about show-time.
He glanced at the table where the red marble still lay. That was going to be Remy's first target. He wasn't going to be smart enough to just run and hide. He would want that thing. Which meant that Aldrich had to make it possible for him to get it unharmed.
Could he draw all three Keepers to himself?
Probably.
Would that be a good idea?
Probably not.
But he already knew he was going to do it anyway.
Just as soon as...
"Someone's coming," the dragon said.
"Someone?" the fox whirled around.
"I'm going to check." The swannie walked out of the room. Fantastic. That meant Aldrich only had to deal with two Keepers for the time being. He rose, discarding his cuffs.
"What are you--" The fox could never even finish her sentence before Aldrich had shifted and started to run at her, fangs barred. She made a gesture with her hand, some sort of spell, obviously, but Aldrich darted to the left before he could be hit by it. He didn't truly want to attack her; he wanted her to give chase. Her and the dragon both. He lunged at that guy next.
Dragon dude didn't try for magic. "Filthy vampire," he roared, swatting at Aldrich as if he were a fly rather than an ocelot.
He almost hit Aldrich too. Almost. Just in time, Aldrich managed to dodge, evading an attack that would surely have broken a few bones otherwise. He could heal bones, but not in a matter of seconds. Enough fractures and he would have been down long enough for either one of them to land the killing blow.
Nope, he needed to stay agile.
As quickly as he could, he sprinted out into the hall. With a little luck, the Keepers weren't aware yet that the others had also been freed from their chains. If Aldrich could distract them enough, they would both follow him, allowing Remy to grab his treasure.
Luck was both on his side and not.
When he turned around at the end of the hall, he saw two Keepers chasing him. So that part of his plan had worked. Question was, what the fuck was he going to do now?
Without thinking, he jumped up and opened the door to the backyard. Tried to, anyway. It was locked.
Well, there went that idea.
He could shift back and break through it, but that would take seconds he likely didn't have. Bracing himself for an attack, he turned back around--just in time to see the kitsune shift too. Unlike Aldrich's clothes, hers didn't magically vanish when she shifted. They fell to the floor instead, her fox-form emerging from the fabric, poised to jump at Aldrich.
He evaded the first lunge, but not the second. The fox was faster than him, and she got her claws a little too close to his throat for comfort. He made to throw her off, stealing a glance at the rest of the hallway, needing to assess what the dragon was about to do.
The other vampires were there now too. Talon and Crimson. His coven, come to his support.
Aldrich had only a fraction of a second to feel grateful over this fact--and to worry about his friends' well-being--before he felt himself thrown back against the wall. The force of the impact knocked the air out of his lungs.
The fox was on him again almost immediately. The cheater had used magic, but Aldrich could do that too. He'd drunk from Remy only hours ago, and that blood was still coursing through his veins, lending him strength. Strength that he used to catapult himself at the fox. He pinned her to the ground with his paws, then shifted back, because unlike the kitsune, he could not use magic in his animal form. He tried his favorite charm on her, the one that put people to sleep. Once she was down for the count, she would be easy to kill.
She snarled at him, trying to wriggle free. His magic wasn't taking hold of her as quickly as it did with mortals. Her amber eyes blazed at him, almost glowing. An invisible shockwave emanated from her, the same kind that had thrown Aldrich against the wall before. He was prepared for it now, but that didn't make it much easier to hold on.
Any second now, one of them would have to give.
And then the door to the house flew open.
