Page 167 of Eternal Ruin
Taj grabbed him by the shoulders. “What are you talking about?”
“It changed.” Susenyos met his friend’s eyes with dread. “WhatIvalued changed.”
Taj’s confusion didn’t clear until he squeezed Susenyos again, sensing the return of his immortal strength. Taj trailed a line to Kidan’s form, she was breathing shallowly. He swore.
“The house is taking her from you.”
60.
KIDAN
We have to get her out of the house,” Susenyos was saying when Kidan regained consciousness.
She could feel his arms below the backs of her knees and at her back. He lifted her to his chest and breathed easier when he noticed her stir. “There you are.”
Kidan’s body was in deep aching numbness, the sort that came from staying in one position for a very long time.
Nothing could be moved. Not her fingers and certainly not her neck. Then a raging, unforgiving pain came from her right wrist. It was on fire. She tried to call for help, but her mouth wouldn’t part. Something was seriously wrong.
“I’m so sorry, Kidan. It’s the house law. I’m a vampire again. I did this to you.”
She didn’t know what he was talking about. She didn’t know anything but pain.
“Is that so?” A new voice cleaved the air like an axe, making Susenyos stiffen and tighten his hold on her.
Kidan forced her vision to clear. Samson was in the doorway. A figure of shadow and gold flashed before Susenyos and Kidan. Her panic faded when she recognized the golden headband.
“Taj,” Samson sneered. “June is downstairs. She wants to speak with you.”
Relief broke through her. June was back? Taj had gone still.
“Where was she—” Taj didn’t finish his question. A shadow lunged at him, hands grabbing for his neck. Susenyos yelled but it was too late.
A horrible crack sounded.
Taj’s neck swung sharply, like Etete’s had. His body dropped like a sack to the floor. Samson dusted off his hands, devil eyes latching on to them. Fear built in the back of Kidan’s throat, ensnaring her tongue.
“What a shame you’re a vampire again.” Samson stalked inside the room, metal hand flexing. “I liked having you under my command. Poor human prince. The things I had planned for you.”
“Hold on, Kidan.” Susenyos was shaking with rage, eyeing the door blocked by Samson and the window behind them.
“You remember this little creation, don’t you?” A silver ball lay in Samson’s hand, his eyes a brilliant red.
Kidan’s vision was coming in and out, making it difficult to focus. Somewhere, someone cursed softly.
“What did you call it? Ball of death?” Samson cut his palm and coated the entire silver sphere in blood. Flicked his gaze up and said, “Catch.”
Susenyos cursed in her ear and threw her away from him. Kidan was airborne, crashing onto the bed as a ringing sound exploded. The force of it left nothing but cracks along the roof and wall, a finality that ended before it began. Spikes like shards of glass punctured the ceiling and the windows, even skewering the edge of the bed. She didn’t understand what had happened until Susenyos’s body hit the floor.
A thousand tiny silver spikes punctured the front of his chest.
The shock of it made her concentrate.
Scream.
Kidan struggled to crawl to him but before she could reach his petrified form, someone pushed her back on the bed. Through her panic, Yos’s words came to her.
I’m a vampire again.
