Page 111 of The Vampire's Thirst
The room fell into stunned silence as Bounty daggered everyone in the gym with a glare, challenging them to say something stupid. Except for Brak and Ram, the warriors were shocked. He guessed the experienced Firebrands were slack-jawed because Dax, the most feral of the warriors, had a sister. The recruits were in shock because the leggy blonde executive assistant was too scary to have a brother. Even if it was the surly vampire they’d seen only a few times. They figured she would have squashed a sibling like a swatter with a fly.
“Here’s the plan. Once Dax is home, we hunt the Arisen Dawn bastards and their sympathizers. And we stay out of the hands of the lawgivers and justices. From this moment on, we are renegades the likes of which Scath has never seen.” Kole lit up his fingers, shooting flames to the ceiling like Roman candles.
Thunder erupted as the Firebrands stomped their boots and rattled blades against shields or walls.
Kole. Kole. Kole.
****
Daxlanded mug first on the concrete. He’d been worked over, barely fed and rarely conscious. Had it been hours or days? He suspected days.
With his arms planted beneath his chest, he pushed his broken fingers against the floor. Not happening. Too weak to get off the fucking ground, he flicked his tongue out, tasting blood from his busted lip. He groaned.Holy Gahya. A few cracked ribs. Leg and chest wounds.
He passed out again.
When his gritty lids finally dragged opened, he glanced around the sparse but clean cell. With a moan, he flopped onto his back, his hand wiggling his broken jaw. Two cots, a sink, and a hole for waste. A regular Covenkirk Hilton suite.
More surprising, however, was the occupant of the cot against the left wall. An American soldier in a torn uniform, sporting a black eye and bruises. A colonel, according to his decor. Familiar. But Dax didn’t know more than a few humans.
The man was alert, watching every painful move of his cellmate but not afraid. Wary.
Kudos to the Earther with steel balls.
Dax ignored the guy. No threat. When he finally maneuvered off the floor, pain shooting through his neuro system, he faced outward to the open bars. Silver. He touched them because…Yeah. I’m just that stupid. Fuck.His flesh sizzled from the burn, blisters immediate. He wasn’t breaking through those without frying his jewels.
Someone had excised the D-chip from his wrist.Again. At this rate, the Firebrands would start charging him for replacements.Okay. I’ll escape the old-fashioned way.By shadowflashing. His bloody chest expanded with a painful breath as he concentrated power on the shady corner outside the cell.
Nothing. He tried again, his focus sharper, energy bristling through his body. Nothing.
“Wards. Fuck.”
“What did you say?” The American colonel studied him with the cold stink eye.
I must be one scary-looking nightmare.
Hair a mess, fangs visible, body broken. But the guy didn’t so much as cringe. “Wards. This place is locked down tight.”
“What are wards?”
“Spells witches and warlocks use to bind us here. Otherwise, I’d shadowflash elsewhere. Somewhere less confining.” He held up a hand as he stumbled toward the empty cot. “I come in peace. What are you doing here?”
“Right now? Pouting and figuring out how to save my sorry ass. What’d you do to get the presidential suite?”
Dax fell onto the mattress, his boots staying on the floor. “I was trying to snuff out about thirty Arisen Dawn rebels.”
“I’d ask how that worked out, but I can see it didn’t.”
“How long have you been here?”
The human flipped his wrist. “Sonsabitches took my watch. Probably thought it was a GPS device, but it was a gift from my father. I’m guessing several days. Since the Battle for Bozeman. Why were you fighting them? You’re their kind.”
“Don’t lump all us assholes together.” Dax growled, his fangs still filling his mouth. But the guy didn’t flinch. “I’m a Scion Firebrand. We’re on the same team. I bet that warms your four-chambered heart.”
The guy’s forehead creased. “How can you be on team human? You’re one of the otherworlders.”
“Not otherworlder. Vampire, originally from the same place as you.” Dax blew out a breath as his lids closed.
“Figured you for a vamp. The fangs are a giveaway. Unless it’s already Halloween and I’m out of costume.”
