Page 7 of Revelations

The blonde vamp moved to do the same to her. Greylyn’s hand shot out and punched her so hard that the vampire’s body flew back and crashed into the bathroom stall door. Despite the noise, she knew that no one outside the bathroom would hear anything. The walls pulsed with the volume of the music on the other side of the door deafened all else.

The vampire women paused momentarily, considering her with more wary eyes. The blonde scrambled up from the broken stall; her eyes changedto slits of red and her smile revealed sharp, elongated canine teeth. Her red-haired companion unsheathed a long switchblade from the front pocket of her black jeans.

Two can play that game.

Greylyn withdrew her own special dagger from the holster sewn into the back of her bra. Her club clothes had not been conducive to her usual hiding spot at the small of her back, so she had made a few alterations. Even in the harsh light, its blade glistened with a cold blue energy. Power surged up from the hilt into her palm and up her arm.

Waving the knife in front of her face menacingly, Greylyn quipped, “Yeah, I got one, too. You wanna play?”

Snarling, they both rushed at her. The bathroom was tiny, making maneuvering difficult, but no more so than when she had taken down a ring of Leyak inside a coconut nursery on the outskirts of Bali.

But these were not primal Leyak demons—a type of werewolf that could shapeshift from human form into a hideous flying monkey. These were vampires; quick, intelligent, and cunning.

Greylyn struck the first blow with a slash to the blonde’s chest. It did noteven slow her down. The vampire tackled her and threw her back against the pedestal sink, smashing it to pieces. Water spurted from the wall, making the floor slippery. Greylyn lost her footing as she pushed her opponent backward. Both fell to the hard, tiled floor.

With the knife in her hand poised above the blonde’s neck, she used all her strength to push downward, but was yanked back. A kick from the redhead’s heeled boot to her hand sent Greylyn’s dagger flying across the room. Without her weapon, she would have to play dirty.

Her legs swiped at her assailant’s feet before kicking the vampire full in the stomach. As the she doubled over, Greylyn launched herself off the floor to land on both feet. She struck out with her fists, smashing the redhead’s nose. The crunching sound and spurt of blood sent a wave of satisfaction through her.

A slender hand grabbed her ankles and yanked hard. Instantly, she crashed back to the floor. Pain ricocheted through her head, blinding her momentarily; just enough time to give the vampires the advantage. The weight of one of the vamps pressed down full on her chest, as her arms were held down by someone’s bony knees. Desperate, she rocked violently back and forth in an attempt to throw off the vampire. She failed miserably as a soggy, pungent-smelling cloth was clamped down over her nostrils and mouth.

***

Kael’s blood boiled with a mixture of fury and impatience. Burly bouncers decked out in all black ushered drunken revelers out into the humid, nearly starless night.

He had stayed hidden from Jasper after Greylyn had dashed off to the ladies’ room. No need to incite the male guardian’s anger or curiosity. Still…Kael longed to punch his lights out and peel his skin from his bones. Every day since he had seen him with Greylyn in the alleyway behind the London pub centuries earlier, his fingers twitched and ached to pummel the smirk from the bastard’s face.

Now, watching the front entrance from behind a bus stop enclosure across the street from the club, a sense of unease crept through the fury.

Where the hell is she?

Chapter 2 – The Monster’s Liar

Warehouse on the Outskirts of Adams Morgan

Smears of dull colors scorched through Greylyn’s eyelids. Agonizing pain ricocheted through her skull, but at least she was alive. Bile crept up her throat, a lingering effect of the inhaled chloroform. Forcing it down, she willed herself to focus, to block out the residual pain and nausea. A few calming breaths were followed by a dry hacking cough. Her nasal passages, throat, and eyes still burned with the sickening sweet chemical. Desperate to rub at her eyes to quell the stinging, she tried to raise her hands to her face only to painfully realize that they were trapped behind her by iron chains.

The vampires had gotten the best of her. Just two vamps to be exact. Two!

How did I allow that to happen?

She prided herself on being better than that. Hell, she had slaughtered dozens of the foul creatures at a time. She had taken on entire packs of werewolves by herself. She hadeven busted through a legion of assorted monsters with barely a scratch—okay, there had been more than a scratch,but…she refused to think about that right now.

Obviously, she had not been at the top of her game in the club.

Gee, I wonder why?

Once again, she had allowed Kael to mess things up for her. This time, a human would most likely pay the price for her weakness. The poorgirl was probably already dead or undead.

Slowly, she pried her eyes open, blinking several times to clear her vision. There was nothingto see, just varying shades of black. The ground was hard and cold, like sitting on top of the ice at a skating rink waiting for theZamboni to run her over.

Her ears perked up. All was quiet, as well, except for someone, whom she could not see, breathing softly; but definitely not the girl from the club.

She craned her stiff neck to check out the other side of the room. She could make out no solid forms, but a familiar citrus and sandalwood scent pierced through the remnants of the chloroform; and an even more familiar energy wrapped around her, penetrating and enticing at the same time.

“It’s about time you woke up, love.”

Kael.

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