His wide, frantic eyes met hers and then he exploded from the couch, engaging Claude in a melee of blows, the silver blade still resting deep in his pale back. Red blood oozed out the side of it and down his back.
Claude skirted away from Dmetri with a laugh. Then he pulled another blade out, this one longer, sharper, meaner. He slashed with the blade but Dmetri jumped back, narrowly missing having his intestines spilled.
Christine jumped up, frantically searching the room for some kind of weapon. Without really thinking about it, she grabbed the remote control for her TV and threw it with all the strength she could muster. The plastic controller slammed into Claude’s nose, producing a satisfying stream of blood from his nostril.
He turned to her, the look he gave her was filled with so much malice, so much evil, it rooted her in place. He took a step towards her and Dmetri rammed his shoulder into his gut.
They both went flying to the floor hard enough to shake the ceiling.
She couldn’t just stand there. She darted into the kitchen and grabbed a knife. She started back for the living room only to stop. Her mind wasn’t working right, too much was going on.
Fear made her act slow, lethargic like she was sick. Really, she was just terrified. She ran back to her knife drawer and grabbed another wicked butcher’s knife, one for each hand.
She ran to the living room, and her heart sunk at what she saw. Claude stood over a grimacing Dmetri as he panted, and squirmed on the floor. A deep cut split his stomach in two, leaving a frightening amount of blood pouring out.
“Get out of here!” Dmetri roared.
Christine jumped at his shout. It took her all of five seconds to register his words in her jumbled mind and dart for the back door. She reached it and yanked on the door. The stupid thing was locked! She pulled up the metal hatch then reached down to kick the bat she kept pushed against the sliding door out of the way. She yanked open the door and was met with a burst of wind.
She took one step outside, a scream tearing from her throat, when brutal hands covered her mouth and yanked her back inside. She was thrown back, air rushed by her as she flew through the air, and then all air left her lungs in a harsh wheeze as her back slammed against the kitchen wall. She heard the dry wall split and crumble to the floor around her as she slowly slid to the ground. Her head felt heavy, her brain scrambled in her skull. The knives fell uselessly from her hands.
Heavy booted feet appeared before her. Slowly, she dragged her gaze up. It didn’t matter because he grabbed her by the throat, choking the life from her. She made a choked wheezing sound and clenched his strong wrist with both of her hands. Suddenly her butt was no longer on the ground as he lifted her up against the wall until they saw eye to eye.
His lips were crossed with a nasty snarl. “He’ll pay for his weakness for you.” The fingers around her throat tightened, squeezing the tendons and muscles until she felt her throat closing, collapsing. Wide-eyed, she could only stare at him as she furiously inhaled air through her nose. In, out. In, out. Just breathe.
A loud thump came from the living room and his eyes flashed. The hand at her throat released her and she slid into a clump on the floor. She sucked in ragged gulps of air over the burning pain in her throat but it actually hurt more to try to breathe. With trembling fingers, she reached for the butcher’s knife near her leg. But he grabbed her hand and walked into the living room, dragging her body with him.
Christine’s head lolled around as she tried to find Dmetri. He was gone! Joy coursed through her veins; he’d get help. He’d be okay. The grip around her hand tightened in anger. She heard the bones pop and snap as he broke her hands. She cried out a strangled sound, uselessly trying to tug her broken hand back.
“Come out Dmetri, or I’ll kill your woman.”
Tears fell from her eyes. There were no thoughts about staying strong and not crying. She just did.
If Claude’s goal was to give Dmetri an ultimatum in exchange for her, then he only gave him two seconds. Because two seconds later, he dragged her up against him by her broken hand.
He clenched her throat with his other, rendering her completely useless. He squeezed her tender throat and more tears streamed from her eyes.
“Please don’t,” she croaked.
His wild eyes like that of a crazed beast landed on hers. She wasn’t prepared for what he did next. She couldn’t have prepared even if he’d given her warning.
The attack came quick and brutaclass="underline" he closed his arms around her, and then stabbed his sharp fangs into her neck. She cried out but the sound barely made it past her bruised throat.
Draining her. That’s what he was doing. Each hard suck stole more and more of her until her vision darkened. Her temples pounded until her head felt as if a balloon floated inside it. Her body grew heavy, muscles limp and relaxing not with the happy glow of satisfaction—but impending death.
He growled against her throat, shaking his head like a dog with a chew toy. Skin from her neck split, and warm blood trailed down her bare shoulders.
Dmetri. She opened her mouth to say his name one last time, but it came too suddenly.
Her eyes went black and her body slumped to the ground without a thought or care in the world.
Dmetri squared off against the two vampires, waiting for the right opportunity. His damn back and shoulder were injured from the fucking blade sticking out of him, and his head felt as if it’d been run over by a train. He had to hurry this up, had to get back to Christine. If Claude was in there with her... Christ, he’d never felt such fear. Claude had knocked his ass out. His ego would be sore for the next thousand years of his life—if he lived—but first he had to kill the thugs who’d been busily dragging his ass into the forest.
The vampire at his back launched forward. He grabbed the handle of the knife and yanked the blade out of Dmetri’s back. As he swung the blade back in a sharp arc meant to kill, Dmetri swung his arm out against the man’s bladed hand, sending the metal flying into the grass.
The two jumped on him at once, sending his ass slamming to the ground so hard his teeth chattered. Dmetri rammed his fist into the closest vamp’s mouth and heard the satisfying sound of teeth breaking.
The other vamp landed two solid blows to his kidney. Dmetri was sure that if he could still piss that hit would make him piss blood.
The vamp with the busted smile growled, his jagged, bloodied mouth pulled into a snarl.
“You should see a dentist about that. Gingivitis and all that.” The vamp went wild, charging at him like a bull. Dmetri took a deep breath and timed it perfectly. Right as the vamp nearly slammed into him, he stepped to the side and wrapped his arm around the vamp’s neck. With a vicious yank, he pulled the vamp’s head in the opposite direction until he heard a nasty pop of bone. The vamp fell lifeless to the floor. A solid silver blade to the heart and the bastard would stay dead.
The second vamp was smarter; he didn’t charge but bounced on his feet side to side, eyes wide, teeth bared, readying his attack. Dmetri’s gaze flicked to the silver blade in the grass some twenty feet away. Fuck. And it was near the fuming vamp.
He made his plan in an instant, acting without much thought since the only thing fueling him was getting back to Christine.
“Why aren’t you attacking the Kategans? Why me?” Distract, then attack.
The vamp shook his head, blinking fast. Then in a quicken voice said, “Kill Dmetri, kill woman. Remove greatest threats. Kill Brayden.” He slammed his hand against his skull. “Kill Vane, kill all Kategans. Kill all Kategans. Kill all Kategans.” Dmetri relaxed his body, letting the vampire see his open hands, slack shoulders. He took it for weakness, a dying of his defenses, and charged with fangs bared. Dmetri flew into a sidekick and landed his kick solidly in the vamp’s stomach. Damn, but he didn’t go down. The vamp wheezed, then slashed forward with another blade. Dmetri raised his arms, blocking each possible blow, then slammed his foot forward catching the vamp’s knee. Bone cracked, and his howl sounded through the community.