“Friends,” I repeated, feeling the churning, sick feeling in my stomach begin to radiate out to the rest of my body.
He nodded. “I think they’re here now.”
I heard footsteps approaching from different directions and the outlines of several men appeared in the darkness.
“Good job,” one of the men told the bouncer. “You definitely earned your finder’s fee.”
The bouncer looked at me. “Who says slayers and vampires can’t be friends?”
I glanced at the other two hunters who already had their stakes in hand.
Three hunters. One me.
Those weren’t very good odds at all, were they?
Right. So here we were again. Cornered by vampire hunters. The story of my life. Did I deserve a stake through my heart for making questionably intelligent choices?
Probably.
Was that what I was looking for every time I wandered outside after dark?
Maybe it was. My actions did seem to speak louder than words.
I’d been staked before. Obviously I’d lived, since it hadn’t hit my heart, but it still hurt like hell and added to my selection of nightmares from my subconscious juke box.
If these losers were going to try to kill me, I sure hoped they had better aim than the last guy.
“She’s so quiet,” one of the other hunters observed. “All reflective and shit. Is she going to fight us or what?”
“Not sure,” the bouncer replied. “But if you wouldn’t mind settling up, I’ll leave you to your mayhem.”
“You have been mighty helpful, Bruce.”
The bouncer smiled widely. “And for the right price I’d be happy to be helpful in the future as well.”
My throat was dry. “You’re selling out vamps just to make some pocket change?”
Bruce the bouncer shrugged. “Survival of the fittest. Blood ain’t cheap, you know.”
My hands felt sweaty. “How much did I go for?”
“A thousand.” Bruce looked at the hunter.
A thousand? A measly thousand bucks? If I wasn’t so scared I’d be insulted.
“You know—” my voice shook more than I’d like it to “—I once knew a vampire who sold out other vamps to hunters for money.”
Bruce snorted. “Yeah? And I care about that, because?”
“Because now she’s dead.”
He mock-shivered. “Ooo, scary. Let me guess… you killed her?”
I shook my head. “Hunters don’t exactly make the best business partners.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah?”
Then he gasped.
The hunter next to him had taken the opportunity to sink a stake into his chest. “The lady’s right. Make sure you don’t make the same mistake twice, okay, chum?”
“Damn.” Bruce the bouncer dropped to his knees and looked down at the sharp piece of wood protruding from his heart with wide eyes. He pulled it out a moment before he disintegrated into a dark puddle of goo.
“Are you going to kill me now, too?” My voice sounded oddly emotionless.
The hunter studied me for a moment. “Have to say you’re not making this half as much fun as I thought it would be, given your reputation and all. Are you positive you’re the real Slayer of Slayers?”
“That’s what it says on my business cards.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Why did your eyes turn black all of a sudden?”
“Because that’s what happens when I take off my accessories.” I slid the gold chain I’d removed during the slayage of Bruce the bouncer into my pocket.
Sure, I perhaps had a bit of a death wish now, but I wasn’t a total victim. Desperate times called for desperate measures, after all.
I exhaled the last breath I actually needed and felt my head clear of any racing, frightened thoughts. My heartbeat came to a slow and sudden stop. The night around me ceased to feel even slightly cold and my vision narrowed in on the three weapon-carrying vampire hunters facing me.
“Leave me alone,” I said evenly. “And I won’t have to star in any of your future nightmares.”
The first hunter laughed and looked at his buddies each in turn. “Do you hear that? I’m scared now.”
When he returned his attention to me I grabbed him by the throat. “Leave. Me. Alone.
Was that hard to understand? I thought I said it rather clearly.”
With a shove I launched him backward. He hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of him. He coughed and sputtered, then raised his furious gaze to mine. I saw him in tunnel vision now. Just him. No one else. And his throat did look rather appetizing with my handprint on it.
“Vicious, evil creature of darkness,” he growled. “The world would be better without you in it.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Right back at you, sunshine.”
He was about to rush me, stake held high, but a hand clamped down on his shoulder and he turned to face whoever was behind him.
A punch landed across the hunter’s jaw and he spun back around. A thin line of blood and saliva flew from his mouth. Gideon stood there wearing a black scarf that partially covered his face—but not enough to shield his identity.
“You should leave my friend alone,” Gideon said. He was talking to the hunter.