âGET OUT,â I PLEADED. âGET OUT OF TOWN FOR good. That way we donât have to kill you.â
The vampire snarled, âWhat makes you think you could?â
Lucas tackled him, and they fell to the pavement. Those were bad odds for Lucas; short-range fighting always worked to a vampireâs advantage, because a vampireâs best weapons were his fangs. I ran forward, determined to help.
âYouâre strongerââthe vampire gaspedââthan a human.â
Lucas said, âIâm human enough.â
The vampire grinned, a smile that had nothing to do with the desperate situation he was in and was therefore even scarier. âI heard somebody was looking for one of our babies,â he crooned to Lucas. âOne of the powerful ones in my tribe. Lady named Charity. Heard of her?â
Charityâs tribe. A jolt of panic shivered through me.
âYeah, Iâve heard of Charity. In fact, I staked her,â Lucas said as he tried to twist the vampireâs hand around his back. âThink I canât stake you, too? Youâre about to learn different.â Yet Lucas couldnât gain the advantage. They were too evenly matched. He wasnât even going to have a chance to go for his stakes. The vampire could turn the tables on him at any second.
That meant it was up to me to save himâby killing another vampire.
I GASPED FOR AIR SO HARD THAT MY CHEST ACHED. My face felt hot, and strands of my hair stuck to the sweaty back of my neck. Every single muscle hurt.
In front of me was Eduardo, one of the leaders of this Black Cross cell, with a stake in his hand. All around us, his vampire hunters, a ragtag army in denim and flannel, watched in silence. None of them would help me. We stood apart from them in the center of the room. Harsh overhead light painted him in stark shadows.
âCome on, Bianca. Get in the game.â His voice could sound like a growl when he chose, and every word echoed off the concrete floor and metal walls of the abandoned warehouse. âThis is a fight to the death. Arenât you even going to try to stop me?â
If I sprang at him in an effort to grab his weapon or knock him down, heâd be able to throw me to the floor. Eduardo was faster, and heâd been hunting for years. Heâd probably killed hundreds of vampiresâall of them older and more powerful than me.
Lucas, what can I do?
But I didnât dare look around for Lucas. I knew that if I took my eyes away from Eduardo for a second, the battle would be over.
I took a couple of steps backward, but I stumbled. The borrowed shoes I wore were too big for me, and one of them slipped off my foot.
âClumsy,â Eduardo said. He turned the stake between his fingers, as if imagining different angles at which to strike. His smile was so satisfiedâso smugâthat I stopped being scared and started being mad.
I grabbed up the shoe and flung it at Eduardoâs face as hard as I could.
It smacked into his nose, and our audience burst out laughing. A few of them clapped. The tension had disappeared in an instant, and I was once more part of the gang, or so they thought.
âNice,â Lucas said as he emerged from the circle of watchers and put his hands on my shoulders. âVery nice.â
âIâm not exactly a black belt.â I couldnât catch my breath. Sparring practice always wore me out; this was the first time it hadnât ended with me flat on my back.
âYouâve got good instincts.â Lucasâs fingers kneaded the sore muscles at the base of my neck.
Eduardo didnât think having a shoe thrown in his face was funny. He glared at me, an expression that wouldâve been more fearsome if his nose werenât bright red. âCuteâin sparring practice. But if you think a stunt like that will save you in the real worldââ
âIt will if her opponent takes her for granted,â said Kate, âlike you did.â
That shut Eduardo up, and he smiled ruefully. Officially, he and Kate were co-leaders of this Black Cross cell, but after only four days with them, I knew most people looked to Kate for the final word. Eduardo didnât seem to mind. As touchy and prickly as he was with everyone else, Lucasâs stepfather apparently thought Kate could do no wrong.
âDoesnât matter how you knock them down as long as they fall,â said Dana. âNow, can we eat already? Biancaâs got to be starving.â
I thought of bloodârich and red and hot, more delicious than any food could ever beâand a small shiver passed through me. Lucas saw it and put his arm around my waist to draw me close, as if for a hug. He whispered, âYou okay?â