Teaghan nodded. He kissed her lips once more before lifting her up so she released his dick—an action that had her libido readying for the next round. She tamped down the urge to hop back on and ride toward another explosive encounter. This wasn’t the time or the place.
“Later,” Teaghan whispered against her neck. He set her on her feet.
While she expected to be wobbly, Jeliyah found her vampire body recovered faster than her mind. Her stance was solid without Teaghan’s help, though he kept hold of her waist until she stepped away. Her pants dragged the ground.
The sight of her pants dangling from one leg—the jeans still hugged her left calf, though partially inside out—made her chuckle. Even more amusing was that she had to take off her right shoe to get the pant leg back on when she hadn’t needed it that way to get the pant leg off.
Teaghan made a sound of appreciation before grabbing her ass. Jeliyah squeaked and straightened quickly from her bent position. She smacked Teaghan’s hand to get him to let go.
He said, “No panties. It’s always the quiet ones into the freaky shit.”
Jeliyah yanked up her pants. “I am not. Niccolo didn’t supply any with the clothes he gave me.”
“You’s a freak.” Teaghan laughed when she swatted at him. “Don’t get mad at me because you like going commando and getting a piece in the woods.”
“It takes two to tango, vampire.”
“I never said I wasn’t a freak. Any time, any place is good for me. Say when.”
Jeliyah opened her mouth to give him a flippant reply when a second intruder said, “When.”
Jeliyah and Teaghan turned toward Fredrick, who stood a few feet away with four others flanking him. One of the four was Ephraim, the vampire who had chatted with Jeliyah in the club the other night.
Fredrick gestured at the corpse of the man Teaghan had killed earlier. “Considering what you did to my associate, I thought it best to let you two finish before making my presence known. I wouldn’t want to end up the same way.”
Teaghan asked, “Enjoy the show?”
“It was invigorating. I’m happy you brought her back, Teaghan. The others are now eager to partake of the sample you gave us.” Fredrick licked his lips as he admired Jeliyah’s bared breasts. “I admit to my own eagerness. I’ve heard necromancers can be quite stimulating.”
Jeliyah didn’t bother acting embarrassed or trying to pull her shirt closed—some buttons were gone and some of the button loops torn thanks to Teaghan. Let Fredrick and his friends look. If any of the men touched her, they would fry. Her necromes buzzed as they turned active without her voicing the command.
Her personal shield snapped into place, lighting up the night with its blue glow. She said, “I’m more than stimulating, vampire. I’m electric. I’ll be happy to give you a taste if you want it that badly.” She held out her hand to him.
Fredrick tsked at her and wagged his finger. “Give me more credit than that, necromancer. When I claim you, it will be after an open invitation. I understand the higher-ups have a way to compel you to give the invitation whether you want to or not.”
“They’ll never get the chance.” Not to mention she was a vampire, so the invitation caveat no longer applied to her. But she didn’t say that last part since it didn’t seem as if Fredrick had realized she was no longer one of the living. Niccolo had been right. So long as she didn’t exhibit any vampire traits and kept her hair over her earplugs, Fredrick and his friends would keep underestimating her as a simple necromancer.
Teaghan said, “Enough. I’ve got a message for you from Niccolo, Fredrick.”
“The message is clear. He’s sent you back to face your doom, as I knew he would. You were a fool to run straight into the arms of the man who ordered your execution.”
“And you’re an idiot if you think Niccolo is the type of man who would let me drive twenty-some odd hours to be killed when he has two necromancers at his beck and call who could have done the deed right then and there.”
Fredrick’s smile faltered.
Teaghan nodded. “That’s right, Fredrick. I didn’t escape. He sent me back on assignment. I’ve got a sizeable bounty waiting for me when I bring him your head.” He pulled his sword. “Time’s a wasting.”
“Kill them both,” Fredrick yelled, pointing in Jeliyah and Teaghan’s direction.
The rush of ten extra men from the trees surprised Jeliyah. She’d been too focused on the few in front of her to realize Fredrick had her and Teaghan surrounded. Had Teaghan known?
Yup. Beat yourself up later. Kick ass now.
Teaghan rushed forward with a battle cry. Three of the men, Ephraim amongst them, raced to intercept him.
Jeliyah stared on in confusion, unsure of what to do. The crackling of her personal shield intensified as the vampires closed in on her.
Fredrick said, “That shield won’t last forever, necromancer. You’re wasting energy needlessly. Just give in.”
She started to retort as a way of bluffing him into thinking she would last longer than he predicted but stopped herself. Taking a mental tally of herself revealed the shield wasn’t depleting her. She felt fine. More than that, she felt strong.
The high-class nerome nestled between her breasts hummed loudly, as though happy to be in use once more. It channeled her power with little effort. No wonder high-class necromes cost so much.
Whether she had high-class necromes or not, she didn’t know her limits. The change from human to vampire had been too sudden for her to test herself. She hadn’t tasted blood yet either. She didn’t want to do too much and end up passing out, leaving Teaghan to protect them both. Did vampires pass out?
No, necromancer! Now kill some of these fuckers before I turn you over my knee and beat your ass.
Her pussy twitched, sending a shiver up her spine.
That sounds fun.
Oh, you little slut. I’ve got something for you later. Just wait.
Jeliyah laughed and sent Teaghan a mental air kiss.
Fredrick said, “I’m glad to amuse you.”
“You do, Fredrick. You really do.” She pointed to the man closest to her. “Break.”
The man exploded, raining chunks and blood over the group. The shield kept any from touching her.
She laughed more. “That was even more amusing. Let’s do it again.” She pointed at another man but he blurred out of view, charging her, before she could speak. He thought his vampiric speed could save him. He had another think coming. Jeliyah could see him.
The man darted behind a tree before rushing her, probably to ram her shield and force her to slam against the tree behind her, knocking her out. It wouldn’t work. She let him get close before she said, “Halt.”
The man froze mid-step with a look of surprise. He tried to say something as she pulled in a loud breath before saying, “Break.”
Like the man before him, he exploded in chunks and blood. Fredrick stumbled back to avoid being splattered. His expression was one of disbelief. “What… How… You’re a middle class. Casting one Break should have taken most of your strength.”
“Shoulda, woulda, coulda,” she said with a shrug before Breaking another vampire who had started to edge away from the group, probably trying to escape.
To Teaghan, she said,
It’s time to stop playing, lover.
Mmmm…I like the sound of that. Tell me what to do.
She opened her mind to Teaghan, letting him have access to years of necromancer training. It was time for Fredrick to find out just how bad his situation was. She and Teaghan would give him a few minutes to regret his life choices before taking his head.
Teaghan rifled through the information Jeliyah showed him, looking for something he could use. Break was too messy and not his style. He wanted to do some personal damage to the men clashing swords with him. Something that would hurt…a lot.
He grinned as he found just the right spell. “Activate,” he growled.
The necro-metal earrings sang a familiar melody in his ear. He hummed along with them, confusing his opponents. The men faltered in their attack, looking between Teaghan and Jeliyah to discern the trick. They would never figure it out.
Teaghan closed a mental hand around the power Jeliyah had given him and said, “Cleanse.”
He pointed the attack at Ephraim first as payback for that stunt in the club. The man burst into blue flames. The others jumped back in surprise but weren’t fast enough before Teaghan directed the flames to engulf them as well. All three screamed as the fire melted flesh from bone. It wouldn’t kill them or end their agony until every bit of flesh had been burned away. The magic that animated vampires was cruel like that.
Teaghan wasn’t that patient though. He severed the men’s heads from their necks and left their corpses to burn to ash.
Fredrick screamed, “What is this? How are you doing this? What are you?”
The other attackers all stopped advancing. The scent of fear filled the air. Two men started backing into the shadows.
Teaghan said, “Jeliyah, don’t let them leave.”
“On it.” She raised her arms. “Enclose.” Her personal shield dropped so it could reform around the group.
A scream filled the air as one man tried the barrier and died for his trouble. The others stared at Jeliyah in open horror. Fredrick was among that number.
She said, “You’ve seen our little surprise. We can’t let any of you leave here alive. In your next life, choose your friends better.”
Fredrick pulled a gun and fired, hitting Jeliyah in the chest. She went down with a scream of pain and Teaghan bellowing her name. Teaghan ran to her side, dropping his sword so he could cradle her in his arms.
“I don’t like guns but we use the tools available to us,” Fredrick said as he pointed the gun at Teaghan. “Goodbye, Teaghan. You can join your little necromancer bitch in hell.”
Teaghan laughed. He dropped his forehead so it rested against Jeliyah’s and indulged his relieved amusement. Jeliyah wasn’t dying. Fredrick had hit her heart but the bond she shared with Teaghan kept her alive. Teaghan could feel his life sustaining hers, keeping her with him while she healed the vampire equivalent of a fatal wound. She would live.
“What’s so fucking funny, you bastard?”
“You haven’t noticed something very important, Fredrick.” Teaghan raised his head and met Fredrick’s gaze.
“What?”
“Look around.” Teaghan waited as Fredrick did a quick glance about. The others did the same before bringing their gazes back to Teaghan. He could almost see the ripple of realization as each man figured out the problem.
Fredrick was the last. His gun pointed at the ground as his grip went slack and his jaw dropped open. “How? I shot her.”
Teaghan glanced up at the still-crackling barrier that would keep everyone inside until Jeliyah lowered it. Actually, until Teaghan lowered it. Jeliyah had given him control of the spell so she could focus on healing.
He laid a kiss on her forehead before lowering her to the ground and standing up straight. Confronting Fredrick, he said, “She said it already. You’ve seen our surprise. You can’t leave here alive.”
“Fuck you!” Fredrick tightened his grip on the gun and fired.
Teaghan sidestepped and the bullet passed him without damage. “There’s a reason vampires don’t use guns, Fredrick. You know that. You want me dead, you’ll have to man up and do it the hard way.” He glanced at his discarded sword. He could get it if he left Jeliyah’s side but that wasn’t going to happen. He sighed and shook his head. “I’m done playing with you, Fredrick.”
“You—”
“Sever.”
A slice of wind passed through Fredrick’s neck. The man’s shocked expression would remain frozen in place until his head was destroyed.
Teaghan knelt beside Jeliyah again. Her chest wound had closed but they were both weakening from the repair job. He glanced at the vampires awaiting his next move. He gave them props for not pleading for their lives like cowards. They were all enforcers—without their necromancers, no less. Whoever had been giving Fredrick orders must have wanted the higher-ups kept out the loop. That meant leaving the necromancers at home, like Ephraim had done the night he introduced himself to Jeliyah.
Since Teaghan didn’t know the men, that meant they weren’t high enough in the ranks to be missed.
He decided to try one last spell and hoped it worked the way he wanted with the energy he had left. “Frozen.”
The remaining men all jolted as the spell held them bound. Teaghan could feel the barrier weakening. He had to act fast. He ran to the closest man, bared his neck and bit him.
Teaghan drained the man, feeding for himself and Jeliyah. The sustenance made the barrier sizzle to renewed life. Teaghan went to his next victim. By the time he finished, Jeliyah was off the ground and feeding on one of the others. She picked up the technique from his thoughts.
Teaghan smiled and stood back to watch. He would need to stop her so she didn’t get drunk. It was a human misconception that vampires could only feed on human blood. Blood was blood. Human was more potent than most animals, and vampire blood was easier to assimilate. Vampires didn’t feed off one another as a courtesy. Besides, human blood tasted better.