CHAPTER 51

Karl grabbed the phone, examined the number, then raised the phone to his cheek. "Who is this?"He frowned at his daughter. "They hung up." He closed the phone and dropped it in his pocket."What's going on, Aya?""Nothing." She swung her purse onto her shoulder in a nonchalant gesture. "I'm ready to go." It didn't matter if her dad had the phone. Malcolm could use any phone in the house to teleport home.And when he got home, Edward Cafe and Jon would be able to explain what had happened to her.Right now, she needed to get these vampire slayers out of the house and away from Malcolm."Shall we?" She moved toward the foyer."Wait." Karl reached out to stop her. "You didn't seem very surprised about vampires." He studied her carefully. "You spent a lot of time at Baal's house. You know what kind of evil creature he is, don't you?""I think we'd better leave before the mafia guys find us."Karl shoved her hair back and examined each side of her neck. "Did that monster bite you?""He's

Last Updated : 2023-03-24

CHAPTER 52

Malcolm woke with his usual sharp and sudden intake of air. His heart lurched in his chest, then settled down to a steady beat. He opened his eyes."Thank God," a voice muttered. "We did not think you'd ever wake up."Malcolm blinked and turned his head toward the voice. Guisan was standing next to his bed, frowning at him. In fact, there were several people crowded around his bed. Van Nilsen, Erling, Edward cafe, Jon, Jacob, and Gustavo."Hey, bro." Jacob smiled. "We were worried about you."Malcolm glanced at Gustavo. "Are you all right?""Yes, sir." The small chemist nodded. "Thanks to you. You can't imagine how relieved I was to wake up in your house."Guisan crossed his arms over his broad chest. "The question is, how are you? I hear you were up and about during the daytime.""Yes." Malcolm sat up and glanced at his bedside clock.God's blood. The sun must have set over an hour ago. "I overslept.""I have ever heard of that happening before," Erling said."Possibly a side effect

Last Updated : 2023-04-01

CHAPTER 53

Malcolm dropped the receiver into place and stood."you can not do this," Guisan shouted. "I will not have it."Malcolm placed a hand on his old friend's shoulder. "This is my choice, Guisan. It will save the lives of my friends.""I am the best swordsman among us." Van Nilsen's eyes flashed an icy blue. "I demand to go in your stead. It is my right.""Don't worry, Van Nilsen." Malcolm gripped the Frenchman's shoulder. "You taught me well. Wasn't I the one who delivered the fatal blow to Vladimir?"Van Nilsen scowled at him. "Only because I was watching your back.""You are no' thinking straight," Guisan insisted. "You are too distraught over that Mayhem woman leaving you."Malcolm swallowed hard. Was there any truth to Guisan's claim? If Aya were here, would he be so willing to risk himself? Still, he wasn't trying to kill himself. He certainly planned on winning.

Last Updated : 2023-04-02

CHAPTER 54

It was after midnight when Arthur's cell phone buzzed. By his respectful tone and the way he kept glancing at her, Aya suspected he was talking to her father. She'd been worried all evening about the possibility of a vampire war. Her attempts to contact Malcolm mentally had failed."I understand, sir." Arthur handed his phone to Aya. "Your father wants to talk to you."She lifted the phone to her ear. "Dad?""Aya, I thought I'd let you know what was going on. We have a tap on Stephan's phone, so we heard him talking to Baal.""What's happening? Are they going to war?""Well, it appears Baal was ready for one. He claims to have two hundred warriors.Stephan's been on the phone all evening, ordering his followers to show up. We think he has about fifty at the most."Aya exhaled with relief. "Malcolm has him outnumbered.""Well, not exactly. You see, Baal made a dea

Last Updated : 2023-04-03

CHAPTER 55

Four months later."Eight-twenty P.M., male Caucasian, five-foot-ten, pounds, mid-twenties, leaving a white Honda Civic," Arthur Lugard murmured into his mini-recorder. He adjusted the telescopic night lens on his binoculars and zoomed in on the subject across the parking lot. The guy didn't appear to be armed. More importantly, he was carrying a king-sized cup of gourmet coffee and a bag of doughnuts. Lucky bastard. Normally, that would be considered… well, normal. But this was the parking lot of the All vampire channel. Nothing was normal here. Especially after sunset.Arthur exchanged his binoculars for a 35-mm camera and took another look at the guy. "Subject is human. He's going in."The guy was taking breakfast inside AVC? Didn't he realize he could be breakfast? A shaft of light cut across the parking lot, then slowly disappeared as the door swung shut. It was dark once more.Arthur had parked his black Ac

Last Updated : 2023-04-04

CHAPTER 56

Sophie Armsdale came to an abrupt stop inside the lobby of AVC. She could hardly see the black and red decor, the room was so crowded. There had to be over fifty Vamps here, all jabbering with excitement. Good God, were they all seeking employment?Jacob bumped into her from behind. "Sorry," he murmured, his gaze wandering about the room."I didn't expect so many." Her hands trembled as she made sure the combs were still holding back her long hair. She checked her leather portfolio one more time. Her neatly typed résumé was still there, looking the same as it had five minutes ago. How could she compete with so many? Who was she kidding? She would never get this job. The familiar tentacles of panic curled around her, squeezing the air from her lungs. She would never be free. She could never escape."Sophie," Jacob's sharp voice cut through the rising panic. He waited 'til she met his eyes, then he gave her the Look.In

Last Updated : 2023-04-05