She wished she could do that. That would be so much fun.
Testing. Testing. Can you hear me? she asked.
He laughed. Yes.
When you said we’d be hunting together, I didn’t think you meant as we have been.
I may not like it, but you do make good bait.
She was getting used to hearing his warm, deep voice in her head. Can I drunk dial you? Her fictional drunken phone calls worked well to distract any vamps tailing her.
Anytime we aren’t hunting.
She smiled. I’m not a big drinker.
Nor am I. Alcohol has no effect on us, so there isn’t much point.
Oh. Well, I was just going to fake it anyway.
As you have before. I admit I found your rants both credible and entertaining.
That gave her a warm feeling.
But, he went on, if you were to call me, the vampires would hear your conversation both down there and through my phone up here, alerting them to my presence.
Oh. Your ears really are sensitive, aren’t they?
Yes, as are vampires’.
Bummer. I was going to talk dirty to you.
Damn. I hate to miss that.
Maybe later. I could talk dirty to you mentally, she suggested boldly.
Very tempting, but it looks like you have some nibblers.
Vampires are taking the bait? she asked, staggering a bit to one side. Already?
Definitely. Two approach from your five and three more from your eight.
Ooh. I like this. No more guessing how many I’ll face or trying to sneak a peek at them.
How did you live through six years of this?
I’m good at what I do.
Just don’t get cocky.
I won’t. Any sign of mercenaries?
Silence. No. Nothing with my eyes. Nothing with the infrared. What about you? Any human auras lurking in odd places?
She paused at a crosswalk and looked around as though trying to remember where she wanted to go. The vampires scattered like cockroaches, their auras leading the way.
No. No humans.
Good.
Half singing under her breath, she led the vamps away from the frat houses, past eating establishments that would have been packed with students only a couple of hours earlier, and toward the science buildings that would give them a little more privacy and be less likely to draw the attention of anyone out and about this late.
Adrenaline surged through her veins as she ducked into a darkened area she suspected was used for deliveries and paused. It was the closest thing to an alley nearby and would have to do. Reaching beneath her coat, she drew her borrowed shoto swords and spun around. “Hi, guys.”
Those vamps who had already bent forward in a menacing crouch, intending to taunt and frighten her, frowned. Straightening, they looked at each other, then her.
She grinned. “I believe this is where I’m supposed to say: It’s on.”
Étienne appeared behind the vamps at the mouth of the pseudo-alley, swords drawn. “Actually,” he countered. “it’s not on. Did you forget we need to talk to them first?”
The vamps spun to face Étienne, drawing weapons they had thought they wouldn’t need to slaughter a drunk sorority girl.
Krysta swore. “Yes, I did. I see now why that grumpy older guy didn’t want to do this. It kinda ruins the flow of it all.”
“What the hell?” one vamp asked, looking back and forth between them.
“An Immortal Guardian,” one sneered, his eyes flashing a bright blue as they slid to Krysta. “And his mortal Second.”
The others’ eyes flared to life in a variety of colors. Some actually hissed liked movie vampires did.
Étienne raced right through their midst and planted himself in front of Krysta.
Damn it! She shifted to the side, far enough away not to hamper his swing.
“Kill them!” the first vampire snarled.
Étienne raised one of his swords and pointed it at them almost like a teacher singling out a student for behaving badly. “Gentlemen, I suggest you slow your roll.” Over his shoulder, he murmured, “That’s a saying, isn’t it?”
It was kind of hard to be miffed at him when he made her want to laugh. “Yes.” Was he trying to use modern slang to make himself seem younger to her after their little conversation?#p#分页标题#e#
He focused once more on the vampires. “We have some information that might interest you.”
They responded with a lot of posturing and spewing of epithets.
“Human mercenaries are hunting you,” Étienne went on doggedly. “They want to capture you, torture you to learn about the virus and your abilities, then kill you.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?” one blurted.
“It’s bullshit is what it is,” another answered.
So clever, that one.
“Yeah, since when do immortals want to help vampires?”
Étienne sighed. “Since any information the mercenaries gain from torturing you can be used against us. These humans are enemies of both of us. If we work together . . .”