Fashionably Dead Down Under(42)

For the first time since laying eyes on my beloved Vampyre, he was speechless—utterly speechless.
“Enough about my delightful family tree,” I added, boiling with anger. “Let’s get to work.”
I closed my eyes and felt the dark magic mold itself to my body. It was warm and whispered seductive promises to me I knew it wouldn’t keep. As long as I used it but kept my soul hidden, I would be okay. I hoped.
My Baby Demons gasped in awe as the black sparkles appeared on my arms and chest. Opening my eyes, I saw Ethan’s look of dismay. I had no time to deal with that now. I was what I was and if we were going to have that problem again, I would kill him myself . . . Tearing my eyes from his, I focused on the chains.#p#分页标题#e#
The magic was complicated and woven in a deadly way. Do I just blast the fucker? Will that harm Ethan? Will it harm me? I glanced over at George.
“Go with your gut,” he said simply.
My gut told me to blast the fucker, but my gut had also told me to get hypnotized at a seedy strip mall to stop smoking. That decision turned me into a Vampyre . . . But wait, I was glad I was a Vampyre. I had Ethan, a family and a baby on the way. Maybe my gut wasn’t so bad after all.
Taking a huge breath, which also surprised Ethan, I closed my eyes and found a very dark place inside my mind. It glowed red and felt wonderful. Opening my eyes so I didn’t inadvertently blow someone’s head off, I aimed at the chains and let her rip. A blaze of sparks flew from my fingertips, unlike the magic I’d used on Grandpa. This was focused, evil and deadly. Ethan’s body jerked violently as the now flaming chains dropped from his body. He lurched forward and fell to the hard ground as the Baby Demons went down with him. They screamed with joyous abandon like they were riding a roller coaster. God help me.
“Again,” Abe shouted, jumping up and down and clapping his little claws.
“Hush,” I told Abe as I ran to Ethan’s crumpled body. Please God, let him be okay. “No, no, no,” I cried as he refused to wake up. My fangs dropped. I ripped into my wrist and placed it over his lips. “Drink,” I yelled. “Drink.”
Slowly his throat moved as my blood poured into his mouth and ran over the sides. The relief was massive. My body sagged, but I kept my wrist firmly clamped to his lips.
“He’ll be okay,” I whispered. “He’ll be fine.”
“We need to leave,” Bambi murmured.
“He needs to get his strength back,” I told her.
“No time,” she said. “It’s far better for him if he doesn’t see anything else down here. Can you cloak yourself, Ethan and your babies?”
“Yes.”
With Bambi’s help, I loaded Ethan’s massive frame over George’s back. I popped my monsters in my pocket and I made our sextet invisible. I felt shaky, having expended so much magic, but there was no time to rejuvenate. I briefly considered drinking from Ethan, but he was so weak I decided against it.
“Are we ready?” George asked.
“As we’re ever gonna be,” I answered, hoping we’d make it out of here but having no clue what to do after that.
“Then let’s go,” he grunted.
And we did.

Chapter 14
Now I knew why they knocked me out the first time through. It was not pretty. If this was the waiting area, I knew I never wanted to see the rest. The thought of my mother in the basement sat heavy on my heart. I was sure if I was cast down there she wouldn’t have given me a second thought, but I was not my mother. She got what she deserved, but I couldn’t shake the constricted feeling in my chest when I thought about her.
Dark and smoky hallways filled with Demons and soul lights were all I could see for what seemed like miles. No one was actually doing anything wrong, but the smell of sex and blood was everywhere. It was depressing and quietly terrifying. Unable to put my finger on exactly why, I attributed it to the muted moaning and crying. I missed the overplayed Journey soundtracks from the main level. The Hounds walked the corridors as if they owned them and were given a wide berth by everything and everyone we passed. The fear they instilled was palpable. Clearly no one knew them the way I did.
“Is your reputation earned?” I asked.
“Yes,” George said.
“Nice.”
“Thank you.”
After a long while we entered the area with the desks, Demons and soul lights. I breathed a sigh of relief only to be followed by a sharp intake of breath.
“What’s wrong, Little Astrid?” Bambi asked, concerned.
“Where will I take Ethan? Can you take us to a portal?”
“Your mate is not strong enough to make it home through a portal and I do believe you have offered your services to help find the Sword of Death. I would have thought you were a woman of your word,” the General huffed indignantly.