Kiss of the Vampire(89)

“Somebody just walk over your grave?” Dante asked.

“Don’t say that.” Nix had to pick up the trail again. Tobias needed them. “Give me a minute.” She walked in an ever-widening circle, bending now and then to look at the rocks, but mostly sniffing the air, trying to grab on to something, anything. After a few minutes she paused. “Oh, hell. I don’t know what I’m doing.” She looked at Dante. In the darkness she could only see the outline of his body. “I’m not a tracker. I have no idea which way to go.”

“Let’s split up.” He walked over to her. “You go that way, I’ll go this way,” he said with a gesture. “One of us at least might stumble on to Tobias and be some help.”

“We don’t even…” She broke off and held up one hand.

“What?”

“I thought I heard something.” When he started to talk again she shushed him. Male voices drifted to her on the wind.

“Well?” Dante leaned close and whispered. “What is it?”

She turned her head to one side, then the other, trying to gauge where the voices came from. It was only because of her demon abilities that she could hear them. From what she could tell they were at least a quarter of a mile away. “Men talking,” she said just as quietly. She pointed to the right. “From that direction. I think.”

“You need to be sure, Nix. If we head off in the wrong direction…”

“I know. We’d be too far away to help Tobias…if we aren’t already too late.” She took a few steps toward the sound but the voices faded away. She stopped. After a few seconds they began talking so she started up again, Dante right beside her. She glanced at him.

“What?” he asked.

“It’s just… Thank you for treating me like a professional, Dante.”

His brows dipped. “How else would I treat you, Nix? You’re not some little woman who needs to be tucked up safe at home.” His expression was that of the serious warrior she knew he could be. “There’s no one else I would want watching my back.”

It was a good thing he felt that way, because her demon tendencies were about to be let out to whoop some vampire ass and he was going to have front row seats.

A scream pierced the air. Dante swore. “Even I heard that.”

“This way,” Nix said, and took off at a run.

She heard Dante’s pounding footsteps behind her. The beam from his flashlight bounced over the rocky ground as he ran. They went down the side of a narrow wash, their feet sliding on the loose dirt. Once they’d scrambled up the other side, they slowed. A slight breeze lifted Nix’s hair off her neck and brought with it the scent of vampires.

Not one or two. Several.

Her pulse quickened. She brought her gun up, clasping her left hand around her right to support the weapon, and adjusted her stance to be able to deal with the recoil when she pulled the trigger. Bullets might not kill a vamp, but they could sure as hell slow one down long enough for her to finish him off with her blade. She moved forward cautiously, staying alert to where Dante was so she wouldn’t shoot him by accident.

Another few steps and she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She spun to face the threat, her pulse taking off like a rocket engine. One of the largest vampires she’d ever seen barreled toward her, fangs bared, hands outstretched. She fired three rounds, each catching him in the upper chest. He flinched, blood streaming from his wounds, but kept right on coming.

She heard more gunshots coming from the direction where she’d last seen Dante. She hoped he had better luck than she’d had with her weapon.

Tobias was nowhere in sight, but she could hear him now, his voice low but urgent. She focused on the vamp heading her way and told herself that if Tobias was gabbing with someone he was in no immediate jeopardy. Not like she was. A quick glance showed her Dante was holding his own, so for the moment she forced the worry about him out of her mind.

Another vampire headed toward her. She fired until she was out of bullets. He fell to the ground, groaning. The first vamp, shirt front bloodied, came toward her, arms outstretched, reaching, grasping. Holstering her gun, she prepared herself for close combat. She slid her knife from its scabbard and held it at her side. Her breath came quick between parted lips. Adrenaline raced through her bloodstream, her vision yellowed as her inner demon began making itself known. She backed up and then took a few running steps forward, launching herself feetfirst at the vamp.

She caught him in the chest, her feet thudding against the bullet wounds. He roared with pain as he went down, Nix on top of him. She slashed across his throat, then rolled out of his reach and bounced to her feet. The trick now was to stay out of his reach while he bled out.