The Den of Shadows Quartet - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes [102]
It was a desperate move. Any vampire strong enough to control his own power could reach along the line she had opened and attack her, and she would have no defenses.
But Christopher had not fed on humans for too long. He was powerless against the deadliest of her attacks.
Nikolas froze when he heard his brother scream. Sarah saw him hesitate as he tried to figure out what she had done.
“Let me go, Nikolas,” Sarah demanded. “Call that girl back down and tell her to get my knives now, or I will drain every drop of power from your brother’s body.”
“You wouldn’t,” Nikolas answered softly, a small amount of fear in his voice.
“He just licked blood off my hand,” she growled. “That gives me the motivation to cause some exceptional pain if you do not give me back what is mine and let me out of here.” She didn’t want to kill Christopher. She didn’t even want to hurt him. But the choice was between letting him go and having Nikolas kill her, and hurting him and living through this night.
Nikolas stepped forward and she once again reached into Christopher’s power and twisted what she found there.
He shouted out in pain and Nikolas winced, stopping.
“I can kill him in less than a second if you make another move toward me,” she warned, and it was true. As entrenched in Christopher’s power as she was, she could tear, tangle, or destroy with a thought.
“Marguerite, get the knives,” Nikolas whispered, and the human who had been watching from the doorway ran upstairs. Sarah had seen the fear on the girl’s face — fear for Christopher’s life, for the vampire who had fed on her years ago when she wanted to die, and then given her this life in exchange for the one she had abandoned.
Nikolas took a step back, but Sarah could see pure hatred smoldering in his eyes as he did so.
Marguerite returned and held Sarah’s knives out to her. Keeping her right hand over Christopher’s throat, she returned all the knives to their rightful places with her left. Still holding Christopher by the throat, she stood.
“I am going to let him go, and you are going to leave me alone. Do we have a deal, Nikolas?”
“I’m going to kill you the first chance I get,” he growled back, and Christopher once again shouted out in pain.
“Do we have a deal, Nikolas?”
“For tonight, I will let you leave safely,” he answered.
“Agreed,” she said, as she relaxed her hold on Christopher, who collapsed to the floor. “He’s going to die if he doesn’t feed soon, Nikolas,” she warned before he had a chance to make a move.
Without hesitation Nikolas drew Christopher to his own throat.
CHAPTER 21
“WHAT IN THE WORLD did you think you were doing?” Adianna demanded the instant Sarah entered the house.
Sarah pushed past her sister without answering. She was too tired to deal with questions tonight.
Adianna followed in silence, waiting to speak until they were almost in Sarah’s room. “You aren’t invincible, Sarah, and you well know it. Yet you’re always throwing yourself into these situations, going alone where no hunter in her right mind would —”
“I couldn’t bring you,” Sarah interrupted tiredly. “I can’t explain, but it wasn’t just because I like doing things alone.”
You don’t have to protect me,” Adianna stated.
“This time I did. This is something between Nikolas and me.”
“No, it’s not,” Adianna argued. “You are a Daughter of Vida, Sarah. A witch. A hunter. He marked you, and for that you are seeking vengeance. But that is not what you are here for. You are here to protect the humans who cannot protect themselves. Not to get yourself killed for a personal insult.”
“I’ve heard the lecture before,” Sarah snapped, her frayed nerves ruining the last of her patience. “Now, please, leave me alone.”
“You’re acting suicidal, Sarah.”
“Good night, Adianna.” Sarah slipped into her room and closed the door on her sister. Adianna knocked a couple of times, but finally gave up