Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 165649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 663(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 165649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 663(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
I have no intentions of losing my life to a vampire, Josef said immediately, shedding his appearance even as Linda became Josef sitting at the table, slightly slumped in his chair, looking a bit drunk. Josef, now looking the part of a redheaded woman, stood, leaned down and brushed a kiss on the forehead of the man, glanced toward the wall and gave Ferro a cocky wink.
He is very clever, Elisabeta observed.
Ferro sighed. I am centuries old, Josef, not born yesterday. You take one more step toward the door without giving me your word and you will not take another.
Josef halted abruptly. I’m not stupid, Ferro. I have no intention of fighting anything. I’ll open the door and let Dayan, Barack and Traian do all the work.
Ferro caught the faint trail of shame in the boy’s mind. You are not being relegated back to being a child. I do not think of you that way. There are women in that club. Our women. Human women. O jelä peje terád, Josef. He swore in his native language. You are a valuable asset Cornel has already devised a plan to kidnap. Why am I even bothering to explain this to you?
He caught a glimpse of a smile in his lifemate’s mind, and at once all annoyance was gone. He understood now why Josef’s reputation had preceded him, although he didn’t think it was truly deserved. The boy was a good kid; he just needed a little guidance. And a firm hand. A much firmer hand than anyone had ever given him, probably because he managed to squirm out from under it too fast.
Josef sauntered over to the door, took a firm grip on the bar and shoved down to open it. The door was heavy and he had to step outside. The moment he did, a man with stained teeth exposed through loose, salivating lips caught at his long red hair and dragged Josef to him, spinning him as he did so, exposing his neck. Ferro recognized Varga trying to feed off the woman he thought he controlled. Two others came close but the master vampire paused long enough to kick at them and indicate for them to get inside and collect their intended victim.
Before Varga could sink his teeth into Josef’s neck, Josef shocked Ferro by slamming his fist deep into Edward Varga’s chest and wrenching his head to one side, avoiding the long teeth seeking his blood. That small split second allowed Traian to come in behind the vampire so that when Josef drove his fist into the front of the chest wall, the force of the blow helped send the vampire straight back into Traian’s fist.
They know. They are here, Elisabeta warned.
Ferro didn’t wait to see the outcome of the battle between Varga and Traian. He had to believe that the Carpathians stationed in the underground caverns could protect those there. He had to find the master vampires and destroy them. Once they were gone, any lesser vampire breaking through into the nightclub would no longer have direction and would be easier to kill.
We need the location of the master vampires, Elisabeta. Let the hunters do their jobs now. Drop everything else. You cannot be distracted. He wished he was with her to shield her from what they all knew they couldn’t completely prevent.
On the private path between brethren, he reached for Isai. Let Julija know she will have to do her best to keep Elisabeta from feeling the full effects of the vampires tearing into the humans. Once Cornel or any of them are aware she is aiding us, they will know she is too sensitive and they will order their servants to be as cruel and as messy as possible.
Ferro was grateful to be out of the underground and into the night. He could smell the ominous threat in the air. Overhead, the clouds churned a dark twisting mass of gray and black threads, blotting out the moon and stars as if they’d never been. When he inhaled, he smelled rotting flesh. Grating noises hurt his ears. Shrieks and talons scraping at windows told him vampires were trying to get into the nightclub.
The waiters in service to the Malinovs had been contained by the Carpathians the moment the notice was given. They couldn’t open doors or invite the vampires in. That didn’t mean any number of the guests inside couldn’t do it. Sooner or later, someone would. The moment that happened, the vampires would begin to feast. After the first blood spilled, it would turn into a frenzy for the servants of the master vampires they’d deliberately kept so hungry.
Elisabeta? We need direction, he prompted.
She hissed at him—actually hissed at him. His beloved, sweet, docile Elisabeta was definitely coming into her own. He would have smiled but she would have known.