Pretty When She Kills (Pretty When She Dies #2)(11)

The four zombies behind the witch seized her, holding her securely. Cian drew close enough to slap the gun out of her hand. Amaliya heard the girl’s wrist shatter. The girl screeched in pain.

“What are you going to do with her?” Amaliya asked.

Cian grabbed the girl by her hair, wrenched her head to one side, and bit into her throat.

Startled, Amaliya watched Cian drain the teenage girl as she flailed against him. For a second she considered rushing in to help the girl, but instead turned away. There was nothing she could do for the witch. It was too late for her.

The zombies gently touched Amaliya’s body as she walked among them. Each drop of blood imbued them with more life. Yet, they were the empty shells of people long gone. There were no souls inside the bodies, but there were memories. She could feel the whispers of who the zombies once were. The lost hopes and dreams brought tears to her eyes.

Finally, she reached the blood-soaked area where the vampire had died. Only a few scraps of material remained. Stepping into the center of the puddle, she closed her eyes. Her vampire nature called to the blood of the vampire. It took only a few seconds for her to feel the tickling sensation of rivulets of blood sliding up over her heels to touch her skin and absorb into her flesh. Within a minute all of the vampire’s blood and what remained of his power was hers. Opening her eyes, she saw the zombies reverently gathered around her. They clutched bits of the vampire’s body.

“You did a good job,” Amaliya said to them.

The one nearest her was the older black gentleman she had summoned in the cemetery earlier in the night. As her power renewed the corpses, she saw most of them were also black, dressed in the tattered remains of their Sunday best. Touching the cheek of the old man, she said, “Rest now.”

Instantly, the corpses sank into the street, vanishing.

The road seemed strangely empty with the zombies gone.

She almost missed them.

Cian tossed the corpse of the witch into the back of the ruined SUV. He shoved the other vampire in after her, then pulled the SUV with one hand down the road. Amaliya ran after him.

“Cian, what are we doing?”

“Hiding this until we can deal with it properly.” Cian shoved the vehicle into an alley. The metal groaned as he rammed it into a dark patch away from the street lights.

“And how do we do that?” Amaliya asked.

“We call Jeff.” Cian flashed a quick smile at her before striding back into the street to retrieve the car. He was flushed with the blood of the witch and was completely revitalized. Amaliya was relieved to see him looking normal, but slightly disconcerted.

“You drank the witch’s blood. What will it do to you?” Amaliya retrieved her purse from the car before Cian began scooting it up the road. She rifled through it, making sure she had all her things. Her cellphone was broken, the face shattered. “Crap.”

“Well, a few things.” Cian easily pushed the car around into the alley. It was like he was handling a grocery cart. Amaliya rarely saw him use all his power. It was rather intimidating, but exciting.

“Like?” She frowned, looking at him worriedly.

“A black witch’s blood can make a vampire a bit more powerful for a short period of time.”

“If it was death magic, can’t it hurt you?”

“Darling,” Cian said, flashing a grin. “You forget. I’m already dead.” He set the car on its side and pushed it up against the SUV.

Rolling her eyes, Amaliya shook her head. “Lame.”

“There is one other effect it has,” Cian said, drawing close to her, the lines in his face becoming somber.

“What?” She hated the way her voice cracked, but she couldn’t help but worry.

“It makes a vampire incredibly horny.”

Snatching her up around the waist, he shoved her up against the back of a building and kissed her deeply. It was the sort of kiss that rendered her helpless in his arms and lasted so long she was glad she didn’t need to breathe.

When they parted, he grinned at her. “Now, lower the spell so we can go home. I need to make some calls, then ravish you.”

Flushed with desire, Amaliya nodded. She drew in her power, feeling it coil inside of her, cold, dark, and glittering. It felt stronger than before, more feral. It made her shudder.

The spell came with it, a new sensation as it faded away into her flesh.

The world was suddenly full of sound again.

Amaliya peeked out into the road to see that cars had been turning along side streets to avoid the intersection. A few more turned before the spell completely collapsed, and then the through traffic began again.

“They didn’t understand why they had a sudden aversion to taking this road,” Cian explained in her ear.

“Because of the spell?”

“Yes.”

“Why don’t we have a witch?” Amaliya frowned at him.

“They’re rare and hard to find,” Cian answered. “Come along. Time to go home.” He tugged on her hand, walked into the shadows, and Amaliya felt herself dissolve into nothing.





Chapter 4


Etzli watched Gregorio, one of Santo’s many human minions slip out of her brother’s home office. It had been several hours since Manny and his ill-fated crew had left for Austin. Only Gregorio had returned. Standing in the shadows of the hallway, she beckoned to him as the door to the study shut. The man’s dark eyes brightened at the sight of her.