Pretty When They Collide (Pretty When She Dies 0.5)(33)

So far, so good.

Whipping the door open, she mentally ran the layout of the house through her mind. Heart thundering in her chest, she raced down the hall and hopped down the staircase, landing to landing, arriving on the bottom floor. The long hallway that bisected the house and led to Frank’s study lay before her. Dim lights illuminated her path, the glossy black marble floor dappled with warm light. The layout of the house had been a lie though. Doorways opened off the hallway, perfect for a trap.

Cassandra had never deliberately entered an ambush before and her pulse was racing. Drawing her dart gun, she surged forward.

The dhamphir had just cleared the first two doors when they were flung open and heavily armored men burst out. Swiveling on one foot, she kicked one man in the throat, knocking him back into the room and into the men behind him. As the assailant from the opposite room attempted to Taser her, she dropped to the floor and shot him in the soft underside of his chin. The dart slammed into his flesh and he cried out in pain, but to her surprise he did not go down.

For a moment, confusion gripped her as the man she had sedated snatched the dart out of his skin and flung it away. Behind him, another man moved to fire his Taser at her.

“Fuck!” Cassandra screamed, realizing the darts were faulty. Hurling the dart gun at the man aiming at her, she burned even more of her power as she rolled onto her hands and knees and kicked out, knocking the first assailant back. A grunt and a cry of pain informed her she had hit both her marks.

Scrambling to her feet, she only had a split second to see her next accoster aiming at her. Grabbing him by the wrist, she pivoted toward his body, slamming her elbow into his Adam’s apple, before swinging him into two more guards trying to get a bead on her. Panic gripped her and she fought for control.

Pumping more of her blood power into her limbs, she snatched one of the men who had previously attacked her and used him as a battering ram against the others coming for her. A scuff on the marble informed her that more guards were filling the hallway behind her.

The first Taser barb to catch her hooked onto her Kevlar, and the jolt merely drew her attention. Smashing her fist into the face of the guard who had hit her, she saw his blood splatter against her knuckles and spray the air. Her tongue lashed out between her lips, and the sacred vitae rained onto it. Instantly, she felt back in control as the world slowed around her and her inhuman speed accelerated.

Cassandra laughed with joy.

These were the moments when she knew her soul teetered on the brink of darkness. Moving among the insanely slow humans trying to fight her, she kicked, punched, and even bit her way through them. Snatching one man around the neck with her arm, she pierced his throat with her fangs, while using the momentum of her action to kick into the air and send two guards flying. Her feet landed against the wall and the world flipped sideways.

Grinning, she ran along the wall, knocking the mortals off their feet. She snagged the vest of one of the guards and hurtled him into the ceiling, spinning around to catch another one with a sharp jab to his nose. Blood, moans, and cries of pain filled the air.

Cassandra launched herself into the air, flipping her body so she landed on the floor just behind the downed men and looked toward the end of the hall, waiting for more. All around her echoed the soft moans of pain from the unconscious guards.

“Come out!” she called out. “I know you’re there. Fight me!”

A solitary figure stepped into the hallway from a side door. Clad in a flowing white dress, Aimee stood in silence, her head tilted to the side to regard Cassandra.

Taking in a deep breath, Cassandra felt the world return to normal around her. Swiftly leap-frogging over the guard’s bodies, she moved toward Aimee. Maybe Frank really wasn’t here and they could get out now that the guards were gone. She was almost to Aimee when she saw something in the other woman’s fingers.

Turning around to fully gaze at Cassandra, Aimee lifted her hand. Tucked into it was a small cotton bag.

Cassandra stopped in her tracks, her lips parting in surprise and apprehension. “Aim–”

The witch hurled the bag directly at Cassandra’s chest. It exploded on impact, filling the air with a spicy smelling, milky-white powder. In that second, Cassandra understood what was happening. Coughing violently, she stared into Aimee’s eyes, her heart thundering in her ears, questions filling her mind.

Cassandra collapsed to the floor and was still.





Chapter 14 :

Prisoner



Aimee stared at the woman at her feet in silence. Breath coming in tight, anxious hitches, the witch felt both relieved and terrible about the act she had just committed.

“Make sure the spell worked,” Frank ordered from behind her. “Aimee, do it.”

Michael loomed over his shoulder, a tranquilizer gun at the ready.

“She’s down. Isn’t that what you wanted?” she asked in a soft voice.

“Check her,” Frank said, gesturing briskly.

Looking up the long corridor, Aimee could see the power of the dhamphir laid out before her. All ten of the men who had attacked Cassandra were either out cold or just coming to. They were battered, bleeding, and most likely had a few broken bones. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she kneeled before the fallen dhamphir.

The remnants of the spell’s ingredients powdered the sleek black armor and dusted Cassandra’s face and tresses. Gently, Aimee swept Cassandra’s hair back from her face and laid a hand gently on her neck. She could feel the strong, rapid heartbeat of the dhamphir.