Pretty When They Collide (Pretty When She Dies 0.5)(7)

Closing her eyes, she fought through the need to kill and crush the vampire on the bed behind her and tried to recapture her humanity. She concentrated on her mother, her friends -- even her ex-girlfriend. The thought of them anchored her and when she opened her eyes again she was focused on her true purpose.

“Leonard,” she said in her normal voice.

The vampire opened his eyes slowly. His skin looked as delicate and thin as old parchment.

“Yes, I know who you are,” she said, seeing the question in his gaze. “Where is the relic?”

His glassy brown eyes blinked in terror.

“Yeah. I want the relic. Just give it to me and I’ll be on my way.”

There was defiance in his eyes she hadn’t expected.

“Oh, so whoever this bad guy or gal that you are delivering it to isn’t one to be f*cked with, huh?”

It was amazing how much emotion and information eyes could exude when someone was reliant on them as their only form of communication.

“Well, Leonard, I’m not one to be f*cked with either. So who would you rather take your chances with? Someone who isn’t here yet, or the pissed off dhamphir sitting at the end of your bed?” Cassandra yanked the heel off her other shoe and flicked out the blade hidden within it. “I realize that certain baddies are scary in theory, but I always think the baddie sitting right next to you with a very sharp silver knife in their hand is the one you should be more worried about, don’t you?”

The vampire’s eyes were the only thing he could move though he was obviously straining to break free of the paralysis brought on by the silver driven through his heart. She watched him struggle for about a moment before tucking the tip of her blade under his chin.

“Oh, Leonard, time’s up. I want you to pay careful attention. I’m going to prop your scrawny ass up on this bed and I’m going to move around this suite and you’re going to blink your eyes when I get close to where you hid the relic. Understand?”

The insolence in his eyes continued.

“Fine. We’ll do it the hard way,” Cassandra said with a sigh. Shoving the dagger up through his chin, she speared his face, shattering teeth and his cheekbone. Bloody tears flooded his eyes. “If I had angled that blade just a little differently you would be missing a nice chunk of your brain.”

In spite of his fear, Leonard’s expression was clear. He was not about to capitulate. Annoyed, Cassandra withdrew her blade from his pale flesh and cleaned it on his shirt before tucking it into her garter. She flicked off what was left of her shoes, and walked barefoot across the floor while fishing thin gloves out of her bra. She tugged them on and set her hands on her hips. The suite wasn’t that big and she quickly located his luggage. Pawing through it, she found nothing.

Scott, her broker, had been quite clear that the relic was an ugly lump of wood that no one would prescribe any worth to at a glance. It was what was hidden inside the petrified wood that was the big prize. Studying the suite, Cass pulled at the red dress with one hand. She was going to be very happy to get out of it.

Prowling around the suite, she opened drawers, checked behind curtains, and rummaged around in the cushions of the chairs and sofa. Her time was ticking away. If Scott was correct, the exchange was supposed to happen tonight.

“If I was a creepy guy with delusions of grandeur where would I hide a rare relic?” she muttered under her breath. Running her hands through her hair and feeling the clips to her extensions, Cassandra watched the vampire thoughtfully. “Of course.”

Cassandra walked over to the bed, lifted the corner of the mattress easily with one hand, and was rewarded with the sight of a hunk of rounded wood with strange carvings in the dark surface resting in the center of the bed. Leonard tumbled off the slanted mattress and onto the floor, making too much noise for comfort. Snatching up the relic, she watched the door, waiting to see if the guards burst in. She lowered the mattress and tiptoed to where Leonard lay face down on the floor. Gripping his shoulder, she rolled him over. The silver stiletto caught on the carpet and slid out of his chest.

Instantly, Leonard’s hands closed on her throat, his long fangs sliding out to press against his bottom lip. They fell over, grappling with each other. Leonard growled wordlessly as he sought to throttle her into unconsciousness. She managed to get the heel of her hand under his wounded chin and shoved upward. The fingers pressing into her throat didn’t relent, but she was infused with enough vampire blood that the lack of oxygen was not yet affecting her. It was obvious that Leonard had no idea how to deal with her kind. The vampire struggled to straddle her body and get leverage to choke her, but she kept twisting, knocking him off balance. Out of the corner of her eye she caught the glint of the bloody stiletto heel and lashed out to grab it.

Leonard saw the flash of movement and his eyes shot to the weapon clutched in her hand.

“You should have called for help,” she said, punching the stiletto into his temple.

The vampire toppled over, his face locked in an expression of disbelief. After the number of women he had tortured and murdered, Cassandra felt satisfied that she had been the end of him. Grabbing the razor sharp knife from her garter, she flicked it open while grabbing his thin hair in one hand. One brutal swipe and his head came free of his body. She carried it to the bathroom and flung it into the garden tub.

Cassandra used the edge of her dress to turn on the water and wash off her face and gloved hands. Once clean, she reclaimed the relic from where she had dropped it. She had been incredibly overconfident, and it could have gone a lot worse than it had. Luckily, Leonard had been too arrogant to call for help. Otherwise she would have had to deal with the guards who were likely infused with vampire blood.