Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(26)

I planted my feet on either side of the snake’s body as he was rearing back to strike Dev and positioned myself as close to the head as I could get.

I lifted the sword high and brought it down with all my might. The sword did most of the work, the silver cutting through thick skin and tissue and planting itself in the floor beneath. I threw every bit of my weight into sinking the sword in deep, pinning the snake to the floor, his natural predatory grace caught and useless now.

No one has ever properly explained to me why silver has the effect it does on weres, shifters, and vampires, but right then all that mattered was the fact that it worked. Whether for biblical reasons or because it was an allergic reaction, the snake writhed in obvious pain, and my warm heart was not moved a bit. The snake hissed and twitched the tail end of his body, using it like a whip, trying to strike at me.

Dev scrambled up and pulled yet another sword from under his comfy chair. For a man who claimed to love peace, he was awfully well armed. His hair was a bloody mess, and his clothes were torn, showing off bits and pieces of a really nice-looking chest. Dev turned the sword in his hands a few times, obviously relishing the feel of it. He walked straight to the snake and lifted the silver sword with both hands.

“This is a place of peace, *.” He swung the sword in a perfect arc. The snake’s head hit the floor with a satisfying thud. He let the sword relax at his side and gave me a ridiculously sexy smile. “Is it wrong that I find you incredibly hot right now?”

I’d wanted to break out of my rut. The rut was utterly ruined and replaced by sheer panic and an oddly elated feeling. I was definitely alive.

I was about to tell him I didn’t mind at all when I noticed that Daniel and the werelion had taken their fight to the balcony. Dev’s door was totally ruined. Daniel and the lion hadn’t bothered nicely moving their argument outside. They had decimated the structure, putting a massive hole in the wall.

Daniel was in full bloodlust mode. His fangs were long as he pulled his fist back and used his preternatural strength to shove the lion over the metal banister and down to the floor below. The lion flew through the air, but even before he could hit the ground, Daniel leapt after him. I could hear the screams from the crowd below, and then Dev was cursing as he followed Daniel over the balcony, clutching his sword.

I, not being able to physically survive a fall of that magnitude, chose to use the stairs.

The dance floor was in complete chaos by the time I got there. The blood from the werelion’s fall managed to arouse some of the more bloodthirsty of the dancers, and all around me shifters were shifting, witches were chanting, and demons were licking their chops. Albert was already on the floor with the rest of the staff trying to control the crowd with water cannons that blasted the clients back and cooled some of the bloodlust. Dev’s staff, it seemed, was well trained in the art of riot control.

I ran, pushing my way through the crowd.

The lion lay in the middle of the previously packed dance floor, the glitter of the surroundings marred by blood and death. Blood coated Daniel’s hand. His fight with the lion seemed to have ended with him punching his way through the lion’s chest cavity.

“Are you okay?” I asked the question as quietly as I could, putting as much calm into my voice as possible.

He grabbed a napkin off one of the tables close to the dance floor and wiped down his hand with precise, controlled movements, his jaw a rigid line. When he was done, he closed his eyes and took a long breath before tucking his formerly perfect white dress shirt back into his slacks. The lion’s corpse was a couple of feet away, and I tried not to look at it. Daniel could do plenty of damage without a gun.

Daniel declined to answer me. When he opened his eyes again, he simply picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold. My world upended. It was obvious he was through talking to me.

Before I could protest, he turned to Dev. “I’m going to get her out of here until we can figure out who’s trying to kill her. Thank you for a lovely evening. Sorry about the destruction.”

Dev shouted to Albert, trying to be heard over the anarchy around him. “Get some body bags, and we’re gonna need the flame thrower. And there’s a werewolf having a late-night snack up in my office. Don’t kill him. He’s a friendly.”

I managed to catch his eye as Daniel hauled me off the dance floor toward the door. He was standing there in the middle of the mayhem, with his shirt ripped and his formerly perfect hair a glorious mess. A cut bled slightly on his bicep, and his lip was a little swollen. He looked really delicious, and I was the girl who destroyed his club on our first date. I should have at least had the courtesy to wait until the third or fourth date before unleashing destruction on him. He would surely regret pursuing me.

My neck was killing me, but I tried to get one last look at the man who was almost certainly going to run the next time he saw me. Then he looked up and Dev gave me a slow, sexy smile and winked. I yelled the only thing I could think of.

“Call me!”





Chapter Eight





“I’ll drive.”

Daniel tossed me in the back seat of his Council-owned Mercedes. A vampire needed to keep up appearances apparently. Daniel was given a yearly allowance from the Council that included an undead friendly apartment, the shiny Benz, and a clothing budget that he was supposed to use for top-of-the-line designer wear. Anything else Daniel had to scratch for like the rest of us. He was a well-dressed bum in a really nice car.