Forget About Midnight (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #9)(29)

“Hey, Shya,” I paused, wrestling with the question that rose up from the place where I stored my personal fears. “The Dragon Claw… is it useless to me now? Do you want it back?”

Asking the demon any question that I wanted a truthful answer to was more than a little stupid. Still, I needed to know. The Dragon Claw had been created to kill vampires. It didn’t even need to pierce the heart. It lay inside its velvet-lined box in the trunk of my car, untouched. I had been too wary to touch it since I turned.

“Of course not,” he snapped, looking to the ceiling as if unable to comprehend my idiocy. “It was created for you, with your DNA. If a slight slip of the blade is what’s got you worried, then let me assure you that it would take much more than that to kill you. That dagger knows you. I designed it that way.”

He could have been lying, but my gut told me he spoke the truth. Shya didn’t really want me dead. It would rob him of the chance to torment me.

“It’s all clear,” Kale announced from the front step.

I followed him out, leaving Shya to reap some kind of mystical benefit from my slaughter. That right there gave me pause, made me reconsider my reckless actions.

For just a moment I experienced a fierce, deeply driven urge to head for the River Valley. I stopped on the sidewalk halfway to the Camaro and stared in the direction I knew Arys to be.

Kale watched me, his face carefully expressionless. He said nothing, and that said more than enough. I forced my feet to move. I wanted to hide the inner turmoil but knew it was too late for that.

He knew I suffered. He knew that I ached for my dark half. And he accepted that. Now if only I could do the same.

Chapter Nine

“Let’s go to The Wicked Kiss.” The first half of the night had been so fabulously disastrous. Why stop now? Actually, the sudden change in my willingness to go to the club had more to do with avoiding being alone with Kale than anything else.

Kale didn’t question my decision. He navigated the old muscle car through the calm city streets, headed for the downtown core. It was late enough that traffic was sparse, but in a few hours the sun would break over the horizon, bringing with it the folks that lived from sunrise to sunset. We would be forced back inside then, a fact I was having a hard time adjusting to.

Knowing what Arys was up to made it hard to sit still. I buzzed with the excessive amounts of energy I’d drained from my many victims. This kind of high could potentially last all night. The only upside was that the bloodlust would also be at bay.

The nerves I’d felt earlier at the thought of walking into the blood den were gone. I felt entirely at ease when we pulled into the parking lot. There was no better time to reveal that I’d turned. We’d all known it was coming. Some had even tried to stop it. But all would respect that I was now the most powerful vampire in the city.

I was feeling very much like Ms. Hyde, having abandoned my Jekyll side back in that frat house. This was me now, the monster within.

“Glad to see the building is still standing,” I observed as we walked up to the front entry.

“Well neither of us has been here to raise hell lately.” Kale’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. Whatever he was feeling, he was fighting hard to repress it.

“We don’t have to stay long. I just want to talk to Justin. I’ve missed a few of his calls.” I’d missed a crap ton of calls from several people. Communication hadn’t been my strong suit in recent days.

Kale walked beside me but kept enough distance between us so that we wouldn’t accidentally touch. He was feeling the strain, and I hated myself for it. It wasn’t fair. He didn’t deserve to suffer. His willingness to participate in this charade didn’t make it ok.

“The sooner everyone knows you’ve turned, the better,” he said. “They need to know things have changed.”

“Agreed. I’m done with rebel vampire bullshit. I almost hope someone takes a shot at me. I’d love a good fight right now.” It was true. Shya was a battle I couldn’t win, but vampires? That I could handle. Taking and giving a beating sounded really damn good. Working out some of this frustration and angst on someone’s face was just what I needed.

People loitered outside the door, puffing on cigarettes and talking on cell phones. I bypassed the line to get in and strode through the lobby, feeling empowered.

Justin was working security at the main door leading from the lobby into the heart of the club. He looked up suddenly, having felt my approach. His jaw dropped, and his dark eyes widened.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he greeted me with a broad, fang-revealing grin. “So the rumors are true. You look good, boss lady. Real good.”

“Thanks.” I knew I must be glowing with all of the power roiling about inside me. As it was, my feet barely touched the ground as I glided with a grace I’d never had before. “So everyone knows.”

“Everyone knows.” His head bobbed, and though he never moved a single beefy muscle, it was apparent that he was trying to avoid accidentally touching me. “Everything has been pretty solid here, all things considered. Nobody wants to risk the wrath of the queen.”

“Is that royalty shit still going around?” I scowled, hating that vampires were as bad as humans when it came to rumors and hearsay.

Justin chuckled, a hearty laugh that shook his broad shoulders. “Come on now, Alexa, the vampire queen talk started over a year ago. We all knew something was coming down the line. We didn’t all know it was you, specifically. I knew though. The first time I met you, I knew.”