Tall, Dark & Heartless (Pyte/Sentinel #3)(33)

She'd been fourteen the one and only time she'd seen him go into bloodlust. That memory was more than enough to keep her ass against the wall and her mouth shut. If he could calm down, he would have a chance to reign it back in and if he couldn't she'd better pray, because there was nowhere to run and hide this time.

The other time he lost it had been all her fault. He'd told her that she was too young to go patrolling and she hadn't listened. She thought she was ready, more than ready because he had trained her. It never occurred to her that he'd been holding back. So when he went off with a group of Sentinels to patrol she snuck out of the compound, ran to the subway and went to the area she overheard one of the Sentinels say there was a nest of vampires.

Her plan had been simple, stupid, but simple. While everyone else was fighting, she was hunting down the nest's Master and planning to take him down in front of everyone so they could see just how good she really was. Once she brought down the Master, she knew they'd allow her to quit school, more like insist that she quit, so that she could train fulltime with them and patrol.

When she managed to sneak past the Sentinel stationed at the front of the abandoned building where the nest was, she knew that her skills were more than good enough. By the time she found Caine and the others fighting the large group of vampires and a few minions, she'd been mentally patting herself on the back for a job well done.

Somehow she managed to sneak into the large room and hide behind an overturned vending machine. At the time she'd assumed it was her incredible skills that allowed her to hide, but now she realized that she'd only managed to get in unobserved because everyone had been too busy to notice her. While they fought, she scanned the room looking for the biggest, toughest vampire that she could find, figuring that one would be the Master.

She wasn't sure if the vampire she decided on was actually the Master, but she went for him just the same. As quietly and quickly as she could, she moved out from behind the vending machine and went after her prey. Unfortunately she never got near the man. Before she knew what was happening, another vampire grabbed her and yanked her back against his chest. She didn't get a chance to put up a fight before he struck.

Just the thought of those fangs slicing through her skin still had the power to make her ill. She let out a blood curdling scream, not sure if she screamed Caine's name or not, but within seconds she was falling to the ground. She landed hard and tried to crawl away only to find herself kicked and stepped on as the fighting shifted closer.

Somehow she managed to crawl to one of the cracked and decaying walls. She huddled against it as she watched in horrified fascination as Caine made the vampire scream and beg for his life before Caine ripped out his throat. Most vampires and Sentinels didn't know that Pytes could drink the blood of vampires, demons, shifters as well as humans. It was something Caine had told her, but up until that moment she'd never seen him drink anything more than bagged blood heated up in the microwave.

She knew the minute his glowing red eyes landed on her and by the way he tilted his head back and sniffed the air that there was something off about him. When he started attacking anything in his path, not caring whether it was a vampire or a Sentinel she thought he was worried about her and wanted to check on her. It wasn't until he went to lunge for her and several Sentinels and the shifters in his group grabbed him and held him back that she realized he meant to finish what the vampire had started.

When she slapped a hand to her wound he went wild in their arms, snarling and growling as he fought to get to her. The survivors of the nest took advantage of the situation and ran, leaving the Sentinels to deal with Caine. She stood up on trembling legs and moved to go to him only to get a good look at the monster he truly was. The moment she looked into his eyes she knew that her friend Caine wasn't there. She also knew that it wouldn't be long before he freed himself and came after her.

She sent him one last look, hoping to see her friend, but he wasn't there. Mumbling an apology she took off running, hoping he'd calm down if she wasn't in the room. She heard some of the men yell after her to run faster and she did the best she could. She ran out of the building, down the street and down the stairs to the subway, praying the entire way that the scents of the trains, dirt and humans would confuse him and that she made it to a train before he found her.

Just as she made it to the bottom step she heard the unholy roar that caused her heart to skip a beat and sent her running even faster. She jumped the token gate, ignored the booth worker demanding that she come back, and kept running until she made it down to the tracks just in time to see a train pull away. Not knowing what else to do, she jumped the tracks and took off running into the pitch black tunnel, praying he'd just assumed that she jumped on the train and left.

When she heard the growl echo in the tunnel she knew that he was still following her. Seconds later she tripped on the tracks and went flying, landing hard on the tracks. Remembering the small space that she usually watched mice run out of, she crawled towards her right, praying that she fit in there. She did, but it was a tight fit.

She moved until her shoulder came up against the rough cement wall and was forced to turn her head all the way to the side to fit. She prayed that she'd be able to go deep enough so that he couldn't reach her. When she saw the small bright red lights she bit her lip hard enough to keep from screaming. It was stupid, but she didn't want him to think that she was a coward. She knew that if he got his hands on her that she'd fight him until the end.