Fang Me (2 page)

CHAPTER TWO

"She's attacking Alejandro," someone yelled.

Three of them rushed me, moving inhumanly fast. Well, guess what? I was that fast, too. I jerked aside so the leading bloodsucker flew past and crashed into the Christmas tree. It fell, bulbs popping and glass icicles shattering. Fang jumped on him, snarling and biting.

The other two grabbed my arms to immobilize me. They yanked the stakes out of my hands, and I would have been cool if they'd stopped at disarming me. But when one of them bent and tried to fang me, I lost my temper. I jerked backward and brought my wrists together as hard as I could. They didn't expect me to be as strong as they were, so their hold wasn't as tight as it should have been. Their heads banged together and their surprise made them let go.

I whirled, looking for weapons, and saw that Austin had hold of the tree hugger. The tree! I grabbed an unbroken icicle decoration as the fanger rushed me and I lunged for his heart with my makeshift stake.

DON'T KILL HIM, Fang shouted in my mind.

It was almost too late, but I was able to deflect my aim and stab him in the shoulder instead. The rest of the crowd surged forward. Alejandro yelled,"Stop," but some were too ticked off to listen.

Time to let Lola loose. My blood was already sizzling with lust for the hunt, so it was easy to call on my inner succubus. I reached down deep inside and yanked off the lid on the part of me I kept bottled up. Lola burst free, spilling out of me in a wave of lust to instantly enslave every male in the house. "Stop," I yelled, echoing Alejandro.

TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH, Fang muttered.

Maybe, but using Lola was like using a grenade to squash a fly, and I hated pulling out all the stops unless it was absolutely necessary. Besides, I'd tried for so long to avoid using her that it wasn't usually the first weapon that came to mind.

The men all obeyed immediately, seeing me as the ultimate woman, their goddess, their reason for being. Using the line of force that connected me to each man's chakras like a puppet string, I pulled, they responded. I could make them dance any way I wanted them to. Kind of sickening, really.

Lola wanted to hoover up that bounty of overflowing energy to fill up our chakras, but I stopped her. For one, it seemed like bad manners from an invited guest. For another, I couldn't afford to be distracted. I still had the female vamps to contend with. After all, th
ey weren
't affected by Lola.

The women had hesitated for a moment, but now a few of them shoved toward the front, my murder in their eyes. I wasn't stupid enough to think they were less of a threat simply because they were female. I readied myself for action again, wondering if I could control all those strings while I fought. Probably not. Crap.

One of them lunged for me, but Rosa darted in front of me and shoved her back. Planting her hands on her hips, she said,"You heard Alejandro. He does not wish her harmed."

Oh, yeah, I still had her boss under control. I took a couple of moments to isolate the strings holding Alejandro and Austin and released them. They staggered for a moment then joined Rosa as a living shield.

Alejandro held up his hand, palm out. "Anyone who harms Ms. Shapiro will answer to me."

The women immediately froze in place.

"If you would release Luis . . . ?" he added.

I knew Alejandro trusted his lieutenants, which is why I'd released Austin, but Luis irritated me. I sighed inwardly and released the last of Alejandro's lieutenants from Lola's control. But I kept the rest. It would do them good to let them know what it felt like to be enthralled for a change.

Luis seemed royally ticked off, but just folded his arms and glared at me, then shifted his gaze to Alejandro, waiting for orders.

The women all waited, too, so Alejandro stepped aside to let them see me. "Perhaps you would explain why you drew weapons in my home?" He said it softly, but his steely gaze let me know the answer better be damned good.

"Someone tried to control me, made me think they were rushing me to kill both of us. But what he really wanted was for me to start a riot so I'd be torn to bloody bits."

A small smile flitted across Alejandro's face. "So you did exactly as he wished?"

I squirmed and glanced away. "Hey, the guy on the floor tried to bite me." Which, come to think of it, was pretty stupid on his part. Didn't he get the memo that drinking demon blood could make him crazy?

Unfortunately, I could tell from everyone's expressions that my reasoning sounded totally lame.

Fang hooted in my mind. DAMN SKIPPY.

I glared at him. You
're supposed to be on my side.

I AM ON YOUR SIDE, BUT WHEN HE'S RIGHT, HE'S RIGHT. APOLOGIZE TO THE NICE MAN.

I sighed and decided to man up. Or was that woman up? Demon up? Whatever. "I'm sorry. It was kind of an instinctive reaction." After all, I'd been killing the nonaffiliated bloodsuckers—the ones not in the New Blood Movement—for years. I'd only started deliberately letting Lola loose as a weapon for about a month, so that skill didn't come as naturally. Muscle memory took over and had me pulling stake, which had been my go-to weapon as long as I could remember.

Alejandro gave me a slight bow, accepting my apology far more graciously than I'd given it. "And who tried to control you?"

"I don't know . . . only that his name was Jasper." It wasn't exactly a common name. Maybe there'd be only one.

Everyone turned to stare at the guy who'd led the rush and landed in the tree. He didn't look so threatening now, with cuts on his face, bits of broken glass on his bad-ass leather clothing, and tinsel draping his shoulders. Not to mention that he was standing stock still, gazing at me as if I were Angelina Jolie and he desperately wanted to be Brad Pitt.

I glanced at Alejandro for direction, wondering what he wanted me to do about it.

"Please, ask him to answer my questions truthfully."

I nodded. With Lola's hooks into him, Jasper had to do anything I told him to. I ordered the guy to answer his leader's questions honestly.

The vamp leader strolled over to his enthralled minion. "Why did you goad the Slayer, a guest in our home, deliberately?"

"Because she kills our kind. She killed Lily and you let her live." He appeared confused, his true beliefs warring with how Lola now forced him to feel about me.

Rosa stepped forward, frowning and looking as though she was about to open a can of whup ass on his butt. Apparently she didn't like anyone dissing her boss.

Alejandro stopped her with a raised hand. "Let him continue." Turning back to Jasper, he asked,"What did you hope to gain?"

"The Slayer's death."

"Did you arrive at this plan on your own or did someone put you up to it?"

Jasper thought for a moment. "The three of us discussed it, but I wasn't the one who came up with the idea. That was Neil."

Rosa kicked the guy lying on the floor, who still adored me even with an icicle stuck in his shoulder.

Fang snickered. THREE GUESSES WHO NEIL IS.

"I'll get to him in a moment," Alejandro said. "Jasper, do you harbor evil thoughts in your heart? Do you seek to injure me or thwart the aims of the New Blood Movement?"

"No. I support you fully."

Alejandro nodded. Turning to me, he said,"He is merely misguided. I suspect the real culprit lies elsewhere." He glared down at Neil. "Get up."

Neil didn't move, so I ordered him through our link, "Do as he says."

The enthralled vamp got to his feet, and Alejandro yanked the icicle out of his shoulder, tossing it aside. Neil gasped and swayed but Alejandro ignored his pain and nodded at me.

I loosened Lola's hold on Neil a little so he wouldn't seem so robotic. Let him dig his own grave. "Tell us everything you plotted and why," I told him.

Freed of inhibitions, Neil sneered at Alejandro. "You and your pansy ass Movement. We are superior to mere humans. United, we could take over the entire world. Yet you, you hold undreamed-of power and what do you do with it? You try to make
friends w
ith our food."

Whoa, harsh.

"Lily was the only one with guts enough to say the truth," Neil continued with a sneer,"but you let the Slayer kill her. She must die for that."

I thought we'd rooted out all of the members of her cabal, but we must have missed one.

Alejandro let him spew his venom for awhile, but when Neil changed to berating Alejandro for trying to partner with the Demon Underground and letting the spawn of Satan—that would be me—poison his mind and heart, Alejandro finally interrupted him. "Enough. What did you hope to accomplish?"

Forced to tell the truth in my thrall, Neil admitted,"That you and the Slayer would kill each other. That your loss would leave a vacuum of power."

Luis snorted in derision. "And you thought you could step in?"

"Why not? Austin doesn't want to lead, Rosa is nothing but a hanger-on, and no one in their right mind would follow you." He was almost panting now, though I wasn't sure if it was from the pain in his shoulder, or his rage. Probably both.

They all seemed taken aback at Neil's assessment. "You did ask for the truth," I reminded them. Oops. Maybe I shouldn't be agreeing with the raving vampire. Not a good idea to piss off the guys on your side. "At least, the truth as he sees it."

Fang chuckled. GOOD CATCH.

Alejandro shook his head, his expression sad. "You took an oath. An oath to honor the Movement, an oath to forego harming the humans who live alongside us." He sighed heavily. "With your actions and your attempt to bite a guest in my house, you are foresworn. And what is the punishment for that?"

"Death," Luis said, sounding overly pleased.

Alejandro nodded, looking as if a huge weight had just settled on his shoulders. He glanced at me. "Since the offense was to you, would you like to do the honors?"

Whoa. Act as his executioner? True, I was the Slayer and I'd killed a lot of evil bloodsuckers, but not like this.

When I hesitated, Alejandro pushed. "Your choice of weapon . . . stake, sword, or succubus?"

"He's injured and unarmed," I protested. Not to mention helpless in Lola's clutches. He had to do anything I told him, so where was the fun in that? And while Lola leapt with excitement at the thought of sucking him dry, I'd never killed anyone that way and never would. If I went that far, I was afraid I'd lose the bigger, human part of myself.

"You tried to stake him earlier," Austin reminded me. "We know you could have hit his heart. Why did you stab him in the shoulder instead?"

Now I was confused. Was Austin testing me? Not wanting to admit the dog made me do it, I said,"I didn't think Alejandro would appreciate it."

Austin nodded and smiled slightly as if I'd given the right answer.

"Then you refuse to execute him for me?" Alejandro asked.

He didn't seem ticked off, so I tried to slide around it. "I'd rather not. Hey, if he rushes me again, no problem. But I don't like staking the defenseless. And his offense was intended more for you than me."

Alejandro smiled this time. Oh, good. Another right answer. Why didn't they just pat me on the head and feed me my lines?

BECAUSE HE KNEW YOU'D DO FINE WITHOUT THEM, Fang said smugly.

Know it all.

The vamp leader bowed to me. "An excellent point. It is I who sentenced him. It is I who should mete out the punishment."

Fang nodded approvingly. AS ALL GOOD LEADERS SHOULD.

With one swift movement, the vamp leader scooped up one of my stakes from the floor and slammed it into Neil's chest. The traitor fell with a thud, and I felt the cord between us snap as he died—permanently this time. No one else made a sound. Alejandro turned to the crowd. "Is there anyone else who harbors evil intent, anyone who seeks to harm the Movement?"

"If so, uh, raise your hand," I ordered. It wasn't exactly how I'd planned to question them all, but it sure saved time.

No one moved.

Alejandro continued. "Do you reaffirm your oath to leave innocents unharmed, to take only the lifeblood that is freely offered, to abide by the tenets of the New Blood Movement, upon pain of death?"

"We do," they chorused.

They'd pretty much already proved that, but people—even undead people—like the ceremonial stuff.

With a sigh, Alejandro said,"Release them, please, all but the other two who attacked you."

I nodded. "Give me a minute." It wasn't as easy as he made it out to be. Kind of like trying to remove a hook from a trout's mouth, with the added problem of trying not to draw blood. Or, in this case, not drawing out any lust that Lola could feed on.

I got a firm hold on Lola and released each invisible tentacle, one by one, holding on only to the two who'd rushed me. As the lines of force loosened and lay slack, I drew the invisible energy conduits back in to myself.

Alejandro spoke to his people from over the body of the dead traitor. "I thank you all for your confidence in me and your belief in the tenets of this Movement. For those who question why I invited the Slayer into our home, the answer is clear. She does not kill indiscriminately, nor does she take undue advantage of her great gifts, as she has demonstrated. Like us, she has honor." He glared out into the audience, daring anyone to contradict him. No one did. "Ms. Shapiro is contracted to me and will be in this house a great deal. I expect you all to treat her with the same respect you give me. Is that understood?"

They nodded and Alejandro inclined his head. "Thank you. Gentlemen, you may leave and go about your business. Ladies, please remain."

As they dispersed, I said awkwardly,"Uh, what about the other two who attacked me?" Lola still had them in her clutches.

Alejandro gave my attackers a dirty look. "They were led astray by lies. They do not deserve to die, but neither do they deserve to get off scotfree. If you wish, you may feed upon them."

Lola practically stood up and boogied, but I wasn't so sure.

When I hesitated too long, Austin drawled,"Please do. It'll make them think twice before doing something so darned bullheaded again."