sheer triumph, but it was quickly gone, because Stephan was up in a flash.
Worse, howling like a pair of banshees, Heidi and Deanna came flying across the room, and while Stephan and Mark were locked in a vicious struggle, Lauren was left to face her two best friends, both of whom seemed intent on killing her. Heidi was so tiny that Lauren was able to shove her away with a swift push. Deanna, however, was tall. And strong. And she had her fingers around Lauren’s throat and was squeezing tightly.
Lauren fumbled desperately in her pocket and found the toothpicks. She managed to get her fingers around one and jab Deanna forcefully in the rib cage.
To her amazement, the hands around her throat relaxed.
When Heidi moved, Lauren jabbed her again. A toothpick in each hand, she managed to rise and face the two of them, her eyes searching the room to see where Stephan had dropped her water pistol.
She saw it and managed to grab it—then shot both her friends. Crying out, they ran to a corner of the room, and huddled together, arm in arm, staring at her as if she were a creature from hell.
She spun around. Mark and Stephan were still fighting bitterly, the battle so frenzied that they were literally flying around the room. Stephan clung to the rafters, trying to kick Mark when he sprang for him. There was a burst of power so great that the whole house shook when Mark dodged Stephan’s maneuver and slammed into the other man.
Darkness shadow the room in tandem with a blast of hot air as Stephan fought back.
Lauren decided she must be going mad, because she thought she saw wings, thought she saw wolves, golden eyes gleaming, canines dripping, fur flying….
She sensed someone behind her and spun around.
Deanna had found her courage and was getting ready to reach for her, to attempt throttle her once again.
She didn’t have to defend herself, because before Deanna touched her, someone else came hurtling into the room.
Jonas.
“Deanna!” he shouted, and Deanna froze.
Suiddenly Lauren felt hands clutch her from behind and whirl her around.
Stephan.
He opened his mouth, and she saw his fangs. They seemed to gleam, and they were almost on her. Then he was ripped away from her, as something huge and black exploded in the room.
For a split second there was an blinding flash of light, and in its brilliance she saw Mark grasp Stephan and force the other man to his knees, his hands tight on Stephan ‘s head.
Mark twisted…and here was another explosion.
The explosion was Stephan.
Lauren choked and coughed and staggered back.
As the dust began to clear, she saw Mark, flesh bloodied, body torn, standing there.
Then he crumpled to the ground.
She raced over to him and dropped to her knees. Blood was oozing from wounds on his arms, on his forehead. She used the tail of her shirt and dabbed at the blood. She was barely aware of Deanna speaking nearby.
“Where the hell are we?” Deanna asked, confused. And then, “Jonas!”
But Jonas was already hurrying to Lauren’s side. He knelt down by her.
“He’s going to die!” she cried.
Jonassqueezed her hand reassuringly. “No he’s not. He’s going to be all right. See? He’s healing already.”
Lauren stood and drew away from Jonas.
“How did you get in here? How did he get in here? There were dozens of…them outside. But you…you’re both just like them, aren’t you?”
Jonas stood up and looked down at her. “Yes, I’m a vampire,” he admitted. “But I’m not like them. What do I have to do to prove myself?”
There was a groan from the floor. Mark.
Lauren fell back to her knees and helped him to sit up, then stared in amazement. The wound on his forehead already seemed smaller, and he was no longer oozing blood.
She stared at him.
He winced, lowering his head. “I should have told you the truth right from the beginning. I just…I just…There was so much you had to accept and understand first….”
She drew back. “We’re still in danger. There were at least a dozen vampires out there.”
“It’s safe,” Jonas said.
“I don’t believe you,” Lauren said. She was scared. No, not just scared—terrified. Shaking. And that made her angry.
She was so grateful that he was alive,
But she had just watched him twist off a man’s head like a bottle cap. No, not a man’s head. A vampire’s head.
