Jennifer Rardin - [Jaz Parks 1] - Once Bitten, Twice Shy

'You have something that belongs to me.' She'd suddenly developed an accent. She must really be pissed. I snuck a look at my watch. Vayl might be on his way, but he wouldn't get here in time to back me up, much less save me. And I didn't much savor the thought of him scraping me off the carpet. What to do, what to do? My nerves were running around like earthquake victims, screaming hysterically and ramming into each other, causing no end of damage and helping me not one damn bit.

'Everything I have is mine,' I told her. Wrong thing to say. Her eyes, including the whites, turned the bright red of fresh blood. Her hands twitched and I realized those perfect, store-bought nails doubled as covers for retractable claws. They grew, even as I watched, to letter-opener length, and I imagined they'd slice through skin just as easily as they'd cut paper.

'That is where we fundamentally disagree.' She moved forward and to her left, intending to block my exit. Evidently she couldn't visualize me jumping off the balcony. It seemed like a bad plan to me as well. My adrenaline had already deserted me. I'm so tired. Almost too tired to be scared. Almost, almost, almost—

'I don't know what you mean,' I replied. As she moved I did too, maintaining the distance between us as I inched closer to the bedroom door.

'Cirilai.' She pointed to the ring on my right hand, her claws shaking with the force of her anger. 'It is mine.'

'Vayl told me his family made it for him.'

'I am his family!' she spat. 'It is my right to wear Vayl's ring!' She took a step forward and I pulled Grief. It was still in gun mode, but it stopped her. For now. So, of course, I egged her on.

'You're not his wife anymore, Liliana. You're not even his avhar. The ring is mine, and I'm keeping it.'

She screamed. Like a banshee. On uppers. Caught in a vice.

I shot her as she charged. Three times, bam, bam, bam in a nice tight pattern in the chest. Bright red blood spattered the wall behind her as she fell backwards. She hit the dining room table on her way down. It teetered and crashed sideways under the impact. I used the extra time it gave me to turn and run.

Should've nailed her with a bolt, I chastised myself, Should've pressed the magic button, Jaz. I should've, but I hadn't, and there was no time now to figure out why.

My bare feet hardly touched the carpet as I sprinted for the bedroom door. Liliana's screams and growls spurred me on. I made it through the door, slammed and locked it before she could reach me. It was a closer race than I'd thought. Just after the bolt shot home she banged into the door, making it shiver on its hinges. I got a sudden vision of a Liliana-shaped indentation on the other side and laughed. That brought on another scream of rage and a series of attacks on the door that would eventually shatter it. I headed for the closet and the stairs it hid.

I threw that door open and charged up the cold, concrete stairs, taking them two at a time. Another door, sturdy and metal with a bar across its middle that reminded me of the entry way to my high school's old gym, stood at the top. I hit it flying. For a millisecond I thought it might be locked and pictured myself bouncing off the handrail and down the steps like a bird who's just smacked into a third story window. But the door opened easily, leading me out to the most amazing rooftop I'd ever encountered.

My first, brief impression of the garden was a feeling of bursting into fairyland. White lights had been strung in potted trees and along the latticework walls that divided the rooftop into numerous small rooms. Somewhere running water accompanied the sound of my breathing. It smelled like spring, but my toes curled against the cold night air and goosebumps rose like tiny mountain ranges along my arms.

A quick hunt bagged me a concrete bench whose top wasn't attached to its legs. I lugged the seat to the door and wedged it under the handle so that it couldn't be depressed. Maybe it would hold Liliana long enough for me to make a clean getaway.

My escape route required me to cross to the other side of the roof, so I walked through the garden rooms as quickly as I could, avoiding tables and benches where people would sit with their morning coffee when this cold spell snapped, never knowing the story unfolding on this very spot.

Liliana's power snapped at my heels like a pit bull at the edge of its chain. It reminded me of Umberto's, and I sure didn't want to be the next poor schmuck to keel over in a plate of linguini. I rushed through arbors thick with vines. I slipped past statues of angels, wind chimes that swayed dangerously close to song, an empty concrete bird bath that looked abandoned and forlorn. I'd made it about halfway across the roof when Liliana's power peaked and a sudden, explosive noise halted me.

Liliana's voice hit the air like a jet engine. 'I am not just going to kill you!' She screeched. 'I am going to tear your chest open and drink the blood directly from your beating heart!'

'That's just gross, Liliana. Didn't your poor, dead mama ever teach you any manners?'

I slipped to another section of the roof as she tracked my voice. Hopefully I could play mouse to her cat long enough to find the twin to the door she'd just destroyed. Then I'd run some more. The thought made me want to break something.

I could confront her, of course, maybe even smoke her if she wasn't too fast or too strong. If my aim was true. But I realized, though I wanted to kill her, I couldn't. Vayl should be the one to finish her.

I found the door, framed by hanging baskets, and gently depressed the handle. Nothing happened. It was locked. Holy crap, I'm trapped on top of an eight story building with a homicidal vampire!

Liliana's power settled on me like a thick fog. I began to sweat as I waded through it, somehow managing to reach the fire escape without making a noise. When I grabbed the rails to start my descent, I looked down and saw Liliana's limo parked under a streetlight. I only saw the car, but I couldn't believe she'd sent her goons home for the evening. Were they all huddled inside with the heat cranked, still trying to regain the warmth Vayl had stolen from them earlier? Were they guarding my escape routes, waiting to grab me the moment I thought I was free? Why hadn't Liliana brought them up with her? It seemed almost… fair.

No, not fair—confident. She was just that sure one puny woman couldn't stand against her amazing super powers. She hadn't brought reinforcements because she simply saw no point.