Hearts In Darkness

that matters. How often had he told her that? Her priority had to be Matthew, no matter how much the decision tore at her.

The air stirred then fell still again. Someone was standing in front her, someone whose very presence made her skin crawl.

It was a taste of evil that reminded her of Jasper.

She shivered and backed away, her fingers aching from the fierceness of her grip on the knife.

From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed movement to her left. Something snarled, and canines gleamed briefly against the cloak of night. It wasn't a dog but a vampire, moving in fast. She flung out her free hand, thrusting him away kinetically. He hit the back wall with enough force to shatter a nearby window and fell heavily to the concrete floor.

Moonlight filtered into the warehouse, filling the night with yellow softness. The vampire didn't move, his head bent at an odd angle to his body. Broken neck , Nikki thought with a chill. She'd killed him without really meaning to.

She spun and ran towards Matthew. The teenager was wrestling with two smaller men. Blood glistened on his skin, mingling with sweat as it ran down his arms and face. She raised her hand, lashing energy at one of the vampires. He yelped and disappeared through the darkness. The second vampire launched himself at her. She slid to a stop and thrust the knife at him. The blade punched into the his stomach a second before his weight hit her. She was slammed backwards, hitting the concrete hard, the vampire pinning her down.

Gasping for breath and blinking back the sting of tears, she heard the vampire snarl. His wild blue eyes were inches from hers, his canines extending and dripping blood onto her cheeks. Getting ready to feed, she thought. Bile rose swiftly. Swallowing heavily and fighting memories of Jasper, she thrust a hand into his face. The teeth aimed at her neck sank into her palm instead.

Agony ran like fire down her arm. She yelled, thrusting him away kinetically, and scrambled up. The vampire was on his feet, a feral look on his face. Silver gleamed in the middle of his stomach—her knife, still lodged in his flesh. Sound whispered behind her. A chill chased its way across her skin, and the hairs at the back of her neck rose. Evil was on the move.

She reached again for energy. Pain slivered though her mind, a warning that she was beginning to push her psychic strength too far. Ignoring it, she focused on the blade, ripping it from the vampire's body and aiming it at the darkness to her right.

It sliced through the air and thudded hilt-deep into the side of a packing crate. Silence washed across the warehouse, chilling in its intensity.

Matthew no longer screamed. Was no longer anywhere to be seen.

The vampire watched her, blood oozing from the wound in his stomach, his expression furious and fists clenched. But he didn't move. She wondered why.

Laughter flowed across the silence. Laughter that was throaty, rich and very feminine. Nikki shivered.

The underlying edge of depravity in the sound chilled her soul.

'You are very good.'

The whisper flowed from the darkness to her left. Nikki clenched her fists. Blood oozed between her fingers, splattering against the concrete. Though there was no one to be seen beyond the bleeding vampire, the air stirred.

Evil, slowly circling.

She licked her lips. 'What have you done with Matthew?'

'I have done nothing with him. The young fool ran into a packing crate and knocked himself out.'

The woman was behind her now. Nikki fought the need to turn around. The real threats were the vampires who'd accompanied this woman. She wouldn't attack herself. Why Nikki was so sure of this, she couldn't say, especially when she was almost choking on the corruption that was this woman's soul.

'Let him go,' she said softly. Her voice sounded calm despite the fear squeezing her throat. 'You said yourself he was too young.'

'He is younger than I had expected, true. But I'm afraid it is a decision that is not really mine.'

Which suggested the woman was not in charge—something Nikki found hard to believe. 'Then whose decision is it? These clowns you've bought with you?'

Perhaps it wasn't the thing to say, but she had a feeling that if she showed anything less than bravado, the woman would unleash her companions.

More laughter washed across the night. 'They are only young, and would have been more than a match for any human.'

Alarm slithered into her heart. 'I'm human.'

'No, my dear, you are not. As you know well enough.'

Nikki clenched her fists, holding back fear, holding back anger. 'What do you mean?'

'You have the taste of a vampire on you. I have no wish to upset your master, whoever he may be.'

Nikki snorted softly. 'What planet are you from? I have no master—whatever you mean by that.'

'They all say that, in the beginning.'

'I'll be saying it until the end.'

'Perhaps you will. There is an unusual strength in you.'

The softly spoken words came from the left again. The woman had stopped moving. Nikki wished she knew where Matthew was—wished he'd move, or groan or do something to help her locate him. Until he did, she didn't dare attack the woman or her vampire companion.

Another gunshot ripped across the silence. Relief and worry surged through her. Jake was alive, but for how much longer? A vampire could move with the speed of the wind. How long would Jake be able withstand such an attack?

She thrust out a hand as the knife-wounded vampire stepped forward. He stopped, but not, Nikki guessed, because of the threat of another kinetic lance. The woman was still holding him in check.

But why?

'It appears your companion still lives. You're both more resourceful than I'd imagined.'

'Never underestimate us humans,' Nikki commented. 'We get pretty clever when we're scared.'

The woman's smile flashed briefly, canines bright in the darkness. 'So I see. It does present me with a few problems, however.'

'Let Matthew go. He's too young to be a part of whatever deviancy you have planned.'

'He was more than old enough to contact me. More than old enough to engage in cyber-sex with me.'

No wonder Matthew was a little less than careful in getting to this meeting. He'd hoped the written word would become reality and wasn't particular about where. 'But he's not old enough to die. That's what you intended, wasn't it?'

'Perhaps. It depends on whether he can live up to his claims.'

Nikki had a feeling she wasn't talking about sexual prowess. 'Tell me, why is a vampire trawling the Net for victims?'

'Why does any predator hunt? When you get as old as I am, it becomes such a tedious affair.

Cyberspace is filled with lonely hearts desperate to find a mate, and it provides a whole new field in which to play.' The woman smiled again. It washed across the moonlit darkness like a wave of ice. 'I have become quite addicted to the test of luring quarry to my bait and slowly reeling them in.'

Well, it certainly put a new spin on the term cyber-menace, if nothing else. Nikki rubbed her arms. 'But why?'

'Ah, well, that is something I cannot tell you.'

From the darkness just beyond the unseen woman came a slight groan. Matthew, regaining consciousness. Nikki clenched her fists. If she was going to save the teenager—and herself—she was going to have to be damn fast.

Faster than the wind. Faster than a vampire.

She licked her lips. I can't do this. She may have beaten Jasper, but only because Michael had been there to help—giving her strength. Giving her courage. If she'd been left to cope alone, she would have been dead—or worse.

For an instant, she was tempted to reach for the link—reach for him. But the link between them had been