“Just one second of indecisiveness will get someone killed.” Joseph was grinning to himself, despite the damage to his skin.
Before he could say anything else, I took hold of his arms and pictured the MI5 prison block. As we landed, my favourite security guard jumped out of his skin, his gun aimed at my head before I could rise from my crouch.
The cool air of the unit brushed the skin of my arms as I gestured to Joseph. “Lock him up, right now.”
Without waiting for a reply, I flashed straight back to Kate’s side. The concrete under my boots didn’t yield as I landed, jolting my knees as a vampire thumped straight into me. Kate was throwing punches nearby, her grunts of exertion a reminder that she wasn’t a powerful supernatural. She had to rely on her fighting skills to stay alive.
“Get off!” Throwing my elbow back, I cringed when it connected with a nose bone... and sharp teeth.
Those teeth clamped down on my arm, the sting making me suck in a breath. As soon as I was able to breathe, I muttered a spell that squeezed the brains of the four vampires. The teeth that were latched onto my skin released as the one attacking me fell to the ground, clasping his skull.
Turning, I kicked my boot straight into his bleeding nose, making his head snap back. The sharp crack of his neck made me cringe as he collapsed in an unconscious heap.
Concentrating on my spell, I focused on Kate. She was standing in the centre of three of the vampires, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Blood lined her arms, her nose dripping the red liquid onto her tight black top.
The men were on their knees, holding their heads as they gritted their teeth. Holding up my hand, I formed my hand into a claw and squeezed my fingers slightly, making sure that the grip of my spell didn’t release them, but caused them more pain.
“Thanks for coming back.” Kate huffed as she went behind the nearest vampire.
He went to protest, but her hands grabbed his head and wrenched to the side, breaking his neck with a loud crunch. Vampires healed fairly quickly, so we had to be quick. Going to one of the others, I swallowed hard as I buried my hand into his hair, put my foot just below his neck, right between the shoulder blades. Allowing the fury of my forgotten memory, and the threat of their hatred for Essex witches, to take over, I kicked my leg forward at the same time as yanking his head back. The snap was satisfying.
“I think I’m becoming a little sadistic,” I muttered when Kate dropped the last vampire and stalked over to me. “I enjoyed that far too much.”
Pointing at my arm, Kate bent over and leant her hands on her knees. Her breath rasped as she tried to speak. “The bastards deserved it. They’re the type of vampires who are planning to plant a terrorist bomb to kill innocent people. Plus, they’ll be awake in a few hours.”
Rubbing the blood from my arm, I tried not to get it on my T-shirt. The Book Nerds Rule was one of my favourites. The grey wouldn’t look good with smeared blood on it.
“We better hide them,” I muttered.
Going to take a step, I faltered when my ley line connection weakened. The pull of energy wasn’t something I recognised.
“Are you okay?” Kate came over when she saw me staring at the ground.
“The ley line feels odd.”
Almost dismissing me with a wave, she went over to the nearest vampire and tugged him to the side of the alley. “Oh, you’ve said that the Essex Obsessor is trying to drain it. He’s probably doing that again because he’s killed another witch. I wonder if the witches’ magic is giving him access to the ley line somehow.”
Helping her move the next vampire, I frowned as we worked. “You might have a point there. Mary, the seer in Edinburgh, keeps telling me to look for the link between the women. We’ve researched them and found that the only thing they have in common is being single women who had a wedding ring on. We assumed it was the ring.”
Once we had the area fairly clean, apart from the unconscious vampires, we walked towards the back entrance of the hotel. It was time to ask the management a few questions about Joseph Cambridge.
“Maybe their magic is important, too. I know Dave would’ve checked everything, but I just get a strong feeling about the connection.” Kate rubbed her jaw, cringing in pain. A dark purple bruise was already starting to show.
Even though my bitten arm throbbed, I ignored it as our gaze met. Grabbing hold of her arm, I pulled her to a stop. She’d had to remind me of the story she’d told me about her kidnap by the vampires, and what she’d had to do to escape.
“Kate,” I blurted, suddenly unable to keep the secret. “I think the serial killer has a personal connection to me.”
Her mouth dropped open despite the pain it must have caused her. A smile replaced the shocked expression as she took my hand in hers. “Of course it is, we know that he hates the Essex witches from the coat of arms he always leaves behind.”
“No...” Looking at the ground, I blinked hard to try and prevent water rushing from my eyes. “... I think he knows that I’m actually a prize in a bet lost by my father.”
Frowning, Kate pulled on my hand to get me to look up at her. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
As our gazes clashed, I sucked in a deep breath and allowed the words to flow. “I’m betrothed to a man I don’t even know, my father promising me to him. Not only that...” Tears came to my eyes, forcing their
