“Aw,” Brianna crowed, “you think I'm affiliated with that evil man. Well, I suppose in a roundabout way, the PFF are involved with him.”
Licking her lips, Brianna looked between Archie and myself. My free hand clenched into a fist, the force of my anger sending a burst of magic down my arm and shaking it so violently, it released a stream of fire to the ground.
The carpet instantly singed, distracting Brianna. Her arm dropped slightly, giving me the opportunity to lunge at her. My fingers wrapped around her wrist, cranking it down in one swift movement. Her screech followed the crack of bone as she flailed. My arm came up to her shoulder, wrenching her back against me, my blade coming up to sit by her throat.
The thundering of footsteps behind made me spin the vampire to face her hulking friend. Dave was on the ground, his face contorted in pain. The vampire reached for me, a grumble rushing up his deep chest.
“Stop, you idiot!” Brianna snapped.
Coming to a halt, the vampire glared at me. “Let me kill the witch.”
Tilting her head to the side as much as I would allow, Brianna giggled gently. “Don't worry,” she said. “Her time will come on the equinox.”
“Gemma,” Archie's strained voice reached my ears.
I had been about to question Brianna about the equinox. The bitch was working with the PFF, meaning that she was trying to claim the bounty on my head. Wow, with friends as enemies, I had no chance.
Wrenching Brianna around with me, I paused when Archie shook his head. The vampire from the bedroom held a stake behind Archie’s back, the tip pushed into his jacket suit. I didn't really know the vampire who had tried to woo me but seeing the wide eyed terror of someone who had lived a few hundred years made me gulp. Was there ever a time when someone didn't fear death? Even though Archie had died in the past, he had still lived on. If that wooden stake pierced his heart, he would cease to exist forever.
“How could you do this?” he asked Brianna.
Waiting for her reply, I pulled the blade tighter against her throat. Hopefully Dave had somehow managed to recover using the magic I had given him. We could take the vampires down, we just had to implement our agent training. I had been doing this job for years, I was one of the best in the field... and yet, my heart was heavy with sadness as I held my Essex dagger against my best friend's throat.
“You two are perfect for each other, but I had a feeling she would go for the handsome nerd in the end.”
Brianna's hand swung back, her long nails slicing into the skin of my arm. Spinning me, she thrust her head backwards, sending her skull into my nose. Thrashing my blade forward, I sliced her ear as she spun away, her leg kicking out. Her high heeled shoe ploughed into the back of my knee, sending me sprawling to the ground.
“All those books have made you weak. You think too well of people. You don't have much use anymore, do you, Gemma?”
My face grazed the dusty carpet, the pain adding to the throbbing of my nose. My friend had betrayed me. How could she have sold me out to the PFF? When she knew that they planned to kill me?
“Nothing you do is good enough. The nerd doesn't really love you, he's probably just saying that to get your magic. You're supposed to be one of the most powerful witches, after all.”
Looking up from where I was a heap on the floor, I watched as Brianna came closer. The air around me was hot, stifling. I wanted to look at Dave as my stomach squeezed. Was she right? No one had been interested in me before, why would such an intelligent man want to be with a book nerd? A dead one at that.
Pushing up on all fours, I looked at Brianna as she came closer. Her hand appeared above my head before she swiped it against my cheek. Pain exploded as blood spurted from the wound. The bitch had a sharp ring on her finger, the gold catching a glint of the bulb overhead.
Clasping my skull, I dug my knees into the carpet, trying to drag as much magic into my body as possible. Brianna's pretty red heels came in line with my face, the front kicking up and throwing my head back with impact.
“Gemma,” Dave called. “Fight back!”
Glancing over at my man, I blinked rapidly. The huge vampire made his way back over to him, his arms outstretched and ready to do harm. If Dave was killed, I would never forgive myself.
Archie was on the other side of me, his hands trembling as the stake pressed firmly into his back.
“You have a choice,” Brianna sang. “Give in to me, drop all that magic bubbling under the surface, and you might all live.”
Relaxing my muscles as Dave grunted, I spat blood from my mouth before I replied. “Okay, I surrender, let them go!”
“Did you hear that?” Brianna asked her vampire friends. “She surrenders!”
The vampires went to stand down, but Brianna waved a hand. “I didn't tell you to stop.”
Frowning, I tried to get to my feet. Letting the magic drop, I left my dagger on the ground, showing her that I wasn't a threat. How much proof did she need to let my friends go free?
“That one can go,” Brianna said.
Her gaze stayed on me the whole time she spoke. Who did she mean? What did she mean? Before I could ask, she ducked behind me, grabbed my head and yanked my hair so I faced Archie.
“I never did like the smarmy goody two shoes.”
“No!” I cried as the vampire
