Suffocate In Spirit - Shadows of the Night 4

Chapter 18

Hi!

Another weekend over - way too soon. Hoping to get more writing time next week, finally!!! :-)

Okay, so Anna's in trouble, again. And she doesn't even know how much yet...

Lara

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Chapter 18

The scream worked itself up and out of my throat. It died and withered in mid-air as a blurry whiff of something crashed into the rogue witch from the side. At first I thought it was Fabrice, or some other outcast with fangs.

The flash of red hair. I gasped. It was George. What the hell was Alexander's enforcer doing here?

He tackled the rogue witch to the ground and they went skidding on asphalt. I turned, my eyes crawling around the street in search of Alexander. All I saw was more disturbed air, blurred forms that tore through the air with a swiftness that made my eyeballs hurt from watching. More of Alexander's vamps crowding the street.

Portals opened in quick succession. The rogues, sensing that they were outnumbered, vanished one after the other. As the street cleared of dark shadows I finally saw Andy, facing off with one of the rogue witches at the back. The air around the rogue shivered and changed. He vanished into the depths of a portal. Andy slumped forward. His hand was on his shoulder, and he was... bleeding!

I charged forward. Or tried to.

I bumped into something rock-solid. Hands closed in on my upper arms, steading me. I looked up and stared into George's butterscotch eyes. He was towering over me like a pale monolith come to life, and he didn't look happy. In fact, he looked at me like I was something unpleasant that needed removing.

"Let go of me," I said, trying to see past him to where Andy was.

He didn't move, or budge for that matter. "I have orders to bring you back to Alexander."

I looked up at him defiantly. "I don't care! You can tell him to shove his orders elsewhere. Andy's hurt."

"We got a bunch of rogue witches touring through this city as if it's their own fucking playground," George growled. "Do I look like I have time to babysit you all night?"

I tried to push past him. "Let me go! Can't you see that he's hurt?!"

George turned his head without loosening his hold on me. I leaned forward, finally catching a glimpse of Andy. He was on his knees. I could see his chest rising and falling from where I was. When I looked back up George's butterscotch eyes were on me again.

"George, please. Tell him, tell him I'll go to him. I'll agree to whatever he wants, but let me see Andy to a hospital first!"

The vampire stared back at me for a long moment.

I didn't wait for an answer, but pushed past him with all I had. Surprisingly, he let me.

I had no illusions about me being able to get out of his grasp if he didn't want me to. George might not be as old as Alexander, but he was a vampire. I stumbled through the street, avoiding unconscious and unmoving bodies on the ground, my eyes fixed on Andy. How bad was he hurt?

* * *

I inserted the key into the lock, and pushed the door open for Andy to step in, pretending my arm didn't hurt like hell. It was well past five in the morning, and we'd finally made it back to Andy's apartment. Dawn was just around the corner, first sparks of pale light playing hide and seek with the thick veil of darkness. I would have felt glad about it, if I wasn't so damn exhausted.