Darkness (Alisa Rose #2)

-Twenty One-

Alisa POV

There's something about a midnight snack run that feels strangely normal, like I wasn't about to patrol for blood-sucking fiends afterwards. Jace, Bryce, and I were in our usual spot—the 24/7 convenience store down the street, where the lights buzzed above us like a bad '80s horror flick.

"So, what's the damage?" I asked, watching Bryce pile siopao into the basket like the apocalypse was a carbohydrate shortage.

He gave me a playful grin. "Just doing my part to help the economy—and, you know, fuel the vampire engine."

I arched an eyebrow, grabbing one of the buns from the pile. "Pretty sure your new diet doesn't involve steamed buns, but hey, who am I to judge?"

Jace nudged me with his shoulder, his face split into a goofy smile. "Let him live a little, Alisa. Or, well... let him undead a little."

I snorted. "Yeah, well, if I get heartburn from all this, you're dealing with it."

We headed toward the register, but that familiar tingle of danger crept up my spine before we could even pay. Something was off. I didn't even have to look at Jace to know he felt it too—he was already scanning the street outside.

"Alisa," he muttered, his voice low.

"I know," I whispered back.

Before I could react, the glass door of the store exploded inward. Tikbalanugo vampires, crashing our midnight snack run—how rude. One of them snarled, baring its fangs, eyes glowing with that creepy, animalistic hunger they always had.

"Great," I muttered, pulling out my stake. "You just had to invite the party crashers, didn't you?"

Jace was already in motion, flipping over the counter and driving a stake into one vampire's chest. I followed suit, ducking as a clawed hand swiped at me.

"Hey!" I dodged, then threw an elbow into the vampire's gut. "Didn't your mom teach you not to claw at people?"

I landed a solid kick, sending the Tikbalanugo crashing into a shelf full of instant noodles. It got up quickly, but Jace was there, taking it down with a clean stake to the heart.

Meanwhile, Bryce was... well, not having the best time. A vampire had him pinned, snarling, trying to sink its teeth into his neck.

"Could really use some help over here!" Bryce called out, struggling.

"On it!" I turned to move, but someone else beat me to it—a blur of motion that sent the vampire flying off Bryce and straight into a display of potato chips.

Chimon.

Before I could even process it, he'd staked the vampire. Dust exploded everywhere, mixing with shredded bags of chips. Nice work, but seriously, what was he doing here?

I stormed over to him and shoved him against the wall. "Okay, tall, dark, and broody—what are you doing out here at two in the morning? Decided to take up graveyard snack runs as a hobby?"

Chimon gave me his usual unflinching stare. "Hunting Tikbalanugo. What else? Just like you."

"Oh yeah? And you just happened to show up right when Bryce was about to become a midnight snack?" I tightened my grip on his collar. "How convenient."

He didn't flinch. "Believe it or not, I don't spend my nights stalking you, Alisa. I've got my own Tikbalanugo problems to deal with."

I eyed him, trying to decide if I could trust him. Something about his calm demeanor bugged me, but I had to admit, he wasn't exactly giving off evil vibes.