Tested

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

The female vampire ran her tongue along my cheek, moaning in ecstasy as she tasted my blood. She had my arms pinned, and when she sniffed my throat, I had to make a serious effort not to sob.

I squirmed, filled with fear as my father’s stories popped into my head. I couldn’t be taken. I couldn’t let a vampire drink from me. Our blood was addictive; our blood told our secrets. I had to find Dad, if he was even still alive, and we had to get out of the stupid hotel together.

I stopped struggling, closed my eyes, and listened. Heartbeats in the hallway, screams outside. I summoned all my strength. I wanted to live. And I had no qualms about killing a vampire.

Opening my eyes, I jerked my body and rammed my forehead into the vampire’s nose. I shoved hard as the vampire toppled backward. She flew back as if she had been hit by a car. She shattered the bedside locker when she landed, then quickly rolled away from the shards. I leapt after her and grabbed handfuls of her hair. As I banged her head on the floor, she hissed and rose up with too much ease. Her eyes were wild with her compulsion to sink her fangs and claws into my skin.

We struggled, rolling around on the floor as I tried to grasp the upper hand. Already rattled by the human attacks, I wasn't at my best. Fear held me back, but adrenaline kept me going. I let her roll me over so I could wrap my legs around her waist. Lying beneath her, I gripped her neck and sank my nails into her decrepit skin until blood ran down my fingers. Her blood smelled wrong, like death, and every instinct roared at me to run.

I didn’t run.

I squeezed harder, until I heard a bone break. I smiled, practically soaking up her darkness. Then her eyes widened, and she froze. The sharp end of a wooden stake poked through her chest. I threw her off me in time to avoid the mess.

Dad held out a hand to me, but there was a look of disgust in his eyes. I felt about two inches tall.

He helped me to my feet and glanced around the room. “What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking I shouldn’t lose my temper.”

He threw his hands up in the air. “That’s why I’ve tried to teach you to kill in cold blood, Jessica! You don’t need to lose control to deal with situations like this. And the vampire. You were toying with her in the end. I saw you.”

“I was dealing with the situation. I did my best, Dad.”

“Your best wasn’t good enough.”

I tensed and looked away.

As if realising he had gone too far, he patted my arm. “Can we leave now?"

I nodded. I didn’t look at the blood again, nor the bed or the broken window. I grabbed my bag and walked out of the hotel room, stepping over the porter’s body. More bodies were scattered in the hallway, all bleeding or dead from obvious bite wounds.

“She didn’t bite you?” I asked.

“A body hid my scent,” he said.

I didn’t want to know anymore. “We should help the ones who are alive.”

“They’re dying, Jess.”

“They might survive.”

He hesitated. “We could get a head start. She can’t be the only one around here.”

I stared at the people on the floor. “She’s not. That’s why we can’t leave them here to be picked off.”

“We can’t protect them.”