Sins and Lies Part 8

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The light grew brighter and the air colder as the being moved down the hallway toward my door. There was nothing light or airy about its movements despite the golden glow that it gave off. Whatever it was, it stalked forward with a brutal menace that made me feel like I was being stalked by an unnatural predator that was created with the sole purpose of devouring me.

The being jerked to a stop, appearing for all the world like it had run into a wall, though it only remained standing and glaring in my direction. Even without discernible eyes in its head, I knew it was glaring. I could feel its anger menacing across the few feet and through the door that stood between us.  All of that was minuscule, but for some reason it remained where it was.

The surrounding air was frigid, and the door was painfully cold to the touch. The light was so brilliant that it began to give me a headache, but despite all that I could not pull away.  I was as entranced by the evil as I was terrified and I could feel its power pushing out toward me. The menace reached out and smothered the cold air that surrounded me, causing a pressure to build in my mind until I heard a preternatural growl.

I don't remember blacking out, or even realizing that I was getting light-headed.

One moment I heard the growl and the next I opened my eyes to find myself staring at the ceiling. There was a faint taste of copper on my tongue and all the injuries from the day weighed me down with pain and exhaustion as I sat up with a groan.

The vampire was stretched out on the small couch, hugging one of the throw pillows to his chest, eyes closed. His form was still and peaceful, so much so that he looked dead.

Beside me, Penny was laying under a spare cover, sleeping peacefully, though one of her arms was reaching out to where her hand rested on a knife of the bedside table.  A glance at the clock told me I had been unconscious for a couple hours, and when I slipped off the bed to look toward the door, I found that they had pushed the desk, coffee table and wheelie chair in front of it. I had to squeeze past them in the narrow hallway to get to the bathroom, though the memory of that terrifying creature allowed me to understand why they had done so.

My mouth was dry, and the coppery taste clung in my mouth, leaving me to guzzle a couple plastic cups of water from the bathroom tap before padding back into the room and making a face when my stomach rumbled.

The sound caused the vampire on the couch to jerk to his feet, his movements quick enough that he had taken a few steps in my direction before my mind caught up.  Whoever this blonde vampire was, he was older than the vampires I had met recently, though I did not have enough experience to quantify exactly what his age was.

"Morning princess." The man smirked at me when he had relaxed enough to realize I wasn't a threat, one brow raising. "Hungry?"

"Starving, actually." As I answered, I turned my gaze toward where the cooler he had brought sat and frowned.

Before I even had the chance to turn toward the door, the vampire was at my side, gripping my arm and holding me in place. His lips were only an inch from my ear as he murmured. "I went and checked after that thing left. There was only one fledgling in there, and he was dead. I think he was the death I smelled when I arrived."

Paul.

The poor kid who had just gotten free from whatever Jack had put him through and was wrestling with the pain of his new reality. I could have taken him to Mawaska, where he could have healed and found a safe place in the world.

Paul had died while I was showering, or obliviously talking to Penny just down the hallway. I frowned, feeling tears building up at the corner of my eyes, but forced myself to ask hoarsely. "What about Felicity?"

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