out the vampire’s throat. The vampire abandoned the golem illusion. Roaring, he shape shifted into a tiger of his own, twisting out of Gideon’s grasp. Without the vampire to direct it, the true golem fell to pieces on the pavement. The vampire roared again. The sound echoed off nearby buildings.
Gideon roared in return and two tigers faced each other in the dark Rochester street.
Gideon, someone’s coming,
Thalia’s words pierced the veil of fury enfolding him, and reason flooded back. He could hear a party of mayflies coming down a side street.
Can you hide us?
I don’t have the energy. I’m sorry.
Can you take energy from the things around you? Gideon evaded a slashing paw, rolling out of the way and lashing out with a counterattack.
Gideon, that would be...
The blow landed, the vampire staggered back. More blood decorated the road. The vampire growled and padded back and forth in front of Gideon, clearly weighing his options.
Vampirism Gideon finished for her. What if I could feed you some of my power?
Is it possible?
Damn, he hoped so. The giggling voices were getting nearer. Without taking his eyes away from the pacing vampire, Gideon sent a burst of energy along the route of their mental communication.
Thalia must have received the power, because the air around them began to shimmer. A bubble formed. It seemed transparent, but objects outside the bubble were slightly distorted as if seen through centuries old glass.
A group of college-age girls came into view. They passed the combatants and Thalia without blinking an eye, and stepped into the Bell, Book, and Candle.
The vampire took advantage of Gideon’s divided attention and dove at him, scoring a deep gash on Gideon’s furry abdomen. Crazed with pain, Gideon charged, sinking his enormous teeth into the muscle and sinew of the vampire’s shoulder. Blood spurted into his mouth. The rich, intoxicating flavor tempted him to bite down harder, to gnaw the flesh from the bone, but blood from the Claiming was as poisoned as witches’ blood. Tiger instincts and vampire hunger wailed in protest as he released his enemy and shifted to his own form.
Thalia focused on maintaining the invisibility and sound dampening spells. The power Gideon fed her was strong and plentiful, but every being had his limits.
It seemed incredible that a vampire could feed power to a witch, but there was no denying that was exactly what was happening. Most witches guarded their powers jealously; she had heard of them sharing energy only in very rare cases as a last resort. But then it was his or her own life energy that fed a witch’s powers and vampires took their energy from others.
And taking energy from another living being without its consent was strictly forbidden in the witch world, something only done by the practitioners of the blackest of black magic, enemies of all life.
Thalia watched helplessly as the tiger she knew was Gideon stepped away from the vampire, and resumed his human form. The vampire, still in tiger form, sprang back to his feet, blood flowing copiously from his wounds, blackening his fur and dripping in puddles around his left front paw.
Gideon advanced on the vampire, but before he could attack again, the vampire dissolved into thousands of tiny black insects and flew away.
Thalia maintained the invisibility spell as she ran to Gideon. She took his arm. He turned to her with no sign of recognition, his eyes glowing coals in his strained face. He hissed at her, baring his fangs. An animal caught up in the desperate struggle of life and death.
“Gideon?” Thalia held his gaze.
He shook his head as if clearing it. The glow faded from his eyes. She could see him coming back to himself.
“I have to go after him,” he said. “Do you have enough energy left to clean up?”
Thalia nodded. She would have to find the strength. The authorities could not be allowed to find vampire blood on the streets.
Gideon took a step forward and fell to
Gideon roared in return and two tigers faced each other in the dark Rochester street.
Gideon, someone’s coming,
Thalia’s words pierced the veil of fury enfolding him, and reason flooded back. He could hear a party of mayflies coming down a side street.
Can you hide us?
I don’t have the energy. I’m sorry.
Can you take energy from the things around you? Gideon evaded a slashing paw, rolling out of the way and lashing out with a counterattack.
Gideon, that would be...
The blow landed, the vampire staggered back. More blood decorated the road. The vampire growled and padded back and forth in front of Gideon, clearly weighing his options.
Vampirism Gideon finished for her. What if I could feed you some of my power?
Is it possible?
Damn, he hoped so. The giggling voices were getting nearer. Without taking his eyes away from the pacing vampire, Gideon sent a burst of energy along the route of their mental communication.
Thalia must have received the power, because the air around them began to shimmer. A bubble formed. It seemed transparent, but objects outside the bubble were slightly distorted as if seen through centuries old glass.
A group of college-age girls came into view. They passed the combatants and Thalia without blinking an eye, and stepped into the Bell, Book, and Candle.
The vampire took advantage of Gideon’s divided attention and dove at him, scoring a deep gash on Gideon’s furry abdomen. Crazed with pain, Gideon charged, sinking his enormous teeth into the muscle and sinew of the vampire’s shoulder. Blood spurted into his mouth. The rich, intoxicating flavor tempted him to bite down harder, to gnaw the flesh from the bone, but blood from the Claiming was as poisoned as witches’ blood. Tiger instincts and vampire hunger wailed in protest as he released his enemy and shifted to his own form.
Thalia focused on maintaining the invisibility and sound dampening spells. The power Gideon fed her was strong and plentiful, but every being had his limits.
It seemed incredible that a vampire could feed power to a witch, but there was no denying that was exactly what was happening. Most witches guarded their powers jealously; she had heard of them sharing energy only in very rare cases as a last resort. But then it was his or her own life energy that fed a witch’s powers and vampires took their energy from others.
And taking energy from another living being without its consent was strictly forbidden in the witch world, something only done by the practitioners of the blackest of black magic, enemies of all life.
Thalia watched helplessly as the tiger she knew was Gideon stepped away from the vampire, and resumed his human form. The vampire, still in tiger form, sprang back to his feet, blood flowing copiously from his wounds, blackening his fur and dripping in puddles around his left front paw.
Gideon advanced on the vampire, but before he could attack again, the vampire dissolved into thousands of tiny black insects and flew away.
Thalia maintained the invisibility spell as she ran to Gideon. She took his arm. He turned to her with no sign of recognition, his eyes glowing coals in his strained face. He hissed at her, baring his fangs. An animal caught up in the desperate struggle of life and death.
“Gideon?” Thalia held his gaze.
He shook his head as if clearing it. The glow faded from his eyes. She could see him coming back to himself.
“I have to go after him,” he said. “Do you have enough energy left to clean up?”
Thalia nodded. She would have to find the strength. The authorities could not be allowed to find vampire blood on the streets.
Gideon took a step forward and fell to
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