she was getting off of them, they were famished. Strong, magical, and hungry. She probably shouldn’t go down there by herself.
You’re not by yourself. You have me, her dragon said.
A dragon I talk to inside my head. You don’t find that the least bit odd?
No. Who else would I talk to? No one can hear me but you.
Have you tried talking to Sera’s dragon? You two probably have a lot in common.
In common? With that prissy pants dragon? She snorted.
Dragons have pants?
That one does. With frilly lace and bows.
So you have talked to her? Alex asked.
Not exactly talked, at least not like I do with you. We can sense each other. Like how I can sense that she thinks I’m impulsive.
You are.
Well, of course I am. That’s what makes me fun. She could benefit from my example. Hmm, perhaps I should try to talk to her. Ever since you and I connected well enough to communicate, I’ve been able to sense her, even from here. Maybe if you were standing next to Sera, I could even talk to her dragon.
I’ve been wondering about that, said Alex. How is it we connected? I never could talk to you before.
It happened when you embraced your magic.
Ah. That made sense. So, are you ready to find these vampires?
Her dragon projected a feral grin. Let’s take them down.
We’ll just look first. It’s possible they’re not up to no good.
Alex, they’re hiding under one of London’s busiest railway stations, a constantly rotating band of all-you-can-eat human treats to sink their fangs into. Of course they’re up to no good.
You’re probably right.
Say it again.
Alex chuckled. She was about to go down the stairs when her phone rang. She fished it out of her jacket. Naomi, probably wondering where she was.
“Hey.”
“Alex.” Naomi’s voice was hardly above a whisper. In the background, something heavy and metallic hit the ground with a resounding bang.
“What’s wrong?”
“Marek and I could use some help.” The staccato pop of gunfire echoed through the phone. “We’re a bit trapped here.”
Alex pivoted around and hurried toward the station exit. “Where are you?”
“Near Hyde Park.” Magic roared over her voice. It sounded like a wave of fire. “At a place called Sugar. Basement.”
“Hold on,” Alex told her. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Then Alex tucked her phone away and took off running toward the park.
* * *
Hyde Park wasn’t so far away. Alex made it there in five minutes. It took another two to find Sugar. It would have taken longer if the place hadn’t been pulsing with enough magic to give her a mega buzz. She just followed the trail of supernatural auras to Sugar’s front door. The club’s logo was a sugar cube inside of a martini glass, animated with one of those cheesy neon light signs. It was almost too cute for a club owned by an international hate organization.
She cut ahead in the line, squeezing between the cluster of six women the bouncer had waved inside. He didn’t even see her. As the already-tipsy ladies beelined for the bar, Alex pushed her way through the clog of people standing in line for the restrooms. Past the ladies’ room, in a dark corner under the stairs, a man who looked like he’d stepped off the set of a professional wrestling match stood with his arms folded across his chest. A gun hung at each hip.
I don’t have time for this nonsense.
Sera would have tried something clever to get through the door. And Logan would have too. But Sera was in San Francisco, and Logan was actually acting pretty reckless himself right now. So Alex did it her way. She walked up to the door and head-butted the guy. His eyes rolled back, and he crumpled to the floor. No alarms went off, and no one came running. It didn’t look like anyone had seen a thing.
That’s what I call a grand success, her dragon said with approval.
Alex tied the guy’s wrists together and dragged him into a nearby closet—but not before fishing in his pockets to steal his
You’re not by yourself. You have me, her dragon said.
A dragon I talk to inside my head. You don’t find that the least bit odd?
No. Who else would I talk to? No one can hear me but you.
Have you tried talking to Sera’s dragon? You two probably have a lot in common.
In common? With that prissy pants dragon? She snorted.
Dragons have pants?
That one does. With frilly lace and bows.
So you have talked to her? Alex asked.
Not exactly talked, at least not like I do with you. We can sense each other. Like how I can sense that she thinks I’m impulsive.
You are.
Well, of course I am. That’s what makes me fun. She could benefit from my example. Hmm, perhaps I should try to talk to her. Ever since you and I connected well enough to communicate, I’ve been able to sense her, even from here. Maybe if you were standing next to Sera, I could even talk to her dragon.
I’ve been wondering about that, said Alex. How is it we connected? I never could talk to you before.
It happened when you embraced your magic.
Ah. That made sense. So, are you ready to find these vampires?
Her dragon projected a feral grin. Let’s take them down.
We’ll just look first. It’s possible they’re not up to no good.
Alex, they’re hiding under one of London’s busiest railway stations, a constantly rotating band of all-you-can-eat human treats to sink their fangs into. Of course they’re up to no good.
You’re probably right.
Say it again.
Alex chuckled. She was about to go down the stairs when her phone rang. She fished it out of her jacket. Naomi, probably wondering where she was.
“Hey.”
“Alex.” Naomi’s voice was hardly above a whisper. In the background, something heavy and metallic hit the ground with a resounding bang.
“What’s wrong?”
“Marek and I could use some help.” The staccato pop of gunfire echoed through the phone. “We’re a bit trapped here.”
Alex pivoted around and hurried toward the station exit. “Where are you?”
“Near Hyde Park.” Magic roared over her voice. It sounded like a wave of fire. “At a place called Sugar. Basement.”
“Hold on,” Alex told her. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Then Alex tucked her phone away and took off running toward the park.
* * *
Hyde Park wasn’t so far away. Alex made it there in five minutes. It took another two to find Sugar. It would have taken longer if the place hadn’t been pulsing with enough magic to give her a mega buzz. She just followed the trail of supernatural auras to Sugar’s front door. The club’s logo was a sugar cube inside of a martini glass, animated with one of those cheesy neon light signs. It was almost too cute for a club owned by an international hate organization.
She cut ahead in the line, squeezing between the cluster of six women the bouncer had waved inside. He didn’t even see her. As the already-tipsy ladies beelined for the bar, Alex pushed her way through the clog of people standing in line for the restrooms. Past the ladies’ room, in a dark corner under the stairs, a man who looked like he’d stepped off the set of a professional wrestling match stood with his arms folded across his chest. A gun hung at each hip.
I don’t have time for this nonsense.
Sera would have tried something clever to get through the door. And Logan would have too. But Sera was in San Francisco, and Logan was actually acting pretty reckless himself right now. So Alex did it her way. She walked up to the door and head-butted the guy. His eyes rolled back, and he crumpled to the floor. No alarms went off, and no one came running. It didn’t look like anyone had seen a thing.
That’s what I call a grand success, her dragon said with approval.
Alex tied the guy’s wrists together and dragged him into a nearby closet—but not before fishing in his pockets to steal his
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