Reckoning by Amy Miles Page A

isn’t sparring class anymore.”
     
    His eyes narrow.   “You’re scared.”
     
    “No,” she snorts.   Fear dilates her pupils as she shifts her gaze back to him.   “I’m terrified.”
     
    “Then I’m not leaving.”   He plants his feet.   Stubborn determination locks his jaw in place.   “If you’re going in, then so am I.”  
     
    Roseline sighs.   She has seen this look before.   “What about Sadie?”
     
    No flicker of doubt or hesitation.   “She made me promise to watch your back.”   Roseline grimaces.   Leave it to Sadie to make Nicolae promise something foolhardy.  
     
    Roseline’s chest clenches at the thought of her harebrained friend.   If Sadie were here she would be insisting on joining in too.   For the first time since she shipped Sadie back to America, she is grateful for her decision.  
     
    Counterarguments bloom in her mind but she stops herself.   Along with determination, she sees budding pride on Nicolae’s face.   His sense of duty, of honor, will not allow him to back out now.   Roseline sighs, patting him on the arm.   “Thank you.”
     
    Nicolae grins.   “I don’t think that will ever get old.”
     
    She offers him a tight smile.   “As soon as we knock on that door, you need to be glued to my hip.   You got that?”
     
    He nods.   “No matter what happens, I need you to play along.   No questions asked.”
     
    Nicolae’s lips purse together, but he nods again.
     
    Roseline quickly leads the way.   When the rusted door looms over them, she raps three times and waits rigidly beside Nicolae.   Seconds pass.   An entire minute.
     
    Her expression tightens at the sound of approaching footsteps.   The door squeals open on rusted hinges.   A giant of a man- towering nearly half a foot over the crest of Nicolae’s head- shoves through the narrow door.        
     
    “Yeah?” he questions, tossing his head aside to spit out a bloody wad onto the walk.   “Wadda you want?”
     
    Large chains, like a Doberman’s choke collar, dangle from his ear and loop through a bullring in his nose.   Silver spikes line his eyebrows.   Jagged teeth, sawn into points with a metal file, bear down at them.  
     
    Roseline assumes a casual stance.   “Just looking for a good time, mate,” she purrs.
     
    His gaze trails down the opening of her coat, hesitating over her curves.   Nicolae stiffens next to her, but Roseline reaches out to grasp his hand, applying enough force to make his bones pop.   The giant shifts his gaze and sniffs the air.   His pupils dilate.   “A snack?”
     
    “You bet,” she smile invitingly, “I’m always a bit peckish after dancing.”   She traces a nail down Nicolae’s neck, pausing just over his jugular.  
     
    The bouncer’s eyes darken with hunger.   “Just be sure to share,” he grunts, sweeping back to allow them access.  
     
    “Of course,” Roseline winks and yanks them over the threshold.   Nicolae stumbles into complete darkness.   He grapples to keep up with Roseline’s fast pace as the door slams behind them.  
     
    “Can you slow down?   I can’t see anything.”
     
    “Don’t freak out,” she whispers, her breath washing over his ear.   He stiffens as she twines her fingers with his.   “I won’t let you fall.”  
     
    They burrow into the dark.   Her stride reduces to match his as they approach a set of stairs.   “This is done to disorient humans.   If one did manage to find their way inside, they wouldn’t get very far.”
     
    “Yeah?   Well…it’s working,” Nicolae grumbles.
     
    She moves Nicolae’s hand to the wall and down to the railing.   He recoils from the warm stickiness coating the handle.   “Is that what I think it is?”
     
    “Just be thankful you can’t see.” She forces his fingers to curl around the rail.
     
    His wooden legs shuffle down the steps.   He counts each one, no doubt preparing to make an emergency exit in the near