me, and you also have the latent ability. I can’t teach you what’s unique to vampires only.”
“Wonderful. I’ve got all this power and no way to access it.”
“Don’t worry. The longer your sire is absent, it’s likely another vampire will set his sights on you.”
“That doesn’t sound like a good thing.”
“It can be good or bad. Now, let’s begin. The night doesn’t last forever.”
Chapter Ten
I landed on my face for the millionth time and tasted blood in my mouth. Something in this scenario did not feel right. Why was it okay for a grown man to beat a woman this way? Granted, I had opened myself up to the treatment, but still. Where was my nice, quiet life as an elementary school teacher and a mom?
Honestly, I wasn’t clinging to the old job. I had held enough positions now for it not to matter. Motherhood, sure, but not a career. I was a college graduate working for tips. Good tips, but still not my dream.
“Rue, stop the inner monologue and get on your feet,” Bill called.
I frowned at him. “Stay out of my head.”
“Keep me out.”
I wobbled to my knees. “I have a feeling that’s not possible. You’ve probably got more power than I can imagine. Wait, are you the top of the food chain, and when I say ‘you’, I mean all the Deaths.”
A slow grin spread over his face. “Maybe.”
“You’re frustrating, Bill!”
He goaded me forward with the flick of his fingers. “Come at me.”
We fought on. Each time Bill landed a blow, my natural healing ability kicked in, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. With a straight face and often a happy smile, the soul collector gave me everything he had. He instructed me on how to anticipate what my opponent would do, how to avoid moves like the one the stronger demon had put on me.
“If your enemy is stronger,” Bill said, “you must not let him get too close. You’re vampire, so you can take a punch, Rue, but that’s not the only danger.”
“My throat remembers,” I told him, regarding the demon’s chokehold.
“Here’s what you will do.”
Hours passed as he instructed me. If I do say so myself, I learned fast, and I even got a few hits on him. Although I suspect he might have let me so my lagging confidence wouldn’t deflate completely. An hour before sunrise, we ended the session.
“What about weapons?” I said as I watched him use two fingers of each hand to bring stacks together to close the floor space he had opened earlier. “I’ve seen movies where—”
“Forget the weapons for now.”
“Well, darn it. I saw myself cutting down demons with fantastic swordplay.”
“You would likely cut down yourself instead.”
I examined my hands and considered whether they would grow back if I chopped them off by mistake. Not wanting to know the answer, I didn’t ask Bill. The amusement on his face said he’d scoured my thoughts again. I needed to check out a book on keeping Death out of my head.
Bill headed to the kitchen, and I followed. I couldn’t believe he was making more tacos. Where did he put the food, in his leg? “Bill, I need to know how to track something or someone. I have the scent, but I don’t know how to find it unless I stumble onto it. My only recourse is to wait to be attacked.”
He bit into a taco and faced me. In that instant, I knew he knew about the box. Shoot. I should have tried clearing my mind, but he didn’t react to the knowledge. Rather, he continued to eat his food.
“You can call a demon.”
I gaped. “Uh, what?”
“You can use a spell to force a demon to appear.”
“I…that seems a bit extreme for me. I’m a conservative woman, and I don’t go in for such things.”
“You are a cursed being, Rue. You must accept what you are.”
“I accept what I am.” Mostly.
He nodded. “You could get someone else to call the demon. You could stand outside and wait for them to come as you said. If you’re in one place, you probably won’t wait long.”
“What
“Wonderful. I’ve got all this power and no way to access it.”
“Don’t worry. The longer your sire is absent, it’s likely another vampire will set his sights on you.”
“That doesn’t sound like a good thing.”
“It can be good or bad. Now, let’s begin. The night doesn’t last forever.”
Chapter Ten
I landed on my face for the millionth time and tasted blood in my mouth. Something in this scenario did not feel right. Why was it okay for a grown man to beat a woman this way? Granted, I had opened myself up to the treatment, but still. Where was my nice, quiet life as an elementary school teacher and a mom?
Honestly, I wasn’t clinging to the old job. I had held enough positions now for it not to matter. Motherhood, sure, but not a career. I was a college graduate working for tips. Good tips, but still not my dream.
“Rue, stop the inner monologue and get on your feet,” Bill called.
I frowned at him. “Stay out of my head.”
“Keep me out.”
I wobbled to my knees. “I have a feeling that’s not possible. You’ve probably got more power than I can imagine. Wait, are you the top of the food chain, and when I say ‘you’, I mean all the Deaths.”
A slow grin spread over his face. “Maybe.”
“You’re frustrating, Bill!”
He goaded me forward with the flick of his fingers. “Come at me.”
We fought on. Each time Bill landed a blow, my natural healing ability kicked in, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. With a straight face and often a happy smile, the soul collector gave me everything he had. He instructed me on how to anticipate what my opponent would do, how to avoid moves like the one the stronger demon had put on me.
“If your enemy is stronger,” Bill said, “you must not let him get too close. You’re vampire, so you can take a punch, Rue, but that’s not the only danger.”
“My throat remembers,” I told him, regarding the demon’s chokehold.
“Here’s what you will do.”
Hours passed as he instructed me. If I do say so myself, I learned fast, and I even got a few hits on him. Although I suspect he might have let me so my lagging confidence wouldn’t deflate completely. An hour before sunrise, we ended the session.
“What about weapons?” I said as I watched him use two fingers of each hand to bring stacks together to close the floor space he had opened earlier. “I’ve seen movies where—”
“Forget the weapons for now.”
“Well, darn it. I saw myself cutting down demons with fantastic swordplay.”
“You would likely cut down yourself instead.”
I examined my hands and considered whether they would grow back if I chopped them off by mistake. Not wanting to know the answer, I didn’t ask Bill. The amusement on his face said he’d scoured my thoughts again. I needed to check out a book on keeping Death out of my head.
Bill headed to the kitchen, and I followed. I couldn’t believe he was making more tacos. Where did he put the food, in his leg? “Bill, I need to know how to track something or someone. I have the scent, but I don’t know how to find it unless I stumble onto it. My only recourse is to wait to be attacked.”
He bit into a taco and faced me. In that instant, I knew he knew about the box. Shoot. I should have tried clearing my mind, but he didn’t react to the knowledge. Rather, he continued to eat his food.
“You can call a demon.”
I gaped. “Uh, what?”
“You can use a spell to force a demon to appear.”
“I…that seems a bit extreme for me. I’m a conservative woman, and I don’t go in for such things.”
“You are a cursed being, Rue. You must accept what you are.”
“I accept what I am.” Mostly.
He nodded. “You could get someone else to call the demon. You could stand outside and wait for them to come as you said. If you’re in one place, you probably won’t wait long.”
“What
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