Immortal Danger (Night Watch 0.5)

Sure as hell not a slip of a vampire, Adam thought.

Maya circled the demon and the other vampires backed away, going way back.

The bleeding humans even seemed to finally sense that things had taken a deadly turn in the feeding bar. They hurried to the corners, shrinking back and gazing around with lost eyes.

"Hugh?" The demon spoke the name slowly, tilting his head to the side. "Oh, would that be the man who was guarding the door?" He held up his hands and Adam could see the blood dripping from the demon's claws. "He didn't want to let me in, so I had to convince him."

A faint tremble shook Maya's body. If Adam hadn't been watching her so closely, he would have missed it.

"You bastard. I liked Hugh, and I don't like many people." She stood in front of the demon now, barely five steps away. Legs braced shoulder-width apart, hands relaxed at her sides.

"And you killed Hydan, you bitch!"

Hydan. The light dawned. That had been the demon Maya had beheaded two nights back. A rogue who'd slashed a prostitute's face and then started on her body. Adam had been following Maya when she'd stumbled onto him, alerted by the other woman's screams.

Adam moved slightly, creeping around the bar so that he could get a better view. Ah, that was it.

Now he could see Maya's face.

The woman was smiling. "Yeah, I killed him. And you know what? I'd do it again."

The demon's teeth snapped together. "I'm going to enjoy ripping you open, vampire."

"Um, are we gonna talk all night?" She lifted one dark brow. "Or is someone going to die?"

Her words seemed to push the demon over some invisible edge. He roared and launched forward, beefy arms raised and his mouth open.

Maya didn't move. She stood there, looking fragile, too vulnerable, as the seven-foot demon attacked.

Adam stepped forward, an instinctual move, because she looked so damn helpless .

A level-ten demon was too strong. She'd never survive, and if she got her heart ripped out and her head chopped off-a surefire way to kill a vamp-she'd never be able to help him find-

Maya's hands lifted at the last second. She grabbed the demon's claws, jerked his left hand back, and then drove his own claws straight into his throat.

Blood gushed down his chest, poured onto Maya, and covered the floor.

The demon began twisting, snarling, howling. His right hand raked her side, slashing deep and ripping her skin wide open.

She never eased her hold on him.

Adam saw her fingers tighten around the demon's wrist, then she yanked his hand to the left, to the right-and she cut the demon's head off.

With his own damn hand.

The head fell to the floor with a thud. The body stood stiffly for a moment. Swayed. Then the knees buckled and the demon's chest slammed toward the wooden floor.

Maya jumped back, barely avoiding being taken down by the headless corpse.

She stared at the demon's remains, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her fangs bared.

Now, I'm impressed.

Apparently, the rumors were true. Maya Black was truly one badass vampire.

Maya gazed down at the body, trying to swallow back the nausea rising in her throat.

Shit. The damn thing is still twitching.

She drew a deep breath, smelled his blood.

He wasn't human. I didn't kill a human.

But she'd killed.

And he would have killed me. He'd already attacked Sean, left him for dead. Murdered Hugh.

The demon had deserved to die.

A demon, not a man. She just had to remember that fact.

She lifted her head, deliberately drawing her gaze from the demon. The room around her was quiet, too quiet. She knew everyone had been watching her. Some, if not all, hoping that she'd be the one who wound up on the floor.

Luckily for her, that hadn't been her first encounter with an L10. No, she'd gone against a level-

ten demon three months after her change. She'd learned the hard way that the legend about the mortal weapons not being able to pierce their flesh was true. She'd been about ten seconds away from her second and final death when she'd managed to shove the demon's claws back against his chest.

When the blood had begun to flow, Maya had known instantly what she had to do.

Kill or be killed. It was the new law, the only law, she followed these days.

Stephan sauntered up to her side. He was smiling. The guy was always smiling. "That'll teach 'em to come into our territory."

A rumble of agreement.

Great. Now the vampires were going to act like they'd just won some kind of pissing contest with the demons.

"So that's how you kill 'em, huh?" He bent down, dipped a finger in the L10's blood. "I'll have to remember that." He brought the fingertip to his lips, then frowned.

Level-ten demon blood was sour as hell.

The music started again then. The strumming of the guitar was light at first, tentative. Then louder, stronger as the vampires and humans began to drift from the shadows.

Maya stepped over the demon. His body would be taken care of. She knew Armand had a policy of destroying the dead left in his bar.

She'd settled her score. Now it was time for her to leave.

She hated the killing.

He wasn't a man.

He'd been a monster. Evil. Deadly.

A monster.

Just like she was.

Maya shoved open the door, stepping into the night. She didn't look down at Hugh. She couldn't bear to, not then, but she knew he was dead. She could no longer hear his heart beating.

Human. Hugh had been a human, a watcher of sorts, just like Sean. He'd always been civil to her.

The guy had also never tried to kill her, a definite mark in his favor.

Footsteps thundered behind her. Eager whispers reached her ears.

She froze. Didn't glance over her shoulder. "Don't even think about drinking from him." The scavengers drank from the dead.

But she didn't want anyone drinking from Hugh.

"Bury him. Get him a priest. But don't drink from him." Now she did turn back, looking at each vampire in turn. "Or I'll come back for you."

The fear that flashed on their faces told her that they believed her. Good. Because she'd hate to have to hunt them down.

Too much work.

Maya inclined her head, then stalked down the road. Every step, the air became a little cleaner.

The stench of death faded. She could almost pretend that she hadn't just been in hell.

She'd easily traveled ten blocks before she realized that she was being followed. It was the faintest of sounds that alerted her. A soft sigh. Could have been a whisper of breath or a scuff of a shoe on the pavement.

But Maya knew she wasn't alone on the dark street.

Her nostrils flared slightly as she inhaled. Since her change, all of her senses had grown stronger.