Hearts in Darkness (Nikki & Michael 2)

All I can see is danger, and much pain. The road you walk will not be easy—for either of you. He smiled grimly. Danger and pain had been his close companions over the century he'd been a part of the Circle, and were a major part of the reason he could not allow Nikki into his life. I'll keep in contact, Seline.

Do that. And watch out for the past, Michael. Remember, the memory of love can be potent, but it is nowhere near as satisfying as the reality.

He frowned. What in the hell was that supposed to mean? The mental line went down before he could ask. He punched the window frame in frustration.

It looked like Jake had been right after all. Fate would not let him walk away from Nikki without a damned good fight.

Chapter Three

Matthew's scream ripped across the silence, as sharp as the gunshot that followed—a gunshot that had come from outside the warehouse.

Fear squeezed Nikki's heart, and for a moment she found it difficult to breathe. Jake was in trouble. Every instinct she had said she should go help him. Yet if she did, she'd face his wrath. The client is all that matters. How often had he told her that? Her priority had to be Matthew, no matter how much the decision tore at her.

The air stirred then fell still again. Someone was standing in front her, someone whose very presence made her skin crawl.

It was a taste of evil that reminded her of Jasper.

She shivered and backed away, her fingers aching from the fierceness of her grip on the knife. From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed movement to her left. Something snarled, and canines gleamed briefly against the cloak of night. It wasn't a dog but a vampire, moving in fast. She flung out her free hand, thrusting him away kinetically. He hit the back wall with enough force to shatter a nearby window and fell heavily to the concrete floor.

Moonlight filtered into the warehouse, filling the night with yellow softness. The vampire didn't move, his head bent at an odd angle to his body. Broken neck , Nikki thought with a chill. She'd killed him without really meaning to.

She spun and ran towards Matthew. The teenager was wrestling with two smaller men. Blood glistened on his skin, mingling with sweat as it ran down his arms and face. She raised her hand, lashing energy at one of the vampires. He yelped and disappeared through the darkness. The second vampire launched himself at her. She slid to a stop and thrust the knife at him. The blade punched into the his stomach a second before his weight hit her. She was slammed backwards, hitting the concrete hard, the vampire pinning her down.

Gasping for breath and blinking back the sting of tears, she heard the vampire snarl. His wild blue eyes were inches from hers, his canines extending and dripping blood onto her cheeks. Getting ready to feed, she thought. Bile rose swiftly. Swallowing heavily and fighting memories of Jasper, she thrust a hand into his face. The teeth aimed at her neck sank into her palm instead. Agony ran like fire down her arm. She yelled, thrusting him away kinetically, and scrambled up. The vampire was on his feet, a feral look on his face. Silver gleamed in the middle of his stomach—her knife, still lodged in his flesh. Sound whispered behind her. A chill chased its way across her skin, and the hairs at the back of her neck rose. Evil was on the move.

She reached again for energy. Pain slivered though her mind, a warning that she was beginning to push her psychic strength too far. Ignoring it, she focused on the blade, ripping it from the vampire's body and aiming it at the darkness to her right.

It sliced through the air and thudded hilt-deep into the side of a packing crate. Silence washed across the warehouse, chilling in its intensity.

Matthew no longer screamed. Was no longer anywhere to be seen. The vampire watched her, blood oozing from the wound in his stomach, his expression furious and fists clenched. But he didn't move. She wondered why.

Laughter flowed across the silence. Laughter that was throaty, rich and very feminine. Nikki shivered. The underlying edge of depravity in the sound chilled her soul.

"You are very good."

The whisper flowed from the darkness to her left. Nikki clenched her fists. Blood oozed between her fingers, splattering against the concrete. Though there was no one to be seen beyond the bleeding vampire, the air stirred.

Evil, slowly circling.

She licked her lips. “What have you done with Matthew?"

"I have done nothing with him. The young fool ran into a packing crate and knocked himself out." The woman was behind her now. Nikki fought the need to turn around. The real threats were the vampires who'd accompanied this woman. She wouldn't attack herself. Why Nikki was so sure of this, she couldn't say, especially when she was almost choking on the corruption that was this woman's soul.

"Let him go,” she said softly. Her voice sounded calm despite the fear squeezing her throat. “You said yourself he was too young."

"He is younger than I had expected, true. But I'm afraid it is a decision that is not really mine." Which suggested the woman was not in charge—something Nikki found hard to believe. “Then whose decision is it? These clowns you've bought with you?"

Perhaps it wasn't the thing to say, but she had a feeling that if she showed anything less than bravado, the woman would unleash her companions.

More laughter washed across the night. “They are only young, and would have been more than a match for any human."

Alarm slithered into her heart. “I'm human."

"No, my dear, you are not. As you know well enough." Nikki clenched her fists, holding back fear, holding back anger. “What do you mean?"

"You have the taste of a vampire on you. I have no wish to upset your master, whoever he may be." Nikki snorted softly. “What planet are you from? I have no master—whatever you mean by that."

"They all say that, in the beginning."