Hearts in Darkness (Nikki & Michael 2)

"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."

"I'll be saying it until the end."

"Perhaps you will. There is an unusual strength in you." The softly spoken words came from the left again. The woman had stopped moving. Nikki wished she knew where Matthew was—wished he'd move, or groan or do something to help her locate him. Until he did, she didn't dare attack the woman or her vampire companion. Another gunshot ripped across the silence. Relief and worry surged through her. Jake was alive, but for how much longer? A vampire could move with the speed of the wind. How long would Jake be able withstand such an attack?

She thrust out a hand as the knife-wounded vampire stepped forward. He stopped, but not, Nikki guessed, because of the threat of another kinetic lance. The woman was still holding him in check. But why?

"It appears your companion still lives. You're both more resourceful than I'd imagined."

"Never underestimate us humans,” Nikki commented. “We get pretty clever when we're scared." The woman's smile flashed briefly, canines bright in the darkness. “So I see. It does present me with a few problems, however."

"Let Matthew go. He's too young to be a part of whatever deviancy you have planned."

"He was more than old enough to contact me. More than old enough to engage in cyber-sex with me." No wonder Matthew was a little less than careful in getting to this meeting. He'd hoped the written word would become reality and wasn't particular about where. “But he's not old enough to die. That's what you intended, wasn't it?"

"Perhaps. It depends on whether he can live up to his claims." Nikki had a feeling she wasn't talking about sexual prowess. “Tell me, why is a vampire trawling the Net for victims?"

"Why does any predator hunt? When you get as old as I am, it becomes such a tedious affair. Cyberspace is filled with lonely hearts desperate to find a mate, and it provides a whole new field in which to play.” The woman smiled again. It washed across the moonlit darkness like a wave of ice. “I have become quite addicted to the test of luring quarry to my bait and slowly reeling them in." Well, it certainly put a new spin on the term cyber-menace, if nothing else. Nikki rubbed her arms. “But why?"

"Ah, well, that is something I cannot tell you."

From the darkness just beyond the unseen woman came a slight groan. Matthew, regaining consciousness. Nikki clenched her fists. If she was going to save the teenager—and herself—she was going to have to be damn fast.

Faster than the wind. Faster than a vampire.

She licked her lips. I can't do this. She may have beaten Jasper, but only because Michael had been there to help—giving her strength. Giving her courage. If she'd been left to cope alone, she would have been dead—or worse.

For an instant, she was tempted to reach for the link—reach for him. But the link between them had been dead ever since she'd awakened in the hospital, and she doubted it would come to life now simply because she needed it.

From behind her came the sound of a cautious step. Nikki tensed, muscles beginning to ache. Her neck tingled a familiar warning. It was Jake. He'd only fired two shots. He still had four left in the gun. More than enough to blow a vampire's brains out.

The thought turned her stomach. She ignored it. There was no time for squeamishness—not if they were all going to survive this mess.

"Why can't you tell me your plans?” she said to the woman. “You intend killing us all anyway, don't you?"

Again the smile shimmered coldly across the darkness. “Oh yes. But as you said, it pays to never underestimate humans—or the not-so-human."

"Then I'm afraid I'm just going to have to spoil your party." Nikki thrust kinetic energy at the bleeding vampire, lifting him up into the air and propelling him toward the window. “Jake, incoming at four o'clock!"

Gunshots reverberated through the silence, and pain ripped through her brain. Nikki gasped, tears stinging her eyes. She was pushing the limits of her abilities. Too much further, and she'd hit the wall. But she had no choice. She slid the last knife from her boot and ran to her left, straight at the darkness that hid the woman. She stabbed wildly, felt the knife strike something solid and slice deep. Heard a gasp of pain a second before a fist hit her chin and flung her backwards. She crashed against a packing crate and air whooshed from her lungs. She slumped to the ground, gasping for breath and seeing stars. Groaning, she felt the back of her head. Her fingers came away bloody. The night around her stirred, and the air was so thick with the sense of evil it felt as if she was sucking in liquid.

Move, move, she thought. On hands and knees, she scrambled away. Another shot roared across the silence. The woman cursed. She was close, so close.