Shadows of Ourselves (2016 Original Edition)

TWENTY-TWO: Bar Fight

Axel grabbed for the bat Kelly swung at his head at the same second Riley chucked her glass at his skull. Destiny moved so fast it was like lightening surging through the sky, a blur of movement too fast to follow—she smashed the glass away in midair and rushed at Riley where she'd stepped out of the booth.

I threw my hands out before she could reach my friend, a blast of telekinesis forcing my own feet back an inch, and the undead bitch flew back as if struck.

She hit the ground hard and was up again in seconds, no pause, no hesitation. Recovery time wasn't something she needed tonight, apparently. I climbed onto the table and launched myself at her. I was getting Riley and myself out of here, if it was the last thing I did.

Maybe this was how the Vampire felt all the time; bloodthirsty, heart pounding in longing for violence.

I couldn't hold myself back if I tried, if I'd wanted to, and there was not a single part of me that did.

Destiny rolled out of the way before I could land on her. I hit the ground and kept moving, scrambling out of the way to get out of her range. The bar tilted around me in the rush, lights blurring.

I lumbered to my feet and spun to swing at her, and she deflected my punch easily. Her fist caught me in the stomach, knuckles twisting as she pulled away. Her hit was like a gunshot.

Nothingness filling my torso—

The breath left me all at once, and I wheezed, but I couldn't let myself stop. The others were blurs of colour around us, two human women and a brutal Charmer reduced to streaks of motion as they fought.

Axel would be done with them quickly, and I had to be at their side before that happened.

I wasn't willing to kill either he or Destiny unless it was my only option, but I doubted they had the same reservations about us.

They needed me alive to take back to Crayton. Riley and Kelly were more than expendable.

But not to me.

I fell toward the Vampire, and jolted forward to slam into her with my shoulder, throwing my entire body into the tackle. She barely budged, and her arms were around me in seconds, squeezing so tightly I thought I'd never breathe again. When her arms withdrew, I fell to my knees.

Destiny wrapped her fist around chunk of my hair and tugged my head up so she could whisper in my ear. "Still feeling lucky?" she asked.

I could hear the grin in her voice. Maybe it was time to wipe it right off her smug damn face.

"Luckier than you," I spat, and slammed my head back into hers so hard we both saw stars.

Destiny screeched in anger. She fell away, hands dropping from my hair, and I stumbled into the side of the nearest booth, wood smooth under my fingertips. My ears rang, pulse pounding violently. Forget it, I told myself. Time to move. Before the throbbing had faded, I was looking for Axel, looking for an opponent. Kelly flew past me with a hard shove. Axel yanked the bat out of her hands before he kicked her away, and then, moving like the flash of a camera, he grabbed Riley and ripped her around like a rag doll so her back was to his chest, setting the length of the bat at the base of her throat to keep her pinned, a moth pressed to a page with pins through its wings.

I froze feet away, my eyes locked with his.

Riley's scared, angry face, her intense displeasure burning like a star. Axel's bloodthirsty delight—the joy of a good fight written all over his features.