Reign of Blood (The Vampires of Vegas Book 1)

Chapter Fifteen

"You might want to let go of your weapon, some would take that as a threat," a husky voice said, sounding in the tunnel and echoing off the walls. I turned beyond my guide to find a man standing with his arms crossed near another door in the wall. Miranda stopped and swiveled back toward me; her lips pursed as she shook her head slightly and eyed my hand on my weapon. Watching the swarm of vampires grow thicker around us, I felt my heart racing a thousand miles a minute and worried that it was starting to look very bad for me.

I glared at Miranda, like she had lost her marbles. "Are you insane? I'm toast here! This is not what I had in mind." I turned and faced the now-growing circle of vampires, their reflecting eyes watching the scene before them. Some dared to edge closer; one tugged at my clothes, which I promptly slapped away. Snarls and a low rumble of growling filled the air around me, my hand once again on my machete. I huffed back at them, wishing I could pull out my blade and take them down.

A cool hand gripped my arm as Miranda shushed me and pulled me back toward the door that Blaze had swung open and now awaited us. We entered after him, a husky man with dark black hair. His broad shoulders made him impressive, tall but with well-built, smooth muscles that moved in waves under his dark brown shirt. His jeans fit him loosely but hugged his hips with a smooth black leather belt. I hadn't seen a guy in almost a year and my cheeks reddened as I tried to divert my eyes from his backside.

I heard Miranda lock the door behind us and we proceeded forward down a long hallway that led deeper into the underground. Evenly-spaced doors lined one side of the tunnel like a hall. Leaky pipes ran the length of it above us and the sconces lit the darkness just enough to see the tunnel in front of us. The unfinished walls were rough, without the smoothness of the concrete in the tunnel.

We silently proceeded behind Blaze and I began to wonder where exactly we were headed. My nerves were definitely shot now. My injuries burned as I flexed my hands, the raw skin inflamed and still riddled with bits of concrete and blood. I was sure that I would need a good scrubbing. A nice hot bath would do the trick nicely, though I hadn't had one of those since forever. It was showers or nothing now, quick ones at that.

We finally reached an area that widened and opened into a small room. A set of double doors led to the left and another lay to my right. Blaze turned and took the sight of me in. I blushed under the intensity of his gaze. His eyes also sported the dual ring of color, but the inside was a deep sapphire. I sucked in my breath, feeling almost mesmerized as I stared back into them. I wondered if they had the same hypnotizing effect as the feral vampires. To look into them was death, my mother used to say. But I was immune. Now, I wasn't so sure if I was still immune or not. These hybrid vampires were a whole different breed of something.

I couldn't read his eyes, they were still and intense. I tried to read anything off his face, but nothing came to me. He was as blank as a desolate pond of unmoving water. His chiseled face was handsome and hard. A lifetime of seeing way too much seemed to be etched in the faint lines on his face and his eyes, like fathoms of sea water that engulfed me as I stared.

Pulling my eyes away from his disarming face, I felt pathetic for staring too long. I glanced about the room to take in the simple surroundings in hopes of a clue as to why I was brought here. Nothing came to me as my gaze settled on Miranda, who was staring at the man as if awaiting orders.

"I'm Blaze, leader of this group. Miranda will get you whatever it is you need." He paused, turning to her as he continued. "Meer, get her set up with a shower and bandaged, she reeks of blood." Blaze took his leave and disappeared down the dim hallway. I was left puzzled, feeling like the stinky kid at school.

"Come on," Miranda tugged on my arm and pushed through the double doors on our right, bringing us into a small locker room with rows of metal lockers lining the walls and isles. I followed her in and past the rows to another room with benches and shower stalls. She reached into one locker near the showers and pulled out a bundle, handing it to me.