Chapter 6

Anais

I ducked and instinctively cowered in toward the vampire holding me as a third shot was fired. I didn't see where this one went, but I wasn't sure I wanted to know. The vampire had his arm around my body so tightly that the grip was almost painful.

When he moved, he dragged me with him. At the same time Ludis shouted for his other vampires to protect him and get whoever was shooting. Two of the vampires ran off, toward the source of the shooting, but there were still several left.

Although I couldn't easily get close to Ludis right this second, I reached for one of my blades and tried to pull out of the grip I was in once more. The vamp holding me still wouldn't let go, although he did move us closer.

"She's got to be a vampire hunter," Ludis yelled, pointing at me. "Kill her. She's even holding a knife."

"To defend myself," I shouted back. "I've not pulled it before now. I could have done."

"You've got a team then. Someone trying to rescue you."

"I'm not part of some hunting team," I denied, not sure how much it would do me good. "I'm as confused and scared as anyone else."

"I'll figure out what she is and deal with her," the vampire holding onto me replied, acting as if he didn't believe me. "But whoever is shooting, they're trying to kill you. Get back in the club and somewhere safe."

Ludis growled and looked as if he might launch himself at both of us. "I won't be told what to do by a jumped up-"

"I'm not trying to command you. I'm trying to save you. Isn't that what I am meant to do." The vampire nearby switched his focus to a closer one of his kind. "Take Ludis back to the club and our safe area. I'll deal with the hunters and get to the bottom of what's going on."

Although Ludis still didn't look happy, with the large, strong vampire going along with the command, he didn't have much choice but to allow himself to be led away. I wriggled against my own captor, unable to get free. I wasn't going to succeed on this mission right now, that much was clear.

I watched my target get dragged away, pinned in place. This had just got a thousand times worse. I considered my options as the number of people out in the back alley dwindled to me and one vampire. With little other option I knew I had to consider killing this one and then carrying on with my mission.

No matter what they thought, I wasn't part of some sort of team. Not right now, but it did look that way.

These vampires weren't fools and right after I show up and don't have a good story together, someone starts taking shots at one of them. I looked like a hunter and I looked like a hunter with a team.

As I looked up toward the area the shots had come from, I tried to see if there was anyone up there. Maybe Laura had taken pity on me after all. She hadn't been acting as if she didn't want anything to do with me until Melody had also come to the door. Could she have decided to come out here and try to help.

It hadn't worked, even if that had been her plan, but whoever it was could have been trying to decide if I was going to die or not. When Ludis had finally agreed to let this vampire keep me as his enthralled, the shooter had fired. Maybe they were trying to save me, not complete my mission.

Either way, I had plenty of questions and I wasn't going to get answers while I was standing out here so vulnerable. I needed to get away from here and figure out what to do next.

"I swear that I'm not part of some kind of team," I said again, hoping that the vampire would believe me. "I don't know who the shooter is. You have my word."

The vampire chuckled darkly. "Do you think I care if you're on a team or not?"

He pulled me around and grabbed the hand with my knife in. Although I tried to resist, he was far too strong. This wasn't some recently turned vampire. He was older and stronger.

I'd never set eyes on a true-blood, but there was something about this vampire that made me think I was looking at one. He didn't fit what I knew of them, however.

From everything I had been taught, true-bloods were the ones who came before. Vampires who were born that way and could turn humans into a sort of hybrid. We never hunted true-bloods unless something had really gone wrong somewhere within the hierarchy of creatures, but also because none of us were strong enough to go up against them.

Vampire hunters didn't take on true-bloods. But we also didn't exactly need to. Yes, they needed blood to survive, but they also really liked not being out in the limelight. For the most part they left us alone and we left them alone.

In my entire life I could think of only a handful of times that the hunter guild had gone after a true blood and every time they called for as many volunteers as possible from the active hunters. It took a massive team to even stand a chance.

If this was one holding me and keeping me close then there would be no getting away for me unless he wanted it. I wouldn't be able to yank myself out of his arms, let alone kill him.

I tucked my sword back into my sheath on my leg and covered it back up with my dress, able to do at least that much. It was the only chance I had. And if this was the end of my journey through life, at least I would go out to an enemy who could best me easily and one I respected.

The attraction I felt didn't make it difficult to think of letting him do what he wanted either. But I still had some questions about why a true-blood was pandering to a vampire like Ludis, and whether Ludis knew. Not that I planned on asking either of them.

"Where did the shooter go?" I asked, wondering if my captor would know.

Now that my blade was back in its sheath, his grip relaxed on me and he looked up to a particular balcony in the rough direction I expected him to look. There was one where the hotel room door was open and a curtain blew in the breeze. It was seven floors up and only a couple of balconies over from our direct position.

There wasn't any sign of a shooter any more, but that didn't stop the vampire from staring. While the vampire was focused on the balcony, I shifted, twisting myself out of his grip as I bent his fingers back. Surprise after appearing to cooperate was all that gave me the ability to get away.

I ran as soon as I could, sprinting for the now open fire escape. He shouted after me and I knew that he would be able to catch up if we had to run over any significant distance, but I also had been trained to run from vampires like this.

If nothing else, my parents had taught me how to flee when a vampire came after me and what tricks to use to get into a crowd where they wouldn't want to expose what they were or cause issues. A true-blood was even less likely to want to draw attention.

Going as quickly as I could, I pumped my legs up and down. I aimed for the open doorway, not looking back or anywhere but my goal. There was a chance I would trip or stumble, my body pushing so hard so fast that there was a good chance I would get my legs tangled up.

Somehow I managed to not only stay upright enough, but I made it through the door and into a packed casino. While I knew that a lot of the people in the building were vampires, there were plenty of normal people like me and they would panic if they saw a vampire.

Even with that possibility to protect me, I kept on running. I slowed enough that I didn't think security would do much about it and carried on.

Although I knew where the balcony was and could probably have worked out which room the shooter came from, I didn't run there either. I needed an ally, but I needed to get somewhere the vampire couldn't follow me first.

I ran into the nearest ladies rest room and didn't look back until I was nearer the door. To my surprise no one appeared to be following me at all. The vampire had opted to simply let me go.

The lack of pursuit made no sense. I'd pulled a blade and made it sound as if I was a vampire hunter. But the true-blood hadn't even cared if I was on some kind of team or not, which probably meant that it didn't see me as a threat.

Either way, I stayed in the bathroom for several minutes and waited. Then I snuck back out, looking every way for the vampire I needed to avoid. I was still right by the door, indecisive and trying to figure out my next move when I spotted the good-looking true-blood. He was making his way toward the elevators.

I hung back again, giving him the best chance to use the elevators and get out of my way before I followed. Not that I planned to go where the shooter was as much as try to find out where they went afterwards and see if they were a friend who had tried to help me complete my mission.

Although I'd heard others talk about wanting something to do with the true-bloods, or killing one, this didn't fit that bill either. This had to be someone who tried to help and failed.

Once I'd given the true-blood time to clear the elevator, I used it as well and made my way up to my own room. Only once I had the door shut behind me did I relax at all. For now I was safe.

I paused, shaking and trying to process the events of the night so far. Although it wasn't very late, I knew that it was also going to be difficult to complete my task tonight. But I didn't know if Ludis would stay in Vegas after tonight. It wasn't where the don he was associated with operated.

And while I had gained a little bit of money from gambling at the blackjack table, I had been lucky, and probably helped by the man beside me. I knew that it was uncommon to walk away from a table like that with any real level of wealth and in a city like this, the money didn't last long.

I had to try to finish the job tonight. But I was scared. The vampire I'd run from was more powerful than any I had faced. It didn't matter how much my parents had once taught me, hunting wasn't meant to be a solo job, not for those who weren't already very skilled. I hadn't completed my training and there were large gaps.

My reaction to the strong vampire had me even more concerned. I hoped it was simply because of the power a true-blood vampire had, but I hadn't been acting normally around him. He scrambled my ability to think and I found myself wanting to agree with everything he said.

This wasn't how a vampire hunter was supposed to behave.

On top of that I didn't know if this shooter was done or not. I was going to have to go see if I could find them. Anyone shooting at Ludis might be an ally I could work with. If I had any chance of rescuing this mission, having a team might be the best way of figuring this out.

After taking a couple of deep breaths to try to steady my own body and mind, I considered what I was wearing. While I could blend in dressed like this, I couldn't conceal many weapons and it was clear that I was likely to need something better than a couple of knives. But I also knew that the true-blood and several of the other vampires had gone after this shooter.

Whoever they were, they might need a bolt hole. If I could find them, then there was a chance that I could figure out the weapons and plan once I'd got them to safety. Maybe even bring them back here. If it was Laura, I wouldn't expect her to have a room, but she would also struggle to get out of the hotel without the vamps finding her.

I didn't have much to go on to find the shooter, so I couldn't waste time. Any chance of this working would mean moving fast and being aware of possible dangers I could run into along the way.

With that decided, I kept the current clothing, but grabbed a shawl and a hat to try to appear at least a little different to the vampires. I'd barely tucked my ponytail up into the hat before I was heading out of the room again.

Although I didn't know the exact room the shooter had been in, I could make a reasonable guess and I was confident of the floor, if nothing else.

I made my way down to that floor via the nearest elevators, running more possible scenarios through my head. It was now late enough that this part of the hotel was fairly quiet. It would both make me stand out more, but make it easier for me to spot any vampires before they saw me.

Although I didn't know who the shooter was, I felt as if they were the best ally I could have, and I wasn't done with this mission. Ludis had to die or I was done as a vampire hunter.