Chapter 3

Chapter

Three

Phil

A ir hits my lungs. Gasping, I squint open my eyes.

My hand is holding a wooden bolt, dripping with blood. My blood.

If I weren't seeing this stake, feeling it in my hand, and smelling my own scent wafting from the dripping red liquid, I wouldn't believe it was possible.

I survived a stake through the heart.

It must have just grazed the organ.

But I sense a hole in my heart healing. I feel it starting to beat, to push blood again through my veins.

My mind feels strange, confused, clogged—like something foreign staked it too. What the fuck is going on? Where the hell am I?

Memories trickle back in. Crusher and I were on a rooftop. I'm still on that rooftop. Diederik was here. And Rasputin. No, they were one and the same. Rasputin was using Diederik's form. The work of that demon, no doubt. That must mean Diederik is dead.

Without moving, I draw on every sense to assess my situation. I'm not alone on this roof, and there's no sense courting danger until I'm fully recovered. Crusher isn't here. My healing heart sinks. Is he dead?

Diederik lands in my line of vision, sneering, per usual. "You're alive."

I can't tell whether this is Diederik, Rasputin or the demon. My fingers tighten around the bolt I pulled from my chest.

I should have sat. From this position, I'd put my odds of staking Diederik at twenty percent. Maybe lower. Standing above me, he's well positioned to react to my attack.

Stashing the bolt in my pocket, I leap to my feet. When the right opportunity arises, this asshole is dead.

I scan the rooftop.

"Looking for Crusher?" Diederik's sneer turns to a smirk. "He abandoned you. Not exactly loyal behavior, leaving you surrounded by the enemy, without even confirming your death."

I glare, burying my bubbling emotions, reconstructing all the walls that Ana broke down. I can't let Diederik see what I'm feeling. I hide my relief that Crusher's alive, my gratitude that he kept his promise to leave if one of us went down. As soon as I drive a stake through Diederik's heart, I'll return to Ana.

I can't blame Crusher for leaving. Even I was sure that stake went through my heart. Leaving was not only what Crusher promised me, it was his only choice.

Kill him .

I shake my head at the intrusive thought. I do plan to kill Diederik, and don't need a voice in my head to guide me.

Kill this useless being. Now. Do it quickly, then go to her. Fuck her. Fuck her hard and deep. Use your massive cock to ruin her.

I stagger back a step. The voice in my head is not mine.

Diederik's smirk grows. Can he project his thoughts into others? He clearly saw my reaction, and I want to pound the smug expression from his fucking face.

"What's wrong, Phil ?" Diederik taunts. "Not so brave when you're all alone?"

I take a mental survey of the weapons still on my body, and those stashed within reach, strategizing the best way to take this guy down.

"I thought you'd expired." He shrugs. "But that bolt must have only nicked your heart." His eyes narrow. "Crusher no doubt went to the princess. I bet his cock is inside her already." Diederik's face twists in disgust. "Go after him. He's taking something that's not his. Teach him a lesson he won't soon forget."

"Fuck you." My mind spins.

Kill this useless creature. He has served his purpose.

My body tightens, and I concentrate, trying to force these foreign thoughts from my mind. The voice can't be Diederik's. It's telling me to kill Diederik.

Fuck . It's the demon.

Is the demon why I'm still alive?

Nausea overwhelms me.

"Come on, Phil." Diederik steps toward me. "Let's work together. We'll stake that coward, Crusher, and then fuck the princess to our heart's content."

Rage explodes.

Grabbing a stake from my holster, I drive it into Diederik's chest, purposefully missing his heart by a quarter inch.

"You missed." He grins.

Reaching over his body, I drive the one from my pocket through his back, this time hitting my mark.

Diederik's eyes widen. He falls back. "No! What?"

Before my eyes, Diederik's form shifts into Rasputin's—transforming from a strong, blond vampire into an old man with crazy hair and a ragged beard.

Rasputin falls onto the rooftop.

In seconds, his body ages and decomposes, turning to ash.