Reborn to Bite (Vampire Shadows Book 1) (21 page)

She reached out with her mind again, this time to move the lock of the door and unlatch it, trying to mimic what Lorenzo had done. The mechanism didn't move, and she hit the door with her shoulder, nearly splintering it off the hinges.

That's gonna hurt,
Sabine thought, as she stumbled into the room.

Gus stood by the sofa where Sabine had held Trent, and Tony stood by her kitchen counter. They raised silenced guns at her. She moved lightning fast at Gus by the sofa. She knocked his gun towards Tony as Gus pulled the trigger. Gus's bullet screamed towards Tony as Sabine punched Gus's chest, sending him flying over the sofa and into the wall. The impact sent several of Sabine's sketches flying, and crushed one.

Tony's aim tracked Sabine until Gus's silver bullet made contact with Tony's chest. Tony's bulletproof vest absorbed the impact, jarring him just before his silencer puffed. His shot went wild, hitting the wall.

Sabine turned and charged Tony, yanking his gun arm around and aiming at Gus, who was sliding down the wall and bringing up his gun again to fire. Her finger closed over Tony's trigger finger, and the gun puffed.

With Sabine in his sights, Gus fired at the same time Tony's gun went off.

Sabine jerked her body to the side, feeling like she swayed in slow motion as the bullet flew toward where she had just been – in front of Tony.

Trent entered the doorway and watched as Gus and Tony's shots connected with each other's bodies. This time, the bullets missed the vests. Sabine's aim had been good, and Tony's bullet hit Gus in the gun arm, the powerful Magnum tearing the muscle and sinew with dreaded silver. The bullet passed through Gus and embedded in the wall next to the sofa. Gus's arm went limp and he dropped his gun.

Gus's bullet, aimed for Sabine's head, went through Tony's neck when she dodged aside. The kitchen became a horrible bloody mess behind Tony as the bullet shredded half his neck away.

Werewolf blood sprayed on Sabine, and couldn't help herself. Her fangs had a mind of their own as she immediately buried her face in the buffet fountain that was Tony's open neck.

Trent ran to Gus and grabbed Gus's gun before he could switch hands. Trent then kicked Gus in the face, denting the wall with Gus's skull. Gus's skull cracked, and he passed out.

Sabine gulped the blood spewing from Tony's arterial wound as quickly as she could, missing plenty as he sagged in her arms. Her mind fell into total overload, a thousand times more sensitive. Several seconds went by as she fed, before Trent reached for her to pull her away.

Sabine hissed at him without even realizing what she was doing. She sucked furiously at the wound, licking up the still seeping blood. Where she licked, the wounds healed at an amazing rate. When Sabine finally staggered away from Tony, his neck was raw but almost healed.

Her vision blurred. Dust motes sparkled in the air and the roaring of blood pumping inside three men filled her room like a symphony. She heard every faint breath from the wounded werewolf in front of her; the ragged breathing from Gus behind her, the crackling of his skull bones stitching themselves back together; and Trent's worried breathing. The insects crawling around outside. Each TV on the various floors of the buildings, and the sounds of cooking dinner, three floors away.

The sound of her neighbor placing the call to 9-1-1.

She reached out with her mind and found Bert, the kind old man next door. His mind was so easy to see. He worried about all the noise, and felt frustrated about being put on hold. She laughed to herself as she made him think that he was ordering Chinese food. When the operator came on, he requested Egg Rolls and Wonton Soup.

Sabine released him and turned toward Gus... and saw Trent staring at her. Trent was so handsome, she thought. He was food like these other wolves, but he glowed with something that made him wonderful to her. She saw his thoughts, his fear, his affection. His doubts. He struggled against caring for her, and he was shocked at the sight of her covered in blood. The room started to spin.

He'd lost control with her in Nevada. He'd shifted on her and nearly chewed her arm off when they were supposed to be making love. She didn't remember it at all, she'd been so high on his blood.

She felt her eyes get moist as she thought about love, and how much she'd missed it. She had never really felt loved before. Then the smell of fresh blood distracted her again.

Sabine felt herself move toward Gus as Trent said something. She watched from somewhere outside herself as she struck at Gus. She licked up the oozing blood from his shoulder wound, occasionally spitting out a piece of something that burned her tongue. Silver?

Ignore the burn and spit out the chunks. The heavenly juice feels so good. More. Feed.

She ignored the wolf behind her and bit the wounded one's neck, savoring the bliss. She floated in a field of rainbows. She felt herself being carried, like she was crowd surfing, but she had bathed in a fountain of Heaven. There was no world; just clouds of everything that was and is. Brilliant light filled everything.

Something hurt, Sabine thought, mildly amused.
Was that my cheek?

The pain faded, then came and went again. This time it was definitely in her cheek. The lights seemed dimmer for a minute before things started to come into focus. Trent was sitting over her, pushing rhythmically on her chest.
Why bother?
She wondered.
It's not like I need CPR. I'm dead, dude.

Then Trent slapped her in the face.
Excuse me!?
She thought, but her mouth wasn't moving. The world gradually focused, and she saw Mike standing behind Trent, cell phone in hand.

"Hit her again," Mike called out, following the directions from the phone. Was that Esmerelda's voice on the other end?

"I heard her. I don't have to like it," Trent said, drawing his hand back.

Sabine reached up as his hand came down, stopping it before he could hit her again. With her free hand, she punched him in the stomach.

Trent gasped "She's awake." He nursed his stomach as he stood up.

"What the hell?" Sabine yelled, squeezing out from under Trent and staggering to her feet.

"We thought we'd lost you," Mike said, then to the phone, "I'll call you back, honey." He closed the phone.

"What are you talking about?" Sabine said, looking around. Gus and Tony were gone, leaving behind another set of guns and this time some body armor too. She had a sudden sense of vertigo, and steadied herself to keep from falling over. "Where are Gus and Tony?"

"While you were out, we tossed them into the dumpster, unconscious and naked," Trent said, brushing himself off. "I think you saved Tony's life, though I'm not sure how. He shouldn't have survived a hit to the neck like that." He looked up and saw Sabine's eyes.
Holy shit, her eyes are glowing black!

Sabine looked at Trent, wondering if she just imagined that she'd just heard his thoughts without trying, or if his lips had moved and she hadn't seen them move. She was too dizzy to be sure. She felt sick. The building was filled with people thinking so many thoughts. More than she'd ever heard before. Was there a party going on that she didn't know about? No, they were all over. Someone a block away was thinking about pizza.

Mike stared at Sabine.
I should call Essie back and ask what glowing eyes means.

"Essie?" Sabine asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mike's eyes went wider. "Okay young lady, you need to stay out of my head." He redoubled his mental block and his thoughts went quiet.

Trent stared at Mike. "She read you?"

"Drop it, Trent," Mike said with a glare.

Trent rolled his shoulders, his hackles rising. He took a calming breath, but he had trouble getting over the look of Sabine's eyes. He decided to change the subject, and worked on his mental block also. "I'm guessing Tony and Gus won't be trying their luck with you again, at least not just the two of them. You had us pretty worried there for a while."

Sabine ran her bloody hands through her hair.
Why am I hearing Trent's thoughts?
She felt ill. "How long was I out?"

"Ten, maybe fifteen minutes," Mike replied while stacking Gus and Tony's things. "You had no pulse at all, Sabine. I called my wife to see what it might mean. She thinks you overdosed on werewolf blood."

Sabine laughed, then grabbed her head to keep it from spinning. "I what?"

"OD'd," Trent said. "You were whacked out of your mind. You passed out, stuck to Gus's neck. Esmerelda said we should smack you in the face to get through to you."

Sabine rubbed her face where Trent had hit her. "Remind me to thank her," she grumbled.

"Sorry. But it worked."

Sabine smiled, her eyes feeling moist. "You saved me."

"What's a big strong heroic guy supposed to do, if not rescue the damsel in distress?"

Sabine chuckled. "You're gonna make me barf." Then, with her brain working about as well as swimming through oatmeal, she had a thought. "So... overdosing... how is that possible? I mean, nothing like that ever happened to me before. Not even close. Is that even slightly normal for a vampire?"

Trent and Mike shared a look, and shrugged.

"It's not like we hang around a lot of vampires. We tend to steer clear of them, and they're not exactly known for sharing secrets," Mike said.

Sabine sighed. "Great."

"Maybe you should see about cleaning yourself up, Sabine," Mike suggested. "Now that your apartment has proven to be a target, maybe you should relocate more of your stuff to our house."

Sabine nodded carefully, surveying the locked door to her bedroom. The wolves had attempted it, but apparently hadn't gotten through. Maybe there hadn't been time. "I'll shower and pack another bag, but I'll be getting another home soon."

Trent and Mike shared a look, and Trent said "She's in charge of those vampires from Nevada. They're house-hunting."

Thirty minutes later, they were on the road again. Sabine sat quietly numb in the seat up front next to Mike as he drove the van. She tried to think about anything but the image she had seen in the mirror before her shower. The old childhood myth of "Bloody Mary" came to mind.

The soft lights of her apartment had been too bright, so she had showered without them and had seen everything in vibrant crystal clear detail anyway. She had packed as quickly as her latent dizziness would allow, including every pair of sunglasses she owned.

She wore her darkest pair now, and the street lights still ached like brilliant little suns.

"...amazing how fast you moved," Trent was saying. She hadn't been paying attention to the last five minutes of conversation, but for some reason could remember every detail of it anyway.

"I was highly motivated," Sabine mumbled, watching the traffic and listening to all the human thoughts as people drifted by. The voices were much louder and more distinct than usual. And she couldn't shut them out. Trying made her head hurt more.

The people they passed felt happy, sad, angry, content, discontent. A swirling maelstrom of everything that motivated each of them to be unique combined into something like an amorphous living thing of its own. The collection of their thoughts blended in beautiful harmony; like a field of tall grass swaying in the breeze. Each strand responded to the wind in its own way. Her head swayed until her forehead rested on the cold glass of the window.

"Here we are," Mike said, pulling over to the curb in front of Kim's place. "I'll take your stuff to our place. Will you need a ride home?"

"I'll catch the bus," Sabine said, opening the door carefully. She thought she might have passed out for a minute on the ride over, but she wasn't sure. Her pink jogging sweats and shoes made her look totally normal. Aside from the sunglasses at night thing.

Trent opened his door in the back and got out. "I'll stay with Sabine," he said, then closed the door.

Sabine stared at him. "What are you doing?"

"I figured I'd keep an eye on you, in case you pass out again."

"Watching my backside again?" The corner of Sabine's mouth quirked a little. She couldn't resist playing with him, even though the thought of what she'd seen in his mind earlier was like a twisting knife in her heart. She had seen how he wanted a woman who could be the mother of his children, and he hadn't come to grips with how to tell her. That old "biological imperative." Maybe it was just her imagination and those hadn't been his thoughts. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her.

"Your back. I'll watch your back. It's what friends do, all right?" Trent said, seeing that playful twitch to Sabine's mouth. His gaze lingered on her smile, his thoughts drifting to things he might do with her lips.

Sabine pondered Trent's thought as Mike drove off without them. She didn't want Trent concerned for her well-being. Sure, they might run into a vampire or a hostile werewolf. But what would a vampire do to them? Attack them in public? She patted him on the arm. "Okay, fur-ball. Let's go for a jog."

"So what did the others say when you told them what I'd said about our incoming
residents?
" Sabine asked Kim as they rounded a bend in the trail through the park. Jogging at human speed actually felt relaxing, she thought. Just focusing on moving this slowly helped clear her head, like Tai Chi used to when she was human.