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Guilty Pleasures :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 58 из 205The door clicked shut.
A man leaned against the door. He was tall and slender, dressed like a riverboat gambler. Royal purple coat, lace at the neck and down the front, straight black pants and boots. A straight-brimmed hat shaded his face, and a gold mask covered everything but his mouth and chin. Dark eyes stared at me through the gold mask.
His tongue danced over his lips and teeth: fangs, a vampire. Why didn't that surprise me?
“I was afraid I would miss you, Executioner.” His voice had a Southern thickness.
Winter moved to stand between us. The vampire laughed, a rich barking sound. “The muscle man here thinks he can protect you. Shall I tear him to pieces to prove him wrong?”
“That won't be necessary,” I said. Zachary moved up to stand beside me.
“Do you recognize my voice?” the vampire asked.
I shook my head.
“It has been two years. I didn't know until this business came up that you were The Executioner. I thought you died.”
“Can we cut to the chase here? Who are you and what do you want?”
“So eager, so impatient, so human.” He raised gloved hands and took off his hat. Short, auburn hair framed the gold mask.
“Please don't do this,” Zachary said. “The master has ordered me to see the woman safely to her car.”
“I don't intend to harm a hair on her head-tonight.” The gloves lifted the mask away. The left side of the face was scarred, pitted, melted away. Only his brown eye was still whole and alive, rolling in a circle of pinkish-white scar tissue. Acid burns look like that. Except it hadn't been acid. It had been Holy Water.
I remembered his body pinning me to the ground. His teeth tearing at my arm while I tried to keep him off my throat. The clean sharp snap of bone where he bit through. My screams. His hand forcing my head back. Him rearing to strike. Helpless. He missed the neck; I never knew why. Teeth sank around my collarbone, snapped it. He lapped up my blood like a cat with cream. I lay under his weight listening to him lap up my blood. The broken bones didn't hurt yet; shock. I was beginning not to hurt, not to be afraid. I was beginning to die.
My right hand reached out in the grass and touched something smooth-glass. A vial of Holy Water that had been thrown out of my bag, scattered by the half-human servants. The vampire never looked at me. His face was pressed over the wound. His tongue was exploring the hole he'd made. His teeth grated along the naked bone, and I screamed.
He laughed into my shoulder, laughed while he killed me.
A man leaned against the door. He was tall and slender, dressed like a riverboat gambler. Royal purple coat, lace at the neck and down the front, straight black pants and boots. A straight-brimmed hat shaded his face, and a gold mask covered everything but his mouth and chin. Dark eyes stared at me through the gold mask.
His tongue danced over his lips and teeth: fangs, a vampire. Why didn't that surprise me?
“I was afraid I would miss you, Executioner.” His voice had a Southern thickness.
Winter moved to stand between us. The vampire laughed, a rich barking sound. “The muscle man here thinks he can protect you. Shall I tear him to pieces to prove him wrong?”
“That won't be necessary,” I said. Zachary moved up to stand beside me.
“Do you recognize my voice?” the vampire asked.
I shook my head.
“It has been two years. I didn't know until this business came up that you were The Executioner. I thought you died.”
“Can we cut to the chase here? Who are you and what do you want?”
“So eager, so impatient, so human.” He raised gloved hands and took off his hat. Short, auburn hair framed the gold mask.
“Please don't do this,” Zachary said. “The master has ordered me to see the woman safely to her car.”
“I don't intend to harm a hair on her head-tonight.” The gloves lifted the mask away. The left side of the face was scarred, pitted, melted away. Only his brown eye was still whole and alive, rolling in a circle of pinkish-white scar tissue. Acid burns look like that. Except it hadn't been acid. It had been Holy Water.
I remembered his body pinning me to the ground. His teeth tearing at my arm while I tried to keep him off my throat. The clean sharp snap of bone where he bit through. My screams. His hand forcing my head back. Him rearing to strike. Helpless. He missed the neck; I never knew why. Teeth sank around my collarbone, snapped it. He lapped up my blood like a cat with cream. I lay under his weight listening to him lap up my blood. The broken bones didn't hurt yet; shock. I was beginning not to hurt, not to be afraid. I was beginning to die.
My right hand reached out in the grass and touched something smooth-glass. A vial of Holy Water that had been thrown out of my bag, scattered by the half-human servants. The vampire never looked at me. His face was pressed over the wound. His tongue was exploring the hole he'd made. His teeth grated along the naked bone, and I screamed.
He laughed into my shoulder, laughed while he killed me.