Page 65 of Secrets of the Eternal Flame

‘You fucking bitch!’

She came at me then, an athame in her hand and fury in her eyes.

I pivoted, sidestepping just enough that her blade missed me by inches. I caught her wrist mid-swing,twisted, and drove my elbow into the soft flesh of her bicep. The blade clattered to the floor.

She snarled and lashed out with a knee, which I narrowly blocked with my forearm. Pain jolted up my arm, but I used the momentum to spin into a roundhouse kick that caught her across the jaw. She stumbled but stayed on her feet.

She came in wild now, clawing and punching like a wild animal with no finesse. Her rage made her sloppy. I ducked under a swing, closed the distance, and went low. My arms locked around her thigh and I swept her other leg clean out from under her. She hit the ground with a thud that shook the crate behind me.

Before she could recover, I dropped my weight onto her chest and hooked one leg over hers, pinning her in a textbook mount. She bucked, twisting her hips to throw me, but I shifted with her, kept control. One of her arms flailed upwards – big mistake. I seized it, slid into an armbar, and wrenched her elbow tight.

‘Tap,’ I growled.

She didn’t. Instead, she tried to claw at me with her free hand.

Bad choice. My own ire was rising.

I released the armbar and flowed into a rear mount, legs snaking around her torso. She shrieked as I locked inthe choke from behind, my forearm crushing across her windpipe, my bicep blocking off the other side.

‘Night night,’ I whispered as I choked her out.

She struggled for a moment more – then slumped against me. I held the hold for an extra two, just to be sure, then let go and rolled off her, chest heaving. I stood, brushing ash and grime from my jeans.

A slow handclap made me whirl around, heart racing and I scrabbled to pick up the fallen athame. My mum’s words rang in my ears:In a fight,alwayspick up stray weapons: one, you can use them, and two, your opponent can’t.

I moved into a defensive position, raised the blade and squinted into the shadows.

One of the shadows shifted. ‘Peace, Beatrix Stonehaven.’

Lestat stepped into the light. I blinked at him, but didn’t lower my blade. ‘You were here the whole time?’

‘I was. I was going to help you, but it soon became apparent you didn’t need it.’ His tone was the warmest I’d heard from him, which was still only a little above glacial.

The first time I’d met Lestat in Sonny’s, I’d realised I could sense no emotions from him. Now the same thing was happening. I’d used my powers to sweep the building to detect who was in it, but I hadn’t detected him.

‘Why can’t I feel your emotions?’ I demanded. ‘Are you dead inside?’ I winced as soon as the words left my lips because that was one helluva faux pas to say to a vampire.

His lips twitched in amusement. ‘Oh, I feel them. Maddie can attest to my passion.’

I raised my dagger and narrowed my eyes. ‘If you’re toying with her, I’ll kill you myself and feed your body to the Eternal Flame.’

His smile widened. ‘I like Maddie. She calls to me and, for the first time in centuries I’m going to answer that call.’ He stepped up to Fran’s body, knelt next to her, and snapped her neck in one sharp move.

‘What the fuck!’ I shouted. It was one thing to kill someone in the heat of battle – to kill or be killed – but it was something else to snap their neck when they were already unconscious. Yes, Fran had fully intended to kill me, but did she deserve death? I didn’t know, but that was a question for the sect council, not a goth vampire on a power trip.

Lestat stood in a fluid motion that told me he was a predator. My instincts urged me to run but I ignored them and stood my ground.

‘The goblin Clutch hired me to locate the items and terminate the thief,’ he said lightly. ‘It is my last contract with the Nightshades. After this, I’m officially retired.’

He stepped closer to me, kneeling in the soot and ash that Fran had made with her fire. He dusted something off and stood. There it was, Gwen’s mug, the Cup of Completion. The potion and the Flame had done precisely jackshit to it.

‘I’ll deliver this to the Clutch and then I guess I’ll be seeing you. I bought the cottage next door but one to you, next to Helga and Volga’s.’ He smiled. ‘We’re going to be neighbours. I’ll knock on you for a cup of sugar some time.’

As Lestat started for the exit, I heard the sounds of sirens in the distance. ‘Wait!’ I barked. ‘The cup.’

‘What of it?’

‘I used my powers too strongly and hurt Kaz. She’s in hospital. The cup could heal her. Before you take it to the Clutch, could you use it to heal her?’

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