Page 259 of Golden Eagle

And then they heard Val’s voice, loud, shouting, echoing from back the way they’d come.

“Boys! Oh, boys, I seemed to have gotten a bit turned around, perhaps you could help me.”

Hearing his voice back there, and looking at his slack face here, in the flesh, raised goosebumps all down Nikita’s back. It was one thing to talk to an astral projection; quite another for it to occupy the same space as the person projecting.

“Jesus, that’screepy,” Lanny said, fingers tightening on Val’s shoulder.

Around the corner, there were shouts, a frantic shuffling of boots, and a clacking of body armor and shields as the company, or part of it, turned to face the prince who’d inexplicably appeared behind them.

Will got to his feet. “He’s giving us a distraction. We should take advantage of it.” His thumb caressed the fletching on the arrow he had nocked and ready. “Before they realize their bullets are passing right through him.”

Nik stood, and checked his gun. “Right.”

Sasha whined, and Nikita caught a whiff of vampire before the double doors were pulled open from the other side.

Nikita got a quick glimpse of three vampires, two men and one woman, muscled, snarling vampires dressed in street clothes, like the ones they’d fought on the warehouse rooftop. Sasha launched himself at the one in front, catching him by surprise if the vampire’s recoil and shout were anything to go by. Sasha had ducked, gathered his haunches, and fairly flew upward on the spring. His fangs caught the vampire in the throat, and blood sprayed; a hot line of it went up the side of Nik’s face.

“Lanny, Will, go after the humans,” he snapped. He took Val by the shoulders, and eased him down so he was sitting against the wall, head falling limply back, eyes still shut. He could have been gentler, but time was of the essence. Then he turned to help Sasha.

The vampire was a big one, broad shoulders bottle-necking his friends behind him. He had big hands, too, currently buried in Sasha’s thick pelt, gripping tight enough that Sasha opened his jaws on a little yelp.

Nikita shot the vampire point-black in the face.

Blood and bone fragments fountained on all sides. The vampire’s hands went slack, and Sasha dropped to the ground, on his feet, shaking himself, and already snarling for another round as the vampire fell backward like a sack of hammers. He was alive, but his brain was pretty much blown to shit, and not sending any of the proper signals along his nerves.

The other male dodged the falling body, and lunged for Nikita.

Nik didn’t have room to get off another shot. He reached up with his free hand, aiming to grab him by the throat.

The other vamp was quick; he dodged, and Nik got a fistful of his shirt collar instead. He brought his gun hand up, hoping to get off a shot, but ended up using the nine-millimeter to block the other vampire’s punch, instead.

The blow numbed his hand, and the gun went flying. He heard it hit the wall, and then the floor, and threw a punch of his own with his numbed hand.

It cracked off the other vamp’s cheekbone; broke it with an unmistakable sound, split the skin, and snapped his head back.

But the vamp got Nikita’s jacket in one hand, and dragged him in closer, fangs bared even as his eyes watered from the blow he’d taken. He was going to try to bite, tear Nik’s jugular out with his teeth, taking advantage of their proximity; moving into Nik, rather than away from him.

Dimly, he was aware of Sasha tangling with the female vampire, his snarls and growls, and her own feline growls in return.

The vampire ducked his head.

Nikita tightened the hand latched onto the vamp’s collar, and whirled, using the vamp’s forward momentum against him.

Slammed his face right into the wall.

His nose broke with a wet crunch, and Nikita karate chopped him in the side of the neck. The vampire gave a low, guttural sound of pain, and, while he was dazed, Nikita took a firm, two-handed grip on his head – the nape and the jaw – and snapped his neck with one clean movement.

When he let go, the body dropped. Like his friend, still alive, but badly damaged enough that, without sleep and several feedings, he wouldn’t be fighting anymore tonight.

Nik turned, and saw that the female was down, too; she and Sasha had fought their way nearly to the intersection of the three hallways. Sasha’s muzzle and, chest, and front paws were dark and sticky with fresh blood, and the woman lay with eyes shut, barely breathing, her torso so bloodied and shredded it was impossible to tell the extent of her injuries beyondgrave.

“Okay?” he asked Sasha, and got an affirmative sneeze and head toss.

Nikita heard a snarl behind him, turned–

Just in time to see a vampire bearing down on him.

And to see Val sitting up, suddenly, eyes flying open. He swept his sword out in a low, vicious swipe, and it went through the approaching vampire’s knee.

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