Page 73 of Savage Blood
No, the shifter.
Holy shit!
This was my vision.
As the guy approached and his face materialized through the shadows, my mouth dropped open. A dark head of cropped hair, equally dark eyes, and a square jaw formed.
Marcel, one of the shifters who cornered me in the kitchen once at Silver Ridge, panted as three masked Collective Nosterium members chased him.
He was their next bitten victim.
Instead of hiding in the shadows like Fane would have wanted, I waited until Marcel passed, and then I jumped out and rammed my shoulder into the closest masked douchebag.
She let out a ragged gasp, staggered back, and fell on her ass. The other two halted, probably shocked at my presence. Did they think I’d be under house arrest for my protection?
Not happening.
Marcel cursed as his shoes skidded on the pavement. “More are coming!”
I glanced over my shoulder as three cloaked members slithered from the other direction, blocking the exit. Frost glided down my spine as each group closed in.
“Look at what we trapped,” another female said while the other one scrambled off the ground, grabbing her abdomen. “Barric will be delighted.”
“Do you actually think I’m out here alone?” My laugh rang through the alley. “Who’s really trapped? Us or you?”
As the members peered at one another, their creepy whispers floated through the air, and I searched the backstreet for another escape route. Two against six didn’t make for the best odds. Someone had stacked wooden crates near a hanging sign for the bagel shop. Marcel and I could jump, scale the sign, and climb onto the roof of the coffee shop.
Easy peasy.
“I hope you have a plan, Tate,” Marcel muttered as his back brushed against mine, his sweat filling the air.
“Of course I do.” I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a transformative hilt. “Can you climb?”
Marcel followed my eyeline and nodded once he saw our way out. “But they’ll just follow us.”
“I’ll distract them,” I whispered. “Then I’ll be right behind you.”
“Fane is going to kill me if you die.” He wiped sweat from his forehead. “So please don’t die.”
I chuckled and rubbed my thumb over the transformative hilt, turning it into a sword. “I’ll try my best.”
A snarl slid out from behind the closest Collective member’s mask. “What are you going to do with that?”
The dim lights glinted off the blade as I whipped it through the air. “Kill you.”
Instead of using my sword, I darted forward and sliced my talons across his stomach. Blood perfumed the air, and more of the metallic scent exploded when I decapitated another member.
“Go!” I pushed Marcel toward the crates, and he sped away and sprang onto the roof in seconds.
After stabbing another member and then shoving her into the group, I bolted toward the escape route, my heart racing and blood pounding.
Excitement thrummed within my body. Finally, my visions were good for more than intel after the fact. I actually saved someone!
As I leaped onto the tower of crates, the alley swam. Weakness encased my legs, and a cloud of confusion and dizziness struck me.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
I swayed and was helpless to stop from careening backward. I hit the concrete like a brick, all the air bursting from my lungs.
