Page 87 of Don't Tempt Me (Nora Jacobs 4)

I shake with the need to do as he asks, and my siren rises up in me. I look out at the warring armies, and my darkness rejoices at the thought of claiming so many souls. I let her out to play, but instead of grabbing hold of the men who are both familiar to me and also not, I reach out for every other male vampire in the room. Because Henry told me to use my song onmyenemies. It’s clear to me now that it’s the vampires who are against me. I may have loved Henry, and I may have trusted him, but he’s broken that trust. He’s stomped out that love. He tried to kill a child. He compelled me. He is a monster.

I open myself to my siren and send out a beautiful, haunting lullaby. Everyone in the room freezes, stunned by the sound. One by one, vampires fall under my spell. Their life forces call to me. I need them. They are mine, and I will have them all. I hold out my hands and pull their life forces to me. So much energy! It consumes my mind. I’ve never felt so much power. My siren and I revel in the moment. Our bloodlust is stronger than anything I’ve ever felt before.

“Nora!” Henry shouts, panicked. “Nora, stop!”

I won’t stop. Not until every last one of them is dead. And then I will take the rest of them. They areallmine. No one can stop me.

Vampire after vampire falls to the ground, clutching their chests as I suck the life away from them.

“Nora, please! You’re killing them!”

I grin at Henry. I know the action is sinister. I am consumed with darkness. “They are my enemies. You told me to kill them.”

Henry whirls me around, trapping me in a vice-like grip. His eyes lock on mine. “You will stop now!”

I cry out as the weight of the compulsion pounds in my head. My vision goes blurry, and I feel as if I’m going to pass out. I would welcome unconsciousness. It would stop the pain. I’ve never had such a migraine. But the compulsion takes hold, and my siren is once again locked away inside me. Our power is blocked, but we are still one. I hiss in frustration and glare at Henry.

Henry shakes me again. “You will not touch my vampires. You will kill those who dare hurt them.”

I scream in agony. He’s going to kill me with his commands. Yet, I must obey. Those men…those men are mine. How dare he order me to hurt them! I’m so angry at the command that my rage turns me again. My hands become claws and scales run up my arms. My teeth become razor sharp in my head. I want to kill Henry, but I can’t attack him.

Behind me, someone gasps. I whirl around to see the vampire that my heart has claimed. He’s gaping at me in awe. “You can shift!” he says.

Of course I can. I know that. I’ve partially shifted already. I lift up my arms, unable to delay the command any longer. I meet the eyes of my vampire, and we both know I’m about to sing to him.

“Shift!” he shouts desperately. “If you shift, it will break your compulsion!”

A female vampire attacks him then, and they get caught up in a battle too fast for me to see, but his words stick with me. A conversation surfaces in my memory. I can’t remember where or when I had it or even with whom, but I remember learning that shifters can break compulsions by shifting. The problem is, I don’t know how to shift.

I look down at my arms in their partially shifted form. Changing to this was instinctive. Changing completely must be as well. I close my eyes and picture Giselle. I’m not a mermaid, but I am similar, so I must look something like her.

“Nora,” Henry growls. He shakes me again, but I pinch my eyes shut. He can’t compel me again if he can’t look into my eyes.

“Nora, look at me!”

I don’t think so.

My body is screaming at me to obey Henry and sing to my men, but I stay as focused on my shift as possible. I picture Giselle, and then I imagine myself with a tail. I picture my scales running up my skin and painting my face in beautiful swirls of teal and purple. I think of my hands and the claws that are there. Of the teeth in my head that could rip a man apart. I think of a tail, beautiful and powerful pushing through the water at thrilling speeds with strong kicks.

My body starts to tingle, and a wave of power washes over me. There’s a flash of bright light, and when it’s gone, so are my legs. Henry nearly drops me, but he catches me in the last instant and lowers me to the ground. We both stare at my tail in awe.

I yearn for water to the point where I can hardly focus, but at the same time my head feels so light I could walk on air. I do nothing but breathe for a few moments, and then, when I look at Henry, it all comes back. Every memory he stole from me is back, and the pressure of his commands is gone. Relief floods me, and I choke on a sob. Tears spring up in my eyes.

And then the anger hits me. My siren is there, and now there is nothing stopping her. Henry looks into my eyes and sees the truth in them. The truth that says I am free of his reign of terror, and that I am going to kill him. He leaps to his feet, but he will not escape me. “Henry!” I sing. Henry stops running and turns to face me. “Come to me.”

Henry kneels before me, completely enthralled, and the sight has all of my bloodlust returning in an instant. This man has caused me so much trouble. He will never hurt me again. I place my hand on his chest, and he sighs as if my touch is soothing his soul. He covers my hand with his. I lightly run one of my claws down the side of his face. He shivers at the contact. I lean in so close to him that our lips are nearly touching. Then I brush my lips over his ear. “I promised you once that someday I would kill you.”

“Anything for you, my love.”

I sit back to look him in the eyes. “Good-bye, Henry.” I move my hand directly over his heart. Then I pull.

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