Page 121 of Bloodhunter

I touched Shane’s arm, and was slightly ashamed of thepleasure I felt when the master slid his gaze from Shane’s face to my fingers.

“Let’s kill the rest of them,” I said, “and then we need totalk. Angus is…”

Miriam spoke for the first time since she’d arrived. “Angusis dying, just as the vampires are dying. Everyone is dying.”

But her voice was surprisingly cheerful, and when I finallygot up the courage to look at her without blushing, she winked at me.

I couldn’t resist turning my gaze to Clayton, who stoodsilent and empty at her back. It was hard to look at him. At his blankness. Athis captivity.

Without moving, he shifted his eyes to meet my stare. Andfinally, I had to look away. I’d been willing to sacrifice his freedom to saveAngus. He’d have ended up back under Miriam’s rule anyway, and he’d have doneit willingly.

I would find a way to free him, despite Miriam’s magicalhold. I would. Magic be damned. I would find a way.

When I slid my eyes away from Clayton, Amias was gone andShane was walking from vampire pile to vampire pile, giving the ones not alreadykilled by a hunter their true deaths.

“Trin,” Rhys said, when I drew one of my stakes and followedShane. “Are you sure you don’t need to go get patched up? You’re looking prettygrim, my girl.”

“I’ll be fine. The quicker we do this, the quicker we canconcentrate on Angus. Rhys, will you call to check on him?”

“I already did. He’s unchanged.”

I left Miriam, Rhys, and Clayton to discuss theramifications of the vampire infection, and methodically drove my stake intoheart after heart. After a while I became comfortably numb and didn’t cringequite so hard when I had to shove the sharpened stick into another unprotectedbit of flesh and bone.

I was a hunter. Eventually I’d grow out of my finickiness.In the heat of battle, I didn’t flinch, but coldblooded, methodicalstabbings…that could be a little harsh.

“Are you going to choose one of us?”

I jerked at Miriam’s voice, loud in the silence. “Hush! AndI don’t know what you mean.” I stabbed the next vampire a little harder than Ihad to.

She laughed. “You know exactly what I mean.”

I straightened, and slid my dirty hand through blood andsweat as I wiped it over my forehead. “Leave me alone, Miriam. I’m not in themood.”

“Apparently anyone in our little group cangetyou inthe mood.” She reached up to wipe something from my cheek, and when it didn’tbudge, she licked her fingertip and tried again. “Am I going to be next? Youfucked the vampire. Surely I rate higher than a nasty old vampire.”

“He bit me,” I murmured. “And now it’s like…” I shook myhead, then shrugged and went to the next vampire.

“Honey.” She followed me, her voice heavy with disbelief.“You let him bite you?”

“I didn’t let him do anything. He just did…stuff. And itfelt so good I didn’t have the will to fight it.”

“Well.” She reached out to squeeze my arm. “Don’t let itupset you. Vampires are sneaky and full of magic, but they’re dead, really, soit’s like using a sex toy, right?” She hesitated. “He can’t love you, Trinity.”

I paused with my stake pressed against a female’s chest, andturned my head to gape at her. “Love? Who said anything about love?”

She studied me silently, and her bright, bubbly façadelooked like glass that I could break if only I had a heavy enough stone tothrow at her.

“Trinity,” she said, finally. “Are you going to choose oneof us?” She pursed her lips and amended her question. “One ofthem?”

“Maybe,” I replied, a bit nastily, “I’ll choose Clayton.”

She smiled. “Do you want to know what I think?”

“I really don’t.”

“I think we belong together. All of us in this little groupof supernaturals and hunters. And maybe even the vampire. I think you belong tous, and we belong to you. You feel that connection, don’t you? But those men…”She turned to look at them. Shane had stopped staking vampires and stood withClayton and Rhys, taking a break to drink the beer Rhys had tossed him. “Thosemen are going to want you to choose. Eventually.”

I had no idea what to say, so I said nothing. I watched them,those lovely men, covered with blood and moonlight, laughing and drinking beerwhile dead vampires lay sprawled at their feet. And I did feel a connection. Icared about them. All of them. And I felt like…