Page 67 of Fangbanger

“Can I see your fangs?” This comes from Karina’s other cousin, a tiny blond witch with a fairy costume on. Her question is more of a demand, and it makes me smile, despite my nerves.

I tense, waiting for Marcus to refuse. Instead, he slides me a smile and lets them descend. A shiver runs up my spine.

There are awed sounds from the children, who have probably never met a vampire.

“Can I touch it?”

“I don’t think that’s⁠—”

“Sure.” He patiently opens his mouth and little bodies crowd closer.

“Why are they sharp?”

“Do you bite yourself?”

“Do you brush them?”

“Are they always out?”

“Where do they go when you sleep?”

“Do they hurt?”

Karina catches my eye and we start laughing at the absurdity of it all. Marcus can’t answer anything while tiny witch fingers stroke his teeth.

My friend mounts the steps and pulls me to the side. She’s dressed as Glinda the Good Witch in a long pink dress and a sparkly crown.

“Nice,” I tell her dryly. Karina isn’t good. She’s a tornado in inhuman skin.

“I like irony.” She grins. “So the vampire…”

“I know.”

We watch him gently push the children away, then move to the center of the lawn to demonstrate something that Karina’s brother, Andrew, is asking about. Andrew’s arms are crossed and his gaze is wary, but like all supernaturals, he likes the idea of killing, and I can tell by the interest on his face that he really likes those swords.

Marcus pulls both out in one smooth motion and attacks, blurring with speed, spinning and slicing. He dances across the lawn, lighter on his feet than he has any right to be. My whole body clenches. Karina is utterly still beside me.

There’s a feral gleam to his gaze when he finishes. One flower from each of the perpetual-blooming rosebushes is clipped neatly. He gathers them up and passes them to the children, but his gaze is on me.

“Goddess,” Karina murmurs.

I am riveted. Before, I thought him my predator. But like this? He’s a force of nature. I imagine meeting him on a dark night with that black gaze and all his power focused on me—I swallow and shake myself.

“He’s a good male,” she adds. “Leah, you could keep him. He would do well here. Look at him with the children.” Like all good witches, they are drawn to power and stare up at him in awe.

“I want to,” I say heavily before I shake my head. First things first. “His brother comes. Tonight.”

“Shit.” Her gaze slices to mine. “And your magic?”

“We have a plan.” I roll my shoulders. “But I can’t access my magic until the timing is right.”

Her tongue prods her cheek. “What can I do?”

“I need your power. As much as I can get. Enough to protect the house.”

Magic sparks at her fingertips and rushes up her arms, lifting her hair and silvering her eyes. “Now you’re speaking my language, slayer.”

Marcus and I sit shoulder to shoulder and watch the last of the teenagers disappear into the darkness. The night is velvet, the sky a deep, inky black with a scattering of stars. Night birds call softly to each other among the rustling leaves. The air carries the smoke of Halloween bonfires and the tang of magic.