Page 163 of His Retribution

"No," Zan says as he tightens his grip. "No. You will not put yourself in danger."

"I have to help!" I kick my legs, trying to wiggle free. "That's my family out there! I can't just let them do this alone! Those vampires can't be burned, their fire won't work! I have to help!"

He sets me on my feet, spins me to face him, pinning me with bright eyes. "My family is right here." Zan gives my arm a tug. "And I will not let you go unprotected into this fight."

"Then protect me! Fight with me!"

He searches my eyes for a beat then nods. "I lead. You stay behind me, stay close. I will cut a path to the mine and once we are at the opening you use your gifts to eliminate those minions of death out here, but wait for me before we go inside. Got it?"

I nod and take a deep breath. "Ok. Ok, we do it your way but we get it done."

"New Ones are a little trickier for me to destroy because their souls have been compromised. The madness within them is so great that it bleeds into the soul itself and damages, tarnishes the way it was once created."

I nod and watch more vampires go after Andrej.

"I will have to drain their vitality instead, essentially suck the life from them. It will be far more gruesome, far more painful than when I take a soul, especially since those are usually given to me freely in exchange for something."

"Fine, fine. I don't care if they're in pain, don't care if they explode into bloody chunks, I just want them off my dragons and out of my way."

Zan studies me for a minute then almost whispers, "I do not want you to fear me because of what I am about to do."

My eyes dart to his quickly and I give him my best I'm-not-freaking-out-or-terrified smile. "I think if we can go through everything we have together, and I can still come out of that with nothing but love and forgiveness, I highly doubt watching you destroy the bad guys will scare me."

Relief washes over his face just before that evilly beautiful sardonic grin replaces it. "Then let’s have a little fun, shall we?"

Zan takes my hand, positions me behind him and starts walking us through the clearing.

I crouch close, basically try to crawl into the pocket of his jeans while he walks with way too much swagger, all considering, through the wreckage.

I jump as a vampire screeches then runs at us, but as soon as he's about three feet away he stops as if he hit a wall; then, right before my eyes, his body begins to twist unnaturally.

His already sunken face sinks even more, his chest caves in. His skin dries out and cracks. He lets out a shrill scream just as his body begins to crumble and within seconds that vampire is nothing but dust.

I guess bloody chunks will be my territory.

We continue slowly, Zan leading me closer to the mine, closer to my dragons, mummifying vampires every couple of paces. And despite the number he's already destroyed, more and more vampires run out of the mine toward us even crazier than the ones that came before.

"Are you alright, my gem?" Zan squeezes my hand, glances at me over his shoulder and that's when I see his pupils, his now silver pupils are blown wide and his amethyst eyes are glassy, the gold and red barely visible but still seem to be swirling around it.

I nod. "Peachy."

He chuckles and turns back in time to see Milos throw several vampires from his back as he comes barreling toward us.

Uh oh.

I'm in trouble.

But so are they and that's why I'm here.

If those vampires manage to bite them in a fleshier part, like an armpit or behind the knee, they will force a shift and easily take advantage of the weakened state of any one of them.

How do I know?

Havok told me.

He told me years ago the way vampires are dangerous to shifters and you bet your ass I remember that shit.

Milos plants his big body in front of us, the violet of his spikes looking closer to his black scales in the moonlight and when he growls at Zan then snorts at me, I glare.