Page 58 of Magick and Lead (Dragons and Aces #2)

KITTY

K itty stood alone among the drifting ash.

Langford had felt the psychic tug of summoning from Prelate Kortoi and went in search of a quiet place to scry and communicate with him. The other agents had followed him like shadows. The soldiers, likewise, had received other orders and trotted off, leaving Kitty forgotten.

Battle still raged all around, rampaging monsters and running soldiers, booms of artillery and pops of gunshots filling the smoke-laden air.

But it all seemed to flow around Kitty, as if the spot she stood in were hallowed.

Or perhaps they all considered a waif of a blonde woman insignificant in their battles for world domination.

She stared down at Charlie.

Oh, Charlie.

How had it come to this? Sure, dating him had been an assignment from Langford, at first. The task was to keep an eye on the national hero, keep him in line, make sure he didn’t fall to the wiles of some other girl—someone subversive.

Oh, how she’d failed at that. The way the Maethalian queen had looked at him made that perfectly clear.

It also explained why he’d rebuffed her advances since returning home from his time across the sea.

Charlie had fallen for Essaphine. He had betrayed Kitty.

And yet, it could never compare to the ways in which she’d betrayed him.

This was the ultimate letdown, she supposed. He was dead.

If she had a heart anymore, it would be breaking for him.

But she had died once, too. And when she had, that mortal piece of her had changed, like a piece of wood burning to char.

Becoming something else. Something black and brittle.

She felt nothing for Charlie now. She hadn’t for a long time—if ever.

And yet…

She glanced off in the direction Langford had gone. This was the way with him. Other business would take his attention, and he’d stride off without a word, leaving her forgotten. But he’d always be back when he needed her again, like a worker picking up a useful tool.

He was gone. But he’d never leave her alone forever.

She was his. He’d made her what she was.

And all those other spooks who followed him—he’d made them, too.

That was the way a vampyre built up power.

Yes, a vampyre’s strength and abilities grew as the decades and centuries went by.

But a far faster way to gain power was to build up one’s own little army—by turning others.

Making offspring. It was a dangerous game, because in time, an offspring could become more powerful than the one who made them.

They could rebel and kill their parent. It was, apparently, very common among vampyres.

So, the old ones lived always with a tension: the need to create more offspring, but the necessity of choosing who they turned with great care.

Langford had chosen her with great care, she had no doubt. Because he felt he’d always be able to control her. To dominate her. To use her.

And yet…

Kitty had never turned anyone. Technically, according to vampyric tradition, she should have the blessing of her master to do so, and that permission was rarely granted.

Typically, an offspring wasn’t allowed turn anyone else until after their master’s death.

To do so would be a great transgression, a dangerous rebellion.

But Kitty couldn’t live like this anymore.

She needed someone. Someone she could trust. Someone who was on her side. Someone who could protect her from Langford, maybe even help her get out of his service altogether. Someone chivalrous. Someone with a heart of gold. She needed a hero.

And Charlie… for all his flaws, was a hero.

Kitty wasn’t sure what she was contemplating would work. She’d never heard of it being done. Living people were turned into vampyres, not dead ones. But death was part of the turning process, so perhaps…

She looked over her shoulder. The battle seemed to have moved on. Still no sign of Langford or the others.

But if they came back. If they caught her…

Quickly, she knelt next to Charlie. The skin of his handsome face was mottled with red where it had been scalded by the fire, but the rest of it was the sickly white of death.

Flecks of ash clung to his hair. Still, he was handsome.

That jaw. Those lips… She felt her canine teeth growing longer and sharper as the thought of his blood filled her with wanting.

Should she do this?

Take this risk?

For a man who’d betrayed her, a man whom she had betrayed?

It was foolish, maybe.

But amongst all the other things she was, Kitty was a reporter. She followed stories wherever they led. And she couldn’t help but feel this wasn’t the end for Charlie Inman. It was just another twist. Another chapter. And she needed him. She could use him.

Shouts. Soldiers, coming closer. Time was short.

She placed her tongue between her teeth and bit down, wincing, until she tasted her own blood.

She bent over him, took a fistful of his hair and pulled his head back, exposing his throat.

Her lips found his skin, lingering there.

She took a slow breath, savoring the scent of him, mixed now with the wafts of woodfire and gun smoke.

“Well, Charlie. You’ll find I’m not such an easy girl to break up with,” she said.

Then she opened her mouth wide and bit.

Here ends Magick and Lead: Dragons and Aces Book 2. If you loved it, there are two (maybe three) things you absolutely MUST do next.