Page 97 of Sacrifice of the Vampir

I didn't remember moving from behind the bar.

"I found something," she whispered. "In the book. The one I told you about."

The spell book that had appeared to her after Marcus's defeat. The one she'd hidden from her coven.

"Something about Marcus?"

She nodded, biting her lower lip. "I think he knew he might lose. And I think he created... contingencies."

That wasn't good news. "What kind of contingencies?"

Instead of answering, Alice reached into her flowing sleeve and withdrew a folded piece of paper. She handed it to me, her fingers trembling slightly.

I unfolded it to find a page torn from an ancient text, covered in symbols I didn't recognize and a language I couldn't read. But in the center was a drawing that made even my immortal blood run cold.

It was a perfect rendition of Alice, suspended in a circle of power, with darkness pouring from her hands and eyes.

"What is this?" I demanded, my voice sharper than intended.

"A prophecy," Alice whispered. "I think. About me. About what I might become if Marcus succeeds."

"Succeeds at what? He's gone. Talin and Elias destroyed him."

She shook her head, eyes filling with tears. "No one destroys a djinn, Dae. They just... change forms." Her voice dropped even lower. "He's coming back. And this time, I think he's coming for me. Maybe he finally realizes that I'm the weaker of the twins."

I moved without thinking, pulling her against me as if I could physically shield her from this threat. Her body felt small and warm against mine, her heart racing like mad against my chest.

"I won't let him touch you," I growled, the possessive instinct surprising even me.

She pulled back just enough to look up at me, confusion and something else—something heated—in her gaze. "Why do you even care so much?"

The question hung between us, demanding an answer I wasn't sure I had. Why did I care? Why had I always watched Alice from across crowded rooms, always found excuses to be near her when the covens met? Why did her scent make my fangs ache and her smile make me want to start picking flowers out of people's gardens for her?

Before I could answer, her hand came up to touch my face. The moment her skin met mine, a jolt of electricity shot through me—literally—that went straight to my groin.

"Dae…" My name was little more than a whisper on her lips.

But before I could speak, Alice suddenly stiffened. Her eyes rolled back, showing only whites, and she collapsed against me.

"Alice!" I caught her, lowering her gently to the floor. "Alice, wake up!"

Her body convulsed once, twice, then went terrifyingly still.

Terror surged through me, and for a few seconds I couldn't move at all. Then her name tore from my throat, "ALICE!" I shook her gently, then harder, and she began to stir.

"Oh, thank the gods…thank you." I nearly collapsed over her as all the fight suddenly whooshed out of me. Lifting my head, I searched her face. "Alice?"

She moaned. And when her eyes opened again, they weren't brown…

They were solid gold, glowing with power that was nothing like the gentle witch magic I'd always sensed in her.

"He's here," she whispered in a voice that wasn't entirely her own.

My head whipped up and I scanned every corner of the club, but I saw nothing but tables, chairs and an empty stage.

"He's… in me…"

Her hand suddenly shot out, grabbing my wrist with inhuman strength, and I felt something dark and ancient surge through the air around us. Something that hungered and destroyed and consumed…

Something that smiled with Alice's mouth and said, "We've been waiting for you, Dae Jung. For fifty years, we've been waiting for you to find her."