She heard Tim scream in fear, as if at a distance, the thick fog muffling the sound. Martin was eerily silent. She had no time to get to them. She felt the impact as the vampire struck, tearing through muscle and tissue. She was staring straight into those blood-red eyes. Her fist had driven deep. They stared at one another. She watched his face contort, felt the power moving through her, and knew Nicolae was using her to destroy her enemy. The vampire began to gasp for air. The claw tearing through her body weakened, fell away from her.
Destiny staggered, forced strength into her arm where it was buried deep in the chest of the vampire. She dragged the heart from the body and managed to toss it a distance from her. Stumbling, she pushed her rubbery legs into action, searching for the two men.
A hand came out of the fog, gripped the front of her shirt and carelessly threw her through the air. She didn’t see the vampire, only his hand coming out of the vapor with blurring speed. She hit the wall of Velda and Inez’s house, slid down to the sidewalk, the air slamming out of her lungs. He was alarmingly strong.
Now would be a good time for you to rescue me. Destiny couldn’t get her legs under her. She could only remain slumped against the wall.
He came out of the fog. Pater. His face was a mask of hatred. Of cold rage.
Focus on him. Nicolae was even closer than before.
Destiny couldn’t keep her gaze steady on the vampire. His image continually blurred, so that it was impossible for Nicolae to lock onto him through her.
Move, Destiny. Get away from him. There was an edge to Nicolae’s voice.
She couldn’t move. She could only watch the creature grow in power and stature as he advanced on her. His body was fuzzy, replicating itself over and over as he loomed over her. He was hissing his hatred, a cross between the growl of a predator and the cold, reptilian hiss of a snake. Destiny felt the force of his hatred hit her hard before he reached her.
“You ruined everything, and in the end you will die as you should have long ago when you betrayed your blood,” he snarled as he reached for her. One hand was extended, going for her throat, the nails long and razor-sharp.
Destiny simply watched the claw as it stretched out abnormally and waited for him to crush her. Before Pater reached her, a body inserted itself between the vampire and his prey. The woman was small with pink-tipped hair and matching tennis shoes. She looked frail but she stood her ground resolutely. “You will not touch her.”
Destiny’s heart nearly stopped. She couldn’t watch this courageous woman, well into her seventies, die to give her a few more precious minutes of life. “Velda,” she whispered softly in protest.
Velda faced the vampire unflinchingly. “You will not touch her,” she said again. She managed to look and sound dignified and regal, even authoritative, dressed in baggy sweatpants and a sweatshirt with glittery hearts strewn across it, matching her neon pink tennis shoes.
Destiny blinked back tears of admiration and struggled to get to her feet, desperate to save Velda from her courageous folly.
To Destiny’s astonishment, Pater froze, clearly shocked, stiffening, every muscle tense. His face paled visibly, and for one moment, emotion stirred on the frightful mask of his face. Something crept into his expression—guilt, regret, sorrow. Destiny couldn’t identify it.
Wind rushed through the street. Lightning flashed across the sky. Thunder crashed overhead, booming so loud it shook the houses. The lightning illuminated the face of the vampire, once handsome and sensual, now ravaged by evil. A gaunt parody of a man with blood-stained teeth and a withered, blackened heart. His expression changed from one of fleeting sorrow to cunning craftiness.
Pater let out his breath in a long, slow hiss of fury. “Do not try to trick me, old woman. Leave this place or I will kill you.”
“This place is my home and you no longer belong here. Go and leave this girl.” Velda sounded very firm and continued to look unflinchingly into his flaming gaze. His hypnotic voice clearly didn’t work on her. The compulsion buried in his command failed to get results.