Excerpt: Tayce

“This isn’t necessary,” Tayce said. “I have no intention to do anything regarding the vampires. I just want to be left alone—like you.”

Sekhet raised an eyebrow. “What do you know about me?”

“I know that Marcus kept you a prisoner,” Tayce said. “I know that he fed off you, and not for seduction purposes, either. For power. You were right to kill him, he deserved it.”

The other vampire’s expression had changed to one of disbelief. So, she hadn’t been told about Sekhet’s little victory. Sekhet’s face was dark, angry, and her lips drew back from her fangs. She didn’t like thinking about what she’d done to Marcus.

“He lied to me!” she hissed. “He promised that the world would always be open for me, that he would always protect and shelter me, that I would be his second for all eternity.”

There was something in that expression and something in the way Sekhet had said those telling words, that caused a flash of understanding in Tayce’s mind. Before she could stop herself, Tayce said, “And he chose your sister instead.”

“We are always a pair! There is never one, always two!”

“He broke the agreement. He only chose one.”

“Yes!” The hate in Sekhet’s voice was deep and ever-flowing. It hadn’t been diminished by Marcus’s death; it probably would never lessen, his betrayal had been too painful, and feeding it was other conflicting emotions.

“Sekhet—” Tayce didn’t know what she was going to say. She’d never hated anyone, never had known anyone well enough to hate them, but she still felt like she should say something to Sekhet. She realized, too late, that she was reacting to a vampire as if they were human; she had seen someone in the throes of pain and the part of her that was descent had wanted to help. But, hearing her name made Sekhet’s face twist with anger and self-loathing, as well as a slew of other things Tayce couldn’t even begin to name. One moment, Sekhet was facing Tayce, the next moment the vampire was behind her with Tayce firmly in a choke hold.

Tayce’s brain took a moment to realign with the new situation. The choke hold hurt as it pressed against her neck; she would have more bruises. She couldn’t get air into her lungs and the knowledge made them burn, yearning to inhale. Since she couldn’t, Tayce didn’t try, instead she held onto the air she had and tried to struggle. It was useless, of course, Sekhet’s vampire strength was no match for human strength. Not for the first time, Tayce wished she had the golem strength Cotter had been given.

“I’ve never liked someone to connect to my mind,” Sekhet said, her breath tickling Tayce’s ear. “Nor have I liked someone to know my weaknesses.”

Tayce opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a choked, ugly noise. Black dots danced in front of her vision. The lack of air was making it more difficult to control her movements and her struggling became twitching, her hands opening and closing reflexively. Sekhet was choosing to kill her slowly instead of just snapping her neck or crushing her windpipe. Although Tayce could die from suffocation and still hope that when Cotter stumbled upon her body, he would bring her back, there was a difference between knowing there was hope and feeling it. Her body knew she was dying and it was struggling valiantly against it. She felt fear like thick syrup coating her brain and she desperately wanted just one more breath. Her lungs burned so painfully, it caused tears. Just one more breath, she thought, mostly because she couldn’t say it out loud.

Then, she heard a familiar growl. Sekhet heard it, too, and her grip loosened enough that Tayce took a shaky, lungful of air. With a string of barks, the dog leapt onto Sekhet’s back, causing the vampire to release Tayce fully.

She fell to her knees, gasping for air. Her throat hurt more than anything she’d ever experienced before. She tried to touch it, but even the tiniest brush of her fingertips sent needles of pain along her windpipe. When she finally had the strength to look up, her eyes met the other vampire’s, whose skin looked ashen with surprise. She was watching Sekhet struggle with the dog, who was quicker than one would have expected—if it had been a normal German shepherd. Perhaps that’s why the vampire hadn’t warned her mistress; she had assumed the dog was just a normal stray, and animals usually avoided vampires.

Tayce got shakily to her feet, then was nearly knocked back to the ground when Sekhet’s elbow found her ribs as she struggled with the dog. Tayce moved out of the way, watching for a moment as the dog tried to snap its powerful jaws around Sekhet’s leg and bring her down. In dog form, Cotter was bigger than a German shepherd, his size closer to that of a large wolf, and he retained his golem strength. His bite could be devastating. But, Sekhet was fast and strong, as well.

Tayce took the few steps to the tree line that curved along the path and grabbed a branch from the ground. It wasn’t pointed, but with enough force, it would still rupture skin. She advanced on Sekhet, the stick held like a baseball bat. It was flimsy and she figured that she’d have one chance before it snapped.