Circle of Death by Thais Lopes Page B

wanted more than a way to make her fears go away for a while. And when a vampire and a human allow themselves to go that far without a true connection, the consequences were disastrous. Now I had to erase the image of her naked body from my mind and concentrate in protecting her.
    And I had been so deep in my own mind that I hadn’t realized the danger when she left the apartment. Seth was getting ready to move, and daylight wouldn’t stop him.
    I was out of the building one second later, but I couldn’t see Kelene anymore.

16. Kelene
    I left the apartment, furious, walking quickly toward the bus stop. First, Lucio’s ridiculous attitude. And now that… I knew the anger was just a way to keep my fear under control. It was easier to be furious than frightened. My greatest fear was back, that suspicion I’d had for a long time.
    But I never thought I would be in danger under the sun. Apparently, I was wrong. In a shadow of movement, I was dragged into and alley, out of sight of anyone in the street, at vampiric speed. A strong hand held me by the neck, and I knew it would be useless to fight.
    “Hello, Kelene,” a velvety voice I knew too well greeted me. “I thought you would run, but instead you delivered yourself to me.”
    I stared at the vampire who held me. At least one head taller than me, he was more than six feet tall, all of him made of defined muscles. His skin still had that dark tone that I just now realized was the same as Lucio’s, contrasting with his bright blue eyes. His hair was still long and braided. He had a victorious expression on his face, his perfect features now distorted by a web of dark scars that covered every inch of exposed skin. Scars that covered all of his body, I was sure. I hadn’t destroyed him, but it had been close.
    Seth. My oldest nightmare. But not anymore. Seeing the scars, I raised my head, forgetting my fear and gathering all the power that was rightfully mine. I was unarmed, but still ready to fight him the best way I could.
    “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Seth. Why would I hid, if I still need to finish what I started?”
    His hand tightened on my neck, in more of a warning than a real threat. He wouldn’t kill me.
    “You can do nothing while I’m touching you.” He smiled, showing his fangs. “And I don’t plan to take my hands off you, my Kelene.”
     
    “You can trust me. I will never let you go, my Kelene. I will always be by your side.”
     
    How could I have ever believed him? But I didn’t blame myself. He had known exactly what to say, how to act, and I was just a village girl, a nobody. Too young, too naïve, too unexperienced.
    What could I do against him now? Not much, being unarmed. I only had the same options as before: calling the power Death gave those who served her, to be used in a moment of need, or use my own life force to try to destroy him.
    I called upon the power that was Death’s gift and it was denied. Apparently, I was right and had really been living a trap. Death was ignoring me again , waiting while someone was about to turn me. And, again, I wouldn’t let it happen. Without any hesitation, I called the power I had negotiated when she asked me to come back, the power that would keep a vampire from touching my blood.
    Why didn’t I call the power that would let me attack him with my own life force? Because I didn’t want to give up my life – again – because of Seth and Death’s plans. Somehow, I still hoped I could find a way out.
    And that way out would have to appear soon, I thought, fighting the despair. Seth was already trying to bite me, and stopping him cost me too much strength. No power comes without a price, I remembered Death’s words, when I was still one of her favorite ones.
    When I was already thinking about giving up and calling upon the power that would cost my life, something hit me, coming from above Seth. You never hit a vampire to make him release his prey; you hit the prey. That was my last