Haven by Celia Breslin Page B

wildfire. The darkness, it hungers. I see blood, there’s so much blood.” Faith shuddered and moaned.
    I hugged her quaking body and shot Thomas a murderous glare. “What have you done to her?”
    “I have done nothing, cara mia . Yet.”
    Foreboding frolicked in my gut.
    “Stop it, Thomas,” Alexander growled. He leaned against the bar, shooting disapproval at the other vampire. “This is wrong.”
    “Wrong? You know nothing of this, Youngling.”
    His eyes narrowed. “I know enough and this is wrong.”
    The air crackled with Thomas’s energy. “Everyone out,” he commanded, waving one arm.
    A gaggle of vampires and their human dinners rose from every couch and chair and filed out the door. The goons pulled Mark, Ren, and Kai to their feet and led them out, too. The last vampire came for Faith.
    “Back off,” I snapped at the enormous monster. He gave me impassive gray eyes.
    “Leave us,” Thomas ordered. The vampire made a low bow and retreated. “Be gone, Alexander.”
    “No.”
    “That was not a request.” Thomas moved in a blur, reappearing before the other man.
    “No.” Alexander’s lip curled in a snarl.
    “Do not choose a battle you cannot win, Youngling.” Thomas dropped the temperature in the room and lashed out with his power.
    Alexander stumbled back, steadying himself on the bar. He straightened and stepped into Thomas, refusing to back down. Admiration warmed my chest. Sexy, brave man.
    A moan from the corner broke the tension. Adrian slumped in a chair by the overlook, head lolled on one shoulder, legs and arms splayed. He appeared drunk, but I doubted it. He wasn’t much of a drinker. Faith and I rushed over to him.
    “Adrian, can you hear me?” I pushed tangled locks of hair from his face and palmed his forehead. Cold and clammy.
    Faith checked his pulse. “Slow. Floating. Empty.”
    “Translation, girlfiend.”
    “Blood deficiency.” Her eyes strayed beyond me to the vampires.
    “You bastard,” I cursed at Thomas.
    “He’ll recover, my child,” he replied blithely, as if we spoke about the weather.
    “I’m not your child, you psychotic son of a bitch.” I sucked in a slow breath to calm down. Hate feeling helpless. “How do we help him?”
    “Vitamin B12 and a lovely steak and potato dinner,” replied a sultry, female voice.
    ~ * ~
    A woman materialized next to Adrian.
    First there was nothing, then poof , a petite blonde.
    She looked like a marble sculpture come to life. A sleeveless, silver evening gown with a deep V front draped her perfect body, accentuating her slight curves, the delicate bones of her shoulders, her milky white skin. Her long blonde hair, swept up in a high ponytail, shone like spun gold in the track lighting from the ceiling. She was radiant, incandescent. Utterly beautiful.
    “Who—how—what?” I struggled to ask too many questions at once.
    The woman stroked Adrian’s hair and observed me with stunning, blue-green eyes.
    “You did this.” My voice shook with nerves.
    “No. Not this one.” The woman’s perfect bow lips parted in a smile, revealing dazzling, white teeth, complete with fangs. My heart pounded and my legs twitched with the urge to jump up and put some distance between us. She might be tiny, but I sensed big-time power in her. I didn’t want to be her next meal.
    Faith inched closer to me. “Stella’s mistress.”
    I glanced at Thomas and Alexander for confirmation. Thomas gave me an indulgent nod from the couch. Alexander crossed his arms and scowled at the female vampire. I liked him even more for his fierce crankiness on my behalf. I gave him a hesitant smile. His gaze flicked to me, softened for a moment then hardened when it returned to the other woman.
    I cleared my throat. “If you don’t mind my asking, why punish Stella? Why did you care she attacked us? Me, in particular?”
    The blonde’s eyes narrowed. “My minion is fortunate I did not rip out her heart and feed it to her, one tiny morsel at a