“What did he say?” Amaliya leaned forward, her blue-gray eyes raking over the area surrounding their table. The arrogant ghost was probably being a dick again. They had not liked each other when he’d been alive, and that animosity had not diminished with his death.
The phasmagus continued to gulp down her drink, making sure she couldn’t answer right away. Maybe she was right to avoid answering. The atmosphere was tense enough as it was without adding to it.
“I need a cigarette,” Amaliya groused.
“You’re a vampire and still addicted. So sad,” Samantha shook her head. She was teasing Amaliya, trying to alleviate her anxiety.
Amaliya snarled, but it was playful. Her long black hair spilled over her shoulders to her waist, covering her tank top. Her rebellious streak had hit her at the last minute before their departure from Austin and she’d shed her plain black shirt for one that read “Jesus was a long-haired rebel against the establishment.” Waco was the home of Baylor University, a very conservative Baptist enclave and during her mortal life Amaliya had been the brunt of some nasty comments when in the area. She had to admit she had dressed to provoke. Already she had garnered a lot of uneasy looks due to her skin tight black skinny jeans, her high-heeled platform sandals with studded heels, her tank, leather bracers, and her straw cowboy hat adorned with raven feathers and a bird skull on the brim.
Samantha, meanwhile, was in blue jeans, a pale pink sweater, boots, and a dark-rose leather blazer. It was bitingly cold outside, but Amaliya was immune to it.
The waitress set down a refill for Samantha’s drink and stared at Amaliya’s arm for a long moment. “What happened to the middle of your tattoo?”
A scar adorned the spot where a rosary had been etched into her skin. When she had transformed, the image had burned away. “God doesn’t like vampires,” Amaliya said. “The cross went bye-bye.”
“Austin freaks.” The waitress rolled her eyes and stalked off, her full hips swaying.
“Could you be nice?” Samantha hissed, leaning forward, blue eyes narrowing.
“We’re in fuckin’ Waco.” Amaliya shuddered. “Why the fuck did we have to meet them here?”
“Because this is where they said to meet, bitch-face. Be nice.” Frowning, Samantha sat back, shoving her empty plate aside. “It took Cian a long time to get them to agree to this meeting. Besides, it’s all part of the big plan, remember?”
Exhaling, Amaliya tapped her black nails against the table. “I just hate Waco.”
“Yeah, I got that. You know, since you said that a billion times on our way here.”
Amaliya sighed. “It just makes me cranky to be here.”
Samantha checked her pink iPhone. The case sparkled with rhinestones. A small smile touched her lips.
“Jeff?” Amaliya asked.
The vampire hunter was cute in a geeky sort of away. He and Samantha made an adorable couple. The diamond sparkling on her ring finger said all that was needed about their relationship. It had appeared without fanfare. Amaliya had taken note, but hadn’t asked. If the couple didn’t want to talk about their engagement, there was probably a reason for it. Well, that reason was probably that they were probably all going to die very soon. The fact that the usually bubbly, over-the-top blonde had remained mum about it had even kept Amaliya from questioning her.
“He just wanted to make sure we’re okay,” Samantha answered. “You know how men are.”
Amaliya’s own battered iPhone kept flashing messages from Cian. He was worse than Jeff. It made her boyfriend nuts that he couldn’t leave the Austin city limits without risk of a serious incursion the moment he left.
The vampire stared at her cooling coffee. She couldn’t bring herself to drink it. Basically, she stirred the brew and pretended to sip it. “I don’t know how the fuck we’re going to keep The Summoner from ripping down the veil.”
“We still have one of the rings. He needs all thirteen. Right there, we’re far ahead of him.” Samantha flashed an encouraging smile at Amaliya. “And he doesn’t have you. It must make him nuts.”
Amaliya rolled her eyes. “It’s like having the worst ex-boyfriend in the world.”
“Or is it girlfriend? I mean, since he’s in Bianca.”
“Either way, it’s annoying as hell. So sick of this bullshit. Is it wrong to just want it all to blow up so we can get it over with?”
Samantha cast a leery look. “Even if we all die?”
Shifting uncomfortably, Amaliya wondered if she should confide in Samantha about what she’d been experiencing since July when she had first seen Bianca and known The Summoner was embedded in her body. Their small group was counting on Amaliya in a way that made her very uncomfortable. As the only other necromancer-vampire, she was the only one who could truly fight back against The Summoner. She couldn’t fail them. Yet, every night she struggled with the invisible ties that tethered her to The Summoner encapsulated in Bianca’s tiny body. There were days when she woke up with her body on fire with the lust for the one who had created her. It went beyond sex to something darker, more powerful, dripping in death and evil. She wondered if Cian suspected. Sometimes she’d catch him worriedly watching her with his beautiful hazel eyes.
Tonight, her necromantic power was buzzing around her, craving release. Just like she desired blood, she desired to raise the dead. Each time she brought them forth from their graves, they fed her with death and power.
“Well?” Samantha was demanding an answer.
Sliding her hands across the table, she lightly touched Samantha’s fingertips. Their power flared between them, spinning around in a whirlwind of ebony streaked with glowing white luminescence. They alone could see it, but it was reassuring. “I’m not going to let you die, Samantha. Or anyone else if I can help it. I just want to kill him.”
Samantha grinned. “Me, too. So bad.” Tilting her head, she said, “Shut up, Roberto.”
Amaliya was always surprised with how much Samantha’s touch grounded her. Their abilities meshed perfectly, bringing balance.
“You better let go of me. The ghost isn’t the only one thinking we’re lezzing out,” Samantha said, gently squeezing Amaliya’s hands. Her eyes slide to one side, indicating a table filled with people staring at them openly.
Releasing Samantha, Amaliya immediately felt the churning sensation return. Her cellphone buzzed again. Picking it up, she saw the message she’d been waiting for. “They’re here.”
“Time to be bad asses,” Samantha said, grinning.
Amaliya smirked. “Totally.”
“Just don’t scare them off. No, snarling, threats, or bad attitude, okay?”
Amaliya rolled her eyes. “Fine. Whatever. Is it wrong to wish they’d be assholes so we could have a fight?”
“Yeah. Very wrong! Now behave,” Samantha chided her.
With a weary sigh, Amaliya nodded. “Gotcha.” She’d do her best, but she couldn’t promise anything.
Samantha was seriously worried about Amaliya. Everyone was under a lot of duress, and so everyone just assumed Amaliya was showing signs of the strain they all felt. In theory it made sense, but Samantha could feel something was wrong. As much as it pained her to admit it, there was a link between the two women. Sometimes it flared to life giving Samantha a glimpse into Amaliya’s internal struggles.
With so much on the line, she had expected more people to step up to the plate and join them in Austin to hold off The Summoner’s minions. Jeff kept pointing out that the Assembly had actively tried to stop The Summoner from acquiring the rest of the rings, but entire factions had been wiped out by The Summoner’s forces. Samantha didn’t understand why they couldn’t get anyone to actually volunteer to move to Austin to help hold back The Summoner. It pissed her off.