Midnight Ash (A Blushing Death Novel) by Suzanne M. Sabol Read Free Book Online

up on my fist in complete and utter exhaustion.
    I opened my eyes. My heart raced in my chest, pounding a fierce rumba against my rib cage. I didn’t recognize where I was. I didn’t remember how I got there either. I stood in the center of a hall the size of a football field, maybe larger. The walls seemed to weave in and out on themselves. Every step forward I took reverberated on the marble, echoing through the space, like I stood in a tomb. Chills crept up my spine, spreading gooseflesh across my skin. The floor was covered in muted gold and beige checkerboard pattern that made the room seem warm as a chill seeped into my being. I couldn’t shake it. The faint scent of sweet copper, blood, lingered in the air. I balled my hands into fists to keep them from trembling.
    The ceiling was covered wall-to-wall in frescos, vivid and gruesome. Angels falling to their deaths, gargoyles pillaging their damaged bodies as the angels cried out in anguish. I couldn’t help them and somehow it turned my stomach. The satisfied grimaces of the sated gargoyles made my skin crawl as one of them actually licked its lips.
    “Shit.”
    The walls were covered in deep burgundy velvet drapes and the room was lit with thousands upon thousands of candles lining the walls in standing candelabras, on the floor, on pedestals, and anywhere a free space could be found. Every candle flickered with the soft orange of flame, showering the room with a champagne glimmer.
    I tried to breathe, to calm my rampaging heart, but my nose filled with that same off scent I recognized from my car and my house. The hair at the back of my neck stood on end as fear coursed through me, making my palms sweat and my feet itch with the urge to run. With each breath, the scent was clearer, more distinct as it, the burning candles, and the faint scent of blood filled the room.
    I tried to think through the fear, to make my brain function beyond the scent of blood and burning tallow. I let my mind wrap around the lingering scent of something I couldn’t identify. Rotting flowers, the remembered scent of something sweet and floral, mixed with the harsh decay of death. I categorized that scent and filed it away in my mind as it tickled my nose and teased me with questions I couldn’t answer.
    Something unseen moved as quick as light beside me, shifting the air and pushing my hair into my face. I spun on my toes, chasing the ghost in the room.
    I stood face-to-face with a small Asian woman, solid, real, and very much the undead. Her icy power nipped at me, biting my flesh like a thousand little mosquitoes crawling over my skin. I glared down at her, meeting her eyes with my own brand of intimidation. We stood face to chest. She was short, but lovely in a porcelain doll sort of way. She had soft smooth skin, long black hair that flowed down her back in silky waves, and almond-shaped eyes that were the most penetrating dark midnight blue I’d ever seen. I felt as though she could look right through me.
    Now, I was pissed. I squared my shoulders and glared at her, giving her my best cold stare.
    I took a large step back from her, putting some space between us. I was pissed, not stupid. I wanted to look at her fully and get out of her reach.
    The vampire was dressed in a form fitting white samue , not the black I’d expected of a ninja. A thick belt of the same soft cotton material was tied around her tiny waist.
    I met her gaze and didn’t flinch. Eye contact with vampires had never affected me. Weaker individuals could be seduced, hypnotized, whatever you want to call it, but me, those powers had never worked on me. I couldn’t explain why. I put my best game face on and stared, letting the realization sink in that she couldn’t control me. She gave me a half bow at the waist without taking her eyes off me and gooseflesh rose on my arms in anticipation of a fight. I had a bad feeling I was about to get my ass kicked and I was no Karate Kid.
    Just as my body was bracing