Vampire Cadet by Nikki Hoff Read Free Book Online Page B

wasn’t Ra’ad. This was a mortal person, probably a man, near to thirty years of age. She could tell all that and more just by the thump thump of the heart that beat in his chest.
    Whoever it was would not be able to return the way he'd planned. She tracked him through the sounds of his movement and breathing as he neared her hiding place. Suddenly, she was aware of another presence. Shannon put her finger on her lips when she saw Bryce staring at her from behind the underbrush where he had taken refuge. Clearly, he had been disturbed by the new arrival.
    They waited, still as stone, while the man ran into their view. He stopped at the entrance as if he wanted to make sure that he was indeed alone. After a few moments, he felt reassured because he stepped into the ruins, his movements stealthy. When he was standing between them, all his avenues for escape cut off by the two of them, Shannon leapt in front of him.
    For a few seconds, he stood still as if unable to believe his eyes. To him, it must have looked as if she was a ghostly apparition who had materialized out of nowhere. But then suddenly, he thrust his hand inside his pocket and drew out a gun. He fired at her even as Bryce lunged from his hiding place and tackled him to the ground. To Shannon’s naked eye, the bullet travelled slowly as it pierced the air, aiming for her chest. Just in time, she stepped aside and the bullet buried itself in the tree behind her.
    “We need him alive,” she reminded Bryce who had the man pinned against a wall, his hand around his throat. The prisoner’s eyes were popping out and his tongue protruded from his mouth as Bryce slowly crushed his windpipe. 
    Bryce removed his hold and the man fell down. Shannon squatted next to him. “What’s your name?”
    He skidded back until he was pressed against the wall. “James,” he muttered.
    “You’re not American?” She detected an eastern European accent to his voice. “Where are you from?”
    “I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m an innocent tourist and am exploring this jungle,” he made the statement quickly and without hesitation. It looked as if he’d rehearsed the words beforehand.
    She chuckled. “With a gun?”
    He clamped his mouth shut as if he didn’t want to answer any more questions. “Let me deal with him,” Bryce grabbed him by his hair and lifted him high up. James’s feet dangled as he swayed in the air. He screamed loudly.
    “Put him down,” she ordered.
    Bryce let the man go. He fell down with a loud thump. “We will let you go as soon as you tell us where Ra’ad is?”
    His eyes widened and his nostrils flared, but he didn’t say anything. “Oh, dear,” she said. “I didn’t want to do this but you leave me with no choice.”
    Shannon grabbed his hand. She took his thumb in her fingers and bit down hard on it. His loud, shocked cry reverberated throughout the forest as her fangs separated the tender nerves, muscles, and bone, and his thumb fell on the grass. Blood spurted out from the open wound. Staring at his mutilated hand, James screamed and screamed while Shannon wiped her fingers across her lips.
    She held his hand, pressed down on a nerve, and the blood stopped flowing as quickly as it had started. It was almost as if someone had turned the tap off. She stared into his terrified eyes. “Listen to me very carefully. I can allow you to leave, but it won’t long before you collapse on the jungle floor due to the loss of blood. Hyenas and jackals would make a lovely feast of your flesh and bones. The other option is for you to tell me everything I want to know, and I will make sure that you leave this forest alive.”
    He gulped. She could see the pain in his eyes as he stared at the wound where his thumb had been moments ago. “What do you want to know?”
    “Where is Ra’ad?”
    “He is hiding in an apartment building.” He gave the address and Shannon committed it to memory. It was close to downtown San Diego.
    “Why did you