Department 57: Rubies of Fire Read Online Free Page B

swallowed, concentrating on controlling her rising panic, and slid out of their minds slowly, a fraction at a time. If she could get away without them noticing, she could flash—teleport—back to her apartment. Flashing exhausted her, but she’d be safe at home. Constant hadn’t been to her apartment yet. He wouldn’t dare flash to an unknown place for fear of landing in the middle of a piece of furniture or even a person. Vampires flashed blind, and unless they knew precisely where they were going, it could mean instant death. But no one would be in her room, and she knew it well.
    She could do it. Just a matter of slipping into the bathroom and flashing from there.
    Watching the men carefully, aware that hunter had just turned into prey, Roz moved to the end of the seat and glided out of her place. She kept her attention on the two men, who looked at each other, seemingly unaware of her presence.
    Forcing herself to move slowly, she headed for the bathroom, walking around the small and sparsely populated dance floor to avoid passing the two men.
    The only sense she dared use was empathic, sensing their presence, making sure they didn’t move or watch her as she worked on keeping her pace steady and unhurried.
    A strong, male hand clamped over her shoulder and turned her around, pushing her against the wall.
    Before she could catch her breath, a hard mouth slammed over hers, preventing any cry she might have made for help, and a voice she knew well commanded her mind. “Say anything and I’ll knock you out cold. Come with me. I need to talk to you.”
    He flashed them to an alley. She felt the wind whip around them and sensed they hadn’t gone far. If he’d flashed, then he would be at least momentarily weak. She pulled away only to feel herself dragged back.
    “So tell me what you were doing watching me and my friend so closely?” Andreas Constant demanded.
    She glared at him. “How on earth did you do that?”
    “Do what?”
    “I kept tabs on you while I was walking to the restroom. You and your friend were still sitting at the table. How did you move without me tracking you?”
    “You haven’t met many Sorcerers, have you?”
    Her brows went up. “No.”
    “He kept the illusion for me while I followed you.”
    The sound came into both their minds simultaneously. “Incoming! Prepare for attack!”
    Andreas sprang back and pressed against the wall, gaze darting to either side of them. “I see them. Roz, we have company. Truce.”
    “Truce,” she agreed tensely.
    Dark figures slipped around the corner, three, maybe four. They weren’t friendly shadows.
    Roz dropped into the pose her karate master had taught her. Beside her, Andreas did the same, but she felt an aura of danger emanate from him, terrifying if he’d aimed it at her.
    “You want something?” he asked, his tone deceptively mild.
    “Your wallet, for a start.”
    Immediately Roz felt a piercing pain. Psychic attack, like fingernails down a chalkboard, paralyzed her senses for a brief moment. Long enough for them to attack.
    A swift blow to the side of her head knocked her aside, but she recovered, snapping up her mental defenses as she should have done at the start of the fight. No time to scold herself for her stupidity, but she felt it just the same, embarrassment curling hotly through her body.
    Her slip helped psych her up. Her job didn’t involve regular combat, but vampires were always on guard. One of their attackers held something that glinted in the light, smaller than a knife. She didn’t stop to identify it, just assessed the distance between the hand and her foot. Then there was no distance at all as she kicked out and struck the object away. She didn’t hear it fall, because by then Andreas was roaring in pure fury.
    She spun when an attacker would have grasped her arm, twisting out of his grip and completing the spin with a hard kick. Satisfaction flooded her when she met soft flesh. The man dropped to the ground with a