Halfway to the Grave Read Online Free Page B

vampire can sense me whenever I’m close, so that makes it bleedin’ difficult to stake ’em without them expecting the try and running. You , on the other hand, put them completely at ease with that juicy artery of yours, but you aren’t strong enough to bring down the really big fish. Oh, you may have beaten some green ones, probably no older than twenty years, tops. Barely out of their nappies, as it were. But a Master vampire…like me…” His voice dropped to a scathing whisper. “You couldn’t bring me down with both stakes blazing. I’d be picking you out of my teeth in minutes. Therefore, I propose a deal. You can continue to do what you love the most—killing vampires. Yet you will only hunt the ones I’m looking for. No exceptions. You’re the bait. I’m the hook. It’s a capital idea.”
    This was a dream. A very bad, bad dream, brought on by liver poisoning from too many gin and tonics. Here it was, a deal with the devil. At what price my soul? He watched me expectantly and threateningly all at the same time. If I said no, I knew what would happen. Save the glass, waitress, I’m drinking from the bottle! Happy hour, with my neck on tap. If I said yes, I’d be agreeing to a partnership with pure evil.
    His foot tapped. “Don’t have all night. The longer you wait, the hungrier I get. Might change my mind in a few minutes.”
    “I’ll do it.” The words flew out without thought. If I gave them thought, they’d never be spoken. “But I have a condition of my own.”
    “Do you?” That made him laugh again. My, what a jolly guy. “You’re hardly in a position to demand conditions.”
    My chin stuck out. Pride or peril, take your pick. “Just challenging you to put your money where your mouth is. You said I wouldn’t last minutes against you, even with both weapons. I disagree. Unchain me, give me my stuff, and let’s go. Winner takes all.”
    There was a definite spark of interest in his eyes now, and that sly smile was back on his lips. “And what do you want if you win?”
    “Your death,” I said bluntly. “If I can beat you, I don’t need you. As you put it, if I just let you walk, you’d come after me. You win, and I play by your rules.”
    “You know, pet,” he drawled, “with you chained there, I could just have a nice long drink out of your neck and go about my business as usual. You’re pushing your luck quite a bit saying this to me.”
    “You don’t seem the type that likes a boring drink out of a chained artery,” I boldly countered. “You seem like the type who likes danger. Why else would a vampire hunt vampires? Well? Are you in, or am I out?” My breath sucked in. This was the moment of truth.
    Slowly he walked over, letting his eyes slide all over me. With a raised brow, he pulled out a metal key and dangled it in front of me. Then he inserted it firmly into the center of my manacles and twisted. They fell open with a clink.
    “Let’s see what you’ve got,” he said finally. For the second time that night.

T HREE
    W E FACED EACH OTHER IN THE CENTER OF A large cavern. The ground underneath was uneven, just rocks upon rocks and dirt. I was dressed again, sans gloves, the stake and my special cross dagger in my hands. He had laughed again when I demanded my clothes back, saying the jeans didn’t have give and they would cost me fluidity. Tartly I responded that, fluidity or no, I wasn’t battling him in my underwear.
    There were more lights strung up around the area. How he had electricity in this cave was beyond me, but that was the least of my concerns. Underground as we were, I had no idea what time it was. It could already be dawn, or still be deep in the night. Briefly I wondered if I’d ever see the sun again.
    He wore the same clothes as before, fluidity apparently not a concern for him. His eyes snapped with eagerness as he cracked his knuckles and rolled his head around his shoulders. My palms were sweaty with trepidation. Maybe the gloves would