The Demon's Song Read Online Free Page A

seconds the vamp would
     be back on his feet and twice as dangerous. He strode forward, letting his hidden
     wings unfurl. They slid through his skin like water, then snapped out to his sides,
     enormous black things that had carried him to Hell and back. From between them he
     drew the weapon he always carried, a longsword, ancient and razor sharp.
    The vamp tried to spring to his feet.
    Only half of him made it.
    Phenex grinned, pleased with himself. It was a nice, clean stroke, dividing the bastard
     neatly in two. It wasn’t until he’d cut off the head and stabbed him through the heart
     for good measure that he realized Sofia was less than impressed with the display.
    Hellfire . Apparently bloodshed wasn’t her thing after all.
    She looked more than a little green, gulping air as she stumbled into the stall the
     vamp had come out of, slipping in the rapidly spreading pool of blood. She only barely
     stayed upright, clinging to the edge of the stall and then dropping to her knees beside
     a woman Phenex hadn’t even noticed until now. She was sprawled on the floor, deathly
     pale, her streaky brown hair half in her face. The ragged bite on her neck was a splash
     of violent red against white.
    “Sara,” Sofia rasped, her warm, husky voice barely more than a whisper. “Sara, stay
     with me. I’m here. You’re safe.” She tried to pull Sara into her arms, but the woman
     was dead weight. Without even touching her, Phenex could tell that this Sara would
     have a feeble pulse at best. She’d been nearly drained.
    Though it went against everything he knew, Phenex folded his wings back until they
     vanished and wedged himself into the stall, nudging Sofia out of the way so he could
     pick up the mostly dead human. The look Sofia gave him was as venomous as any serpent
     in Hell. What surprised him was how it stung.
    “Don’t touch her!” Sofia hissed.
    He leveled a glare at her. “I’m no bloodsucker,” he said flatly. The very idea was
     revolting. He didn’t keep great company these days, but no one had ever mistaken him
     for a vampire.
    He could feel Sofia’s eyes on him as he stood, Sara’s body dangling limply. He’d been
     right. There was only the barest flutter of a heartbeat. She was in the perfect state
     to turn into a vamp herself, given a willing partner. But he’d bet money that the
     now-bisected vampire on the floor hadn’t had any intention of making her an immortal.
    Sofia rose, too, but rather than taking a swing at him, she wrapped her arms around
     herself, looking incredibly vulnerable. Touchable, even. Phenex bit back a groan.
     This was a hell of a time to remember he had a libido. And she was human , of all things. The source of every damned problem he could think of. He didn’t like
     humans.
    He liked Sofia.
    Phenex gritted his teeth.
    She seemed to collect herself then, so quickly it happened in the blink of an eye.
     She shoved all that thick, dark hair out of her face, inhaled deeply, and fixed her
     eyes on a point somewhere over his left shoulder. When her eyes returned to meet his
     gaze, the anger was gone. In its place was a kind of forced calm that impressed him.
    This one had a spine of steel. For a human, anyway.
    “I don’t care what you are or aren’t. She needs an ambulance,” Sofia said, speaking
     slowly and clearly. Most wouldn’t have heard the faint quaver in her voice, but he
     did. He heard every tiny catch in her breath. It was almost like music. She hadn’t
     stopped being afraid, no. Only a fool would have. But she wasn’t letting it rule her.
    “No,” Phenex said. The expression on her face was priceless.
    “No? ”
    Sofia looked like she wanted to kill him. And for some twisted reason, the heat in
     her eyes was one of the most erotic things he’d encountered in centuries.
    The door to the bathroom thudded open, and Phenex felt relief flood him when Justin
     and two other vamps strode in. One was leading Sofia’s friend, who was obviously