Playing with Shadows by Kay Bond

Vlad!”
    His eyes scorched her even
in the darkness. “You will do as I say. Get to Carolyn then leave this
place!”
    “ Not without you and Al.”
She said stubbornly, yet she knew there was no use in fighting it.
If Vlad wanted her gone, he would see to it that she left... and
Alistair could possibly die if they wasted anymore time.
    Pushing her away from him,
Vlad glared down at her. “Do as I say.”
    Nicola swallowed back a
retort as Vlad took off in the direction of the struggle between
his oldest friend and the demon that could destroy them all. Nikki
took a step as if she were going to follow her Master into the fray
when Christian's image appeared before her, stopping her in her
tracks.
    “ Nikki! Get Carolyn
out!”
    Nicola replaced her athame
to her belt before she, with her supernatural speed, rushed to the
human's side and guided her to the exit door. Pushing Carolyn
through the opening, Nikki said, “Go! Get back to the castle and
wait for us to return!”
    Carolyn didn't need any
prodding. Once she cleared the threshold, she took off running into
the night. As soon as she was sure the young woman was safely out
of the demon's reach, Nikki turned back to the fight. She had just
taken a step forward when Alistair's body soared through the air
from where the demon still stood. Something fell from the vampire's
hand and rolled away towards her. Nikki caught a glimpse of ivory
and immediately knew what it was. Reaching a hand down, she felt
the cold, hard feel of demon bone in her grip.
    The only weapon that could
kill the demon and she had it.
    A heavy form collided with
her from behind knocking her off of her feet and onto the ground.
Vlad rolled away from her with a groan as he succumbed to his
wounds. Nikki glanced at her master and saw his skin was scorched
to the point of bleeding. His clothes smoked from the force of the
demon's power and she could faintly smell his burning flesh. With
the demon knife in her grasp, Nicola hurried to her feet as the
demon noticed she was beside Vlad's fallen form.
    The demon's eyes scrunched
in confusion and then glanced to the place where Carolyn had been
only moment's before. As the situation dawned on him, his crimson
eyes shot back to Nikki. “Where is my uxor ?”
    His voice was loud in her
ears, but she resisted the urge to cover them with her hands.
Instead, she tightened her hold on the knife. Noticing the small
movement, the demon's eyes focused on the knife. Nicola didn't know
if she imagined it, but she could have sworn a flash of fear
crossed his features before he expertly wiped it away.
    He lifted his hand and the
knife was suddenly in it. Appalled, Nicola looked at her empty hand
and then back to the demon. Holding up the bone, he crossed the
space separating them before she had a moment to run. With a hand
in her hair, the demon pulled her to his chest and held the knife
closer to her face than she would have liked. Drawing the sharp
edge of the blade down her jawline, the demon's handsome visage was
filled with rage.
    “ Where did you acquire
this?” He demanded, barely controlling his fury. His blood-red eyes
flashed dangerously.
    Nicola shook her head
despite the tug on her hair. She was unable to speak. Eyes turning
to liquefied fire, the demon gave her a sudden cruel smile. Before
she had time to register what was about to happen, the monster
plunged the demon bone knife into her chest. The scream that
erupted from her mouth didn't sound like her at all. It was a thing
of misery and unbearable pain. The knife had struck her heart and
every time her heart gave a beat, the knife would twinge just
enough to send another jolt of burning fire throughout her
body.
    “ Doesn't feel so good now,
does it little bloodsucker?” The demon taunted as he slowly turned
the blade to the left. The pain magnified and she let out another
nightmarish shout. To Nicola, it felt as if thousands of tiny
razors were shredding her heart. Meeting his crimson eyes, she