The Nephilim: Book One by Bridgette Blackstone Page A

his
own blood and his body collapsed against the wall. His eyes were wide with fear
and his breaths came in short gasps.
    Her hand stretched toward him, and
he locked his gaze onto her fingertips. They came so close to his face he could
feel them, but they never touched his skin. She smirked, "It's a shame,
really. Such a handsome specimen," he winced as her thumb pressed against
the corner of his mouth, "It really is too bad you'll be leaving us."
    He filled with anger, "Our
race is dying at the hands of them and you kill me?"
    "Them?" she narrowed her
eyes, "The same ones you betrayed us for?"
    "I only wanted..." his
eyes felt heavy and his words dragged, “to live.”
    She smiled then brought her thumb
to her lips, "Of course you did." She flicked her tongue across the
drop of blood and gazed into his eyes, "So, this is what a Pureblood
tastes like."
    He felt weak and closed his eyes,
"I would have helped you. All of you."
    "Oh, I know," she
whispered sarcastically, "But that doesn't matter now." She cracked
each knuckle separately as she admired her claws.
    "Please, Naomi, please
don't!" he implored breathlessly.
    She snickered and touched her lips
to his face, his blood trickling into her mouth, "But how can I not when
you taste so good?"
    He incoherently mumbled again and
forced his eyes open to look at her, "Oh, God, please."
    Her fangs shined, dripping with
crimson, her skin had become pasty and sallow, "You pray? You think God
will save you?" she threw her head back and laughed. Her eyes glowed
bright yellow, and the hunger paced like a caged beast inside them. She smiled,
"God never saves anyone."
     
    ***
     
    "Get that!" Mona's voice
came from down the hall and Sophie jumped up at its demanding tone. A knock had
sounded twice at the door, and she had been deliberating over answering it in
the middle of the night. But Mona was more influential than she knew, as Sophie
quickly pulled the apartment door open without even a look through the
peephole.
    The incessant light from the hall
blinded her for a moment, but Michael's half-smile soon came into view. He
leaned against the door jamb coolly with his hands in the pockets of dark jeans
and a black turtleneck stretched tight over his masculine frame. His hair was
somehow different, parted in the middle and feathered down to his neck. Sophie
gnawed on her lip unconsciously.
    "Can I come in?" he asked
after a long moment of silence.
    "Yeah," she squeaked moving
to the side, then moved back and put her hand up to his chest, "I mean,
no."
    He looked confused.
    She bit the inside of her mouth,
"Naomi and Grant aren't home so, I don't think..."
    "He can come in!" Mona
shouted from her bedroom.
    Michael smiled and Sophie returned
it, stepping out of the way. He went to the couch and asked for a seat.
    He was too polite, she thought,
telling him to sit and planting herself beside him. She stared for a moment
then reached over and turned on the light. He blinked and covered his face.
    "Sorry," she moved in
front of the lamp blocking its rays, "Better?"
    "Much."
    She recognized the cunning tone in
his voice, but was not in the mood to fall for it, "So, what do you
want?"
    He chuckled, "What I want is
to give this to Grant," he reached in his pocket and pulled out a small
envelope, "He wanted an extra set of keys made to the club."
    Sophie nodded, "Oh, you work
for him?"
    "Something like that," he
swung a hand over the back of the couch.
    She eyed his outstretched arm
behind her, "Well he's not here. He's actually at the club...you
know, since it’s open now and everything."
    "Ah, of course. Well," he
put the envelope on the coffee table, "what'd you do today?"
    "Um," she glanced back to
the hall but didn’t see Mona there, "I went to the library and," The
memory of the strange woman suddenly popped into her head. She wondered if she
should say, but decided against it, "That’s it."
    Michael was silent a moment then
shook his head, "That was a lie."
    "No it wasn't! I