“Go away!” I yelled, jumping up.
“We’re just doing our duty,” Jody shouted back. I could make out her outline by the cedars, if I squinted. “You know, killing vampires instead of kissing them.”
I turned on one heel and glared at her. “Bite me, Jody.”
Nicholas stood slowly, unfurling like deadly smoke. I knew what they saw: pale skin, gleaming eyes, sharp fangs. I just saw someone worth protecting.
“I mean it, you guys,” I added fiercely. “Back off.”
The first stake would have caught me in the shoulder if Nicholas hadn’t shoved me out of the way.
“Hey! Watch it!” If punching other students was against school policy, I was pretty sure we weren’t allowed to stake them either. And I’d dropped my CD and nearly stepped on it. Now I was really cranky.
“Friends of yours?” Nicholas asked drily.
“Yeah, they’re thinking of making me prom queen,” I shot back. I stepped in front of him to shield him. He cursed and nudged me back, trying to block me.
“Stop it.”
“You stop it!”
I tripped him. Then he hooked his leg behind my knees and dropped me. I flailed and landed on a lump of wilted wildflowers. I scowled at him. So much for romance.
“Excuse me, but they can’t stake me,” I reminded him. “It’s illegal. And it would get them expelled.” They seemed the type to care about that.
“They can still hurt you,” Nicholas insisted stubbornly.
“Yeah, but they can kill you. So stop being a hero.”
“You first,” he snorted. “Can I hurt them just a little?”
I sighed, thinking of treaties and detention. “Probably not.” I had stakes but they were useless right now. “Wait,” I said, smiling slowly. I still had pepper eggs in the pouch at my belt. They looked like silly putty but they were filled with cayenne pepper. The blue one was full of Hypnos powder, but I wasn’t about to waste it on a few idiots. Hunter gave me the casings, but Marcus helped me make the mixture to put inside. It was a Helios-Ra invention based on some old ninja weapon, but Marcus was already working on a new recipe. He was the brother who worked with Uncle Geoffrey the most, so he had access to supplies the rest didn’t have.
I hurled one, still grinning. It exploded and one of the students, Ben I thought, yelled.
“Ha,” I said. “That’ll teach you to bully me.”
“Nice shot.” Nicholas approved.
“Thanks. Go home now.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Seriously. They won’t stop until you’re gone. I can handle them,” I reminded him.
“But—” He paused, tilting his head slightly. His nostrils flared.
And then he cursed, very softly. Too softly.
I swallowed nervously. “What now?”
“Not sure.” He took my hand and we ran, hunched over in the tall grass. We stopped under a tall maple tree. Nicholas scaled it quickly while I waited on the ground, keeping an eye on the bullies still throwing out taunts. Nicholas dropped beside me so suddenly I jumped a foot in the air. I was swinging my fist before it registered that it was just him. He bent back just enough that I missed his nose.
“Bounty hunters,” he replied grimly.
I frowned. “But there’s no bounty on the Drakes anymore,” I said. “Right? So why are there vampires after you now?”
“These aren’t vampires.”
“They’re not?”
“No, they’re vampire hunters.”
I goggled. “What?”
He nodded sharply. “Loners. Huntsmen, like the ones who attacked London. Apparently not everyone wants to toe the Helios Ra line. Some hunt on their own. No rules.”
“Well, shit.” Not that I loved rules, but I loved them more than vampire hunters without any restrictions or treaties.
“Pretty much,” Nicholas agreed.
I craned my head, searching through the undergrowth. “I can’t see them.”
“They usually wear trophy necklaces of vampire fangs.”
“That’s gross.”
He sniffed the air. “I think there’s two, maybe three.” He cursed. “Same ones that got London. Son of a bitch.”
“Can we beat them?”
“Probably not.”
I was afraid of that. “Bullies and murderers,” I said. “Not our best date, Drake.”
He snorted. “Not our worst either.” Then he kissed me quickly, fiercely. “Just stay low.”
I grabbed his sleeve as he turned away. “Not so fast.”
“No time to argue, Lucy.”
“Then don’t argue,” I shot back. “You just said we can’t take them.”
“So?”
“So, don’t be dumb. I like you better undead than dead.” I made a fist on his sleeve and dug my heels in the dirt to keep him from bolting heroically. “I can distract them while you run.”
His fangs poked out of his gums. “No.”
I just raised an eyebrow at him. “Yes.”
“They’re getting closer. From the east, from behind those cedars, I think.”
I pressed on. “So I’ll throw the rest of my eggs at them while you take off in the opposite direction.”
“I don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to. But the fact is, I’m not in danger. You are. So don’t piss me off, Nicky.”