Free Blood of a Red Rose by Tish Thawer Page B

this was happening . I assumed that in only a few minutes my demon blood would start infecting whoever this vampire was. How the hell was I supp ose to explain why this vampire drift ed dark after biting me? My s ituation just went from bad to worse.
    I didn't have any idea if it would work, but I knew I'd better try something fast. I wasn't even sure how to do it, but I focused on my anger and tried to release my demon side . Maybe I could forge a mind bond and force this asshole to stop.
    Thankfully, I must have done something right, because all of a s udden I felt the connection of the mind bond and I could almost see what was happening through his eyes. I projected the thoughts that I wanted him to feel , adding a verbal command for good measure. Stop NOW!
    The vampire went rigid behind me and his fangs withdrew immediately. Luckily , I could feel and see through our connection that he used his sedative to heal the wounds in my neck. The instant his fangs slid free, the puncture marks closed and it looked as if they never even existed.
    I immediately spun around and shoved the vampire with all my strength. He let out a little humph as he landed on the red velvet couch. I didn't recognize him , but that didn't mean much since the only other vampire in the area I knew besides Christian's clan , was Justin. He was a handsome guy with a decent build, and he wore a black leather jacket. His hair was short and b londe, but I knew that would start to change any moment.
    "Who are you? What's your name?" I nudged his mind so he didn't have any choice but to respond.
    "My name is Kennedy ."
    "Where are you from?"
    "Florida."
    "What are you doing here , and how did you find out about The Rising Pit?" I had to speed this up, because like I assumed, h is hair and eyes had already begun to drift dark.
    "I was on vacation and visiting some friends outside of Masen . They told me about the club, and I thought I'd check it out before heading back home."
    The g uilt was building inside of me . Just because this vampire had made the mistake of biting me , he was going to lo se all sense of right and wrong and possibly end up facing the tru e death. It sucked, but I had to face the hard reality...I couldn't allow him to leave. Letting him go knowing he'd drift darker and darker and start hurting innocent pe ople was just not an option.
    "Okay, Kennedy . You're going to sit here and not move until someone comes to find you. Do you understand?"
    "Sit here and not move. Yes, I understand."
    "And you aren't going to remember anything about biting me or what I looked like either. Got it?"
    "Yes. I don't remember you."
    Wow. This mind bond thing could prove really useful. I just wished I had more time to test out my demon powers. But unfortunately right now was not that time. I had to get as far away from this scene as possible , and fast.
    I parted the velvet curtains a fraction of an inch and peeked outside to make sure no one was coming. The coast was clear so I rushed from the room and ran down the stairs into the bathroom. The moment I was inside, I nudge d the door open a crack so I could see what was happening.
    It didn't take long before I saw Christian, Evie , and Dax heading towards the stairs. The moment they hit the top I shot across the dance floor and into Evie's office. I found the button on the bookshelf t hat open ed the secret door to her private entrance into the pit, and made my way back to my room in a hurry.
    I thought the best thing for me to do was pretend that once I finished dancing , I used the restroom and then headed back down here to get some rest. I just hoped that no one saw me upstairs , or I could kiss that story goodbye.
     
    * * * * *
    (Christian)
     
    After having Rose's scream penetrate the chaos inside my mind , I was able to focus and g ain my bearings.
    "Christian, what's wrong?" The panicked look on Evie's face confirmed that this wasn't a normal reaction to the Passing of Powers ritual.
    " My head is