Free You Bet Your Banshee by Danica Avet Page A

asked, but his grip on my throat made it nearly impossible to breathe, much less speak.
    The sound of battle increased around me. I could hear Ryvan roaring my name, but I knew he’d never reach me in time. Gideon had ensured the others would be distracted by coming at us with a force of at least two score vampires. Sable’s curses rang in my ears. Yeah, it was just me and Gideon.
    I opened my mouth. I don’t know why. In the back of my mind, I had this great speech planned about freedom and bravery in the face of tyranny. It was all Braveheart -esque. My heart stirred at the words I wanted to spew in this bastard’s face.
    In reality though, the blood rushed through my ears and the black dots in front of my eyes grew to the size of beach balls. My thoughts slowed as the pressure increased against my jugular. I was passing out. My fingers and toes tingled, my body felt heavy, and my eyelids felt even heavier.
    Then a snarling, furry bundle of fury leapt on Gideon’s head. His hand fell away from my throat and arm as he went to detach the fat cat trying to remove his face with dainty little claws. I sagged to my knees, breath whistling in my throat. The tissue felt swollen, damaged. All I wanted to do was lay down and sleep, but Breeze had come to my rescue. Stupid cat.
    Gideon screamed, clutching the yowling, twenty-five-pound cat by the scruff of the neck. I saw red. He was going to throw my cat away from him? While I wasn’t all that strong, I could take a lot more abuse than Breeze could and this bastard planned to hurt him.
    Fury and bloodlust filled me. My right hand unerringly landed on the hilt of my sword. Just as Gideon managed to lift Breeze a few inches off his face, revealing skin ravaged by claws and teeth, I thrust my sword straight through his groin.
    If I thought he’d screamed before, it was nothing to the sound he made then. He forgot about Breeze who immediately latched on again, seemingly determined to gnaw Gideon’s face off. The vampire’s hands went to his groin and the sword now adorning it. Hot blood splattered across my face, coating my hands where I gripped the hilt.
    I pulled the sword free and Gideon fell to his knees in front of me. He still wore Breeze like a furry mask and his screams had died. I don’t know if it was Breeze’s weight, or the lack of strength in Gideon’s body, but he fell to his side, twitching.
    “Breeze,” I called soft, not sure if I wanted to touch my attack cat just yet. I really didn’t want to be the next one to wear a Breeze mask.
    My hand actually shook when I reached out to touch him. When I felt his sturdy body quivering, I knew he was frightened. That helped me relax enough to care for him.
    A presence beside me made me look up, my free hand still clutching my sword. Ryvan stood next to me, his hands at the ready with a spell. His eyes flickered from blue to brown to blue again as he looked me over.
    “Your throat,” he rasped.
    “I’m fine.” I was more worried about Breeze. I stroked his back, feeling the tension in his little body as he continued digging into Gideon’s face, his back feet kicking and scratching.
    I eased my hand beneath his belly ignoring the vampire’s shredded face. Breeze clung to Gideon until I pulled him completely away. He let out a threatening yowl, making Ryvan tense at my side. No doubt he would make sure Breeze didn’t attack me as well, but I wasn’t worried about that happening.
    Breeze’s green eyes were completely dilated, leaving only a thin ring of color behind. Blood covered his muzzle making the fur stiff. His claws dug into the leather of my uniform, but bit by bit, I felt him relax.
    I stroked the side of his wide face. “My little hero,” I cooed because he had saved my life. “You’re getting better food.” A rumbling purr was my answer and relief washed over me. He’d be okay.
    “As much as I hate to rain on the cat’s parade, we need to get moving before more come,” Sable said from the