Fang Me Read Free Page B

die for that."
    I thought we'd rooted out all of the members of her cabal, but we must have missed one.
    Alejandro let him spew his venom for awhile, but when Neil changed to berating Alejandro for trying to partner with the Demon Underground and letting the spawn of Satan—that would be me—poison his mind and heart, Alejandro finally interrupted him. "Enough. What did you hope to accomplish?"
    Forced to tell the truth in my thrall, Neil admitted,"That you and the Slayer would kill each other. That your loss would leave a vacuum of power."
    Luis snorted in derision. "And you thought you could step in?"
    "Why not? Austin doesn't want to lead, Rosa is nothing but a hanger-on, and no one in their right mind would follow you." He was almost panting now, though I wasn't sure if it was from the pain in his shoulder, or his rage. Probably both.
    They all seemed taken aback at Neil's assessment. "You did ask for the truth," I reminded them. Oops. Maybe I shouldn't be agreeing with the raving vampire. Not a good idea to piss off the guys on your side. "At least, the truth as he sees it."
    Fang chuckled. GOOD CATCH.
    Alejandro shook his head, his expression sad. "You took an oath. An oath to honor the Movement, an oath to forego harming the humans who live alongside us." He sighed heavily. "With your actions and your attempt to bite a guest in my house, you are foresworn. And what is the punishment for that?"
    "Death," Luis said, sounding overly pleased.
    Alejandro nodded, looking as if a huge weight had just settled on his shoulders. He glanced at me. "Since the offense was to you, would you like to do the honors?"
    Whoa. Act as his executioner? True, I was the Slayer and I'd killed a lot of evil bloodsuckers, but not like this.
    When I hesitated, Alejandro pushed. "Your choice of weapon . . . stake, sword, or succubus?"
    "He's injured and unarmed," I protested. Not to mention helpless in Lola's clutches. He had to do anything I told him, so where was the fun in that? And while Lola leapt with excitement at the thought of sucking him dry, I'd never killed anyone that way and never would. If I went that far, I was afraid I'd lose the bigger, human part of myself.
    "You tried to stake him earlier," Austin reminded me. "We know you could have hit his heart. Why did you stab him in the shoulder instead?"
    Now I was confused. Was Austin testing me? Not wanting to admit the dog made me do it, I said,"I didn't think Alejandro would appreciate it."
    Austin nodded and smiled slightly as if I'd given the right answer.
    "Then you refuse to execute him for me?" Alejandro asked.
    He didn't seem ticked off, so I tried to slide around it. "I'd rather not. Hey, if he rushes me again, no problem. But I don't like staking the defenseless. And his offense was intended more for you than me."
    Alejandro smiled this time. Oh, good. Another right answer. Why didn't they just pat me on the head and feed me my lines?
    BECAUSE HE KNEW YOU'D DO FINE WITHOUT THEM, Fang said smugly.
    Know it all.
    The vamp leader bowed to me. "An excellent point. It is I who sentenced him. It is I who should mete out the punishment."
    Fang nodded approvingly. AS ALL GOOD LEADERS SHOULD.
    With one swift movement, the vamp leader scooped up one of my stakes from the floor and slammed it into Neil's chest. The traitor fell with a thud, and I felt the cord between us snap as he died—permanently this time. No one else made a sound. Alejandro turned to the crowd. "Is there anyone else who harbors evil intent, anyone who seeks to harm the Movement?"
    "If so, uh, raise your hand," I ordered. It wasn't exactly how I'd planned to question them all, but it sure saved time.
    No one moved.
    Alejandro continued. "Do you reaffirm your oath to leave innocents unharmed, to take only the lifeblood that is freely offered, to abide by the tenets of the New Blood Movement, upon pain of death?"
    "We do," they chorused.
    They'd pretty much already proved that, but people—even undead people—like