The Fangs of Bloodhaven Read Free Page B

with a hand on the rough bricks.
    Two men were accosting the girl he had seen. Her back was against the wall and she glared at them; her golden eyes flashed in the moonlight.
    “Leave me alone before the real monsters come out,” she warned as she tried to leave.
    One of the men, tall and hulking, grabbed her arm. “You’re not going anywhere.”
    His fingers gripped tight enough that his knuckles turned white and she flinched.
    Anger rushed through Everett. “Leave her alone,” he demanded.
    The men jumped at the sound of his voice. The first dropped his hand from the girl’s arm, but when he saw who had spoken, his lips twisted.
    “Who are you?”
    Everett took another step forward, allowing his lips to pull back in a humorless smile that revealed his elongated canine teeth.
    “One of the monsters.”
    Instead of running like he had imagined they would, the first man advanced toward him while the second stayed with the girl. A knife flashed in the darkness.
    “You little freaks think you rule the night,” the huge man said with a growl.
    “We do,” Everett replied with false bravado. He was in no condition for a confrontation. The man would pulverize him if he ran out of blood, and the pain in his stomach let him know that was exactly what was happening.
    “I’m not afraid,” the man said.
    “End them while they’re young,” his friend called from where he held the girl, his wiry arms pinning her to his chest.
    Her eyes met Everett’s and reflected animal-like in the moonlight. She slammed an elbow into her captor’s stomach.
    The man in front of Everett attacked, blocking her from view as he sliced with his knife. Everett ducked under the blade and landed two solid punches on the man’s ribs. The attacker grunted and swung again. Everett caught his hand and spun, using his momentum to slam the man into the brick wall.
    Normally, Everett would have channeled his speed to get away, but his steps faltered as the blood gave out. He felt the bite of the knife in his side when his attacker retaliated. Everett fell back, blocking another blow. He tripped over something on the ground. The man crouched, attempting to drive the knife into Everett’s heart. Everett held him back with one hand and fumbled for whatever had tripped him. He felt the remains of his strength slipping away. The knife drove downward.
    Everett’s hand closed on a broken chair leg. He slammed it into the side of the man’s head. His attacker collapsed to one side and lay still, unconscious.
    Worried about the girl, Everett used the chair leg to help him up. Surprise filled him at the sight of her standing above her own attacker. A groan of pain escaped the man from where he lay curled in the fetal position on the grimy cement.
    “Maybe they’ll listen to the curfew next time,” she said, giving Everett a small smile.
    He nodded, but couldn’t spare the strength to speak. He stumbled against the wall. The girl’s eyes widened. Everett pulled his hand from his side. The blood on his palm was thick and clotted. He had used it up. A rushing sound filled his ears like the ebb and flow of the ocean. He slumped to the ground and gritted his teeth against the pain. He held his stomach and closed his eyes.

***
     
    Light pierced his eyelids. Everett lifted a hand to shield his face, but the movement was impeded by the clink of a chain. Fear rushed through him. Everett opened his eyes to see handcuffs chaining him to a cot. There was a bandage on his wrist. A glance showed that the tube coming from it was hooked to an IV on a pole near his head. Red liquid flowed down the tube from a bag that was almost dry.
    “You’re finally awake.”
    Everett craned his head to see the girl from the night before standing in the doorway. She watched him with a guarded expression, her eyebrows pulled together and a spoon coated in dark liquid held in one hand. Her hair was caught back in a loose braid and there was more of the dark liquid in the few