Cameo and the Vampire Read Online Free PDF Page B

smirked, "Now that your whole life is ahead of us, I think we should consider finding Kyrian, and then ... I don't know. I've never had the opportunity to make my own decisions. I'm not sure where I should go."
    He tilted his head to one side in a gesture she'd grown very fond of over the past few months. "Isn't there somewhere you would like to see?"
    "Isn't there somewhere you'd like to see?" she shot back coldly.
    "Hmm," he mused. "A free Shandow?"
    "What? No, Opal. Don't start thinking about that again."
    "Why not? I'm an invalid now; I've nothing but time. I can still write, by proxy of course."
    "Because the soldiers will find you again." She offered him more wine.
    "Yes, thank you."
    "You're not an invalid."
    Opal lifted his arms fixing her with a tired expression. "I can't believe I'm coming to terms with this, but you aren't."
    She was about to speak when a shade walked through an interior wall and into the room. It approached her, and as it did she saw the image of soldiers, in their red uniforms, swords at the waist and pistol butts sticking out of their belts. Cameo drew her sword.
    "What—" was all that Opal got out before the sudden sound of many people rushing up the stairs froze them both in place.
    There was a soft knock at the door.
    Cameo and Opal remained silently waiting as several moments passed.
    "Mister Black, it's Peg. Helena wanted me to give you a message. Can I come in?"
    The assassin glanced over at Opal, then she set her sword down at the edge of the bed silently. She opened the door with incredible speed, grabbed Peg by the collar and threw her into the room, shutting the door behind her on several armed soldiers.
    Peg landed hard against the table, knocking the pitcher on the floor and shattering it, and then, as she righted herself, she felt a dagger's point enter her chest just enough to draw blood. Cameo had her again. "What did you tell them?"
    The redhead cried out in pain.
    "Cameo, formerly of the Association? We have a warrant for your arrest," came the voice of one of the soldiers behind the door.
    She looked over at Opal, her facial expressions running the gambit of surprise, relief, and eventually sarcasm. So they weren't here for Francois Mond at all. They had come for the bounty placed on the heads of all the former Association members. "Me? Really?"
    Black Opal glanced at Peg darkly.
    Cameo knocked her to the floor. "You turned me in?"
    The woman turned over, her lip was bloodied, "No. No, it wasn't me."
    "Oh?" She slammed Peg's head against the floor. "Who did?"
    Blood trickled from her victim's ear, ebbing in one long, exquisite ribbon onto into her hair. For a moment Cameo hesitated, transfixed ... and then, when she realized the woman was unconscious and broken, just the same as she was when Haffef had smashed in her skull, she was repelled by her own actions.
    One of the soldiers kicked the door open, and Cameo swung around. Immediately she seized the pistol from his hand and buried her dagger into his side.
    "C'mon," she cajoled her next opponent to enter. This was no time for bravado, but still this was becoming old, and she was growing tired of killing people. She was getting too good at killing humans.
    The next man raised his pistol, and Cameo snatched it from his hand as it discharged into the ceiling and rammed her blood-smeared dagger through his neck with her free hand. Plaster clattered to the floor. The room filled with black powder smoke, and he collapsed at her feet.
    Several soldiers pushed their way into the room, and one took aim at Black Opal, who was still sitting in the straight-backed chair, looking on placidly.
    "Get down, Opal!" Cameo yelled at him.
    He spun to the ground in a sudden flurry of motion. The bullet blasted a hole through the chair's wooden back.
    Now he was up. Opal raced through the smoke-filled room and knocked the man, who had just shot at him, to the floor.
     
    * * * * *
    A third shot rang out.
    The first had agitated him, but he wasn't