Halfway to the Grave Read Online Free PDF Page A

have been a good idea after all.
    “All right, Kitten. Because I’m a gentleman, I’ll let you have the first try. Come on. Let’s do this.”
    Without further encouragement I charged him, moving as fast as I could with both weapons pointed murderously. He whirled in a semicircle that left me sailing past him, chuckling infuriatingly as he did so.
    “Going jogging, pet?”
    Catching myself, I glared at him over my shoulder. God in heaven, but he was fast. His movements were almost a blur to me. Gathering my courage, I feinted a broad overhead right swing. When he raised an arm to block, I swiped low with my left hand and slashed him before getting a devastating kick to the midsection in return. Doubled over, I saw him examine his garment with a slight frown.
    “I liked this shirt. Now you’ve gone and ripped it.”
    I circled again, breathing slowly to combat the pain in my stomach. Before I could blink, he came at me and punched the side of my head, hard enough for me to see stars. In mindless defense I kicked, punched, and stabbed at whatever was near me. The returning blows came heavily and rapidly. My breathing was ragged and my vision swam as I lashed out with all of my strength. The room suddenly spun as I was thrown backward, rocks cutting into my skin.
    He stood about ten feet from where I was sprawled. Clearly, in hand-to-hand combat, I was outclassed. I felt like I’d been dropped off a cliff, and there were hardly any marks on him. With a sudden flash of inspiration, I flung my cross. It flew with incredible speed and sank into his chest but too high, too high.
    “Bloody hell, woman, that hurts!” he snarled in surprise, snatching it from his chest.
    Blood flowed from the wound before stopping abruptly, as if a faucet had been turned off. Contrary to popular belief, vampires did bleed red. I was dismayed, being down to only one weapon and not even having slowed him. Bracing myself, I sprang to my feet, moving with heavy steps.
    “Had enough?” He faced me and sniffed the air, once. I blinked in confusion, never having seen a vampire breathe before. I was panting furiously. Sweat was dripping off my brow.
    “Not yet.”
    There was another blur of motion, and then he was on me. I blocked blow after blow and tried to score some of my own, but he was too quick. Fists landed on me with brutal force. Desperately I jabbed the stake into whatever was nearest, but it always missed his heart. After ten minutes or so that seemed like eternity, I fell to the ground for the last time. Unable to move, I gazed at him through swollen eyelids. I don’t have to worry about his terms , I thought dully. I was dying from my injuries.
    He loomed over me. Everything was colored red and fading.
    “Enough now?”
    I couldn’t speak, couldn’t nod, couldn’t think. As my answer, I passed out. It was the only action I was capable of.
     
    There was something soft underneath me. Floating, I was floating on a cloud and covering myself with its fleece. I burrowed farther inside when it spoke to me in irritated tones.
    “If you’re going to take all the covers, you can bloody well sleep on the floor!”
    Huh? Since when was a cloud both annoyed and English ?
    When I opened my eyes, I saw with horror that I was in a bed with the vampire. And yes, apparently I had the entire blanket wrapped around me.
    Shooting upward as though burned, I immediately banged my head on the low ceiling.
    “Owww…” Rubbing the sore spot, I glanced around in revolted fear. How did I end up here? Why wasn’t I in a coma from the beating? In fact, I felt…fine. Aside from the mild concussion I had surely just given myself.
    I backed as far into a corner as I could manage. There didn’t seem to be any visible exit to this small limestone chamber. “Why am I not in a hospital?”
    “I healed you,” he replied blandly, as if we were discussing tea.
    Numb with fear, I checked my pulse. God, he hadn’t turned me, had he? No, my heart pounded