Biting Cold: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel (CHICAGOLAND VAMPIRES SERIES)

it.”
    “That woman is a wonder with a spoon,” I said.
    Apparently satisfied with the line he’d drawn, Seth stopped, turned thirty degrees, and started walking and pouring again, then joined the first two lines with a third, making a triangle, ten feet across at the base.
    Seth stepped outside the triangle. “Witch’s flame combusts, creates a nice little long-lasting flame that won’t burn the grass below it. It will give us a little time to work.”
    He looked at all of us. “Dominic’s sigil contains four symbols. This was the first. When I finish drawing the next two, I will stop and give you a warning. When the last sigil is drawn, I’ll formally call him, and Dominic should appear almost instantaneously. You’ll want to be ready to go.”
    I nodded. “Thank you, Seth.”
    He nodded, then began to draw.
    Ethan slid an arm around my waist. “You know what to do?”
    “Yes. As much as anyone does.”
    “You’ll be careful?”
    I smiled a little. “Would you allow otherwise?”
    “No.”
    I couldn’t help it. The conviction in those two simple letters made me laugh aloud.
    Ethan leaned in, his lips at my ear. “Unstoppable force,” he said. “Immovable object. Choose the one you want to be, and do it. You are a vampire of great power, Merit. Prove it to us, to the city of Chicago, to the Houses. Prove it now.”
    I swallowed down fear and let the rush of adrenaline fill me with something closer to courage. Not quite bravery, but something that would suffice.
    I looked back at him with silvered eyes.
    “Well,” he said, a bit amused. “That was even more effective than I thought it would be.”
    I humphed, and followed his glance to Mallory and Catcher, who stood chatting quietly a few feet away.
    “You can do your part, as well,” I said.
    “I know I can. It’s her I wonder about.”
    I looked back at Ethan. “She’s asked for a chance to redeem herself. She only gets one. If this goes bad, if there’s any threat to you at all, I will take her out.”
    Neither the words nor the sentiment scared me. I’d given Mallory chances she hadn’t earned; Ethan had earned chances to spare.
    “God willing that it won’t come to that,” he muttered.
    “But be prepared if it does,” I said. “That’s a lesson I learned from a certain Master vampire.”
    Their conversation apparently done, Mallory and Catcher walked toward us. Her hands were balled into fists, and I wondered if they were shaking.
    “Are you ready?”
    Ethan nodded warily. “As ready as I’ll ever be to turn control over my body to someone else.”
    “It will only last a few minutes,” Mallory said. “And then he’ll be Merit’s problem.”
    “How does this work?”
    “I’ll establish a full connection with you. Once he appears in the sigil, you only need to touch him. It doesn’t matter where. Hand. Shoulder. Wing.”
    “How long do I have to maintain my grip?”
    “Until you feel the magic recede. You’ll know it when you feel it. It shouldn’t take more than a few seconds.”
    “He’s probably going to realize what’s happening during those few seconds,” I pointed out.
    “You have your sword,” Catcher said. “I have magic. Our job is to distract him. Ethan’s job is to hang on.”
    “And, hey,” Mallory said, with a little too much cheerfulness. “There is an upside to this.”
    “What’s that?” Ethan asked.
    “I’m going to pull Dominic’s magic through you, and with it, my own connection. You should come out the other side with no connection to me at all.”
    I squeezed Ethan’s hand and hoped to God she was right.
    “As long as you can stay out of Dominic’s grasp while we’re triggering the spell, you’ll be fine.”
    Ethan nodded.
    I walked a few feet away, unsheathed my sword, and tossed the scabbard away. The steel rang like a clear bell through the darkness as it freed the scabbard, and I gripped my hands around the ray skin and felt it bite comfortably into my skin. I held the sword; it held me.
    “I’m ready for the last sigil,” Seth announced.
    I looked at Ethan and smiled a little.
    “I love you,” he mouthed.
    It was the first time he’d spoken those words to me, and I wished I had time to scream out my excitement and share the news with my girlfriends. But this was neither the time nor the place, so I gave him the only response I could.
    “I love you, too,” I mouthed back.
    “And I’m nauseous,” Catcher grumbled. “Let’s get on with this. I am