“That’s what I’m trying to do!” I shouted, almost stamping my foot. Stupid, asinine men. How could I give Piscary the focus now? But then a thought hit me, painful and hard. If the focus was as important as I thought, then maybe I could buy Kisten’s safety as well as mine? I had to let Ivy find her own way out, but Kisten…

My panic rose anew, and I shifted from foot to foot out of helplessness as the men closed on Kisten. One of the vampires slid across the hood of my car while four more continued forward to trap him against the trash. The one in the lead was familiar. I recognized the slant to his cruel smile. It was the guy Kisten had beat up last year before taking me down to see Piscary. Sam.

“Jenks…” I said nervously. My bag with my splat gun was out of reach in my car.

“It’ll be okay,” he said, his voice high, but I didn’t believe him. “Stay out of it.”

“Jenks?” I said louder, then jumped when Kisten shifted his grip and swung his pool stick at Sam. Sam blocked it without slowing down. Smiling to show fangs, he followed it with a hop-step and a side kick to Kisten’s middle.

Kisten took it, turning his body into a roundhouse. His face was ugly with hatred: I’d never seen it raw in him before, and I backed up, a fist to my chest. Do they really expect me to just stand here and let them beat him up?

Almost too fast to see, Kisten and Sam exchanged blows, the other vampires ringing them. No one was paying any attention to me, but I couldn’t get to my car.

“Kisten, behind you!” I shouted when one of them grabbed Kisten as he rocked back.

Teeth bared, Kisten took the second vampire’s arm. A soft pull and a savage twist, and a scream of pain ripped from the vampire’s throat. Kisten licked his lips before smacking the butt end of the pool cue into the vamp’s throat. Black eyes intent, he snarled and shoved the downed vampire to the pavement, kicking the writhing man as he tried to breathe.

Sam charged him, and Kisten swung his broken cue like a knife. Sam danced back, taunting until Kisten followed, coming away from the downed vampire. I didn’t think he was breathing yet, still convulsing on the pavement.

A third vampire wearing a backward cap came forward, hunched and cautious with that chair leg in his grip. Lost in battle lust, Kisten jumped at him, fangs bared.

The vampire sprang sideways, and Kisten shifted, falling to the ground for a leg sweep.