Dara looked around the rooftop, wondering how she’d managed to get up here. She wandered around, trying to find a way down, but there were no steps or anything. Then, off to the side, she saw two women standing there staring daggers at her. Dara couldn’t understand the hatred she felt coming from them. She walked over and said quietly, “Can you help me get down off here?”

Then she recognized them. One she’d seen several times when she’d come to visit Sav, Linda, Lacy, some L name she couldn’t think of. The other she’d just met that night when she’d stopped by Rick’s house to drop off more legal papers protesting her share of the marital assets. She’d been so busy hissing at Rick, she hadn’t caught the woman’s name.

“She wants our help, Lyra, luv? Think we can get her down off this roof?” the red haired woman said.

“Oh, I can get her down all right,” Lyra said in a menacing voice. “Ready for a flying lesson, Dara?”

“What? What are you talking about,” Dara said as she started to panic. She backed away, seeing the dagger-like fangs in both women’s mouths. She took off running, but the one called Lyra caught her in a heartbeat. Dara felt her feet leave the ground as Lyra picked her up by the front of her shirt. Then Lyra yelled, “Hey, Siona, catch!”

Then Dara’s body was weightless, flying through the air towards the red head. Siona looked down at her limp form and said, “Oh, hey, can I have a snack while we play?”

“Certainly!” Lyra laughed.

Dara screamed as Siona’s fangs were sank into her throat. The bite lasted only a few seconds, but it still made Dara’s head spin. Then she went flying through the air again, into Lyra’s firm grip. Lyra bit down hard on her neck, far more viciously than the previous bite. Dara could feel her life slipping away as the vampire drained her dry. Yet she didn’t die.

Lyra looked at the other vampire and said laughingly, “OOPSY, I think I took a bit much!”

“Well, I’m not bringing her over,” Siona said, in a bit of a snit about the whole thing.

“Neither am I,” Lyra said with a chuckle. “Guess we need to get rid of the body, huh?”

“What body?” Dara cried. “I’m not dead!”

“Yeah, here, I’ll do it,” Siona said. She picked up Dara, who immediately felt the flying sensation again. Then Dara realized she’d been thrown off the roof of the tall building. She screamed as she caught sight of the ground rushing up to meet her. Her heart felt ready to burst inside her chest and she knew within seconds she was going to die.

She caught a glimpse of a blur as it fell down past her, then her downward motion stopped completely. Opening her eyes, she realized that Lyra had caught her. They landed softly on the ground and Lyra set Dara down, grabbing her by the collar. She looked deep into Dara’s eyes and hissed, “You’re done with Rick Savage, Dara. If you ever so much as mention him again, I’ll be there. Only the next time, I won’t catch you! Leave him alone!”

Dara woke with a start, her heart pounding in her chest as she tried to catch her breath. She looked around at her safe little room, still feeling very threatened at that moment. After getting a drink of water, she climbed back into bed and finally managed to get back to sleep.

Outside her bedroom window, Siona and Lyra sat perched on the window sill. Siona looked at Lyra and said, “Damn, throwing her off the building was a nice touch, luv!”

“Well, maybe that will get her claws out of Sav’s money,” Lyra said with a smile. “Now, guess it’s time to head back to Sav’s place. He’s probably going to be a bit pissed at me for this one, but I’ve gotten really sick of her giving him hassles about this divorce!”

“Don’t worry, luv,” Siona said with a smile. “You were much nicer than I would have been. She’d be dead if it was up to me!”

“Yeah, well, I’m respecting his wishes on this one,” Lyra said quietly. “Let’s go before someone wonders why we’re hovering outside the fourth floor of an apartment building!” And the two of them took off, flying back to Sav’s house.