One cautious step at a time, Ivan, having no problem seeing in the dark stairwell, made his way down. Pausing at the bottom, he signaled everyone to stay put. Nic waited halfway down, while the women waited at the top of the stairs with Fiona guarding their backs.
“Time to go to work, buddy.”
“This is what I live for, Nic.”
Cho climbed off Nic’s shoulder. The lizard clung to the wall of the stairs and blended into the brown of the wood paneling. He skittered down to where Ivan crouched with the door opened the slightest crack. Cho slipped through and took his position on the wall inside the lair.
“Nic, we got a crowd in here. I make a dozen.”
“Any weapons?”
“Yeah, they’re armed to the fangs.”
“Is this a trap?”
“No. Everyone is just hanging around, very casual.”
“Good. Does Ivan have cover once he’s in?”
“Yeah, to the right of the door. Deep shadows.”
“Thanks. Hang tight.”
Nic signaled to Ivan, who climbed up a few steps. “Cho says there’s a dozen, armed but not on alert.” Nic forgot himself and leaned close to whisper into the vampire’s ear. At this range, he could smell Ivan’s aftershave, something clean and citrus. He wondered if Ivan could hear the blood moving through his veins and if it was smart to be so close. He pulled back just enough to feel comfortable, but still be close enough to hear.
“Good. Plenty for each of us.” The wolf grin flashed in the dark.
Nic answered with a grin just as wolfish. “There’s deep shadow to the right of the door. We can slip into it and hide there once we’re in the room.”
“The lizard comes in handy. I see why you keep him around.” Ivan went down the stairs, paused, and then slipped through the doorway.
“He’s in. I thought I was good, but man, he can blend.”
“I noticed.”
Annie went down the stairs to take his place. Nic went through the door, leaving Fiona guarding the top.
“Fiona, Nic’s in. Ivan’s in. Next.”
Annie slipped through the door and into the shadows.
“You’re up, princess.”
Fiona edged through and closed the door behind her, becoming lost in the dark shadow as she joined the small band strung out against the wall looking out into the large lair.
The place was crawling with vampires.
Nic counted four sitting around a small, square table playing cards, and the rest were scattered among various chairs, sofas, and even the bed. Swords leaned against chairs and tables.
Across the room, a young blonde woman sat in a chair, chained to the wall by manacles on her ankles and wrists. Her eyes looked glazed and unfocused, but other than that, she seemed unhurt.
Annie grabbed Fiona’s hand when she saw her sister.
Fiona put her lips next to Annie’s ear. “Get to her. Keep her safe.” Annie nodded and braced herself.
•
“Marcos is mine,” Ivan whispered. Nic gave him a nod of agreement.
Ivan searched the room for Marcos, but didn’t spot him. A male lay on the bed with a female, and it could have been him, but Ivan wasn’t sure. This would be for nothing if they didn’t get Marcos. They couldn’t afford to leave anyone alive.
Ivan reached the end of the shadows. To go farther would be to step into the light of the main room and give their advantage away. He cocked his crossbow and loaded it. Placing a quarrel in between his teeth for the next shot, he raised the bow to his shoulder and took aim at a male sitting apart from the others. The vampire wore a semiautomatic on his hip. The gun wouldn’t stop a vampire, but against mortals, it would be deadly. Ivan wondered about that and then let the bolt fly.
It was a direct hit. The holster and gun fell to the thick carpet without a sound. None of the other vampires noticed.
Ivan scanned for another single target. His plan was to pick off as many as possible before the rest discovered the attack. He cocked the bow, loaded the quarrel from between his teeth, and replaced it with another. There was a female, lying with her head on the arm of a couch away from the others. It would be a hard shot, since she was almost prone. He stretched to his full height, raised the crossbow, and took aim.
The bolt hit her just above the heart. She screamed and stood, the bolt projecting from her chest. It took only seconds for him to cock and reload. His next bolt hit her heart, and she popped out of existence, but her scream had alerted the others.
“Shit! What the hell is going on?”
“That shot came from over there.”
Like a hornet’s nest whacked by a kid’s baseball bat, the room came alive, and vampires swarmed.
Ivan stepped out from the shadows and took aim. Nic followed, his sword held at shoulder height. Fiona hung back, guarding Annie, creeping along in the shadows as they made their way toward her sister.
“Ivan! You son of a bitch!” Marcos jumped up from the bed.
“Hello, Marcos.” Ivan’s wolf grin bared teeth and fangs as he advanced toward a crowd of vampires scrambling for their weapons. He staked another one in the back with a bolt, planning his next shot as he reloaded.
•
Advancing, Nic swung the sword in front of him, sending vampires scattering to a safe distance and rushing to claim their weapons. A male raced forward, his sword held out to meet Nic’s two-handed swing. The blades rang out their meeting. The vampire’s smaller sword was no match for Nic’s larger broadsword, and within two swings, Nic had the male’s head. Advancing again, he engaged two others who just managed to hold their own against him.
"Cho, tell Fiona it's show time."
“Your turn, princess.”
Fiona stepped out of the shadow. One of the female vampires screamed, jumped over a couch, and came at Fiona with a long sword, making three swings in rapid succession. Fiona blocked them all. The female backed away, which drew Fiona deeper into the lair. Within seconds, two females joined the vampire as they came up on Fiona’s back.
“Behind you, Fiona.”
“I see them.”
She pivoted, and the vampire followed, swinging at Fiona. Not watching where she was going, the vampire bumped into the other two coming to her aid, placing all three behind Fiona, not surrounding her.
“Good move, Fiona.”
“Shit. I’m against the wall.”
“Let them make the first move.”
Facing them, Fiona watched their eyes and waited.
Across the room, Marcos grabbed his sword and bore down on Ivan, along with another male. Ivan backed up, reloaded, fired, and began to reload. The male screamed and fell to the ground holding his stomach. Jerking the arrow out, he tossed it away. His wound began to heal, but it was too late. The next arrow found its mark. Reloading, Ivan aimed at Marcos, who evaded the bolt with a feint to the left, and advanced in a burst of speed, leaping over a couch with his sword drawn. Ivan backpedaled for time and distance.
“Fiona, tell Annie to go now.”
“Right.”
Fiona jerked her head toward Amy, giving Annie the signal to move, and hoping she’d drawn the vampire’s attention away from her.
Making a break for her sister, Annie bolted out of the shadows and across the room. Dodging around the fight between Nic and the two males, she reached her sister, gave her a quick embrace, and turned to face the fray, placing herself between Amy and danger.
“Annie made it.”
“Great. Watch out for her, Cho. She’s pretty green.”
“No problem. I’ll keep my eyes on her.”
•
“Annie!” Amy wept as she clung to Annie’s back. A vampire approached, and Annie held her breath, waiting until he was closer. He wasn’t as tall as she was, but he definitely outweighed her. Dropping the blade into her hand at her side, she lunged forward, trying to strike the powerful vampire in the chest. He grabbed her by the hand and neck, squeezing her wrist to force her to drop the knife.
Knowing she’d made a fatal mistake, Annie refused to release the knife, even as he lifted her off the ground by her throat. Her legs searched for a foothold, pedaling in the air. She couldn’t breathe, much less get out a scream. Her gaze darted around, trying to find some way to defeat him.
•
“Fiona, Annie needs help.”
“Can’t get there. She’s on her own.”
•
Kicking out, Annie’s foot contacted her captor’s groin. He grunted and bent over, and her feet touched ground. Amy joined the attack, beating him on the back, but her manacled wrists kept her from landing anything but ineffectual blows.
“Stupid bitches. I’m going to kill both of you,” he spat out.
Releasing his hold on Annie’s throat, he backhanded Amy. She hit the wall and slid to the floor, stunned.
“That’s my sister!” Annie choked out. He still held her wrist, but while his attention was diverted by Amy, Annie transferred the blade to her free hand. Gritting her teeth, this time she used every ounce of strength she could muster and plunged the knife deep into his chest.
“Take that, you bastard.”
The vampire disintegrated.
•
“Great job, Annie! Fiona, she got one!”
“She did? Good for her.”
“She was awesome, a real fighter.”
•
Shaking with relief and from adrenaline, Annie knelt by Amy, who was rubbing her jaw and trying to stand. “Are you hurt?” She pulled her sister up by the arm.
“Yes. No, I’ll be fine. Who are these people with you?” Amy, wild-eyed and trembling, stared out at the turmoil that roiled around them.
“Friends.” Annie clutched her sister again. Turning back to the fight, she found Ivan.
•
Marcos, red-faced with fury, swung at Ivan. Holding the crossbow up to block the blow, Ivan felt the vibration as the sword landed, knocking the crossbow from his hands. He stumbled. Marcos spun and used his elbow to deliver a blow to Ivan’s face that would have broken a mortal’s neck but merely whipped his head back. Blood streamed from his nose and mouth. Ivan reached to draw his sword, but Marcos was faster.
Cold steel tore through Ivan’s stomach and exited his back, to the right of his spine. Agony drove him to his knees. Groaning, he clutched the pommel of the sword skewering his body. Blood ran from around the sword’s entry and exit wounds.
“No!” Annie’s scream cut through the wall of pain enveloping Ivan.
•
“Nic, Ivan’s down.”
“I can’t get to him now. I’m a little busy.”
Nic turned to Annie’s voice, tracked to where her terrified gaze led, and then intensified his attack on the two males.
“Make it quick, buddy.”
“Right. Gotta save the vampire’s ass.”
Nic spun and slashed at the one nearest him, cutting into his chest but missing his neck.
“You gave him your oath, Nic.”
“Shut up, Cho.”
•
Ivan sucked in a deep breath as Marcos stood over him. Christ, it hurt to breathe. The blow had missed his heart. His mouth went dry as he tried to focus on the floor, get on top of the pain.
Grabbing him by the hair, Marcos jerked his head up.
“Well, Ivan, it seems you’re going to hell much sooner than I am.” He laughed and backhanded Ivan across the face. Blood splattered the wall behind Ivan, long drips running down to the floor. “You can beg for your life if you want, but it won’t do you any good.”
“Fuck you.” Ivan spat, and the bloody glob landed on Marcos’ shirt. Marcos struck him again, and Ivan’s cheekbone exploded.
Somewhere, Annie screamed his name.
God, Annie, I didn’t want you to see this.
Swallowing, Ivan drank his own blood. Normally, he would just heal, but he couldn’t do that with the sword still in him. Already weak, he was losing blood fast and weakening even faster. A stray thought floated through his mind; he should have eaten.
Still holding on to the sword in his belly and one eye now swollen shut, Ivan looked up as Marcos reached around him and pulled the sword from Ivan’s back scabbard. His fist still knotted in Ivan’s hair, Marcos jerked Ivan’s head up again to extend his neck. Bracing himself for the blow, Ivan refused to close his eyes to it.
If Annie has to watch me die, I’ll die like a man.
Movement slowed. Annie’s scream floated on the air to him. Ivan, an observer of his own death, was mesmerized by the beauty of it. Marcos’ arm rose upward in an achingly slow arc, the blade catching the glint of light. The gold ring on Marcos’ hand as it grasped the black hilt of the sword had a blood-red garnet set in it. Frozen at the apex of the swing, the sword hung in the air. Marcos’ lips pulled back in a grin of triumph, fangs white and gleaming, his eyes dark and fierce. Ivan knew Marcos relished this moment as he drank it in, another death in an unending line of deaths that had stretched for hundreds of years.
Marcos’ chest exploded, blossoming blood and steel. His mouth opened in a wide
O
and his eyes rolled back. Utter surprise rode his face in the brief moment before he vanished.
Time sped up to motion. Nic, holding the great sword, replaced Marcos.
•
“That was too damn close, Nic.”
“I got here in time, didn’t I?”
•
Slumping to his heels, Ivan closed his eyes, took a shuddering breath, and then looked up at Nic.
"I need this out of me. Can't do it myself."
“Shit.” Nic sheathed his own sword, placed his booted foot on Ivan’s shoulder, and grasped the pommel of the sword.
Knowing it was going to hurt just as much coming out as going in, Ivan gritted his teeth and braced himself. “Do it quick.”
Nic nodded, took a deep breath, leaned back, and slid the sword out. Ivan cried out as his body jerked free of the long blade, and he collapsed against the wall in the dark pool of his blood.