Blood Born (23 page)

“You have a warped idea of fun,” I muttered as he slowly and methodically crept to the very edge of the clearing. I reluctantly followed him, knowing that by moving away from the trees, we were giving up what little bit of cover we had. I was actually grateful for the snow, hoping it would help hide us. Aldric kept low to the ground, his body seemingly floating along the top of the snow. His feet disturbed the white, puffy blanket, revealing dirt and leaves below. I, unfortunately, wasn’t as graceful. I looked more like a sloth slurping along the ground searching for food.

“Wait a minute,” I whispered. Aldric stopped but didn’t turn around. “What if they see us?” I kept moving forward, slowly making my way up to where Aldric was crouched.

“We want them to see us,” Aldric said. “They’ll come this way, and then your friends can make their move.”

“What move? You said they were going to storm the clearing from the other side?” I was struggling to keep my voice low so the vampire guards wouldn’t hear me.

“No, I didn’t. I said they were going to try and come
in
from the other side. Meaning they were to try and get inside the house. That’s our ultimate goal here, Avaline.” I felt my anger at Aldric building inside, rising to an uncontrollable level. I hated that he had become a part of my life. I hated that he held some sort of power over me. And I hated that he was running the show. Chance was my friend—or whatever—and
I
was going to be the one calling the shots.

“Then let’s do this,” I said with fervor, abruptly standing up. Aldric shot up beside me, surprise littering his face. “And don’t call me Avaline again.” With that, I shot out into the clearing like a bullet, hell-bent on revenge.

2

I ran forward with all the strength my super-charged vampire body would give me. I made it less than ten feet before the vampires spotted me. One of them bolted in my direction, his speed matching mine. The clearing was massive in size, but we would be crashing into each other like two freight trains in seconds. As we both sped through the snow, it flew up around us, making the entire scene look like the inside of a gigantic snow globe. Of course, I couldn’t imagine a snow globe depicting two vampires attacking each other being a top seller. I watched as the other vampire sprung into the air and emitted a high-pitched sound that pierced my ears. He floated freely on the air before swooping down into a full sprint, headed directly for me. I felt a wave of panic rush over me, but I forced my mind to block it out. I didn’t have time to panic. I didn’t have time to do anything other than run—and attack. I quickly made the decision to go for the vampire who had charged me first. Hopefully I could subdue him before the second one crossed the fifty yards between us and got me.

My eyes were locked on the fast-approaching vampire. He was only a few yards away, and I could clearly see his fangs practically glowing in the moonlit sky. As he drew closer, the rage within me built up, coursing through my veins and fueling my speed. Somehow my body went even faster, and before I had time to think, the two of us collided. The impact jolted my body, every cell shaking violently. The pain was so intense. It felt like I had been shot by a thousand guns. I let it fly through me, and I fought back with fierce determination. I tried to ignore the paralyzing pain by filling my mind with images of Chance: the first time I saw him; the first time he touched me; our perfect first kiss. I couldn’t let him die a viscous, horrible death. I wouldn’t be able to live if something happened to him. I couldn’t live
without
him. Even if I had to die so he wouldn’t, I was ready.

The vampire was grasping frantically at my arms, trying to pin them against my body. His fangs were exposed, and he kept pushing his head forward, trying to sink them into my neck. I kept my arms moving, constantly changing defense positions to avoid his grip. I was trying to reach the stake I had strapped to my back—courtesy of Lila, surprisingly—before the other vampire reached us. I knew that I was strong, and extremely determined, but I didn’t think I could tackle two at once. But I couldn’t reach the stake; the vampire was too strong. I couldn’t break free long enough to snag it. All I could do was fend off his advances.

I looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the other vampire fast approaching. It was a female, her long black hair pulled tightly behind her. She seemed about my height and weight, which would hopefully work to my advantage. She was dressed all in black, but I could see that she was holding something. My eyes zeroed in on her hands, which were fumbling with a weird, metal object. I couldn’t make out what it was at that distance, but I knew it was some sort of weapon; she was too focused on it for it not to be.

That overpowering thread of panic returned, this time too strong for me to ignore. I was in trouble, and I needed to think quickly before my fight ended right then. As if things couldn’t get worse, I saw three more vampires break through the tree line at the far left side of the clearing, running full speed in my direction, snow flying all around them. Five at once? No way could I win.

This is where I die. Right now, alone and fighting.

I guess if it was time to die, there was no better way than fighting for someone you cared for. At least, that’s what I was telling myself as my impending death swiftly approached. I ignored the three vampires crossing the clearing, keeping my mind focused on the vampire fighting me and the one fast on his heels. I knew I could take at least one of them down before they killed me.

Having totally forgotten about Aldric, I was caught off guard when he flew past me toward the trio of approaching vampires. He could definitely take all three of them on with no problem, which left me to deal with the two in front of me. Not my ideal course of action, but I understood his reasoning. And having to fight only two was definitely better than five.

Time seemed to slow down at that moment. I watched the girl vampire lift the object in her hands and point it in my direction. I was still grappling with the guy vampire as he tried to lunge for my neck, but she was close enough for me to clearly see that she was holding a crossbow, much like the one Chance had used on me, loaded and ready to fire. I only had a split-second to do something or I would be wearing a tiny arrow as a headband. I saw the rage in the guy’s face; I saw the determination in the girl’s. They both wanted to kill me, that I knew for certain. What I also knew was that I wasn’t going to let them both live. One of them would die at my hands before I was done.

I barely managed to get a good grip on the guy vampire’s forearms when I heard the click of the crossbow and the whoosh of the arrow slicing through the air. With no other option, I spun him to my right just as the arrow pierced his back. He screamed that undeniable scream of death as the metal tip of the arrow broke through the front of his body, dead center through his heart. I felt the muscles in his arms tense then relax as his body slumped to the ground. Tiny, black spider-webbed veins appeared all over his face and hands before he turned to ash and was swept away in the winter wind.

“Noooooo!” The girl vampire screamed as she knelt down beside him, seconds before the ashes of his remains were gone. “Max!” That was his name; Max. I had just killed Max, and apparently he meant something to her. Normally, I would have felt a pang of guilt or remorse, but seeing as she had just tried to kill me, all I could produce was anger. She was mad too, jumping up to face me.

“I’ll enjoy killing you,” she snarled, her fangs spewing venom as she spoke. Her eyes were on fire, fueled with both hatred for me and a longing for a lost love. Her body was crouched in an attack position, so I mimicked her stance.

“You already tried,” I snapped back. “This time won’t be as easy.”

“Good.” With that she sprang forward, crashing into me like a tidal wave. The two of us spiraled back, a twisted force of rage and power, demolishing the pristine snow and uprooting grass as we slammed into the ground and skidded several feet. He hands were wild, flailing at my arms and face, her pointy nails cutting into my skin. I barely noticed the sting as I fought off her advances, quickly rolling her beneath me and pinning her down. She growled like an animal, her voice low and guttural and vibrating in my chest. Then I realized it was me. I was the one making those animalistic noises, those sounds of fury. It was
my
body convulsing with raw energy and stamina. Without even thinking, I sunk my fangs into the cusp of her neck, ignoring her agonizing cries as I drank her putrid blood.

It took longer to kill her than the vampire I killed in the woods the day Kayla and I went running. She was younger and stronger, her blood much thicker than his had been. It still tasted rancid and bitter and turned my stomach, but it was blood, so it gave me the tiniest burst of energy. I shot up from the ground and into a full run, charging toward Aldric and the one vampire he had left to take down. The other two lay crumpled at his feet. I guessed that the crossbow the girl vampire killed Max with was coated in something, since he had turned to ash and the others didn’t. Probably the same something Erik and Lila had used to dispose of the vampire Kayla had killed at the mall.

I sped toward Aldric with fierce determination. But movement to my right caught my eye and I stopped dead in my tracks. I saw Erik and Lila slowly crossing the clearing, Chance practically being dragged along with them. I forgot about Aldric and sprinted in their direction. I could tell by Lila’s stunned expression that she was freaked out by my super speed.

“How is he?” I asked, taking Chance from between them and lowering him slowly to the ground. He was unconscious but still breathing.

“Hurt but alive,” Lila said from behind me. Erik spun in slow, tight circles, his eyes scanning the dark woods around us.

“Where’s Kayla?” I asked, suddenly worried she didn’t make it.

“Not sure,” Erik answered, his eyes glued to the edges of the clearing. My mind immediately went to Kayla and our new friendship. If anything happened to her because of me, I would never forgive myself.

“She was fighting the vampires guarding Chance while we got him out,” Lila added. “She told us to go, so we did.”

“You left her in there
alone
?” I already didn’t like Lila. This was just fuel for the fire.

“She knows how much he means to you. She wanted to make sure he got out alive.”

I couldn’t argue with her on that. Kayla definitely knew that Chance meant the world to me—probably always had known. And of all people, she would be the first to stay and fight. She wouldn’t want to be the one having to run away from a challenge. I admired her for that, but at the same time, I was mad as hell at her for risking her life for me. But she hadn’t done it just for me. She did if for Chance. I looked down at him again, his head resting on my folded legs.

The snow had finally stopped falling, but the dark, ominous clouds filled the night sky, causing the moonlight to fade in and out. I couldn’t clearly see Chance’s face, but I didn’t need to. The intoxicating smell of his blood hit my nostrils, and I had to focus all my energy and strength on trying to ignore it. His scent had always drawn me in, but now that his blood was flowing
outside
of his body, the draw was almost too much to bear. It was just like when he offered to let me feed on him.

“What’s wrong?” I heard Erik’s voice as he moved to stand in front of me. I looked up at him, unable to speak. “Oh God.”

“What?” Lila asked, moving next to her brother. She only stood there a second before quickly stooping and shoving me hard in the shoulder. I rolled onto my back, Chance’s head dropping to the ground.

“Get away from him,” Lila continued, her voice frantic. I sat upright and watched as she and Erik circled Chance, who was still unconscious. I opened my mouth to ask what the hell her problem was. A quick flick of my tongue told me.

I knew from the stunned and angry looks on their faces, and the taste of venom in my mouth, that my fangs were out. Which meant I was hungry, and Chance’s blood was all over my hands.

2

I’m sorry,” I stammered, pulling myself away from Chance and curling my body in on itself. “Sorry.” I couldn’t say anything else. My mind was too focused on the alluring smell of Chance’s blood flooding my nostrils, and the fact that I wanted to taste it again. The thought both sickened and excited me. How could I be so horrible? How could I want to drink his blood again? I should be destroyed.

“Just stay over there,” Erik said, his eyes going from me to Chance. I looked across the clearing to see Aldric still fighting with a rather large vampire. Even though we didn’t really get tired—well, full vampires didn’t, anyway—I imagined that Aldric’s resilience was wearing thin.

“I need to help him,” I called out, standing up.

“No!” Lila yelled, stepping between Chance and me. “We said
stay
.” She held out her hand at me, the sharp point of a stake inches from my chest. I couldn’t speak. I just looked into her eyes.

“That’s not necessary,” I said calmly. My body was screaming at me to move back, to at least be prepared for an attack. But my mind was in control, and it was telling me to stand my ground.

“I’ll decide that,” Lila said, her voice sharp and powerful. “You have no clue what you’re capable of.”

“I know I would never hurt him,” I said, looking over her shoulder at Chance. He was still out cold, and Erik was kneeling beside him. I watched as he ripped off a piece of his torn shirt and used it to stop Chance’s forehead from bleeding. I felt my mouth salivating.

“Fine,” I reluctantly agreed. The two of us stood motionless, staring each other down, just waiting for the other to make a sudden move. I knew Lila was probably the best when it came to killing vampires, but I also knew I was fast. Could I beat her? Could I rip her throat out before she shoved that piece of wood into my heart? My mind was busy weighing my options when a familiar and terrifying smell floated on the breeze in front of me. My body tensed, and my new super senses went into overdrive.

“Move him,” I ordered Lila, stepping away from her and her stake.

“What?” she asked, turning her body to follow me, clutching the stake even tighter in her hand. I didn’t look at her, my mind too focused on what was coming.

“I said move him, Lila.
Now
.” She didn’t question what I said, or the fact that I was walking toward Chance and Erik. The tone of my voice told her everything. She and her brother lifted Chance stretcher-style and carted him as far to the other side of the clearing as they could and still be able to protect him from all sides. I watched them lay him on the ground just as Kayla came bounding down the steps of the house, dirty and bloody but very alive. I wanted to run to her and hug her and tell her how much I loved her for saving him, but that I hated her for being so stupid with her own life. But I didn’t have time. Aldric was beside me in a flash, the two of us falling into a rhythm as we walked slowly to the center of the field.

“You smell it, too?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“It’s strong,” I said, my mind focused on the rotten odor invading every cell in my body. “
Very
strong.” The stench was overwhelming, making me sick and agitated all at once. I felt my muscles tighten as the smell grew even more intense, fast approaching. I yelled back for Kayla, and she quickly ran over to us. She didn’t have to ask what was wrong. She could tell by my panicked expression that things were about to go from bad to worse.

The trees lining the edge of the clearing began to shake as the wind blowing through them picked up. I watched intensely as several pairs of yellow eyes appeared in the darkness of the woods, all of them squinted and angry looking.

“Ready?” I said, noticing that Erik had joined us. He was focused on the trees, both of his hands tightly gripping wooden stakes. The moonlight peeking through the clouds made their pointy tips glow; they were treated with the mystery chemical, too. Faster to kill with, I supposed. I glanced back over my shoulder to see Lila crouched over Chance, stakes occupying her hands, too. Even though I didn’t like her that much—not at all, really—I was glad that she was the one guarding him. At least I knew he would be safe.

“Definitely,” Kayla said, pulling a couple of poison-laced stakes from the straps on her back. I looked at her and she smiled, but I could see fear in her eyes. Of all of us, she was the one I was worried about most.

“Good, because they’re here.” I turned back to the woods just as dozens of vampires stepped into the clearing. Some of them were jumping from the tops of the trees, while others sprinted across the grass. All of them were ultimately heading for the four of us standing side by side, ready to fight.

“Kayla,” I said, my eyes focused on the wall of killers moving toward us. “When I say, you follow me. Erik, you and Aldric go opposite of us.” No one answered me, but I knew they were all listening. I watched the coven moving swiftly through the foggy moonlight, trying to wait as long as possible before we made our move. My body was on edge with anticipation and fear, and I could tell by the rise in the smell of Kayla’s and Erik’s blood scents that they felt the same tension. I imagined Aldric was calm and collected, as always, eager to fight. I was eager, too. I just wasn’t filled with his overpowering confidence.

When I felt the moment was right, I yelled “NOW!” The four of us broke off in pairs. Kayla ran with me to the left while Aldric and Erik shot out to the right side of the clearing. The strategy worked like I had hoped. The vampires were momentarily caught off guard, giving us a very small, but very much needed, advantage. I only prayed none of us would waste it.

I shot up and out, crashing mid-air with a vampire twice my size. I didn’t wait for us to hit the ground; I went for his neck, my fangs unsheathing just in time to pierce his skin. Putrid blood spewed from the bite, coating me and the white snow with the vampire’s dead blood. By the time I landed back in the matted grass, he was dead, his skin littered with black veins.

I caught sight of Kayla out of the corner of my eye as she drove a stake into the heart of a very young-looking vampire boy. As his body turned to ash and disintegrated, I doubted he was even a teenager. Now he never would be. I didn’t have time to think about him, though. Two more vampires as violent and crazed as the first were tackling me in seconds. I flew backward, rolling over myself and landing in a crouched position. I shot straight up and wrestled with the pair, kicking one back to the woods while I bit the other one. I didn’t even notice the horrible-tasting blood this time, my body now numb to it. I simply drank until the vampire was dead and flung its body to the side, ready for my next kill.

The vampire I kicked away charged toward me at full speed, along with two more who noticed I was still alive. I only had one set of fangs, so I had to do something fast.

“Kayla!” I yelled at her to throw me a stake. Two seconds later I was catching the sharpened piece of wood in one hand while fighting off the advancing vampire with the other. The smell emanating from the stake burned my eyes and made me cough. I tried to hold it as far from my face as possible, hoping I wouldn’t be keeping it very long. The vampire spun around in front of me as two girl vampires flanked him. One of the girls snarled at me as the three of them stood semi-circle about ten feet away. I suddenly felt like a baby gazelle who had been cornered away from her flock and was about to become dinner. All I saw were glowing eyes and fangs as the three of them moved forward in slow synchronization. They were daring me, I could tell. They wanted me to attack, because they knew I was outnumbered. With no other option but to fight, I went for the male vampire first, hoping that he would be the strongest of the three and the girls would be a bit easier to fight. Not that fighting a vampire was easy, but it was the only plan I had.

I barely made it to him before he and the girl on his left jumped in together to take me down. He went for my arms and the stake while she bee-lined for my neck; strength in numbers. As I kept my body moving to avoid her fangs, I knew this was my final moment. I wasn’t going to make it out of this fight, but I planned on taking out as many of these three as I could.

The guy was so strong and fast, it took all I had just to keep the stake locked in my hand. He kept reaching for my fingers, trying to pry them open so the stake would fall. I’m sure he planned on using it on me instead, but I managed to out-maneuver him. Unfortunately, my body was fast giving out on me. At that moment, being part human really sucked. Even though I knew that all the vampires fighting—Aldric included—were getting tired, they had miles of energy left in them compared to me. If I wanted to kill at least one more before I died, I had to do something. I kicked as hard as I could at the guy vampire, my foot making contact with his knee. I knew it wouldn’t do any permanent damage, but for the time being I was happy to hear the popping noise his kneecap made as it dislodged and he fell to the ground in excruciating pain. His hands quickly let go of mine. I gave the girl trying to climb up my back a swift elbow, shattering her nose and sending her reeling backwards in a fit of tears and screams.

As she clutched her face, I made a bold move and shot into the air, flying above the vampire with the shattered knee and falling straight down on top of him. In the few seconds it took me to do so, I managed to position the stake perfectly, piercing the leathery skin of his chest and breaking through his ribcage. I was so close to him I could almost hear the point of the stake rip through his heart. I was sure it killed him instantly, but I drove it completely through his body to the other side just to be sure. Once I felt the tip of the stake break through the ground beneath him, I pulled it out and watched him slowly turn to ash and break apart. His face was the last piece of him to go, and it held a look of pain and horror that burned into my memory.

The girl with the broken nose didn’t stay down for long. Before I could turn around, she was clawing at my back again. The awkward position I was in, however, made it much easier for her this time. I felt her blood on my skin and her cold breath on my neck when she whispered in my ear.

“Ready to die, little girl?” Her bony fingers were digging into my shoulders. Shards of pain, that I tried to ignore, shot down my arms. Her weight and strength were too much for me to move. I was pinned against the dead vampire beneath me.

“You first.” I heard the words before the vampire screamed in my ear and turned to ash, her body disintegrating all over my back. I quickly rolled over and jumped up to fight. But I didn’t have to.

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked Lila, who was crouched down across from me with her stake held out in front of her where the girl had been. She looked over at me before standing up and smiled

“You’re welcome,” she snapped, her eyes darting back and forth, searching for more vampires.

“You’re supposed to be with Chance.” I was pissed, even more so at her than the army of undead we were trying to kill. “If something happens to him I’ll—“

“Calm down drama queen,” she said with thick sarcasm. “He’s fine.” She looked over her shoulder and I quickly followed her gaze. There was Chance, propped against the side of the house. He had finally woken up, but even from this distance I could tell he was still pretty out of it.

“Get back over there,” I ordered, pointing in his direction. Lila, of course, didn’t move.

“You go watch him,” she said as she walked away from me and in the opposite direction of the house.

“I thought you didn’t want me near him?”

“I’m over it,” she snapped. “Kill him if you want to, I don’t care. I have some vampire ass to kick.” And with that she was off, sprinting across the field and jumping into a fight with her brother. Erik was busy taking on two vampires, a guy and a girl, and I quickly wondered if they were brother and sister too. That would have just been too weird.

I turned my attention back to Chance, who was slumped over and rubbing his head. I wanted to run to him and tell him that I loved him and that we were all going to be okay, but I couldn’t. Not honestly. Not yet. I had no clue if
any
of us would be okay—or even
alive
—when it was all over. But I did know that I would do all I could to make sure that at least
he
made it out of here. I figured he would be fine where he was since it seemed all the vampires were engaged in battle. A lightning-fast survey of the area showed all four of my cohorts busily trying to take down their villains. Aldric was winning—easily of course—and Erik and Lila weren’t doing too bad, either. So I ran to help Kayla. As long as their numbers didn’t increase, and if we kept our stamina going, we might actually have a chance at winning.

Then things took a horrible turn for the worse. As I was running toward Kayla, my stake in my hand, a wiry little vampire broke off from the fight against Aldric and started running toward her. I knew I wouldn’t make it in time, no matter how fast I could run, so I tried to yell and warn her. But the noise of the fighting was too loud, and she was too far away. She couldn’t hear me, and there was nothing I could do to stop the vampire who fully intended to kill her.

Just before I had to watch my best friend murdered, Lila came flying out of nowhere and ran head-first into the vampire. He tumbled to the ground but quickly recovered. He had his hands around Lila’s neck, and I heard the snap of her bones just as I made it to them and drove my stake through his dead heart. He disappeared in a cloud of ash, Lila’s body falling to the ground in a bloodied heap. I ran over to her, knowing I was too late. Her eyes were open wide, her face twisted in horror. I knew instantly that she was dead.