Chapter 107
Jamie slipped his gloves off and stuffed him into his pocket as he followed Van inside. Two of their team carried torches; otherwise, they would’ve had to rely only on their night vision, which was slightly better than most humans, though that was one area Jamie hoped to find a way to improve. The interior of the castle was illuminated by gaslights and candles, though they were few and far between, and as they entered the foyer, Jamie took a moment to let his eyes adjust. The room was beautifully decorated with elaborate antiques, murals of both the historical and grotesque variety, and a chandelier which cast an eerie glow on the space from up above.
Before Van could give any orders, a deafening clatter from the room in front of them resounded through the castle, and suddenly, they were under attack again. This time, it wasn’t just the flying Vampires from before, but three large, gray wolves snarled at them from the staircase, a mist hung in the air, and the more Jamie stared at it, the more he thought he saw faces forming before his eyes. Van let out a shout in a language he did not understand, likely Dutch, and the two sides collided in battle.
Though he’d been given careful instructions not to engage unless he had to, Jamie didn’t feel right standing there watching as the likes of Claude and Van took on two or three Vampires at once. They both chopped through them as if this was something they did each day before tea, and perhaps it was, but Jamie noticed that some of them didn’t go down as easily as he expected. A slice to the heart or to the throat was not enough to end them. They’d simply dissipate and reform. He kept his declarations to himself and jumped into the fray, doing his best to keep an eye on the Hunters.
As he battled one of the mist people, he watched out of the corner of his eye as a wolf lunged at Van from off of the stairs. Vanessa ran over and knocked the giant canine off of their Leader’s leg, but there was a gaping wound. Van turned and shot it with her crossbow while simultaneously using her knife to cut down the Vampire that was lunging for her neck. Growing tired of the game he was playing with the mist, Jamie reached for what he assumed would be the Vampire’s neck and was satisfied to hear a crunching sound as his hands met what appeared to be only air. A few seconds later, the mist was gone completely, and so was his assailant. Knowing this worked, he moved on to the next, one that was tangling with the muscular red-headed woman, and between the two of them, they managed to twist that one’s head off as well.
The other two wolves were both attacking Claude. He was knocking over furniture, attempting to slow them as he parried around the room. Jamie could see the problem. He’d somehow managed to drop his sword. It was lying on the ground near the stairwell where the wolves had originally appeared. There were two other vampires between himself and the weapon. Taking a lesson from his sister, Jamie drew a deep breath and pulled a second knife out of his pocket. He’d only seen Margie do this once, but he assumed if she could do it, so could he. He ran full force at the two attacking Vampires. While one was a woman and the other a man, they appeared to be hovering at about the same height. Their fangs gleamed from the light of the chandelier as he launched himself at them, doing a mid-air somersault and bringing his knives down so that they entered into the spinal column in the back of their necks. He twisted both blades as he landed on his feet, severing both of their heads in the process. In one fluid motion, he stuffed the knives back into their sheaths and picked up Claude’s sword, spinning and tossing it to the giant, who caught it nimbly and then, with one powerful swing, took off the head of both lobos who fell to the ground, squealing like pups before they turned to ash.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, Jamie looked around to see they were, once again, Vampire clear. Ash blew around on the floor, some of it floating out the door. “Holy hell,” Van said in her thick accent. “The doctor is a soldier.”
Not able to think of anything to say in response, Jamie straightened his coat and nodded at her. Van laughed and then, turning to her runner, she said, “Go! Signal the attack.”
While Jamie had seen some fast Guardians in his day, there was no doubt Vanessa was the fleetest of foot he’d ever seen. There was only a slight disturbance in the air as she exited the castle door, and a few millisecond later, he heard the agreed upon signal from outside by the gates.
“Come on,” Van said, gesturing with her arm. “We go upstairs. That’s where he’s liable to be.”
Jamie didn’t hesitate to follow behind them, but he did decide he wanted to be last; that way, if anything snuck up from behind, it wouldn’t be a Hunter who became the initial target. He hung a few steps back until he realized he wasn’t alone. Putting his hand on the hilt of his blade he turned quickly to find Vanessa smiling at him. “I liked your flip,” she said, giggling.
“Uh, thanks,” he whispered in return.
“Where did you learn to do that?”
Telling her the truth somehow seemed like it would make him less of a man. “Practice,” he said, with a nod. She smiled and he let her go in front of him, not just because that way he’d be last again but because then he could keep an eye on her. She took a few steps and then turned and smiled at him coyly over her shoulder.