Chapter 37
Catherine brought her elbow down hard right into the Vampire’s face, which angered her immensely, and she began to try and buck Aaron off. “Well, that didn’t work,” the Hunter muttered.
“You think?” he agreed.
Catherine looked around the room, as if she wasn’t sure what she could use to decapitate the monster. “Pull it off, Catherine,” he shouted, beginning to lose patience.
“With what?”
Aaron hadn’t realized this technique wasn’t part of every Hunter’s repertoire. “With your hands!”
Her eyes widened, and it was quite clear she’d never done something like that before. She didn’t hesitate though. She dropped back down to her knees, and placing once on each side of the struggling Vampire’s head, she slid her hands around the top of her head and the bottom of her jaw and began to pull. Nothing happened.
“Sides of her head,” Aaron said, trying to stay calm and patient. “Where your knees are. Side to side.”
Switching positions, Catherine had better luck, and with a few sharp twists, the brunette Vampire’s head came off. Catherine was still clutching it in her hands when the Vampire shriek filled the air around them. This time, it was more like a haunting song, and as the body Aaron straddled turned to ash, the head also disappeared, leaving only the sounds of battle around them.
Surveying the area, Aaron saw that Margot was on the ground, blood pouring from a wound on her arm. Christian was standing in front of her, as if offering a shield, while Clive struggled with the blonde Vampire. “Go get her,” Aaron instructed, sending Catherine over to help defeat the temptress.
Shifting his attention to the other side of the room, he could hardly believe what he was seeing. Both Morris and Ward were lying on top of the redheaded Vampire on the floor, kissing and caressing her, their faces covered in blood where her fangs had punctured their faces. Soft moans called out to him, and Aaron quickly realized she hoped to ensnare him, too.
He wasn’t sure if his previous tactic of pretending to be pulled in by the siren’s song would work again or not, but he was also too tired to try. While it was clear neither Ward nor Morris would be able to help presently with the attack, at least they had her arms tied down. That should help. He knew he’d have to get at her head, but the stake had seemed to weaken her sister, so he decided to go that route first.
Kneeling down next to Morris on the floor, stake in hand, he shoved the massive bald head aside to clear his target. She could see what he was about to do and began to fight against the Guardians to free her arms, but by the time she wiggled her left arm free, he’d already plunged the stake down into her chest. She gasped and began to buck, trying to fight off her would-be lovers and get at the Guardian who attacked her.
“A little help, Ward?” Aaron called, and as his boss looked up at him, there was a flicker of recognition. He glanced down at the Vampire and shifted his body weight so that he was on top of her just in time for Aaron to work his hands around her head. Morris continued his amorous actions even as Aaron began to twist the head off of the lovely beast.
He understood immediately why it had been so difficult for Catherine. Something about the power of these particular Vampires made it even harder to decapitate them. He twisted and pulled, and she fought against him, though Ward holding her down helped. “Counter!” Aaron shouted, and Ward recognized the order, turning the body of the Vampire to the right as Aaron twisted to the left. Despite Morris’s deadweight, the tactic worked, and a few seconds later, the head came free, unleashing a second siren’s song into the night.
The blonde was not as easily corralled as her two sisters. Even with four of the team members focused on her, she had yet to come down. Aaron didn’t wait to see if Morris had come around or if Ward was completely back with them as he ran over to assess the situation.
Margot’s arm was severed at the elbow; he could see that now. Christian was no longer able to guard her as he was entangled in the fight with the siren. Margot looked as if she might pass out at any second. He realized he needed to go get help; if Morris was able to heal her at all, according to Christian, he couldn’t take care of a problem of this magnitude.
“Morris, see what you can do,” Ward demanded, absently wiping at his face where the blood was beginning to dry. “Aaron, go get another Healer.”
Aaron was hesitant. He might be the fastest, but he wasn’t sure he could leave Ward to oversee the rest of the hunt. Was he himself again, or could the blonde pull him under her spell the way the redhead had?
“Go!” he ordered, jumping into the fray with the others.
With a nod, Aaron took off out of the room and back up the stairs.
He was fairly certain he remembered how to get back to where they’d come from, though he wasn’t sure if he should go find a medic himself or go to basecamp and ask Jordan to send one. The sounds of battle seemed to come from every floor, and as he reached the top of the last flight of stairs, he saw a group off down a side corridor entangled with menacing looking black forms that must also be some special type of Vampire he’d yet to encounter.
Aaron sprinted across the entryway, headed toward the front doors which were wide open. As he neared the exit, he heard a commotion on the stairs. He looked up to see a blue mist floating down toward him, coming from one of the upper floors. The pounding of boots on the stairs and shouts of, “Stop him!” followed, and Aaron could see Van leading the charge down the stairs.
This blue mist was Dracula.
Unable to fully believe what was happening, Aaron did the only thing he could think of that might prevent the Impaler from escaping. Rushing toward the doors, he slammed them shut and then put himself directly between the blue mist and the only visible exit.
Before his very eyes the mist began to take form, and before he could realize what was happening, the most malevolent face he’d ever seen hovered in front of him. The skin was pale, the eyes black holes, the teeth, razor sharp, dripping with blood.
Fear washed over him, but Aaron knew Dracula could not kill him—at least he didn’t think he could. “You shall not pass,” Aaron said in the most menacing voice he could muster.
The pounding footsteps drew closer, but he did not avert his eyes to see how close Van was. Staring into the black eyes, he watched as the face twisted into a grimace, and before he could even register what was happening, he found himself flying through the air. The last thing he saw was a blur of Van engaging Dracula in battle as his head cracked against the stone wall and he slid to the floor.
