Chapter 149
Jorick shoved Katelina behind him, but not before she recognized two of the intruders: Senya and Bren. They'd been at Oren's mansion in October and had helped murder his wife and children. Katelina would never forget their twisted faces lit by flickering fire light and smug righteousness.
She wasn't the only one. With a cry of rage, Oren seized a flowered armchair and hurled it towards them. The Executioners jumped out of the way; Bren and Senya to the right and the other three to the left. The chair shattered against the wall.
A lone battle cry sounded from Traven's ranks and the remaining vampires snapped into action. Traven neatly stepped in front of Jeda and barked orders to his seven vampires. They fell into formation around the three Executioners who'd landed on the left side of the room. Meanwhile, Oren grabbed the second armchair and flung it towards Bren and Senya. Fabian and Luna crouched low, waiting to spring and Jorge took advantage of the confusion to sneak towards the dining room.
The sofa became an unspoken battle line. Behind it the fight raged, while in front of it Katelina clutched Jorick, and Traven and Jeda stood with impassive faces, separated from the chaos as if by sheer will.
Torina took an uncertain step back towards the spectators. Her body was tensed and ready to fight, though her green eyes were fearful as she watched Bren and Senya neatly sidestep the second chair. Indecision was on her face, and Jorick made up her mind for her. "Stay here. There are enough fighting already."
At that moment Traven noticed Jorge's escape. In a few steps, he grabbed his prisoner by the throat and slammed him into the wall. "Where do you think you're going?"
Jorge pointed at the scene and declared, "Ellos est¨¢n locos si pelean contra los Atormentadores!"
The fight continued, loud and violent. Bits of broken furniture and knickknacks flew through the air and voices snarled together, like footprints in a snowy playground, one indistinguishable from another.
An ear splitting scream sounded over the top of the chaos. One of Traven's vampires crumpled to the ground, his chest a gaping hole left by an Executioner. Traven growled, and shouted something in French, but it was lost to a second scream.
Fabian fell to the floor and curled in a ball, clutching his midsection. A pool of crimson spread out from him and soaked into the carpet. Bren stood over him, a bloody blade clutched in his hand and a gloating smile on his lips.
Micah and Loren quickly took Fabian's place. Micah shoved Luna out of the way and tackled Bren. He ripped and clawed, but was no match for the older, faster Executioner. Bren raised his short sword and neatly severed Micah's hand. The appendage fell to the floor and Micah howled in pain. Blood poured from the stub, but he attacked again, his eyes bright coals of rage.
The sight made Katelina sick. Since Kateesha's death, she'd told herself she was tougher and stronger. Faced with the carnage, she realized she wasn't. Killing Kateesha had been a fluke. If she had to fight one of the Executioners she wouldn't be so lucky.
Another of Traven's vampires shrieked in agony. He was pinned to the wall by three long, sharp daggers in his shoulders and his stomach. One of the Executioners made to slam a fist into his chest, but the fatal blow never landed. The dark skinned vampire, who'd guarded Jorge earlier, threw the Executioner to the ground in a squirming, shouting heap that was blocked from view by the couch. One of his fellows dropped quickly to join him and the Executioner screamed.
Traven's two vampires were on their feet moments later, blood on their faces and shirts. The dark skinned one gripped a handful of gore that Katelina knew was a still beating heart. He crushed it to pulp in his hand. The remaining Executioners, one female and one male, shouted in outrage and threw themselves at the pair to avenge their comrade. In a single stroke, the female removed the dark vampire's head. It bounced on the carpet and rolled to a stop near one of the wrecked chairs. The eyes continued to stare, as if the vampire could still see what was happening.
Katelina shuddered.
Loren attacked Bren from behind. He managed to wrest the sword from the surprised Executioner's hand. Bren slammed him in the head with his fist and knocked him to the floor. Before he could attack further, Oren tackled him and they fell back, wrestling and clawing.
Micah hurried to Loren and stood over him like a guardian. He held his bleeding stump against his side to stem the flow, but his skin had a strange, clingy quality to it. Katelina had seen a vampire drained of blood before, and it was a terrifying sight.
Loren rolled over slowly, a hand to his head. Red seeped from between his fingers. His mouth moved as he spoke to Micah, though the words were lost behind the noise of the others.
Katelina felt a bizarre sense of relief. "He's all right?"
Jorick didn't answer. His attention was on Senya, who stalked towards Loren and Micah. Blood ran down her cheek from a gash in her face. Her features were twisted in loathing, and in each hand she held a dagger. Behind her, Luna closed in.
Weaponless, Bren snatched a nearby vase and swung it at Oren. The lion-maned vampire deflected it with his hands, though it shattered on impact. Bren threw aside what was left of it and snatched up a piece of the splintered chair. He brandished it like a stake.
Torina started forward. "I'm going to help him!"
Jorick thrust Katelina at her instead. "Protect her!" he commanded and bounded over the couch.
Katelina shrieked after him and snatched at the place he'd been. Torina pulled her back angrily. "Stay put!"
Jorick landed next to Oren and Bren. The Executioner spun to face his new foe. He didn't have time to raise his weapon before Jorick wrapped an arm around his neck and jerked sharply. With a snap, Bren went limp, his neck broken.
Jorick let go and Oren caught him. With a savage cry borne of vengeance, he tore at Bren's throat with his fangs. The Executioner's blood poured over his face and into his opened mouth. Katelina fought the urge to throw up. She wanted to blot out the scene, but her eyes betrayed her. Oren appeared half mad; his untamed hair fell around his face and his amber eyes were wild. His face was twisted into something animal like. Blood ran down his chin and soaked his shirt. Even as he drank, he clawed at Bren's chest, digging through cloth and skin for his heart.
While Jorick snapped Bren's neck, Luna tackled Senya. She wasn't strong enough to take her down so she rode on her back and squeezed her throat. Senya swung her blades wildly, trying to slash her. One of Traven's vampires shrieked a death scream and scarlet splashed onto the couch. The far reaching droplets sprayed Katelina and Torina. The contact was too much for the vampiress. She threw Katelina towards Traven and Jeda and leapt to join her brother. She grabbed Bren's limp body and bit savagely into his shoulder, fighting for her share of the blood.
Katelina caught herself on the wall and met Jorge's eyes. He muttered something in Spanish and shook his head. Neither Traven nor Jeda acknowledged her presence. Their attention was on their coven, who still fought the other two Executioners.
Meanwhile, Jorick dodged Senya's daggers and tried to take her legs out from under her. His eyes slid sideways to where Oren stood, lips locked on Bren's neck and the dead vampire's pulpy heart squashed between his fingers.
"Oren!" Jorick barked. It was a command, and at the sound, the blonde's face cleared; the momentary madness gone. Wordlessly, he dropped Bren's body to the floor and scraped the remains of the squashed heart onto the carpet. Torina knelt jealously over the corpse, still drinking.
Oren moved towards Senya, his face and shirt shiny with Bren's blood. "Move!" he bellowed at Luna. She let go of the Executioner and leapt away just as Oren crashed into Senya and threw her to the floor.
Though she was pinned down, Senya slashed furiously with her twin blades. The daggers cut into Oren's cheek and shoulder. Luna knelt next to them on the floor and grabbed Senya's arm. She twisted it and snapped the bones.
"Kill her!" Oren shouted to Jorick, fighting to hold her bucking body down while Luna grabbed her other arm.
"Sword!" Jorick shouted to Micah.
The bald vampire grabbed Bren's discarded weapon and tossed it.
Before Jorick could catch it, a new vampire leaped through the shattered window. His motions were so fast that he was just a blur of color as he bounced once off of the floor and landed neatly on the back of the couch in a crouch. In one hand he held Bren's sword, snatched from midair on his way past, and in the other a medium length sword that reminded Katelina of a ninja movie. Perfectly balanced on the back of the couch like an acrobat, he rose to his full height. Without words, the twisted medallion around his neck said what side he was on.
He raised both arms, a weapon in each hand. "That's enough!" he commanded, his voice thunder. The battles around him ceased, suspended by pure shock. With all eyes on him, he broke into a grin and slowly lowered his arms. The terrifying, commanding presence was replaced in an instant, like he'd changed a mask, and his tone turned conversational. "There's been enough blood spilled, don't you think?"
