Chapter 353
The puddle wasn't water, but blood.
Katelina's terrified eyes swept the area. Something white bobbed in the water. As she stared, it slowly focused into a face and a neck; a floating body.
She looked to the vampires quickly. Their expressions said they'd seen it and, from the angle of their stares, more. In her imagination the sea was crowded with the dead, and she took an unconscious step back.
Her heart pounded in her ears and she strained against the sound of the water for something; a footfall, a voice, the click of a gun.
With a shattering crash, four figures dressed in black smashed through the glass storefront of the bar and landed on the dock. Their clothes reminded Katelina of assassins from a video game, complete with hoods that left only their eyes exposed. They held various bladed weapons that gleamed in the light.
"Who are you?" Wolfe demanded.
Their only answer was a savage cry as they lunged forward, weapons swinging. Both their speed and fluid movements revealed what they were: vampires.
Wolfe met the first of them with a clash. Verchiel disappeared and reappeared in front of another. Their swords clanged in the darkness as the other two dashed past. Jorick met one and, before the other could ram into Micah, a board from the dock ripped loose and crashed into the assailant, knocking him backwards. Katelina looked quickly to Sadihra, who was already motioning another board to rip away and hurtle through the air.
Micah snarled and dodged the next board to tackle the vampire to the ground. Though he was younger than most of the vampires in the group, Micah was what they called a titan, meaning he had 'super strength'. As if to prove it, he grabbed the enemy vampire and threw him into the nearest building in a shower of glass.
Weaponless, Jorick grappled with his opponent. The vampire slashed, and Jorick spun away. He came back swinging and landed a punch to the other's face. Katelina imagined the crunch of bone as his foe stumbled backwards. He caught himself at the last moment and swung his bladed weapon at Jorick, just as Sadihra sent shards of glass flying into him like a million tiny darts.
He gave a cry and fell to the dock. Jorick grabbed him by the front of his shirt and hauled him up. Katelina could see the attacker's blood sparkling in the yellow lights of the marina. Despite his injuries, the vampire swiped at Jorick and kicked him in the knee. Jorick stumbled and the vampire wrenched free.
Katelina stepped back from the carnage. Part of her wanted to help, but what could she do? She had no weapon, and was no match for their immortal strength.
Loren misinterpreted her panic and stepped up next to her. "Don't worry, I can be on human guard duty."
Before she could tell him that she didn't need guarded, Oren and Torina flew past her. The vampiress launched herself onto the back of Micah's foe. She clamped her legs around his waist and, with a savage cry, bit into his neck. The vampire slashed at her and Micah took the opening to slam his fist into his enemy's chest with a sick, crunching sound. The vampire teetered and Torina leaped away before he toppled to the ground, leaving Micah with a fist full of the vampire's gory heart.
Verchiel and his opponent ranged over the wooden dock. Their blades flashed and blurred, their fight almost too fast for Katelina to keep track of. Too busy to notice Oren's approach, the intruder cried out when Oren grabbed him from behind and threw him to the dock. He was up again quickly, but Torina grabbed his fallen weapon, and stabbed him through the heart. He stumbled and fell to one knee, and she rammed the blade in deeper. The vampire's eyes went wide and then he fell in a bleeding heap.
Not to be outdone, Jorick snapped his enemy's neck and flung him aside. With a smile, Verchiel flickered, then reappeared, his sword skewered through the fallen foe's chest. "You're welcome."
Jorick rolled his eyes. "I didn't need the help."
Meanwhile, Wolfe swiped at the last attacker with his many bladed weapon. He made contact again and again, knocking the vampire's long knife from his hands and slashing long, gaping cuts in the black fabric of his clothes. He battled him up against the wall of the bar, then grabbed him by the throat, lifted him, and growled, "Who are you?"
With a wave of her hand, Sadihra sent a jagged piece of wood flying through the air. Wolfe gave a startled cry and jumped out of the way as it stabbed through the vampire's chest, pinning him to the building. He gave a final gurgle and then went slack, held in place like a note on a bulletin board.
Wolfe wiped his hands on his coat and his grey eyes snapped over the scene. "Are they all dead?" Though no one answered, his expression turned irritated. "It would be nice to know who they were."
Torina licked blood from her hands, and studied her spattered dress. "Does it matter? They've ruined my clothes."
Micah bent and washed his gory hand in the water. "Doesn't the great mind reader know?"
"I was too busy to delve into the deeper recesses of their minds." Jorick knelt next to one of the bodies and pulled the hood from an unfamiliar face. He rolled the body over and frowned. A white, blood splattered symbol shone on the back of the dead vampire's shirt. Made of swirls and what looked like a cross, it bore a vague resemblance to a horned beast or a dragon's head.
Wolfe crouched next to him and traced the symbol with his finger. "I've seen this before."
"As have I." Jorick stood and kicked the dead body onto its back. "Is this all of them?"
Verchiel disappeared while the other vampires sniffed the air. A moment passed with no sound, and Katelina started forward. Loren grabbed her arm and pulled her back, a warning in his brown eyes. The others spun in the direction of the buildings just as a pair of women jumped through the shattered window. They landed in fighting poses, holding ornate hand-held sickles. Matching ponytails were in contrasting colors of blonde and black. They wore clingy black outfits, much like the first four had, but instead of hoods they had masks over their eyes and no symbol on their back, as if they'd shopped at a cheaper costume store.
You have to be kidding!
Micah charged the pair with a roar. The girls each bounced in a different direction. Loren drew a pocket knife and, with a wink at Katelina, bounded toward the blonde, while Jorick went after the other. The blonde easily knocked aside Loren's paltry weapon. Micah charged between them and grabbed the blade of a sickle barehanded. He wrenched it from her grasp and threw it to the ground, cutting his palm in the process. She jumped back, surprise on her face, and Micah swore and pressed his wounded hand to his pants.
The raven-haired vampiress swung at Jorick, but he dodged her blows. They spun in what looked like a choreographed dance until he caught one of her wrists and wrenched her arm behind her back. One of her sickles dropped to the ground. She raised the other to strike, but stopped when Jorick wrapped a threatening arm around her throat. He could effortlessly snap her neck, and the look in her eyes said she understood that. With a soft shudder, she dropped her last weapon to the ground.
Meanwhile, Torina ripped the jagged piece of wood from the pinned corpse, and turned it on the blonde like a stake. The vampiress ducked, but she wasn't fast enough. Torina skewered her through the spot under her shoulder with enough force to ram the wood clear through. Sadihra sent a shard of glass that pierced her hand and pinned it to the dock. Torina wrenched the piece of wood from her foe and pulled back, ready to slam it through her heart.
"Enough!" Jorick's cry was a command and a sudden wave of power rolled from him.
