Chapter 438
Katelina fumbled in her pockets for a weapon. She found the Ziploc baggy but its contents were useless. Her eyes skipped hopefully to Kai. He clutched the blanket bag and shook his head.
Shit.
Verchiel's gaze was locked with Arlen's, his violet eyes narrowed. "You thought it would be that easy?"
"Yes." The blonde gave a cold smile, then seemed to evaporate.
"Stay together." Verchiel also disappeared. The pair rematerialized inches from Katelina with a clash of steel. She gave a yelp and hopped backwards, dropping the plastic bag in her haste.
The vampires vanished, then reappeared between a pair of sports cars. Katelina's first impulse was to help Verchiel, but she knew better. They were both wind walkersvampires who could move at unimaginable speeds. That was why they seemed to teleport from one spot to another. But it wasn't just velocity. She couldn't hope to match their strength, either. Though it hurt her pride, she and Kai were more liability than ally.
With that irritated thought, she pulled Kai behind the nearest vehicle. She peeked over their barricade as Verchiel hopped onto the hood of a car. The alarm blared. She covered her ears and looked around wildly. That should draw the police, or at least onlookers. Would Verchiel be able to manipulate all their minds, or would Arlen kill anyone who showed up?
Arlen jumped onto the hood and followed as Verchiel danced back over the roof. He swung his serrated sword. Verchiel dodged away and reappeared on the neighboring car. Arlen tried again and ended with his blade stuck in the vehicle's roof. With a frustrated snarl, he ripped the weapon free and leapt after his opponent.
Verchiel hopped from car to car, leaving a trail of screaming alarms and flashing lights that turned the parking lot into a macabre disco. Arlen followed, slashing and swinging. They were a blur of motion, except for seconds when they would clash, freeze framed, swords locked and faces hard. Then they would split apart and disappear again.
Verchiel landed on the trunk of a red car, and his foot slipped. He turned the move into a sort of spinning jump, but not before Arlen slashed at him. The redhead landed on the ground, clutching his bleeding left arm. On instinct, Katelina started to rise when a thought shouted through her head, "You can't help him." Kai nodded as if to say he'd sent the message to her. Before she could reply, he stiffened and pulled her toward a rusty van. She looked back to see a woman and two males in long black coats rush around the corner. Golden medallions hung around their necks. Weapons gleamed in their hands and their parted lips revealed pointed fangs.
More of Malick's vampires.
The woman motioned to her associates. "Tyler, get them. Braydon, you're with me."
The trio split up. Tyler, with dark messy hair and even darker eyes, rushed at Katelina and Kai's hiding place. The woman and Braydon, a brunette male, made a pincer movement toward Verchiel and Arlen. With nothing else to do, Katelina grabbed a rock and chucked it at the vampiress with a shout. "Verchiel! There's more of them!"
The redhead looked up. Arlen took advantage of the distraction to slam him back into a gleaming blue car. He rammed his serrated sword through Verchiel's chest and into the window behind him. Katelina stifled a scream as the blonde pulled the sword free and Verchiel slouched and stumbled.
Tyler was almost on them. Katelina wrenched a bent shovel from the side of a van and swung at their attacker. She knocked him back into a car. His weapon flew from his hand and landed with a skittering clang several rows away.
Katelina readied for another blow, but Kai pulled her after him. "You took him by surprise. You won't be that lucky again."
As they wove through the maze of parked cars, Katelina glanced back to see the vampire gaining on them. Blood ran down the side of his head and his face was twisted in rage.
They drew to a stop against the side of a building. With nowhere to go, Katelina dragged him under a car. The rough asphalt scraped her hands and her exposed knee. It was better than what the vampire would do if he caught them.
Footsteps drew closer. A pair of booted feet ran past. She released the breath she'd been holding and turned to Kai, ready to share her relief, when something grabbed her ankles and yanked her out of her hiding place. She screamed as the vampire threw her into the nearest vehicle with a crunch. She slid down to the ground and lay stunned and breathless. Tyler advanced slowly, his lips drawn back, a car bumper raised as a weapon.
Kai came from nowhere. He swung the shovel into the surprised vampire's head, and knocked him back. While the monster struggled to stand, Kai pulled Katelina up. She gasped for air, trying to clear the darkness from the edges of her vision.
Their attacker was on his feet again, and twice as angry. He threw Kai through the windshield of the nearest car in a spray of pebbled safety glass. The boy landed across the front seat at an odd angle, blood on his face and hands.
With a snarl, Tyler ripped the car door off the hinges. He jerked Kai from the car and slammed him into the hood of a truck. Katelina grabbed the abandoned shovel. She swung at the center of Tyler's back. The vampire gave a grunt of pain. She readied to strike again, when he spun around and punched her in stomach.
She struggled to her feet as the vampiress came around the corner. When the woman's pale eyes met hers, all the life slipped from Katelina's limbs. She fell to the ground like a limp fish. She tried to move, but her body wouldn't listen.
"Since you need help." The vampiress stood over her, arms crossed, her expression one of annoyance.
"Thanks, Catya." Tyler rolled his eyes. Katelina watched helplessly as he turned back to Kai. He picked the boy up and smashed him into cars, his limbs flopping like a rag doll. Katelina tried to scream, but even her throat wouldn't work. Though she was deafened by the car alarms, she swore she could hear the crunch of the boy's bones with each blow. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't be allowed to kill Kai.
No!
