Chapter 475
Lightning sliced across the sky and threw the valley into sharp relief. Long shadows twisted off into the misty grass. The house's broken windows glinted. Thunder followed in a low rumble. Katelina's heart raced and she tightened her hold on her makeshift club.
They paused at what was left of the first building. Jamie kicked through the rubble and motioned it clear. Jorick did the same at the next. Wolfe ducked into what was left of a barn only to come back a moment later and signal them onward.
They crouched behind a rusty gas tank and surveyed the area a final time. Katelina waited for someone to come bursting out of the house, fangs gleaming.
When nothing happened, Wolfe slunk across the yard to the back door. He leaned against the side of the house, as if listening, then signaled the others to join him. They skirted a pile of firewood and huddled under the dripping eaves for a tense moment.
At a look from Jamie, Jorick kicked the door open and they charged through. The room beyond was thick with shadows. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling and myriad footprints marred the dusty floor. Otherwise it was empty.
The scent of blood was thick. Katelina wasn't hungry, but the smell still affected her. She looked to Jorick. He nodded as if to tell her it was all right.
Jamie threw the next door open. The stench of blood and death rolled past them and he stepped back. Though his face was hard, she saw disgust in his eyes.
Jorick, Braydon, and Wolfe moved past him. She covered her nose and followed to find a sea of limbs and shredded body parts. The floorboards were slick with blood that squelched when she stepped. Crimson was splattered across the walls. Globs of drying gore made her think of grisly stucco.
She shuffled through ankle deep carnage and stopped to gag. "What in the hell?"
"It's like the silo, only worse," Jamie said.
Braydon turned his back, his arm over his mouth and nose.
Wolfe kicked what looked like the bottom half of a human jaw, then prodded a severed head to reveal a fanged mouth. "A mix of human and vampire. I think we found the team that was supposed to meet us. The death is fresh. No more than an hour or two."
Jamie stepped over a slippery pile of intestines. "Someone should notify The Guild."
Wolfe tugged a cell phone from his pocket, checked for signal, then shoved it back impatiently. "We will when we return to the van."
Something moved deeper in the house. Jorick motioned them toward the door. "This is no place for a fight."
They backed out slowly. Once outside, Katelina took in deep lungfuls of the fresh, damp air. She didn't get time to enjoy the relief before the window next to her burst in a spray of glass. The bulky red haired vampire from the silo slid to a stop, wielding his half hammer-half axe.
Jorick charged him. As he swung, Jamie dashed in. The redhead barely missed being skewered, and Jamie came away with blood.
Wolfe bellowed, "Where is Malick?"
The redhead stepped back with a sneer. "You again. Are you the best that the Kugsankal can find to throw against us? The sum of its great strength? Malick was right. They have grown slow witted and weak in the halls of the Stronghold. No wonder they could not defeat the Children of Shadows."
"But we did," Wolfe snapped. "In Indonesia."
The redhead laughed. "Then who did we find and destroy if not the remnants that the Kugsankal allowed to live? They failed. You failed. You are weak and the time has come to destroy you; destroy the artificial hold the Kugsankal has over all of us."
Jorick's words came back to her, "I saw the scene in Fethillen's mind. The Children of Shadows were literally torn to pieces."
Just like the people in the silo. Just like the mass of victims in the house. That meant that Malick-
"Why would you kill the Children of Shadows," Wolfe demanded.
"Because they were the enemy of all and have been since they first began. You are too young to remember their reign of terror, how they slaughtered vampire and human alike; whole villages sacrificed on Memnon's altar, an offering to the goddess of darkness. Enough. It matters not. We owe no explanations to one as weak as you. The banner of the golden eye destroyed Memnon then and under it we have eliminated the last of his followers. We will dispatch you and move on to an even greater threat."
He lunged at Wolfe. The Scharfrichter dodged away, his small weapon no match for the heavier hammer-axe. Katelina fell back a step as someone dropped down from the roof. A familiar blond vampire landed in a crouch, his hair and coat soaked. He scanned the fight and met Katelina's eyes. A cold chill crept up her spine. It was Arlen, Malick's wind walker, the one who had left Verchiel for dead in the parking lot.
With a roar Katelina threw her bag at him. He disappeared and reappeared, and the bag landed in the grass. "I don't have time to play with you."
She lunged for him, but he easily dodged both her and Jorick.
"Catch him!" she shouted.
Brayden sprang and missed. Their enemy laughed. "As if you could!" Then he was gone, a blur headed out of the valley and down the mountain.
Katelina started to charge after him. Braydon grabbed her arm and shook his head. "The most you could hope for is an ambush in the hills. None of us can catch him."
Verchiel could, she thought. If only they'd brought him.
The house's door slammed open. The dark woman from the silo appeared, holding a spear. The blade on the end was curved like an ocean wave and looked more suited to a fantasy movie than the Tajikistan countryside.
Katelina scooped up her bag and threw it at the newcomer. Unlike Arlen, it hit her with enough force to knock her back against the house. Before she could recover, Jorick punched her. She stumbled and landed in a water puddle. She came up, swinging the spear. Jorick barely bounced out of the way.
Jamie's sword clashed with the hammer-axe and the two vampires spun away from one another, snarling. Wolfe used the opening to slash the redhead across the back. Katelina couldn't see if he connected or not, but the growl of anger suggested he did.
"Katelina!"
She looked in time to miss the sharp end of the vampiress' spear. Her dodge turned into a roll that left her at the feet of the rusty gas tank, covered in mud. She jerked up and charged her enemy. The woman's attention was on Jorick, and Katelina landed a solid punch to her kidneys. Jorick grabbed a chunk of wood from the stack and slammed it into the vampiress' back. She fell sideways, using the spear like a cane to catch herself.
She shook the shock off and swung the spear in a wide arc that caught Katelina in the knees. She fell backwards into the wet grass. Though she tried to roll away, the vampiress was faster. Burning pain exploded in Katelina's side. She looked to see her enemy pull the spear free. Blood blossomed on Katelina's shirt to be washed away by the cold rain.
