Chapter 656
William grabbed Angelica. They disappeared, to pop up a few feet away. Zander rounded on them. William vanished to reappear behind his opponent. He grabbed for Zander's mace, and barely missed getting his head caved in before he zipped away.
Verchiel appeared next to the wind walker, swinging his sword. William dodged at the last second to resurface next to Angelica. She stumbled back into Zachariah. The vampire swore. Adding insult to injury, she wrenched the spiked tonfa away from him and readied to defend herself.
Zander spun in a circle. He slammed his mace into Aalot's back, knocking him to the ground. "Lies!" He swung in a broad downward arc. Aalot rolled out of the way. Leaving the weapon to slam into the dirt.
Aalot's friend moved to interfere. Brandle intercepted him with a clash of weapons.
"Fuck this watching." Micah ran straight at William. The wind walker disappeared. The bald vampire pulled to a stop. He spun in a circle. William reappeared behind him. He swept Micah from his feet and threw him into the trailer where he slid down to land in a heap.
Loren hurried to Micah's side. The bald vampire waved him off and stood. He shook his head, as if to clear it, then charged with a roar. William disappeared. Verchiel followed, two wind walkers zipping across the landscape in nearly invisible blurs.
With William's disappearance, Micah crashed into Angelica. She stumbled back, then surged forward, swinging the tonfa. The blade connected with Micah's midsection. He stumbled back with a gasp. Blood blossomed against his white tank top.
Katelina pulled the dagger from her pocket and leapt into the fray. Weaponless, Zachariah swung for her. Jorick dodged between them. His sword flashed, stained with crimson. Katelina turned for Angelica, but the vampiress sent her sliding backwards.
Micah jerked to his feet. "Back off, Lunch! I don't need your damn help."
"You need all the help you can get," Angelica said.
Micah snarled and charged. She stepped away, but Katelina tripped her. As she fell, Micah pounced, pinning her to the dirt.
"Who needs help now?" He broke into a throaty laugh.
Katelina looked for Jorick. He and Zachariah circled one another. Meanwhile, Zander swung his mace at Aalot and his friend, chasing them in a circle. "You will die for your blasphemy! Your blood will be a sacrifice to her!"
Aalot bounced out of the way. "What are you? Some kind of fanatic? You can believe what you want, but Mistress is the Night Goddess."
"How do you know?" Zander swung again, fury blunting his skill.
"Because I've been with her for almost a thousand years!" Aalot dodged. "I saw masses worship her. I heard them."
"Liar!"
The second vampire lunged at Zander's back. Again, Brandle cut in. Their enemy unleashed a flurry of attacks. Brandle countered each, moving with the speed of a near ancient.
Zander growled and swung the mace into Aalot's head. Katelina heard the crack of his skull and saw the splash of blood and brains. With a cry of fury, Zander slammed through his chest with a crunch.
Angelica writhed under Micah's weight, but she was weaker than him. He readied to punch through her. Brandle grabbed his wrist. "No, not"
His sentence was cut short by an attack. He ducked out of the way, and his foe knocked Micah aside. Free, Angelica leapt up, scrambling for her stolen weapon, Micah's blood smeared on her clothes. "I don't need your help Acwellen."
There was a shout. Katelina saw Jorick sever Zachariah's head. It bounced and rolled, stopping face down against a cactus, while Jorick kicked the body to the ground and cut out the heart.
Brandle kicked his attacker's legs out from under him so that he landed on his knees. Swiftly, Brandle stabbed his dagger into the vampire's head. His victim screamed. Brandle pulled the blade free to jam it through his chest.
Torina kicked the body over on its face. "This is fun enough, but where is Anya?"
Angelica brandished the tonfa and stepped back. Her head swung in all directions. Katelina saw the understanding in her eyes when she realized she was the only one left. "She's inside."
"Is Sarah here?" Katelina demanded.
"Hardly. She's with KaliLilith if you prefer and Ishkur." A soft shudder showed her opinion of him.
"Good." Micah lunged for her.
Again, Brandle stopped him. "Angelica"
Micah pulled away. "Who the fuck's side are you on?"
A streak zipped past, knocking Katelina aside. It materialized into William. The vampire snarled, then disappeared, taking Angelica with him.
Micah spun in a circle. "Where the fuck is our wind walker?"
Verchiel popped up next to him, his hair in disarray. His tattered coat even worse for wear. "You called?"
"Fucking go get them! I'm not done with that bitch yet!"
Katelina noticed Verchiel clutching his stomach. "You're hurt."
With a wink, he lifted his arm to show his slashed shirt and plenty of blood. "Just a flesh wound. I'll be fine."
"Yeah, same here." Micah pointed to his own injury, though it wasn't as bloody as the Executioner's.
"Ouch." Verchiel nodded to the fallen. "Looks like you took care of them."
"No thanks to you." Torina pushed past them. "If you'll excuse me, I have someone more important to see."
So did Katelina.
Clutching her dagger, she followed the redhead down the stairs to the door. Their eyes met. For once, Katelina felt a mutual understanding between them. Torina owed Anya for Des. Katelina owed her for Estrilda. They were going to make sure she got paid back.
Torina shoved the door open and stormed in, Katelina on her heels. The first room was like a mudroom, with a pile of shoes and a deep freezer. Walls made of concrete blocks were painted white. A layer of dirt confirmed the abandoned status.
Torina lifted her dagger and called, "Where are you? Hiding like the coward you are?"
A doorway in the far wall led to a narrow hallway lined with doors. A vampire stepped from one of the rooms, his dark hair slicked back. "Who the fuck are you?"
Torina growled. "Where's Anya?"
He eyed the weapons. "What do you want with her? Where's Aalot and Cecil?"
"If you mean the idiots that were outside, they're dead."
The vampire did a double take between them and the door. "What theAnya!"
Torina dropped into a defensive stance. The vampire shouted one more time, then charged. Torina stepped aside at the last second. Katelina tripped him as he barreled past. He landed on his face and skidded into the wall.
"He's yours." Torina headed down the hallway. "Anya! Come out, come out!"
"Hey!" Katelina called. So much for their understanding.
The guy was on his feet, swinging a boot as a weapon. It caught Katelina off guard and knocked her back into the wall. She straightened, shaking her head. Before she could overcome the surprise, he jammed an elbow into her stomach, and kicked her in the knees. She stumbled forward. An elbow to the back of the neck drove her to all fours.
Micah's imaginary voice rang through her head, "That the best you got?"
With a snarl she stabbed her attacker in the leg. The dagger stuck. He hopped back on one foot, cursing. Katelina swept to her feet, lunging for the weapon. He yanked it free and threw it down the hallway.
"Now you're going to die," he snapped.
Anya's voice floated to them from deeper in the complex. "Look who it is." At the sound, Katelina's fury rose to a fever pitch.
"Sorry, I don't have time to mess with you." She swung her fist at his heart, like she'd seen the others do. Warm liquid splattered her face. She blinked and realized she was wrist deep in his chest, his broken ribs sticking out at weird angles, his heart in her hand.
Like the minion at the lodge. Except this time it's not on accident.
She ripped the heart lose and threw it to the ground. Though she didn't know if it was necessary, she stomped on it. It popped like a tomato and splattered up her leg.
She shook gore from her arm. She'd have time to be grossed out later. There were more important things.
She retrieved her dagger from the hall. When a cry sounded from deeper in, she hurried down the corridor. It ended at a room carpeted in blue with a TV and a low couch. She dashed through an open door in the back, down another hallway to a storeroom lined in silver shelving racks. In the middle of the room, Torina and Anya struggled. Katelina pounced toward the blonde vampiress, but Torina shouted, "Don't help me! Get them out of here!"
Them? Katelina noticed a small heap in the corner, wrapped in flannel. A curly head peeped out of the top. Katelina moved closer to realize it was a toddlerno two toddlers. One with a mop of light brown curls and hazel eyes. The other with dark skin and eyes like ebony. Their round faces, maybe a year old, were creased with terror. Tears ran down their cheeks.
Images of the Lilith's Canadian holding cell popped into Katelina's mind. The bitch was starting over with a new pair.
Like hell.
Katelina scooped up the squirming bundle. She turned for the door, as Anya dodged away from Torina. "My God, you're a pain."
Before Katelina could turn, the vampiress hit her across the back. The children squealed as she stumbled, struggling to hang on to them.
"I wasn't done with you." Torina punched Anya in the face.
The blonde reeled and pulled up. "I've been done with you for a long time, like most of your men." She grabbed the nearest rack and swung it. The corner caught Katelina in the head and knocked Torina into another rack. They collapsed together with a clatter. Torina pulled up, sending broken shelves scattering.
