Chapter 33 #2
One by one, the vampires fall. Ansley and Daisy don’t engage with any others, but my brothers and I easily corral the remaining few and finish them off.
“Now it’s starting to look like my vision,” Ansley assures us. “Dead vampires everywhere.”
“More are coming!” Remy calls out, and I look up to see them approaching.
There are too many for us to fight them practically. A couple of them are a little older, too. I can tell by how their skin has started to wither. Old enough to show their age, but not old enough to disguise it, like older vampires do.
We fight like the beasts we are, tearing off limbs, ripping out throats, crushing hearts with our fangs. The bodies pile up until we’re slipping on them. We’re covered in blood, gore in our fur, and viscera from our mouths.
“So much easier when we can just tear their chests open without shifting,” Remy observes almost casually while fighting another one. “This strength is incredible.”
I couldn’t agree more. I wade through the vampires, tearing pieces from the ones that are still breathing, if you can call what they do breathing. It’s more of a guttural rasp with the older ones, but they die just like the rest, nothing left of them but pieces and black blood when we’re done.
“Let’s search this floor before we go upstairs,” Hayden says, sprinting ahead.
“Are you two still okay?” I ask, glancing over at Ansley and Daisy. I get two quick nods in response, so I continue on.
More vampires. Makers, and these are older. These are the ones who would have fed at a blood bank. They need more age and blood to learn to wear an illusion. That’s what Wyatt said their kind does. It’s not shifting, it’s just a trick to hide the aging monster underneath.
They rot slowly over the course of many, many years, and this period of their existence is when they aren’t young enough to pass for human, but are grotesque in their decaying appearance, so hiding and stalking in the shadows is their existence unless they have a blood bank set up by younger vampires.
“Getting tougher to rip out these hearts!” Hayden yells. “Slowing us down!”
“We know that,” Wyatt says, strain in his voice. Then I see him hit the ground, pinned down by multiple vampires that can’t bite him, but they’re figuring it out and just punching. “Fuck!”
“I got you,” I yell, barreling into the vampires with all one thousand pounds of my rage. Two hearts get crushed because I just bite down, instead of trying to rip them out.
I’m getting stronger.
“Brothers,” I call out, cackling under my breath. “We’re not even done transforming yet.”
“What?” Wyatt gasps, shaking off blood and punching a hole straight through a vampire’s chest, his fist emerging from the other side holding a heart. “Holy shit! Did you see that?”
“Uh-oh, guys!?” Ansley yells, and we all spin around to face her, biting at vampires as they try to attack. “My sword is…”
The amber in the hilt glows, and sparks trail up the blade. It is engulfed in flames in an instant and Ansley’s hand trembles. Then the fire spins down the blade, turning into a circle of light that sweeps around her, enveloping her in a bright orb of gold. She squeezes her eyes shut.
“What in the holy hell?” Wyatt whispers, killing another vampire without even looking away from our mate.
Ansley’s hair shimmers, red highlights emerging from the brown. Her body widens slightly, then gets taller, almost seven feet before she staggers back and the glow fades.
“Ansley? Oh my god, Ansley?!” Daisy shrieks.
Her eyes open, and they’re now golden. A halo of light hangs over her head for a moment, then dissipates like smoke.
“It seems there’s pieces of more than one soul in me,” she stammers. “This one had a sword. And she knows how to use it.”
“Then fight by our side,” Hayden calls to her, killing a vampire and turning around. “Let’s go upstairs.”
We weren’t the only ones transforming. The mating ritual apparently had a ripple effect, capturing Ansley in its power as well.
“Ansley, you’re like… a Viking Warrior Princess or something. I almost want you to pillage me,” Daisy crows. “Oh wait, does this mean I’m transforming too? Am I going to become a vampire?”
“I don’t think you’ll be biting one to protect Ansley from them,” Remy chuckles. “You might have to bite her to keep her away from the vampires.”
“Hmmm,” Daisy seems to be considering her options. “I should have bitten one of the hot ones. These are all old and… in pieces. Gross.”
We get to the top of the stairs, and we come to a stop.
Vampires are gathering in the hallway. We must be close to something worth protecting.
These are a mix of ones like we just fought downstairs and makers old enough to disguise their hideous appearance, in addition to some that don’t need to do that yet.
One of them steps forward. Slender, hair slicked back. Probably the kind of illusion that makes it easy for him to lure girls back to his nest.
“Xander,” Hayden snarls. “Leave him to me. We have unfinished business.”
“Hey! He’s the one who kidnapped me!” Daisy shouts.
Ansley moves quicker than any of us expect, sword raised, and with a swipe of it that splits the air with a streak of fire, she slices Xander’s head off, spins the sword, and impales his heart. His mouth is contorted midscream as his body and head, separated by a few yards, both erupt in
“No, he doesn’t have business with anyone,” Ansley says, tossing his body towards Daisy. “If you want to bite one, bite him.”
“Ewwww! He doesn’t even have a head anymore!” Daisy squeals, jumping over the body, but stopping short.
“We have bigger problems!” Hayden warns, and the rest of us rush forward.
Ansley’s not Wonder Woman, despite how she looks.
She gets overwhelmed by vampires and has to retreat when there are too many, but she kills so many that her blade is soaked and dripping with blood.
The smell of burnt flesh hangs in the air.
Fresh blood drips from our fangs as we tear through the vampires surrounding Ansley and crush their hearts.
But there are still vampires to kill.
We form a half-circle to keep Ansley and Daisy behind us. Hayden and Ansley fight in tandem; he moves to let her strike and protects her when she’s vulnerable to an attack.
We got this.
We’re going to fucking kill them all.