Chapter 10 #2
“A man and a woman. Trust me, little wolf. He was already dead, and she has now followed along with him,” he explained. I swallowed hard and turned away. His face had paled, and I knew enough to not ask any more questions. I had no desire to see the horrors behind that door.
He took my hand in his and squeezed tight. Cautiously, he continued forward until we reached the rear of the basement where there was one last door. It was a thick wooden frame and he paused, pressing his ear against the wood.
His eyes flared with anger.
“Step back,” he instructed me. He’d tried to keep the fury inside him at bay, but I could still sense the precarious restraint in his tone. I gave him the room he needed, and he threw his weight into the door so hard that it nearly splintered as it crashed open.
My gaze tore into the room beyond and I understood what had made his rage escalate so quickly.
There was a young girl. She couldn’t have been any older than five or six.
She looked lost and frightened, backed into a corner by a man dressed in rags.
He stilled and whipped his head back and I crinkled my nose at the rancid aroma of vampire.
His red deranged eyes met mine and he leapt toward us like a wild animal.
From somewhere inside the mangy cloth that just barely covered his skinny frame a silver knife appeared. He moved quickly and with far more expertise than I expected from something that looked like him.
Elijah burst toward him. He roared like a beast, using his arm to knock the man aside to the floor with a crash. The vampire crawled toward the little girl, sharp canines extended with the full intent on feeding on her. Elijah went after him.
He didn’t hold back. His fist crashed into the side of the vampire’s head.
There was a sickening crunch, but the feral creature didn’t slow down.
He slashed at Elijah, and I was horrified to see that he’d struck him several times.
The sides of his abdomen were bleeding, as well as several cuts on his arm.
The vampire moved impossibly fast. Maybe he was young or just strong from feeding on the man and woman that we’d been too late to save. The little girl screamed, and the vampire tensed. Elijah roared and the man slammed the knife deep into Elijah’s side.
He roared with pain, but he didn’t slow down either. He tangled with the vampire once more before he pinned him to the ground and grasped its head with both of his hands. With a hard twist, he beheaded the vampire.
I turned away as he rose to his feet, not wanting to see the body. With haste, I rushed over to the little girl and knelt before her.
I grasped her hands, and she went to pull away. She needed comfort.
“It’s alright. You’re safe now, sweetie,” I whispered and her pretty hazel eyes found mine. They were glassy with her tears.
“Where’s Mommy and Daddy? They went with him, and they never came back. I don’t know where they went,” she sobbed.
My heart broke for her.
Elijah knelt beside me, and she trembled at his overwhelmingly massive size. She moved a bit closer to me and I wrapped my arms around her.
“Don’t mind him. He looks big, but he’s a big ole teddy bear,” I told her reassuringly and she looked at him with a quizzical expression that said she didn’t quite believe me.
“She’s right, you know,” Elijah added.
The little girl narrowed her eyes. If the situation wasn’t so dire, I would have found the stare down between the two of them humorous. I squeezed my arms around this tiny little thing as she bravely judged the big hulk of a man before her.
“You don’t seem like a teddy bear,” she replied bluntly.
“Can I tell you a secret?” Elijah whispered. He looked from side to side adorably and the little girl cocked her head as she was considering his request. I could see her decision playing out on her face and finally she gave into curiosity and nodded.
“Yes. You can do that,” she replied. This little one was smart. It was really quite cute.
“I like chocolate chips in my pancakes,” he whispered, looking a bit guilty at his confession.
“That doesn’t seem very healthy for you,” she chided him, and I had to bite my lip in order to keep quiet.
“But it tastes so good!” he whined.
“I’ve never had chocolate chip pancakes,” she replied warily.
“I have the best recipe. Promise,” he tried, and she softened in my arms. He was getting to her. I couldn’t help but smile despite the sadness surrounding the whole situation. We hadn’t been able to save her parents. At least we’d been able to rescue her.
“Tell you what, why don’t you come upstairs with Ashleigh and me. Then the three of us can find the kitchen and see if there’s stuff for pancakes,” he offered.
“There won’t be. There’s only boring stuff like green beans and canned peas in the cabinets,” she scoffed. I waited to see what Elijah’s next tactic would be.
“Don’t you worry then. I’ll send someone to the store to get everything we need,” he offered gently.
“I’m not sure I’ll like chocolate chips. I like blueberries though,” she murmured.
“I’ll make sure they get blueberries too,” he said.
“Okay,” she smiled, and she relaxed in my arms. He offered his and she looked at me nervously.
“Don’t worry, he gives pretty good bear hugs. I bet he might even let you up on his shoulders when we get back upstairs,” I told her, and a wave of excitement crossed over her features.
“Really?” she asked gleefully.
“Definitely,” Elijah grinned.
“My name is Becca,” she replied.
“I’m Ashleigh. That’s Elijah,” I said.
“Nice to meet you,” Elijah laughed, and she jumped into his arms. He was careful to angle her so she couldn’t see the bloody mess of the vampire on the floor.
Behind us, Atreyu and Theo took a few minutes to search the remainder of the basement while the two of us made our way back up to the first floor.