Page 58 of Red

My heart breaks as I hear his whimper, and I dive for the sword. But I never get a chance to reach it as I’m caught by a vampire.

“Julia!” I hear Alex’s bellow from afar.

And then, there is only pain. Not sure about the source, but the agony feels like forever.

Until it stops when my attacker implodes, covering me from head to toe in its guts.

I wipe my face clean to catch Farah with the corner of my eye. Before the chopper flies above her, and she falls, tangled in a large net made from iron, I assume, since it blocks her powers.

My eyes locate Alex, who’s still struggling with the hybrid, trying to break free. I spit blood that’s pooled in my mouth, and jump back on my feet, racing to the sword.

So much gunk is on me; I’m not even sure if any of the blood is mine. My ribs are pressing against my lungs, causing huge discomfort, my heartbeat pounding in my ears as my own tears choke me. But none of it matters.

Running purely on adrenaline, I pick up the sword. It’s even heavier than I anticipated, but I only see red. With all the strength I have in my human body mixed with all the feelings I carry for my werewolf, I swing.

It's a clean cut.

The head rolls down by my feet as the blood gushes in waterfalls everywhere around.

“Nice one, baby!” Alex praises, tossing the lifeless body of the beheaded hybrid to the sidefrom himself.

He then quickly raises to his full height and covers my frame protectively with his own.

The helicopter already hovers above us, yet they aren’t shooting. We must be too important for them because everyone but us is down.

There are zero chances we can win this now.

21.

Prey

Chopper begins to lower to the ground, and I know this is the end. I only hope they will continue to let us go together. Since I’m so valuable to them, they can’t kill Alex because we would die together. Either way, it doesn’t seem to be their goal since everyone, though captured, is still alive from our side. At least, that’s something to call a victory.

I almost accept my fate, clinging to him as tears cascade down my face. But all of a sudden, a noise of flapping wings cuts the air. A sound so powerful, it reminds me of a thunderstorm.

The helicopter turns sharply to face North, and I see the terrified looks on soldiers’ faces on the ground, who are no longer focused on us.

No fucking way!

My breath catches in my throat as I follow the source with my own eyes.

A massive flying serpentine creature soars over the lake, its colossal wings stretched wide, catching the starlight and casting shadows on the water's surface. The ground trembles with each beat that is as terrifying as it is majestic.

Alex pulls me closer to his chest and covers my ears before an insanely loud screeching roar bounces off the lake. I’m not even exaggerating when I say I’m convinced it echoes all the way to Canada.

“You never mentioned you have a dragon!”

“It’s a Leviathan. The oldest being of this earth and my dear friend,” he replies with a nod to it.

The air is charged with a fiery energy, and even from a distance separating us, I can feel the heat radiating from the serpent’s breath.

Just a moment later, I watch the torrents of fire spitting from its powerful jaws—a wrathful response to those who dared to threaten us. The flames dance on the sky, before the helicopter explodes, and its pieces fall to the ground.

The Leviathan flies over the entire clearing, breathing fire down on every soldier, leaving no survivors on the enemy side. Its reptile eyes are flaring with anotherworldly luminosity, scales glistening in the moonlight, long and spiky tail curling behind.

I’m left spellbound, unable to tear my eyes away. But just as rapid as it first arrived, it now disappears flying into the night.

It takes me a moment to grasp that we won. My eyes then snap to Alex, who’s watching me already. In a rush of emotions, he takes me in his arms, but I wince in pain, just now realizing how bad it is. “Shit, it hurts so much.”

---