Page 276 of Golden Eagle

No, it wasfrightened, because the vampire beside it reeled back, too, screeching.

Lanny reached the kids – and an idea. “Can you keep doing that?” he asked Twelve. “Setting them on fire?”

He was white-faced with terror, but nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Stick close, then, and try not to setmeon fire, okay?” He swapped the knife to his right hand, and scooped up the little one so he was perched on his left hip, held in the crook of his left arm. “Okay, kiddo, hold on tight. Can you do that, too?”

“I – I don’t know.”

“It’s okay, let’s just go.”

Twelve was right in front of him as they started forward; Lanny’s knee brushed his back with every step. “They’re afraid of it. See if you can make like a torch, okay?”

“Okay.” Twelve lifted both hands, and fire sprouted in his palms, crackling and bright.

The vampires shrank back away from it.

“Nik!” Lanny called.

“Yeah, I see.”

He felt the others fall in behind him, and they started their slow way down the hall, Twelve’s flames clearing a path amidst startling, hissing vampire things.

It didn’t deter them completely, though.

One came in on Lanny’s right. He brought the knife up, quick, and stabbed it through the soft underside of its chin. It gargled and choked on its own blood as he pulled the blade free.

Eighteen shouted in alarm, and Lanny turned his head to see one crowding on that side, too.

The boy held up a tiny hand, though, and a little jet of yellow flame shot into the thing’s face.

Lanny barked a laugh. “Good job, short stuff.”

Ahead of them, Sasha was ducked low, spinning in tight circles, snapping at hands and hips and whatever he could reach. One of the monsters got a grip on his tail, and another grabbed at his thick ruff.

“See if you can get them off Sasha,” Lanny told Twelve. Behind him, Nik growled, “Sashka.” “Carefully,” he added.

Twelve shot fire. Greasy-haired vamps went up like matchsticks. They immediately let go of Sasha and panicked, instead, crashing into each other, squealing, yelping like dogs.

If their lives continued to be a violent shitshow, Lanny was thinking he really needed to get himself a fire-throwing Familiar.

~*~

Now was a terrible time for Alexei to remember that he’d never been much of a fighter. And that he was weaponless.

Severin shoved a ball of fire into a vampire’s face and it recoiled hissing, its hair alight, its skin blistering.

Dante was struggling. His nose kept bleeding; he’d stopped trying to wipe it, and thick lines of blood ran down over his lips, and dripped off his chin. The skin of his face looked waxy, and his gaze was growing more and more detached. Why wasn’t his body healing itself? Why was this happening at all, after Severin had healed him back at the apartment? Clearly, he was healing some – or else he would have been unconscious by now – but not enough. Alexei didn’t know how long they had before he became dead weight.

Just as that morbid thought struck, so did one of the vampires. It came lunging in on Dante’s far side. Alexei saw bared fangs, and a seemingly cavernous mouth, and he didn’t think, only reacted.

He dragged Dante into his chest, and then shoved him around behind his back, getting his hands up just in time to catch the attacking vamp by both wrists.

He thought of the time Lanny had attacked him, and how he’d been useless, pinned down and pummeled.Not the time.

That had been different; that had been his own offspring, trusted and loved as any sire loved his creation, and he hadn’t expected violence.I’m strong, he thought, and tried to will it so. Braced his feet, tensed all the muscles of his core, and strained against the monster bearing down on him, knuckles popping as he gripped tight.

The vamp dropped his head and leaned in anyway, fetid breath hot on Alexei’s face, saliva spraying against his cheeks. Teeth snapped together, fangs flashing, as the thing tried to bite at him, neck not long enough to allow it.

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