“Duck,” Severin said behind him.
Alexei ducked, and heat poured over him as Severin threw fire into the vampire’s face.
It tried to pull back, then, wanting to get away.
Alexei let go of one of its wrists, reached beneath the melting ruin of its face, and tore its throat out with his bare hand.
It was messy, ugly work; he felt skin and sinew get caught under his nails. But he was strong, and he did it quickly, efficiently. The body dropped, spitting blood and flames.
“Sev.” Alexei turned to the mage, an idea sparking. “I need you to do your flamethrower trick.”
The boy’s eyes widened, but he nodded. Dante leaned against him, looking half-asleep.
Alexei gathered him into his own arms, one of Dante’s arms pulled across his shoulders. “Get down!” he shouted ahead, at the others. “Get to the floor, now! Incoming!”
They dropped.
Val took a head off, first, swinging like a Major League ballplayer, and then went to his belly with the others.
Severin lifted both hands, took a huge breath, and the fire roared out.
The backdraft swept Alexei’s hair back, and stung his eyes. The flames looked breathed by a dragon, red, and orange, and yellow, flickering tongues. It didn’t merely set the vampires alight; itmeltedthem. Alexei smelled scorched flesh, and the charcoal stink of blackened bone.
The fire seemed to pour from the skin of Severin’s hands, rippling, ceaseless, shocking.
But, finally, it ended, and the second the flames winked out with a sucking sound, Severin swayed and nearly collapsed. Alexei twisted at the last second, and got his other arm around his waist. “Go!” he shouted to the others. “Move!”
He didn’t look at the charred, screaming, melting, burning vampires around them. Only hoped they had enough of a chance, and ran, dragging his two stumbling dependents with him.
~*~
The vast sea of cubicles was dark, which would have been a mark in their favor, but the soldiers had lights attached to their guns.
“Targets for us,” Much said at her shoulder, as they clambered over the pile of bodies Fulk and Anna had dropped just outside the door to the conference room.
She fumbled around with the neck strap, and finally managed to pilfer an AK-47 from one of the corpses. It was set to semi-auto, and the first time she fired, straight at one of the approaching lights, squinting against its brightness, she had to squeeze the trigger three times before the light fell back.
She took aim at another–
Only for it to turn, for all of them to. The soldiers were retreating, finally.
She gave chase, firing at what she could see of their backs. One went down. The others headed for the elevators.
“Keep moving!” Fulk shouted behind her. “Don’t stop, don’t look back!”
Don’t look back.
Why? she wondered.
Then she heard a snarl, and something crashed into her.
Trina went sprawling. Her hand tightened on the gun, on instinct; she pulled it into her chest and gripped it tight. Her shoulder hit first, and the impact knocked the breath from her. She rolled twice – she’d been hit hard. When she landed on her back, she scrambled for the gun.
And something pounced on her.
Hands slapped the ground on either side of her head. In the glow of the exit sign, and she saw long, tangled hair hanging down on either side of a face; saw the glint of gleaming eyes, and the points of bare fangs. Something hot dripped onto her face – saliva. One of the vampires.
Devils, Dr. Fowler had said.