Page 40 of To Kill a Vampire
Only a handful of veil fall from the ships; with reckless limbs they thrash through the dark waves and up the shore. Long arms slash through the clear water, disrupting the calming sea with every reckless step. One storms right up to me, shrieking into the night until it’s less than a foot away.
My back arches, and I do the only thing I can think of; I shriek back in its graying face, my teeth bared and a hint of a hiss in my voice.
Its mouth opens, seething with anger as it blindly assesses me. Its claw lowers to the ground as it cowers away. Long limbs creep along the smooth rocks, slowly backing away from me. It doesn’t make it far, though.
In the flash of an eye I sink my sword into its spindly chest. A low and weak sound cries from its thin lips before I pull the sword from its body, flinging its blood back with the movement. Slick, inky blood stains my skin.
The president drops from the ship like an angel falling from heaven. She lands with unwavering posture just in front of me, and her beautiful black gown drags across the damp rocks as she stalks closer to me. My attention is drawn back to the ship when I realize someone is still on it.
My father. He stands in a burly coat, his nose red from the winds of the sea. Unsteady hands grip a hand gun, but his gaze appears somewhat vacant as he stares out at the night with a look of uncertainty and fear smeared across his face.
“I considered your proposal,” she says, her eyes skimming the length of the bloody sword in my hands. “Unfortunately, we were unable to come to an agreement.” A cruel smile twists her red lips.
My lungs burn as I breathe rapidly through my nose, my fist clenching the sword so hard it hurts. With too much force, I swing the sword up, but in a flash she dodges the sweep of the blade. Stumbling feet carry me into the cold waves of the ocean as I try to regain my balance. Her body seems to coil with the wind as she sidesteps my attempt and begins running up the coast.
With more energy than I’ve ever felt, I run after her, my feet slipping against the rocks. She’s just a few yards ahead of me, but she’s coming closer and closer to the Wanderer’s community by the second.
I push myself harder as my bare feet fling dust in my wake, the woods coming into sight now. The screams and clashing of an unseen battle echo into the night.
When her thin body is just a foot away, I lurch forward taking us both to the ground. With shaking anger I raise the sword, but it barely singes her skin. She rolls out from beneath me, sending me spiraling to the side.
“I’m not a fighter, Fallon.” She circles me, holding her pretty dress in her petite hands. “I’m a survivor.”
Forceful breaths shake from my lungs as we begin to almost dance together. Every move I make closer to her she takes several quick steps back. It’s a circling and infuriating dance I’m not very good at.
“Oh, look your mate seems to be in a bit of trouble.”
I peer off into the distance, my eyes scanning over the hundreds attacking one another. Among the chaos I spot him with ease; two veil are attacking Asher, and he seems to be trying to hold them off from the mortals. His sword plunges into the nearest one just as it sinks its teeth into his forearm.
He needs my help.It’s the last thought I have before the president moves with unseen speed. Her small hand shoves me harshly, and I lose my balance. The rock cuts into my feet as I teeter on the cliff, hanging on to the edge of the world.
Panic fills Asher’s eyes as he spots me from across the crowd. The wind pulls at my body, taking me down once more.
Nineteen
The Infinity Witch
Asher
The look of fear in her eyes has my muscles tightening with rage. With ease I cut through the veil before me like it’s nothing more than smoke. Its blood spatters my face as its thin body falls to the ground with a sickening splatter.
But more thrash up to me without delay. I breathe hard, realizing the veil are too much of a threat for the recently trained mortals of our community.
I have to believe in her. Fallon’s always been strong. Now her strength burns through her in cursed blood. I’ll always worry about her, but right now I have to protect the people she cares about. The people she risked everything for.
As I raise the sword, my fists tightening on the hilt, I slice into the shrieking creature racing toward our community. The blade sinks into its thick arm, clipping it almost entirely in half but it doesn’t delay the veils rage. Long claws sink into my chest, tearing me to the ground in one swift motion.
Rows of sharp teeth sink into my shoulder, and the pain flares all the way to the bone. My jaw clenches, and without thinking I bang my head into its slick gray skull. It jars back from me, a shriek flinging from its lips. Its hind legs crouch ready to leap, but a flaming blue light ignites across its spindly body.
Louder, its cries carry, and it only takes a moment for me to find the source of the burning magic. The Infinity witch glares with determination. The image of my brother stands beside me with fumes of blue light blazing from his palms, hitting the crumpling veil in the center of its chest.
My lips part as I remain lying on the ground, and for a moment I’m mesmerized by the magic glowing from his steady hands. The unnatural flames char the veil’s flesh, a strangling cry slipping from its lips.
The only witches I’ve ever met were less than honorable. I’ve never seen one so strong and living with purpose. They’d never risk their lives for another mystic. Kenzent is fighting for mortals.
Kenzent stares down at the withering creature with an almost vacant look; my brother’s lips are set thin as he glares hard. He turns to me slowly, dirt clinging to his shirt. He extends his hand to me, the same hand that held a mystical fire in it just moments ago. A hesitancy slips through me for less than a second before I take his hand. My brother nods at me, a wordless communication passing between us. A strange calm presses into me as I swallow hard.
The magic that eternally clings to the Infinity witch flickers, and the image of my brother slips for an instant revealing something just beneath the surface. The power within the mystic is being used for something other than deceiving everyone else. It’s being used to burn through our enemy.
