Page 35 of Vampire's Bite

Once we tracked the fucker down, he didn't stand a chance. Using our powers, hoping no one would see us under the cloak of darkness, we ran quickly through the city and countryside, searching everywhere we could think of that vampires lurked. But, after a thorough search of all the usual places he went, there was absolutely no sign of Massimo.

"He must've gone dark," I grumbled as Ash and I made our way back to the outskirts of town. "He'll have to show his face at some point." No way could he stay hidden forever. He was too narcissistic to be able to keep to the shadows, to stay unseen. Guys like Massimoneededthe attention.

Ash nodded his head. "And when he does, we'll show no mercy."

The next line on our list simply saidthe vampire hunters. Any vampire hunter. If we saw one, he was going to die. Even though taking them out would be like trying to kill a colony of ants one by one, we had to at least try and put a dent in their numbers.

And it would give us a chance to vent some of our pent up rage. Retribution for what happened to Rook and what they’d tried to do to Cordie. The less hunters that existed, the better chance our species had of surviving. Knocking their numbers down a peg or two would work to our advantage in the long run.

After everything Cordelia had gone through, we knew that our primary targets were Milo and Jonathon. They relied too much on their weaponry and the element of surprise and certainly weren't used to being hunted, which would make them easy prey.

Chances were, they wouldn’t be careful enough to avoid two vampires who were actively searching for them. Not even the ones who had been around for a while, like Jonathon, and were harder to take out. They were always more prepared for battle, but even Jonathon would be no match for Ash and me.

We were both extremely skilled fighters, having been trained by the head vampire guards at court when we were much younger. The skills we had mastered were otherworldly. Although we hadn’t needed to use them in years, I found going into battle and fighting for Cordelia to be exhilarating in a way I hadn’t been in a while. We were fulfilling our purpose as protectors of the prince and ambassadors for the vampire court.

Oh, how the tables were turning for the ones who believed to be the superior race. We would put them in their place and then crush their bodies for what they had done.

Once we reached the field where the hunters had shot at us, we stopped to catch our breath and formulate a plan.

"We should split up," Ash suggested and looked at the acres and acres of ground and ground cover where they could easily have been camouflaged and hiding. "That way we can cover more ground."

I shook my head. "No, we stick together. We're stronger that way."

He didn't argue with me, and I was glad. I didn't want to be alone out there, not knowing what might be waiting for us in the darkness. For all we knew, the hunters had set more traps with the same type of gasoline that had burned Rook to a crisp. Or, better yet, perhaps they were positioned and ready to shoot at us with vampire bullets, snipers behind every tree. No way could we check them all.

"All right, let's go then," Ash said with a sigh, and I could tell he was as reluctant as I was to venture out into the open. He rubbed his ear, which was still inflamed and attempting to heal. It was his new tell and I had seen it a couple times already. That bullet ripping through the skin and it taking so long to heal was traumatizing.

We spread out, walking in a line with about five feet between us. We were both on high alert, our eyes scanning the area for any tell-tale signs of danger. The first few minutes passed without incident, but then I heard Ash hiss in pain.

"What is it?" I asked, running to his side.

He held up his hand, and in the dim light of the moon I could see a small cut on his palm. "I must have brushed up against something," he said with a grimace as he held his wrist in his uninjured hand.

I looked around, trying to see what could have caused the cut, but there was nothing in sight. Ash shook his head. "It doesn't matter," he said. "Let's keep moving."

We continued forward cautiously, our eyes peeled for any more traps the hunters might have left for us. Suddenly, Ash stopped short and I nearly ran into him.

"What is it?" I asked, but then I saw it too.

Lying in the middle of the field was a dead animal of some kind. It had been set ablaze similar to Rook. The poor little guy was burned to a crisp, so much so that I couldn't even tell what it had been to begin with, just that it had four legs.

Ash and I exchanged a look, and I could see the rage shining in his eyes.

It seemed the hunters were bored as they waited for us to return. They knew we were coming and had left a message with the innocent creature:this is how you'll die.

We continued on, our steps quickening as we were eager to find the hunters and make them pay. Soon, we heard the sound of footsteps. They were approaching us from all directions. It seemed we had finally found them. Or maybe they’d found us. But we had anger and fury on our side. And skill where they had weaponry. We would win.

We readied ourselves and waited for them to show themselves. Suddenly, they were upon us.

Milo and Jonathon were at the front of the pack, flanked by two of Milo's college aged friends.

The rest of the hunters were close behind, but they hung back, letting Milo and Jonathon take the lead. It was as if they knew that this was personal for us and that we needed to be the ones to take them down.

"Thanks for joining us, gentlemen. Or should I say, scum of the fucking earth?" Jonathon stepped forward, grinning from ear to ear like the bad guy in a movie who was about to die but had to spew out some half-assed witty one-liner or confess the entirety of his plan. "I'm assuming you found your vampire slut in the nice, warm environment we created for her."

“Don't worry." Milo stepped forward. "I made sure she knew that her grandmother had been killed right before I plunged Rook's dagger into her disgusting heart."

We'd heard enough, and Ash took the lead, sprang forward, lunging for Milo's throat. Other hunters jumped in front of him, protecting their vice leader.

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