My human form is weak, shaky, useless.
“They’re fine,” RJ answers, distracted. “They made it out.”
She lifts her hands the moment we crest the last riser and blasts open the door. Three vampire guards beyond hit the wall, thrown back by the power of her magic.
She grins and wipes her hands on the front of her jeans then steps over them.
The nearest one moans and Aimee kicks him in the face. His head rebounds against the wall before he falls still. “Whatever you see, keep going.”
Shame mingles with relief, with fear, with every emotion too horrifying to name in the dark.
“Don’t worry, Mandi, we’re going to get you out.” RJ echoes her sister’s sentiment and my shame only deepens. “We aren’t leaving you again.”
I should help them.
My heart jumps up to my throat when another wave of vampire guards turn the corner, blocking our exit. RJ reacts without thought. Several of the guards duck beneath the onslaught of her magic.
It hits another square in the chest and blasts a hole clean through him. His eyes go wide, hands automatically reaching for the hole, and he slides to the floor to join the rest of the dead.
However they got in, they want to make a statement on the way out. A point to not underestimate them.
I’m surprised the vampires haven’t sent everyone after us.
The others charge, two with short swords drawn.
Dried blood dots the steel like freckles. Vampires always bring a wave of cold with them, as though their undead forms can no longer retain any sort of heat. They’re moved by spite and bloodlust and Aimee pushes me out of the way before the tip of a sword slices across my abdomen.
She deflects the blow with her lantern and slams it against the side of the vamp’s face, her power siphoned away for her sister to use.
My thoughts slow, heartbeat racing, head spinning.
This kind of fight is always loud in the movies, isn’t it?
Weapons clanking or guns firing, people screaming or shouting out a challenge. Bad mouthing. Cursing.
Wolf fights are loud.
Vampires move silently. They surround the witches, striking with what would be deadly accuracy if they were up against any other pair of young women.
My muscles go limp. I cower into myself, desperation urging me to act. To be a help rather than a hindrance.
Do something!
Getting the change to happen is the same as screaming into a void, only nothing screams back and it doesn’t help me feel better.
A vampire in leather armor stamped with his house brand charges us.
RJ grabs an ampoule from the front of her jacket and sends it flying toward him. The spell explodes, scalding wherever it touches.
Now there’s sound; he is screeching in pain. He clutches his face and we rush past him, cutting through a useless kitchen. Stainless steel countertops remain pristine and two giant fridges dominate the space.
I blanch. Whatever the vamps have in those fridges, I don’t want to know.
“It’s this way,” RJ insists from the doorway ahead.
Aimee shakes her head. “You better be right.”
“I think I know what way we got in, especially since we did our research.” Her magic twines in front of her, flashing in and out of existence like a string of red.