the rooms ahead of us, grabbing the White Hat in the lead and shoving him up against the wall. I gasped and recoiled as it savagely bit into the arm the White Hat raised in defense, worrying at it like a vicious animal. The guy leading me stopped in his tracks, sighted down the handgun he was holding in his free hand, and carefully squeezed off a round.
Part of the back of the vamp’s skull suddenly turned into a fine pink mist. It screamed and staggered back, blood trickling from its mouth, its reddened eyes wide with shock and pain. The guy it was attacking quickly followed up with a stake he pulled from his stake-lined vest. The vamp clawed at the air weakly as it tumbled back to the floor and presumably died. For real this time.
Nobody was very shaken up by the incident. The guy who’d been attacked barely took the time to wrap some cloth around his arm before moving again. Everyone hurried along, my rescuer jerking me off my feet. I had to step carefully around shards of broken glass and pools of blood, since we rushed out of my prison before I could put my sneakers back on.
At the end of the hall we came into a sprawling foyer. There was a delicate crystal chandelier illuminating the badly singed Persian carpets, blackened marble floors, and somewhat charred carved oak stairway. The splintered remains of the doors were scattered across the floor, and white marble statuary that must have been lovely at some point lay shattered into a thousand pieces.
Through the gaping hole where the front door used to be, I could see a pack of thirty or forty vampires standing on the lawn, Royce in the lead.
He looked pretty surprised. The other vamps were milling around muttering to each other. I could tell they were vamps right off since most of them had their fangs out, eyes glittering with that strange reddish light they get when excited or pissed off. I was disturbed to note that they were mostly men, lending some credence to what Max had said earlier. Or maybe Royce was bi? Whoa. Not going there. Really not going there.
The whole pack of them went on the alert as the hunters stepped forward, brandishing their weapons. Twelve White Hats against three times that many vampires? Hoo boy. This wasn’t good.
“Let’s rock!” one of the White Hats shouted, lifting a sawed-off shotgun to his shoulder. The pack of vampires surged forward, Royce’s eyes narrowing as he made a gesture to direct them at the guys with the guns first.
“No! Stop!” I cried, shrinking at the looks I was getting from the White Hats and even some of the vampires. It worked, though, since all of them paused, looking at me expectantly. I added a little more in the hopes it would stop them from shooting or clawing each other up. “We’re all on the same side, sort of.”
The guy with the shotgun couldn’t have looked more surprised if I’d sprouted horns and a tail.
“Let go of her, boy,” Royce demanded, staring hard at the man in the bomber jacket. His hand immediately slid from mine. Was Royce using mind tricks on him? The other vampires started forward again, some of them growling and baring their fangs. To their credit, none of the White Hats flinched or stepped back.
Royce turned to me, his anger fading into concern. “Shiarra, come with me.”
Looking back and forth between the White Hats bristling with weapons and the dozens of vampires surrounding Royce, I realized for the first time why the White Hats did what they did. How scary it must be to them, standing there, expecting to die. Kind of like me.
“No.”
Royce was at a loss, particularly since I took the hunter’s hand again. The guy looked at me with brows arched in surprise at my touch. There was some comfort in feeling that human warmth, and I drew strength from it. We’d survive this.
Frowning, Royce started in again, sounding all too reasonable. “Shiarra, I came here to save you. I can keep Max away, something they can’t promise you.”
“They’re doing just
Part of the back of the vamp’s skull suddenly turned into a fine pink mist. It screamed and staggered back, blood trickling from its mouth, its reddened eyes wide with shock and pain. The guy it was attacking quickly followed up with a stake he pulled from his stake-lined vest. The vamp clawed at the air weakly as it tumbled back to the floor and presumably died. For real this time.
Nobody was very shaken up by the incident. The guy who’d been attacked barely took the time to wrap some cloth around his arm before moving again. Everyone hurried along, my rescuer jerking me off my feet. I had to step carefully around shards of broken glass and pools of blood, since we rushed out of my prison before I could put my sneakers back on.
At the end of the hall we came into a sprawling foyer. There was a delicate crystal chandelier illuminating the badly singed Persian carpets, blackened marble floors, and somewhat charred carved oak stairway. The splintered remains of the doors were scattered across the floor, and white marble statuary that must have been lovely at some point lay shattered into a thousand pieces.
Through the gaping hole where the front door used to be, I could see a pack of thirty or forty vampires standing on the lawn, Royce in the lead.
He looked pretty surprised. The other vamps were milling around muttering to each other. I could tell they were vamps right off since most of them had their fangs out, eyes glittering with that strange reddish light they get when excited or pissed off. I was disturbed to note that they were mostly men, lending some credence to what Max had said earlier. Or maybe Royce was bi? Whoa. Not going there. Really not going there.
The whole pack of them went on the alert as the hunters stepped forward, brandishing their weapons. Twelve White Hats against three times that many vampires? Hoo boy. This wasn’t good.
“Let’s rock!” one of the White Hats shouted, lifting a sawed-off shotgun to his shoulder. The pack of vampires surged forward, Royce’s eyes narrowing as he made a gesture to direct them at the guys with the guns first.
“No! Stop!” I cried, shrinking at the looks I was getting from the White Hats and even some of the vampires. It worked, though, since all of them paused, looking at me expectantly. I added a little more in the hopes it would stop them from shooting or clawing each other up. “We’re all on the same side, sort of.”
The guy with the shotgun couldn’t have looked more surprised if I’d sprouted horns and a tail.
“Let go of her, boy,” Royce demanded, staring hard at the man in the bomber jacket. His hand immediately slid from mine. Was Royce using mind tricks on him? The other vampires started forward again, some of them growling and baring their fangs. To their credit, none of the White Hats flinched or stepped back.
Royce turned to me, his anger fading into concern. “Shiarra, come with me.”
Looking back and forth between the White Hats bristling with weapons and the dozens of vampires surrounding Royce, I realized for the first time why the White Hats did what they did. How scary it must be to them, standing there, expecting to die. Kind of like me.
“No.”
Royce was at a loss, particularly since I took the hunter’s hand again. The guy looked at me with brows arched in surprise at my touch. There was some comfort in feeling that human warmth, and I drew strength from it. We’d survive this.
Frowning, Royce started in again, sounding all too reasonable. “Shiarra, I came here to save you. I can keep Max away, something they can’t promise you.”
“They’re doing just
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