Vampires, Eh?

Chapter 44

Calvin let out a cry as he rushed down the hill. He was glad to watch Anna make the first move because he wanted to rip all of the hunter's throats out. He was disappointed as he got to his first human to see that he had a neck guard on.

He knocked the crossbow out of the man's hands. He grabbed the man's throat, but the guard prevented Calvin from choking the man. He swiped his leg out and threw the man down onto the grass. Calvin climbed on top of him.

His eyes went dark and the veins protruded from around his eyes. Out of habit, he was going to go for the man's throat, but he remembered the guard. The man's eyes were in terror and he thrashed under Calvin's weight as he tried to reach for his stake.

Calvin let out a screech before tearing a piece of flesh off of the man's face. The man screamed and his hands flew up to his bleeding cheek. The smell and taste of the man's sweet blood caused Calvin to drool. He licked his lips before tearing into the man's face again.

A hand grabbed Calvin's shoulder and ripped him off of the man. Another man was standing over Calvin. He had a scarf wrapped around his face and a stake in his hand. Calvin tried to get up, but the man pushed him back and pinned him down to the ground. He pulled the scarf down to reveal a smirk.

"This will be my pleasure," the man said. "I hope you enjoy hell for eating Cody's face."

He raised the stake in the air. Calvin braced himself for his heart to be pierced. He closed his eyes and turned his head to the side.

The man let out a cry and the stake fell into the overgrown grass. Calvin's eyes flew open to see the man holding onto the bloody stump of an arm. Alice was standing behind him. Her face was coated with blood from the feeding frenzy she had been on. Her blade was in her hand and the man's hand was on the ground.

"Thank me later," Alice said. "Time to get back to killing."

Calvin chuckled as he pushed the man off of his body and let him bleed out.

Calvin felt the air rush by as an arrow flew past his ear. Alice turned and ran toward the woman that shot at them. Calvin started to follow, but pain erupted in his back and through his chest. His hands went down to the bloody arrow in his chest. He let out a garbled cry as blood rushed into his throat.

—

Alice turned when she heard the blood-curdling sound that Calvin made. She watched as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell to the ground. The woman with the crossbow aimed at Alice. She lined up the shot, and Alice rushed to the side to get out of the way.

The woman dropped the bow and let out a scream. Nelly had a knife buried deep into the woman's back. She twisted the blade before she pulled it out.

Nelly's eyes grew wide when she looked at Calvin's crumpled body. She rushed down to him and rolled him onto his back. The arrow protruded from his chest. A trail of blood ran out from his lips.

Alice put her hand on her back and kneeled down next to Nelly. Nelly had Calvin's face cupped in her hands.

"Remember where we are," Alice said. "We will mourn for everyone later."

Nelly bit down on her lip to suppress her tears. Cries and screams surrounded them in a cacophony of noise. Nelly gritted her teeth as she ran back into battle.

--

Lucia had brought a sword to the battle. The blade was designed with intricate filigree, but none of that could be seen now that it was coated with blood. She danced across the battle scene, her sword slicing off arms and heads. The smell of the blood was tantalizing, but being almost a thousand years old, she was able to restrain herself.

She caught Anna in the corner of her eye. She saw her running down the hill and toward Jonathan.

Lucia tightened her grip on the sword and swung as she sliced off another of the Nightingale's heads. The head rolled off and blood spurted like a fountain from his stump of a neck. The crimson splattered across her face. She licked her lips and let the delicious taste touch her tongue. It tasted even sweeter as she thought about Huxley.

She had heard that Jonathan had shot Huxley through the chest. A hundred years ago she was furious that Rhys and Hannah took him away from her. She was now enraged that Jonathan had taken him from this Earth.

Anna was responsible for Huxley's death. She was a Nightingale. She had hid it from Rhys, and Lucia had it as leverage against the girl. She had now told him, and Lucia had expected him to stake Anna. She was shocked to see him bring her to a battle against her own family. Lucia hated that soft spot he seemed to have for the girl. It was very unlike Rhys.

Lucia let out a cry as she narrowly dodged an arrow that flew by her ear. She looked to the side to see a woman holding a bow in her hands. Lucia gritted her teeth and charged toward the woman. The Nightingale's eyes went wide and fumbled as she tried to load another arrow. Lucia knocked the bow out of the woman's hands and pinned her down to the ground.

Lucia's eyes went black as she stared down at the woman thrashing underneath her. She reached behind the woman's neck and undid the straps to the neck guard. She ripped it off and threw it across the grass. Lucia's fangs extended. The woman let out an ear-piercing shriek as Lucia rolled her head back. She put one hand on the woman's head, turned it to the side, and buried her fangs deep into the woman's neck.

The decadent sweet taste of the woman's blood flooded Lucia's mouth. She drank greedily from the Nightingale's body. She knew that she had to be fast as any of the humans around her could stake her at any moment.

She pulled back and turned her head to the side. Blood was dripping off of her chin and onto the woman's lifeless face. She looked to see Anna and Jonathan clash together in a fight. An arrow narrowly missed the two of them and she saw Rhys standing on top of the hill. He scowled as he lowered his weapon and rushed down the hill toward Anna.

Lucia wanted to kill Anna before Jonathan could.