Vampires, Eh?

Chapter 46

 Lucia charged across the field and toward Anna and Drew. She gritted her teeth as she got closer to them. They were both splattered in blood. She watched as Anna drank from her brother and killed the last final Nightingale standing in the battle.

"Anna!" Lucia called out.

They stopped walking and Anna looked behind them. Lucia twirled the sword in her hand before lifting it up in the air. Anna's eyes went wide and she pushed herself away from Drew.

"Anna Nightingale," Lucia said. "I am going to kill you!"

Anna shook her head in confusion. Lucia raised her sword in the air. Drew pushed Anna out of the way and grabbed the dagger on his hip.

Drew was about to lunge toward Lucia, but she let out a scream and dropped the sword. Blood trickled out of the corner of her mouth. Her hands flew down to her chest, an arrow protruding from her sternum. She fell to her knees before falling forward.

Rhys was standing behind Lucia. The crossbow was held up to his face. He had picked up one of the discarded arrows in the grass and shot Lucia.

Rhys lowered the bow.

"Let us get going," he said. "Before someone else tries to kill us."

—

"I used to be a nurse back before I was turned," Nelly said as she wrapped the plaster around Anna's wrist. "I have always packed heavy since then."

They were sitting on Anna's cot in the basement of the church. Nelly had given her a pillow to scream into when she reset her wrist. Drew stayed by her side and held her as she cried out in pain. Nelly was almost finished casting her wrist when her tears had stopped.

"The great part about being a vampire is that this will heal in a week or so," Nelly said.

"Thank you for your help," Anna said.

"I'm shocked you killed Jonathan," Nelly said. "I was sure that it would have been Rhys to rip out his throat."

"Trust me, I wanted to," Rhys said. "It was nice enough to finally kill Lucia though."

Rhys was leaning against the wall. He was watching them with his arms crossed over his chest. He wanted to take Drew's spot, but he knew that Drew would not move.

Only a few of the vampires had returned to the church, but just the four of them were in the basement. Anna's chest ached when she heard that Calvin was dead. She was told by Nelly, who could barely hold back the tears.

"Are you doing okay?" Drew asked Anna. "It could not have been easy to kill your brother."

"It wasn't," Anna said. "He did not see me as his sister anymore though. He would have killed me if I did not kill him."

"I'm so sorry," Drew said.

"So what do we do now?" Anna asked.

She looked over at Rhys. He let out a sigh, uncrossed his arms, and stood straighter.

"We can go wherever you want to go now," he said.

Anna bit down on her lip as she thought. Drew rubbed her arm. Nelly finished plastering Anna's wrist and stood.

"A group of us are going to Montreal," Nelly said. "You three are more than welcome to come."

Three, Anna thought. There were only three of us now.

Anna nodded and forced a smile.

"I have never been to Quebec," Anna said. "I would love to go."

"Do you mind if we come along?" Drew asked.

Anna looked between Rhys and Drew and nodded.

"Yes," she said. "Huxley would be upset if we broke up the family."

Drew chuckled, but Rhys rolled his eyes.

--

The roar of the water filled Anna's ears. The remaining vampires had snuck down to the rapids the next morning. It was out of season for tourists, so only a few locals were walking on the trail. Anna's wrist ached, but Nelly had given her medication that brought the pain down to a dull throb.

Drew and Rhys walked on either side of Anna. Nelly and Alice led the way. Anna kept her gaze on the ground so that she did not trip over any of the rocks or roots that were sticking out of the dirt path. The last thing she wanted was to break another bone.

They followed Nelly and Alice through a group of trees and onto a rock that was overlooking the rapids. The vampires formed a semi-circle around Nelly and Alice. Rhys put his hand on the small of Anna's back. She glared at him and he placed his hand behind his back. Anna could not see Drew smirk, but Rhys did.

"Guys and gals," Alice announced to the group. "We have all gathered here today to honour our fallen during last night's battle."

"They sacrificed their souls so that we could live in peace," Nelly said. "We are no longer running for our safety from the Nightingales."

Anna hearing her last name made her chest tighten. She was not used to not hiding who she was from the group yet. It was hard for her to believe that they had just murdered her family.

"Anna." Molly extended her arm out toward her. "Would you like to say anything?"

Anna nodded as she took a step forward. She turned to see everyone staring. She swallowed past the lump that was forming in her throat.

"I am so sorry for what my family has done," Anna said. "I am sorry for the souls lost. I may not have chosen this, but I am eternally grateful that you all have accepted me."

"We are glad you are here with us, Stretch," Alice said.

"Let us honour our fallen," Nelly said.

Anna stepped back into the semi-circle. Molly pulled a knife out of her pocket. She opened up the blade and stepped to the edge of the rock.

"May our brothers and sisters' souls be eased in hell," she said. "Together, we hope that they can find peace in eternity."

She placed the blade against her palm and pushed it down into her skin. Blood bubbled to the surface. She squeezed her hand together and the blood dripped into the rushing water below.

"This is for Maria, Esther, and Penny," Alice said. "Three sisters I have met during this trip of eternity."

Alice wiped the blade on her jeans, leaving behind a smear of crimson, and handed the blade to Nelly. Nelly cut her own palm and let her blood run off of her hand and into the rapids.

"This is for Calvin," she said. "One grumpy and sarcastic son-of-a-bitch, but also the love of my life. I will miss our run-ins."

Nelly wiped the blade off on the sleeve of her jacket and handed the blade to Etienne. He stepped to the edge of the rock and cut his hand. He made his speech in French and Anna could not understand it despite it sounding beautiful.

Etienne passed the blade to Anna. She took the knife but was unsure how she was supposed to cut her palm due to her other hand being in a cast. Rhys saw the confusion on her face and put his arm around her shoulders and took the knife from her.

"We will do this together," he said.

Anna nodded and they stepped toward the edge. Rhys took Anna's hand and sliced the blade across her palm. Anna dug her teeth into her lip as the fiery pain spread across her hand. Rhys kept his hand on Anna's waist as she took another step toward the edge. She held out her hand and squeezed it together. The blood flowed off of her palm and into the water.

"This one is for Huxley," Anna said.

Rhys gave her a soft smile before cutting his own hand. He held out his palm and let his blood run into the rapids.

"This one is for Huxley," Rhys said.

The back of Anna's eyes pricked with tears as she thought about her friend. She wrapped her arms around Rhys. He rubbed her back before kissing the top of her head.