Adrift-mxm

Chapter 23

Ilio quickly took stock of the situation and realized, unfortunately, that captain Moral wasn't their only problem. 

We're surrounded. 

Inkani was right about what he'd said earlier, though. He could feel the majority of their unfriendly visitor's attention focused solely on him. 

I smell silver... a lot of silver. 

He could sense Inkani tensing beside him, clearly trying to figure a way out of their current situation. Ilio left him to his thoughts and turned his attention Karalius. 

Considering Bin was Inkani's heir and second in command, he doubted that he'd try to flee, even though he'd been ill recently and was likely not able to fight much. 

That meant that they would have a demon on their side, at least, because he doubted that Karalius would ever leave Bin to truly die, no matter how much he wanted to push him to the brink, himself. 

Inka, they don't know about Karalius, do they? he asked, drawing Inkani's eyes to him for the briefest moment. 

Not to my knowledge. 

The man had wisely tucked his new wings back into his shirt, making him appear like a sickly vampire instead of a powerful demon.

Moral's troops are going to target me first. I can smell the silver in the air. Let me lead away whichever ones will follow me. 

It would be beneficial to their group if he could make at least half the man's crew follow him. 

No. 

He'd expected Inkani's response. 

You aren't allowed to leave, the man added, sensing his displeasure. 

You said that you'd listen next time I told you to do something. 

Ilio flicked an ear as he heard the clicks of several pistol's being cocked. 

There was no time for him to try and persuade his mate. 

I apologize, he thought to him, making Inkani tense, but before the man could even turn to face him Ilio had dug his paws into the damp ground and bolted into the dense woods behind them! 

His movement had been an unexpected blur, making the bullets that were shot at him in response all miss as their entire group scattered and the fight began! 

With his heart pounding in his throat, Ilio ran just fast enough to keep the vampires pursuing him comfortable that they still had a chance to take him out. 

Their bullets whizzed past his ears and several even cut into his thick coat, but time and again, the worst he got out of the rain of ammunition were mere scrapes and scratches. 

Clenching his jaw, Ilio snorted and turned to his left as his nose picked up the scent of water...

Picking up his speed slightly, he blurred forward, whipping through the underbrush like a bullet, himself! 

Within moments he was breaking free of the thick vegetation and leaping out into an open marshland. About one-hundred yards away was a massive waterfall reaching up into the sky and beneath his paws was a thin layer of water that saturated the ground for as far as his eyes could see. 

The abrupt sound of gunfire made him jump not a second later, but before he could even turn around a curtain of water shot upward in a circle around him, then burst into a multitude of droplets it absorbed the impacts of the bullets one after the other!