River of Blood

Chapter Thirty-Four

                   Fear. That is what she feels. Undeniable fear.

            "Sarafine!" Zelda glances at her, and Sarafine's cheeks go pale. "Help me!" Zelda holds her hand out to Sarafine, and Sarafine connects her hand with hers. Zelda swings Sarafine around, a bullet narrowly missing Sarafine's chest.

            "Holy crap." Sarafine whispers.

            "Now would be a good time for you to transform." Zelda yells.

            Sarafine seems rooted to the spot. All of her friends fight in the best ways they can. Annalise makes plant shields in front of her, Evangeline continuously forms telepathic shields, and Judi seems to be trying to scope out the edge of the lake.

            Sarafine's bones ripple in her back and she closes her eyes and allows herself to feel the change deep within her body. Her entire body ripples and breaks, the shift easy after so many years of practice. A roar escapes her lips, and the firing of guns stops in the next moment. She paws the ground, rippling her coat.

            An explosion in the lake causes a few screams, and Sarafine launches up into the air. Scoping will be better from the air.

            She circles the lake, trying to find any sort of movement. The trees are too much cover. She couldn't see anything down there. Landing softly, she feels a sharp pain in her leg. A pair of red eyes stares up at her, eyes beady. A vampire? Why would a vampire be biting her? Aren't they on her side?

            She shakes the vermin off, and sees Evangeline's eyes widen. Sarafine's attention goes to the trees as all sorts of people make their presence known. From all around.

            "Why are you fighting back?" One of them calls, obviously the leader. "We aren't here to kill brethren. We're here to take back our revenge on the humans. First, they make us living in the dark and now they killed our beloved Dusk!"

            Sarafine transforms back into herself, and Evangeline takes off her jacket. She throws it to the griffin, and Sarafine feels relieved to not be completely naked. It's long enough to cover her butt too, so there's that. Evangeline rolls out her shoulders and faces the group of supernatural creatures in front of her. Sarafine watches, her chest jumping.

            When Evangeline faces them, Sarafine can see the hint of anger on her face. "Revenge? Do you understand what you're risking?"

            "They don't deserve to force us into this!"

            Evangeline shakes out her hair. "Alright, listen up. Dusk isn't dead."

            A gasp spreads throughout the crowd. "Then why did we hear that they were!?" Someone new demands.

            Sarafine puts her hand on Evangeline's shoulder, and Evangeline slowly tips her head to the side. "Because, Dusk was dead, but they're not anymore."

            "How do you know? No one knows who Dusk is!"

            "I do." Evangeline sighs, and glances at Sarafine.

            Another gasp spreads through the crowd. The leader's eyes burn, obviously not thrilled about the conversation. "You're obviously lying."

            Sarafine rolls her head to the side, and Zelda comes up next to her. She puts her hand on Sarafine's arm, and Annalise comes up to Evangeline's other side. Slowly, the seven girls have created a barrier. When September steps up next, Sarafine feels relief course through her.