River of Blood

Chapter Thirty-Five

Annalise could feel her arms wearing themselves out. Her brain felt heavy with exhaustion, her powers dwindling. They're freaking everywhere. One moment one comes from her left, the next her right, and then up, sideways, everywhere.

"Annalise!" Zane's voice is right next to her ear, and she feels her heart stutter as a magical shield forms just in time for an explosion right in front of her nose.

She's never been in a fight like this. In all of her 214 years of living, she never felt this much fear before. Zane's steady heartbeat relaxes her some as she tries to calm her body down. It shakes, and she presses herself closer to the warm body behind her. In the next breath, he was gone, going to help Chase with their twin bond.

Annalise looks around when another scream breaks out, her eyes widening at the sight of another vampire exploding into dust. Only this time, it wasn't from Evangeline's sword. Annalise looks down to see the silver bullet.

Hunters.

Zelda comes racing towards her, her eyes on fire. They are rimmed pink, but Annalise has no time to question it as Zelda skids to a stop.

"Annalise," She breathes deeply, and Annalise frowns.

"We're in the middle of a battle, is everything alright?" Annalise touches the girl's arms.

"The hunters are about to rain down on this place." Zelda hands something cold and metallic to Annalise, the weapon feeling weighted in her hands. "I want you to keep a hold of this." Zelda whispers.

"Zelda?" Annalise grips the gun tightly. "We're already out of time." Annalise murmurs, looking down at the weapon in her grip. The gun is silver, already seeming like too much responsibility to be handed to the girl. "I can't keep this weapon." She tries to hand it back to the other girl.

Her head shakes as Zelda moves backwards. "I can't keep track of it." Then she drops onto all fours.

Annalise feels her stomach roll as she stares at the weapon in her fingertips. Zelda's transformation is breathtaking, but Annalise can't really focus on it as Zelda takes off in a random direction.

Suddenly, a werewolf pounces, knocking her to the ground. The gun goes skittering out of her grip, and she feels extreme pain as it bites into her neck. Annalise screams bloody murder, not wanting to die today, but it looks like she just might. She knew what she was getting into when she stepped into that line.

Just as suddenly, the weight lifts off of her, and she hears the sharp cry from the wolf's lips. When it vanishes out of her sight, she slowly sits up. Black hair blows in the wind, violet eyes staring down.

"None of my friends are going to die on me if I can help it." Evangeline says, holding out her hand.

Annalise slowly stands, woozy on her feet. She touches her hand to the wound, bile rising up in the back of her throat. "Evangeline," Annalise coughs. "When is it going to stop?" Her eyes wander over the field, her body weakening to the point she needs to slide back to the ground.

Evangeline hits the ground next to her, violet eyes shining. "There's no way of knowing the answer to that."

Annalise's head swings downward, tears racing down her cheeks in torrents.

"Annalise," Evangeline touches her cheek, raising it upwards so that she can stare into her eyes. "You're stronger than this. I can feel the power racing through your veins. Tap into it. Use it to your advantage. You're not weak. Stop cutting yourself down."