Vamp Guards ✔️

S I X T Y-E I G H T

After Zoe got Sage's collar off, all four of them grouped to come up with a plan. It was tense and remained indecisive for a while. The only thing that kept Iris from bursting with frustration and stress was Kai's hand squeezing his with comfort.

It took a few more minutes of disagreeing and agreeing until they finally settled on a partial plan.

"We have a lot of ground to cover, so we have to split up. I presume you two want to stay together?" Zoe pointed at Iris and Kai who glanced at each other and nodded. "Alright. Here." Zoe carefully handed Iris the dagger. "You two have to be cautious. Kai, you're still on the Queen's radar. Gather as many vampires as you can, you'll know who my followers are when you see them. Sage and I will do the same. We'll regroup by the shed I talked about. Got it?"

Everyone nodded to show they understood and Zoe took a deep breath.

"Let's go."

They all split up. Zoe and Sage went their separate ways but Iris and Kai stayed together. They ran back to the training building and snuck around the back. Like Zoe had suspected, two Vamps were pacing around the site where they previously were attacked.

Kai peeked around the building, narrowing his eyes, observing their actions. The Vamps didn't seem to be following a pattern, they simply glanced in every direction, fangs ready. He sighed and pressed his back against the wall.

Iris stared up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Well?"

"I say we should run to an empty area. They'll notice and follow, but at least we can safely get rid of them without catching other's attention."

Iris nodded and stepped closer to Kai. "Okay."

Kai placed his hands on Iris's waist but paused to give him a quizzical look.

"You're agreeing rather quickly," he said observantly, "you don't want to add anything?"

"I trust your instincts," was all Iris responded with.

Kai shrugged one shoulder, taking that as a good answer. He gripped Iris more securely before taking a deep breath.

The familiar rush of the wind whipped through Iris's hair and briefly stole the air out of his lungs. Comparing Kai's travel with Sage's...it was safe to say Iris favored Kai's the most. He was fast but handled Iris gently. He didn't stop abruptly like Sage did, but slowed down just before.

They stopped behind the stables near two trees. Kai made sure to keep Iris from seeing inside because he wasn't sure how he'd handle seeing all the innocent horses slaughter and drained of their blood. Kai had noticed when he and Zoe were coming back from the shed. If it made him frown and sick, it was sure to make Iris react much worse.

Kai quickly looked to his left when he heard low chuckles. Two Vamps appeared right beside him. One was grinning while the other attacked right away.

He leaped at Kai, fangs protruding from his mouth (two on the top, two on the bottom) and with his fingers curled to favor his long nails.

Kai dodged the Vamp's hand when he sprung it out in an attempt to claw him. Kai reached out, clutching onto his arm and swept his leg out. He bent to Vamp's leg, causing him to trip forward. While his body was nearly parallel to the ground, Kai grabbed the Vamp's and twisted.

A sharp crack was heard before the Vamp's body hit the ground with a thud. Kai glanced behind his shoulder to see the other Vamp spring into action. He was kneeling beside the Vamp as he watched the other charge at him. Instead of standing up and bracing himself, he smirked.

Before the other Vamp got even a foot closer to Kai, he suddenly halted dead in his tracks, blood spluttering out of his mouth. He let out a strained groan as a sharp object plunged deeper through his back, making its way through his stomach until the tip of a dagger was sticking through his front side.