Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Chapter 40

I am lucky that I am an expert on suppressing things.

If that weren't the case, I am not sure how I would have dealt with all the new developments. As it is, I push everything down and focus on what needs to be done.

The positive side of this uncanny ability of mine is that it will help me to keep us alive. It will allow me the necessary focus to win this fight.

The negative side is that everything buried in my subconscious has a nasty habit of resurfacing at times of peace. So, I have never had a proper rest from everything.

Either I am fighting for my life or reliving my mistakes and facing all the things I've kept bottled up, and it's exhausting.

"They are close," I suddenly say.

"How do you know? I don't hear anything." Alarcos says.

"Because I am a Huntress. Plus, I am old enough to be able to sense those things before the younger vampires. I think you can do that as well," I say.

Alarcos focuses all his attention on his sense of smell, and soon enough, his eyes snap open.

"She is right. I can smell them coming," he says.

"Okay then, let's ambush some vampires," Eliot says far too cheerfully.

"Have you ever done this before?" I ask Eliot.

"No, but I reckon with you here to protect me, I have nothing to worry about," he says, winking at me.

Both Alarcos and Seymour look far more shocked by his statement than I am. Is it possible that I am getting used to Eliot's type of crazy?

"Alright, Alarcos, you and I will ambush them in the hallway. We'll take out as many of them as we can, and then retreat." I say quickly.

"Why does it have to be the two of you? I can come instead of him." Seymour says.

"Because we have the most experience in fighting since we are the oldest. You and Tobias will wait at the entrance of the library like the second wave," I say.

"Why..." Seymour starts to say.

"There is no time for arguing. They will be here soon," I say determinedly.

"Cecilia, you and Eliot are our last line of defense. Your job is to protect him and help him plan our potential escape," I tell Cecilia.

"What makes you think there is another way out?" Eliot asks.

"I am starting to understand how Healers think. They are ready for anything, so there is always a contingency," I say.

"That we are," he says.

"Let's move," I say as Alarcos and I grab a few of the squirt guns and some of the less effective weapons such as swords and knives, leaving the best ones for Seymour and Tobias.

No sooner do we settle in our position than we sense the vampires' approach. Though I am sure they can detect our scent, I don't think they realize we are here, waiting for them.

The old and new scents are bound to mix up and make it impossible for them to figure out which ones are fresher. That is our only advantage, the element of surprise.

Though Alarcos and I are very old, our age is nothing in comparison to the ancient Vampire Council. I am sure that we are no match for them in a fair fight, but I am hoping that my tactics will give us an advantage.

As they approach, I signal to Alarcos that we should use our squirt guns first. They are bound to disorient them if nothing else.

Also, if the guards are coming first, as I assume, the holy water might even kill them if used properly. Especially having in mind that they are mostly vampires like Alarcos and me.

"Now," I mouth to Alarcos as they come close enough for the holy water to reach them.

For a fleeting moment, a horrible thought comes to my mind.

What if Alarcos turns the gun on me?

How did I miss such an obvious flaw in my plan?

Still, I go through the plan, hoping that Alarcos loves Seymour enough to do the same.

We jump out of our cover, squirting the water in the vampires' shocked faces.

Before they can say anything, they are interrupted by screams that rip out of their throats without them even realizing they are the origin of the sound. Then, their faces start to slowly burn off.

The strange thing is that the disintegration doesn't stop with their skin as I expected but goes through all the layers of tissues and muscles. Even the bones dissolved as their headless bodies crumble to the ground.

Either the holy water is much stronger than it should be, or the vampires are much younger than I thought they would be.

Be that as it may, I don't have a lot of time to contemplate as the other vampires who were frozen in wonder at what had occurred to their friends rush down the narrow stairwell.

They are attacking us with such vengeance that I barely have the time to discard the now empty gun and hold the sword with both hands.

Don't get me wrong, I love hand to hand combat, but when you are outnumbered as we are, it's better to use any advantage you have.

They are definitely guards, I can tell by how easily they deflect my blows. I have to work hard just not to be stabbed through or for my body parts not to get chopped off.

We vampires can heal quickly, but losing body parts can slow us down enough for the others to kill us.

That is the reason why we choose swords to fight each other and not guns. Though getting shot hurts, you can go past it. Losing your hand, on the other hand, can be quite inconvenient.

The vampire I am fighting against is too good. I can't even reach my waistband to pull out the second gun.

"Retreat," I tell Alarcos as I see that he is struggling even more than I am.

Slowly but surely, we start backing away towards the library, fighting off our enemies each step of the way. We only get some relief once we enter the library, when our second line of defense kicks in.

The moment we enter, Tobias and Seymour materialize kicking away our opponents far enough so that they can safely use the ridiculous weapons we found next to the squirt guns, holy water balloons.

As they hit their opponents with them, parts of the guards' bodies disintegrate in the oddest ways possible. It is the most gruesome thing I've ever seen, but it stops them in their tracks.

As relief floods through me, it's soon cut in the bud as Vampire Council members step forward.

The holy water doesn't even make them wince. Also, there are many more of them than there should have been.

It seems like they've used this time to expand their ranks, and here they are now, stalking us.

Here come the cats to play with their little mice.