The boy ran off, and I heard a small crack from Malakai’s neck as he cocked it to the side, loosening his muscles as an entirely new expression crossed over his face. His grey eyes were sharp and focused now, and his jaw was set in a way that appeared… animalistic. Gone was the playful, manic Malakai.
This was thebeast.
I prayed to the gods that Azrael could climb high enough before shifting my eyes across the vampyres. “What’s the plan, then, Malakai?” I asked him, staring at the creatures who watched us like we were mice.
“You mean besides you trying to kill yourself?” he growled back at me. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, and saw the slight quirk of his lips in a sinister smirk that sent chills down my spine. “You seem to forget that we aren’t alone here, princess.” He turned his head, piercing me with his grey eyes that were set with determination. “Do you remember what I’ve taught you?” he asked. “They’ll be too quick for your fire.”
I nodded, though I wasn’t as confident as I probably should have been. I knew that they would pounce at any minute, and I didn’t have nearly as much control over my power as Tristan did. If he was here… But he wasn’t.
“Good. It will take them a bit to get here. And once I call for them, the vampyres will charge.”
I tilted my head. “Call for who?—”
He quickly interrupted my question with a loud, wolfish howl that punctured my ears enough to make them ring. It only lasted a couple of seconds, but the moment he stopped, every single vampyre began to run. I grabbed the last three of my blades, throwing them at the nearest vamps, and immediately grabbed my dagger.
“Head or heart!” Mal yelled. He had already passed me, running toward them with one of his blades, then digging it into a vampyre’s skull. Black liquid poured from the wound like thick ink in place of blood.
Don’t puke. Don’t puke. Don’t puke.
Head or heart.
A vampyre appeared beside me, and I yelped as I scrambled back, just evading its outstretched arms as it took a swing at me. I had to think fast. I waited for it to swing again, then ducked to the left before bringing my right arm up and thrusting the dagger into its chest.Thank you, Harley, for the anatomy lessons.
When I ripped out the blade, the vamp fell to the ground, and I had mere seconds before another one came up on my other side. After two or three of them, it almost became a dance of sorts. Malakai tore into the creatures like it was sport for him, and I managed to dodge just enough to gain the upper hand.
Dodge. Stab. Dodge. Stab.
But Malakai attacked them like he bore absolutely no fear. He moved so naturally that I found it nearly impossible not to stare as I fought with every ounce of strength that I had.
“How many have you got, spitfire?!” Malakai yelled from the center of the clearing, swarmed with bloodthirsty bodies.
I quickly shoved off one of the vamps, shivering at the feel of their hot, sticky blood on my arms. “S-Six!” I answered him.
He then began to laugh.Laugh.“I’m up to twelve! You’ll need to do better than that, sweetheart!”
I couldn’t stop the breathless chuckle that escaped my lips. He was absolutelyinsane, but something in the way he flicked his head back, moving his white, blood-stained locks out of his face, looked so… free.
I hadn’t been paying enough attention and felt something slam into my side, knocking me to the ground. When I looked up, a large vampyre withgrey-tinted skin—close to the size of Cassius—stood over me. Its long mouth screeched above me, spewing the foulest odor I had ever smelled.
“Princess?” Malakai’s voice rang out, a slight twinge of concern peeking through the adrenaline.
The vamp’s mouth peeled open, stretching and closing like it wanted to bite me. I remembered what I had read about them, how—when fed—they could appear just as any other mortal. But this creature pinning me down looked like no more than a rabid animal, salivating as it played with its prey. Perhaps so many years in the Netherworld had changed them. There wasnothingmortal about the vampyres now.
“Get… off!” I grunted, sliding my hands beneath its grasp and reaching for the dagger at my hip. Just as the sound of its screech escaped again, I stabbed the dagger into the center of its forehead. It lurched a little, spitting out black blood from its mouth, and I was finally able to shove it off.
With a gag that Itriedto stifle on the back of my hand, I dug my foot into the vamp’s chest and reached down, ripping the dagger free from its skull.
“I’m fine,” I replied, but when Malakai didn’t answer, I turned to find him.
He had moved closer now, only a few feet in front of me, but what I saw beyond made my blood freeze—stiffening every one of my limbs. The clearing was no longer filled with straggling vampyres attacking one by one. No… Theysurroundedus now. There had to be at least one hundred of them.
I peeked behind us at the trees.We can’t run in there. If we do, they might find Azrael.
“Malakai,” I whispered, approaching him slowly as I gripped the hilt of the dagger so tight that I could feel the tension under my knuckles.
“They’ll come,” he answered under his breath.
The vampyres stilled, watching us for a moment. They knew this was it. They knew that the second they charged, we were dead. “Malakai, there’s too many of them.” It was nearly impossible to hide the emotion in my voice.
