Page 97 of The Human’s Heart

So they were imprisoned. At least for the moment.

“You saved me,” I said, surprised and… so glad neither of us were injured.

My viramore just grinned at me and took my hand.

I helped Hugo climb to his feet, but before I could hug him or push him behind me, he hissed at another incoming nymph.

This nymph seemed to have a little more common sense than her clanmates because she stopped running, dropped her stick sword thing, and raised her hands in the air.

Once again, my dad was back, cuffing the nymph and walking her to the prisoner shield.

Dad came back and stood beside Kian, protecting us, but it seemed like the onslaught had slowed down.

All except one.

Theroli. That fucker.

He was still dodging in and out of the trees, and I could tell Granddad was getting pissed.

“It’s over, Theroli! Your clan has been taken into custody. Come out and give yourself up. This doesn’t have to end in violence,” Granddad yelled. Under his breath, I heard him mutter, “Even though I want to pull out your guts and watch you bleed, asshole.”

My eyebrows raised, but I said nothing as I watched the small nymph man run out of the trees again.

This time, Granddad and Grandpa were prepared since there were no other distractions running around.

As soon as Theroli showed himself, Granddad threw a shield up behind the nymph, and to my surprise, Uncle Toby—the fastest among us—ran to stand on the other side of the shield, hopefully blocking him from running back into the trees. Even if he had another shield-breaking spell, Uncle Toby was right there.

Theroli attacked Grandpa, but my grandfather easily blocked each blow with his staff. Grandpa seemed to get frustrated because he suddenly went on the attack instead of the defense, and Theroli freaked out.

The nymph turned back toward the trees, obviously wanting to flee. He saw the shield there and scrambled to get out another spell. Before he could even break it, Grandpa was there, holding his staff right against the nymph’s back. Right smack in the center.

Theroli froze, and Grandpa said, “Drop the spell now, then put your hands up.”

For a moment, I thought he was going to comply. But then he flung his hand forward, hit the shield with his spell, and tried to run. Only, Uncle Toby was there to grab him.

Uncle Toby yanked the man off his feet, set him down in front of Grandpa, and held onto the man’s upper arms. Theroli struggled to get away, but vampire strength was way too much for the nymph man.

Grandpa sighed. “It’s over, Theroli. Come peacefully so you don’t wind up getting hurt.”

“Never!”

He thrashed and kicked at my uncle, but Hugo’s sire was an immovable statue. Granddad came over, sighing loudly. He yanked Theroli’s arms behind his back and cuffed him, whispering something into the nymph’s ears. Theroli went still and pale for a moment before he began thrashing even harder.

“I got him,” Granddad said, yanking the asshole away from my uncle.

The thrashing continued, and Theroli stepped on Granddad’s foot, making him scream in pain. His grip must’ve loosened because Theroli managed to pull away from my grandfather. He ran a few steps, fell on his face, rolled onto his back, and started muttering.

I stared at him, wondering what in the hell he was saying before I noticed some of the other nymphs scooting away from him even though they were protected by that shield.

My BCA agent family members took all of this in, and I knew everyone understood what was happening. Theroli was about to cast something big to take all of us out, sacrificing even himself.

Granddad acted before anyone else. A huge vine came out of the ground and went straight through Theroli’s chest, then wrapped around his throat. He was dead the second the vine struck his heart, but my grandfather wasn’t done yet. More vines shot out of the ground and wrapped around the nymph’s entire body, encasing him fully inside.

Everyone was quiet for a few seconds, likely shocked at the turn of events before some of the nymphs began to cry. Grandpa walked over and wrapped an arm around Granddad, and I did the same to Hugo, pulling him to my chest.

Kian stood close by, and I could tell he was upset and hurting, likely thinking of Phia, so I pulled him into our hug. He didn’t hesitate and even began to cry a bit as my viramore and I held him.

It was over.