Page 51 of Vampire Visions

It was a train wreck.

I didn’t want to look, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Novak had removed both of Gideon’s arms. One was tossed haphazardly to the side while the other was still in Novak’s hand.

“That’s gory as fuck,” Grim whispered from beside me.

“He’s not done,” I admitted.

Novak swung Gideon’s arm like a baseball bat, slapping him in the face with his own hand. I wanted to laugh and throw up, but my body settled on a snorted gag. Grim patted my back as I groaned. “I got the wrong job. I’m too squeamish for this shit.”

Returning my attention to Sloane’s fight once more, I noticed that both females had slowed down to a speed I could watch without feeling seasick. It was enough to see that they were both battered, bruised, and bloody. They also never stopped throwing punches or blocking, but Kade’s lips moved soundlessly.

I heard a muted thump behind me, and I knew what had happened before I forced myself to glance that way. Novak was squatted down beside the armless, headless torso of Gideon, pulling a pack of cigarettes from the dead male's pants pocket. He stood, brushing one hand down his own black tux jacket, and kicked the torso across the room before he started walking toward Stone.

“What?” Novak asked nonchalantly as he passed by us. “I couldn’t find a lighter.” His appearance had returned to normal, all but his eyes. The red was fading with every step he took in our direction.

Grim chuckled. “Here.” Fetching a lighter from his pocket, he opened the top and lit it for Novak. He didn’t get a chance to light the cigarette, though.

“A little help over here,” Jack called, and all three of us went rushing forward to assist him and Stone.

The two of them were keeping the last of the vampire army outside of the ballroom where Sloane and Kadence were still fighting. What was left of the army was pushing forward while being cut down from behind. When we reached them, Stone took a long glance at Sloane before releasing a frustrated breath and morphing into his demon form. As he shifted, his tux was shredded into pieces, dropping on the floor around him. He spread his wings and took flight, launching himself through a top window to help everyone on the outside. Glass followed him, raining down on the ground outside in his wake.

Sloane and Kadence had picked up their speed again, blurring through the room. The sounds of flesh hitting flesh and fabric tearing chased after them. Snarls and shouted orders filtered into the ballroom from the busted windows and large open doorway, obscenely loud in the quiet of their fight. A chunk of silver hair fell to the ground, followed by an enraged, “You fucking bitch!” And another body dropped.

Sloane stood over Kade's body, the side of her gown split all the way to her hip and the skinny point of her heel dug deep into Kade’s chest. She held Kade’s head up by her hair, using the angle as leverage while struggling to remove her shoe. “Fucking cunt,” she murmured, making me grin. “Still won’t let go of my shit.” The last yank on her shoe nearly toppled her over.

My grin was short lived. Sloane made quick work of removing Kade's head from her body, and I’d been watching at the wrong time. The skin, tendons, and muscles pulled away from Kade’s neck as Sloane cupped under her jaw and jerked. I would hear the tearing sound in my sleep for weeks after tonight. The sight was grotesque, and I observed as my mate smirked at her accomplished work. She was crazy, but she was ours.

I studied Sloane as she walked across the room. The center of her bottom lip was split open but healing. Blood had drizzled down her chin and neck, falling on her chest. There was a deep gash above her left eyebrow, the skin curling at the jagged edges. Her nose looked like it was broken, and the exposed portion of her body was riddled with bruises and scratches.

She hadn’t had an easy fight, that much was clear. She seemed exhausted as she strode toward us, walking right through the puddle of blood Novak had left in his conquest. Her black stilettos limply hung in one hand, Kade’s head in the other. The bottom of her dress dragged across the ground, smearing blood as she went.

When she reached us, she smiled, but there was no fire in her eyes. “Would you do me a favor?” Her question was directed to no one in particular, but Novak stepped up, taking her shoes and tilting her chin up to assess her face. “I need two, actually. I need someone to rip the bottom of this dress off so I can move better, and I need someone to reset my nose.”

Grim didn’t hesitate. Reaching up with both hands, he realigned her nose in a single swift movement. Sloane hissed out a breath, relaxing almost immediately after it was done. The cracking made me gag. Novak dropped her shoes as he leaned down, snatching the bottom of her dress off right above her knees. Her legs were covered in bruises too, and they took so much longer to heal than the cuts.

Rubbing my thumb across the cuts on her face, I pushed my icy healing magic into her. I knew she could heal them on her own, but we had an army to address, and she needed to save as much energy as possible. I also knew she’d want to face everyone looking slightly less beat up.

“Rough fight?” Jack questioned her softly, watching as Grim brought his scythe forward. He collected the souls of Kadence and Gideon before returning to our group.

“I almost didn’t win that one. Rough isn’t the word I would use to describe it. She divided her attention for a moment too long, and I was able to make it work.” She sighed, clearly not wanting to talk about it. “Let’s go stop the rest of the fighting now. I want to check on the guys, my parents, and everyone else.”

As Sloane eased her way to the front of our little crowd, she flicked her hand over her shoulder, sending small balls of hellfire to the bodies in the room. Or body parts. The four of us followed behind her, happy with the wins, but terrified of what we may have lost in the process.

We proceeded through the garage-style doorway, and into the chaos outside. Sloane didn’t stop for anyone, pushing her way through the masses to get to the heart of the battle. She didn’t try to yell over the noise to gain the attention of the battle participants. She simply handed Novak the head of her enemy, and shifted.

The front paws of her gigantic silver wolf slammed onto the ground. Just like Sloane would in her human skin, the wolf’s shoulders widened and rolled back, puffing her chest out. She didn’t growl, she roared, bringing everyone to a halt, mid-motion. Four growls echoed back, signaling Briggs and the hellhounds were fine, the alpha compulsion drawing them near their pack leader.

A reddish wolf, slightly bigger than Sloane, trotted up to her, poking his nose into her side. She gave the wolf equivalent of a groan and shifted back. Running her fingers through the coarse fur, she kissed the wolf on the tip of his nose and sighed. “I’m fine, Dad. Just tired,” she whispered to Charles.

Taking Kade’s head from Novak, she thrust it into the air. “Your self proclaimed queen is dead,” she shouted to the gathering crowd and tossed her souvenir at the feet of the first few vampires. Lowering her voice, she continued. “Her body burns inside the ballroom, along with Gideon’s. You can stop fighting us now, or you’ll join them in Hell, rotting away for all eternity. Novak and I will not stand by while you ruin what Nathaniel King spent his lifetime building. You can pledge your loyalty to the House of Vampyre, or you can die as a rogue. The decision is yours to make, but make it hastily because I’m not in the mood to wait around.”

Like a domino effect, vampires all around us fell to one knee. Row after row, they dropped until only a handful were left standing. Beside me, Novak dropped to his knee as well, head bowed with a big ass grin on his face. He grabbed me by my right hand, pulling me down alongside him.

I’d not kneeled for anyone since I was a child. My father never asked his children to kneel before him, but my mother had insisted. I would never kneel before her, though. I wondered how York felt about it, being the only other one of us with royal ties, but one peek to my other side showed him smiling as well. It seemed like he and Novak were privy to some joke I’d missed out on.

“What?” I mouthed the word to York. He tapped the side of his temple, and I shook my head, not clear on what he was trying to tell me. I didn’t have long to think about it before one of the vampires still standing made a comment that was sure to set Sloane off.

“I'm not pledging any loyalties to a King, much less the female heir. The House of Vampyre has not been run by a female in a thousand years, and you haven’t shown us that you're capable of the job.”