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Fuck.He slipped halfway behind another tree and tried to find an opening for himself to be useful, when he spotted Lyle. Brandishing his two knives like machine guns pointing out to either side of him, the boy stormed into battle. Jackson’s heart squeezed in sympathy; he knew a suicide mission when he saw one. So did Kostya. The hulking vampire tried to block his charge from the worst of the fighting, but Lyle wanted none of that. When he made to dart around his protector again, Kostya hooked Lyle’s skinny frame in one massive arm and dragged him away in a blur. They stopped right in front of Jackson’s tree.
“Let go of me, you fucking moron!”
“I won’t let you—”
“Watch out!” Jackson yelled. But the streak of movement he saw heading their way had already arrived and struck with savage speed.
Kostya’s head lifted from his broad shoulders and dropped with the weighty thump of a bowling ball. His body collapsed, releasing Lyle, who whirled around just in time to raise one of his knives and block another lethal strike. In almost the same motion, he thrust his second knife deep between the assailant’s ribs.
For a moment, the kid only gawked at the vampire swaying at the end of his hilt, both of them clearly surprised by this turn of events. Then he twisted the blade hard, causing a massive gush of blood to erupt from the chest. He must have snatched his attacker’s weapon as it fell and swung it hard, because the next thing Jackson saw was another headless body drop.
“Are you all drunk? You outnumber them ten to one, you incompetent fools,” Esteban shouted over the battlefield. “Let’s get on with this! Capture the pretender and kill the rest!”
Lyle wasted no time. Hefting his new weapon, a machete, he skulked toward Esteban.
Jackson wasted no time, either. Snatching up Kostya’s sword, he hurried after the young vampire, who promptly found himself challenged.
“Going somewhere, pup?”
Lyle held the machete up in front of him. “Don’t even think about it, Gregory. I’m older than you, and stronger.”
“You’re a boy and always will be.”
And those were the last words out of Gregory’s mouth. Running up behind him, Jackson swung the sword in a well-practiced move, separating vampire head from vampire body.
Lyle gaped, but not at Jackson. Jackson was still invisible, and as far as Lyle was concerned, Gregory had just spontaneously lost his head.
“You’re welcome,” Jackson said. No reaction. They couldn’t hear him either. That poor fool, Kostya, had never heard his warning.
Catching a blur from the corner of his eye, Jackson spun around and flailed when he almost slipped again on the gore-slick rocks. Another one of the rabid wolf pack ran straight into his swerving blade and effectively decapitated herself. Blood fanned out in every direction, slapping Jackson in the face.
Startled out of his astonishment, Lyle leapt backward, shook his head, then turned and headed for Esteban again. This time, he moved faster than his ghostly guardian had any hope of keeping up with.
“You’re going to get yourself killed, you little shit!” Jackson yelled, even as a sword whistled behind him. He dove forward, stumbling over a dismembered arm, and lurched away from the vampire who tripped over the body Jackson had just made. He hadn’t hit the ground yet before Makoto’skatanaslashed through both of the stumbling vampire’s legs and one remaining arm. The tip of her blade caught Jackson’s shoulder and missed his head by a fraction of an inch. “Fuck!” Never mind Lyle getting killed. Jackson was going to get himself killed even faster if he didn’t get his invisible mortal ass out of the war zone.
He scrambled forward, only to get hit by Lyle’s hurtling body. The boy righted himself and crouched low, growling.
It took Jackson a moment to realize that the racket of conflict had died down. Only scattered snarls and curses remained. Bodies and limbs lay scattered, the macabre contents of hell spilled from the mouth of the cavern. Many still tried to crawl, but most lay motionless and cadaver-thin, neutralized at last by the repeated amputations and hemorrhaging. The chill wind reeked of gore, and blood dripped from Dominique’s, Isao’s, and Makato’s lethally elegant swords. The three of them stood in the middle of the carnage, facing Esteban, who held his still-clean blade and clearly struggled to find words.
“Do you still think I am underestimating my situation?” Dominique said with the icy calm of a glacier.
The response was a guttural growl. Esteban hadn’t gone full-on out-of-control vampire beast, but he wasn’t far from it. “You crude, pitifuljokeof a baby vampire,” he roared. “You will pay for this insult!”
“No insult, Esteban. An opportunity.” Dominique gestured at the carnage. “Most of them still live. If you submit, they will continue to live. Very generous terms,non?”
“Hell, no!” Lyle shrieked, getting to his feet. “He has to die for what—”
A dagger flew from Esteban’s hand and buried itself in Lyle’s chest. An instant later, Esteban—now brandishing two swords—charged at Dominique, who appeared to have expected the move and blocked him with ease. They froze, face-to-face through their crossed blades, laser focused, taking each others’ measure. Then Esteban slowly stepped back. But the moment Dominique lowered his weapons, the Spaniard moved so fast, he practically vanished. If Dominique was surprised, it was hard to tell. They both dissolved into spectral blurs of motion. Even the staccato clash of their swords took on an eerie echo.
Lyle dropped to his knees, blood pouring out of his nose and mouth, and Jackson hurried to his side. Maybe there was no point pulling a dagger out of someone so hell-bent on dying, but Jackson did it anyway. The kid’s glowing eyes widened with astonishment. Jackson grabbed his hand, letting him feel what he couldn’t see. With a gasp, understanding dawned on Lyle’s face. Then his eyes finally focused on him.
“I’ve got this, brother,” Jackson said.
“Kill him,” Lyle mouthed.
“And you? You’re going to die, too, then. You know that, right?”
Lyle only nodded.
