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“Aye. If you’re ready to break into the next room, let’s go,” Angus said.
12
Stasio wasn’t sure they would be able to fight a bunch of vampires in four more sections of the safehouse who hadn’t been fighting like they had. Maybe they could manage one more room full of them, but after that, they would need a break. Though once their adrenaline was pumping hard, they were in battle mode. And they felt they couldn’t fail at this. But he sure was hoping reinforcements would soon be sent.
Jasmine pulled Stasio aside for a moment before they checked out the next elder’s chambers and wrapped her arms around him. “We might not make it through one of these fights, you know.”
“Yeah, my thought also.” Stasio didn’t want to admit it, but facts were facts. He didn’t want them to lose her in the beginning of their relationship, should either one of them–or both—die. He began kissing her, wanting the intimacy, to show how much he was into her, that he wanted to continue this with her. Instantly their souls were colliding, the adrenaline-fueled fight in their blood making it all the more memorable. While kissing her, he felt uplifted, inspired, in love, and ready to win this war. And more than ready to explore much more of a relationship with her without all these interruptions!
She was kissing him back before Ruric cleared his throat to break up the party. Stasio swore everyone was watching them! He hadn’t expected that.
Angus took a deep breath, let it out, and then opened the door to the next elder’s chambers with enough force to say they belonged there. If he’d opened it too slowly, the vampires inside might automatically think that someone was sneaking in to check out the situation and the elder would know they were in for a fight. If Angus had thrown the door aside too quickly? That would have gotten everyone’s attention right away and it would have had the same result.
Angus’s action was perfect. When they made their way into the next elder’s lair, they were surprised to see everyone drinking, music playing, no one reacting to their intrusion. Stasio figured then that they really felt they didn’t have to worry about the rebels locating them and were just enjoying a party while other vampires of the League were battling it out. Typical though. These elders would come out unscathed, victorious after the battle—if the others had managed to win—and they wouldn’t have raised a finger to help out. Such arrogance.
In a few seconds, Stasio counted about forty vampires. Some were seated on couches, drinking, chatting it up with others. Some were standing in small groups at tall tables, drinking, talking. Before any of elder’s people reacted to their presence, Stasio saw Caitlin raise her fingers and he wanted to cheer her on. He was certain she was going to make some of them fall asleep and that would reduce the number they had to fight. But also, they truly had wanted to convince some of them to join their side and not eliminate everyone in the old regime. If the rebels were victorious and these vampires woke to discover that, hopefully, they would agree to follow the new leadership since essentially their lives had been spared.
It appeared she targeted the ones seated so it wasn’t so noticeable. Otherwise, the standing vamps would fall and then the others would immediately be alerted something was wrong. Though not what. Caitlin’s magic had worked wonders before.
The ones she targeted this time slumped back against cushions—at least ten of them. And then everyone turned to really look at the new party attendees, realized they didn’t belong, and Levka and the others dove in to take down as many of the elder’s cronies as they could.
“Fight with us,” Angus shouted while he slashed his sword at a vampire. “We only want change.”
“To help others who are in need instead of becoming rogues under the stifling ancient rules of the League.” William fought another vampire.
“To make changes for all of us that will benefit us all.” Eleanor shoved a sword into a vampire’s heart when he tried to target Caitlin.
Stasio was glad Eleanor hadn’t been a traitor. They needed all the help they could get, and she was really a good fighter.
A couple of the vampires paused in fighting them. One was killed by one of his cohorts for hesitating. The other joined Levka and the rebels to change alliances. Great. If only a good majority of the remainder would switch too.
Then he noticed that Caitlin was targeting blood bonds with a message to leave immediately. They had been serving blood at the party, but now they quickly left the chambers. So that amounted to about ten people who were on their way out and wouldn’t be involved in the skirmish. Now they were down to fewer than twenty vampires they had to fight. The elder was in the background, trying to keep the wall to his back, no doubt upset that anyone would turn on him that had been in his court initially—vampires and blood bonds alike.
Stasio felt a renewed energy in fighting the vampires, mostly because if he didn’t, he was dead and he wouldn’t be able to help his friends. Jasmine looked like a whirlwind of energy, a vampire on steroids as swiftly as she was killing vampires. She looked like she’d definitely gotten her second wind.
Then they were down to a couple of Elder Pontius’s staunchest fighters and the elder himself.
“You can give up and give in to the new rule,” Angus said.
“You will never succeed,” the elder said, and slashed at three vampires trying to take him down at once.
Stasio grabbed a fallen vampire’s throwing dagger and aimed it at one of the vampires that he could target without hitting one of his allies. As soon as the dagger penetrated the man’s heart, he fell. Instantly, the other man who had been fighting so hard to protect the elder fell too, slain by Ruric. And then several rebel vampires took out the elder.
Stasio was glad that the rooms were soundproof, and the other elders and their people didn’t storm into the room to take care of the rebels.
After everyone was accounted for—only two of Angus’s men having suffered injuries but they were already healing—everyone took a breather.
“I just hope there aren’t as many people in the next three rooms to fight,” William said, drinking a bottled water.
Five from the elder’s group of people had joined their force, thankfully, so they were fresher fighters. One was a woman who said, “Thanks for finally doing this. I just hope we can take down the rest of the elders or it’s all for naught.”
“We’re not giving up,” Eleanor said.
Stasio even wondered if an elder were to live and say he capitulated and wanted to change along with them just so they wouldn’t end his tyranny, would he? He doubted it. The elders had ruled for so long, they didn’t want to give up that control, that power. If they were now dictated to by the majority of vampires who wanted the changes made? Stasio was certain any of the existing elders couldn’t live with it.
Jasmine ran her hand over Stasio’s arm and smiled a little. He rested his arm over her shoulder and kissed her. “Two down—”
“Too many to go.”
