“You sure this is going to work?” I whispered to Peter. “I mean, we can’t even see Carl.”
“Yeah, but you can hear his heartbeat and smell his blood. That little nick on his hand is going to be like a radar for you and the other vampires, so we have to be quick.”
He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as we watched vampires tear chunks out of each other using just their teeth and fingernails.
“We don’t stand a chance,” I said.
“Want me to do the next bit? You can drive if you like.”
“No, I can do it. Keep the car running.”
Deep down, I was desperate to go home and forget about the whole thing. I got out of the car, re-pierced the small wound on Carl’s hand and led him toward the vampires, trying not to wince at the blood and lumps of flesh flying everywhere.
“There he is,” I whispered, finally spotting Arthur.
“Yeah, I got him,” Carl replied, sounding a lot more confident than I felt.
Peter had been right. I knew exactly where Carl was. I followed him as close as I dared without being seen by Arthur who was finishing off a small female vampire. As he ripped off the vampire’s head with a grunt, Carl began to softly call his name.
Arthur’s head jerked around, bloodlust in his eyes. He hopped up and ran toward Carl before I could blink. Just as fast, I sped after him, delighting in the sense of freedom. I was faster than ever, from Becca’s blood and possibly Eddie’s spell.
Arthur ran right into Carl. I hadn’t expected him to lock onto Carl without even wondering why he couldn’t see him. I sped up, terrified I was going to be too late.
Arthur threw back his head and tried to sink his teeth into what I assumed was an invisible Carl’s throat. He flew backward as if burned. I smiled, remembering how I had wrapped a silver chain around Carl’s neck. Arthur’s hesitation was perfect. I clamped the silver handcuffs on to his wrist and mine. He whipped his head around in confusion and tried to back away, but I held him still.
Changing his mind, Arthur launched himself at me, his jaws wide. His face contorted in pain and a howl emitted from his throat as Carl wrapped his chain around Arthur’s neck, making it easy to lead him to the car. I was beginning to think we might make it when the cold presence I kept feeling blew so hard, my hair fell over my face.
I turned around and realised one vampire had spotted us. He eyed us warily then put his head down and ran. I snapped the handcuff off my wrist, not even pausing to notice how easy it was.
“Run,” I whispered. “Don’t let them see the chain.”
Carl managed to hurry on with Arthur without holding out the chain, making it look like Arthur was running away.
I slipped the silver dagger out of my belt and waited. It didn’t matter whose side the vampire was on, I had to stop him. He was on me in seconds, rushing at me so hard, he ran straight into the dagger. I used his strength against him. Too late, his eyes widened as he felt the blade sink into his skin. He didn’t even cry out, but the red tint disappeared from his eyes, replaced by fear. The knife burned him from the inside out. Every vein under his skin glowed before his entire body burst into flames that quickly burned out into dust.
“Holy shit,” I muttered, trembling at the intensity of the flame and how quick the whole fight had been. Then pain shot through my arm, and I realised his fingernails had sliced deep into my flesh before he died. I quickly licked the wounds and didn’t wait to look at them heal.
