Deadly Ends (Book #4)

Chapter Fifty- Five

It was as though I were entering my darkest nightmares, as we were greeted with the same piles of dead bodies that I had stumbled upon the first time.

The piles were larger this time, showing that their appetite had not disappeared, though no one would suggest it would.

"Were these bodies here the last time?" Ava asked, covering her nose.

For vampires, the smell was a mild annoyance, so I can only imagine how much worse it is for those who were human.

Louis shook his head "No, it is incredibly worse than last time"

I looked over at the four witches who would be our biggest threat against them "Are you ready?"

Tinsley exchanged looks with the three others, before slowly nodding.

Everyone seemed to realize just how real all of this had become and their fidgeting showed it.

"Everyone has their weapons ready?" Montgomery asked, looking out at everyone.

The fear of the unknown was more than clear when you looked across their faces. No one was ready for this, but going in headfirst was better than them picking us off one by one.

"Witches first then" Montgomery announced.

Grace stepped forward "This would work much better with each element, but we have the strength to create this shield"

"We will each stand at different corners of the castle, to keep the shield within the boundaries you have laid out for us" Ava explained.

I nodded "Whoever is going to the back of the castle will go with me, so that you safely get over there"

Tabitha shook her head "No, we cannot risk them sensing you here. We must create the shield first before you even step foot near that entrance"

Ava began to follow Tinsley, but quickly stopped, looking back in Kherington's direction, before rushing over to her and kissing her deeply.

"In case anything happens" she whispered.

Kherington took her hand, not letting go until Ava needed to walk off with Tinsley.

It was heartbreaking knowing that the kiss was most likely a cautious goodbye, for both of them.

We watched as the four witches got in their places, each in their own corner of the castle. The silence that had been surrounding us was taken over as they all began whispering the spell, before a dark red glow appeared, covering the castle.

Grace turned back to us "Now you can get to your spots"

I started walking off with Killian, Annabeth and Edgar, but Louis pulled me back.

"Please be careful in there" he whispered, kissing me on the forehead.

I looked up at him "They do not plan to kill me, so if my death happens, know that it was because of me, not anything that you could have done"

"Cordelia?" Edgar asked.

I nodded and stepped forward, leading my group to where Tinsley was, just outside of the cellar door.

Yelling quickly erupted towards the front and I knew that the P'yushchego Vampirov knew we were here, but they did not know we had a way in.

I looked over at Tinsley and she nodded at me.

"We are outside of the shield, so they cannot touch us; we will be fine" she assured me.

I entered the castle, just as I did before and the same feeling of dread took over, but this time I knew that I was not alone in this.