Ruins A.G.A. 2nd Novel in the Ruinsaga series

Chapter 34 .

Lily

My heart dropped and tripled its beating as the mansion came into view. Forms moved around it, blurs that would still for a moment into a human form and then blur again as they moved. The sun was beginning to set, but it was still bright enough outside to easily see everything.

"Barrier up, Darren," Jin said from his position in front of us.

Hunter and I both stepped closer to Darren. I couldn't tell when his barrier went up, but it must have gone up because Jin seemed satisfied.

"Be ready to put your lightning around the barrier if needed," Jin said.

Hunter nodded, but Jin wasn't looking at him. His eyes never left the mansion.

"Alright," Jin said. "Let's go." He started to make his way to the mansion at a slow pace. We followed closely.

Several of the blurs rushed towards us. We were surrounded in a moment. Jin stopped moving as a male vampire came into focus in front of him. A female vampire stopped by my side. Her hungry smile sent terrified shivers down my arms. Her blood red eyes stared at me as if she could devour me just by looking at me. I stepped closer to Darren and bumped into his arm. His gloved hand wrapped around mine. I saw him reach out to Hunter who stood on the other side of him and grab his wrist. Hunter stepped closer to Darren. Another vampire stood to the side of Hunter and a fourth one stood behind us. The vampires all wore normal modern clothes, but on them the clothes looked wrong and made the vampires even more frightening. Maybe the fact that they wore short sleeves in the snow had something to do with it.

Elongated sharpened fingernails reached out for us on all sides, but stopped in midair. The smile on the vampire next to me widened. Her canines grew longer as I watched. The vampires moved constantly in some way. Small movements, small swaying that wasn't human.

"Have you brought presents to make up for your insolence?" the male vampire in front of Jin asked him. The vampire's eyes darted to the three of us behind Jin.

"No," Jin said. He seemed at ease even though Darren, Hunter and myself were basically all cowering together behind him.

The vampire by Hunter's side reached out for him. There was a slight shimmer in the air when his fingers met the barrier. Then his fingers were pushing through the barrier. Lightning immediately zigged from Hunter's hand and snaked around the exterior of the barrier. The vampire pulled his hand back in a blur hissing in pain and in the next moment all the vampires except for Jin were hissing at us. Their eyes glowed red, their faces contorted in terrifying anger, their canines barred and the three around the barrier got closer without actually touching the barrier. The presence around them darkened and I found myself shaking as I pressed myself against Darren's trembling arm. I fumbled with my ax but managed to bring it out between me and the vampire next to me. I was careful to keep it close to me so it wouldn't pass through the barrier. I knew logically that I wouldn't be able to wield it fast enough against the vampire, but it made me feel slightly better. My shaking stopped to a low tremble.

"If you've come to usurp the mistress, you're going to need a lot more than these creatures," the vampire in front of Jin said.

"I haven't come to usurp anyone," Jin said camly. He completely ignored what was going on behind him, but I didn't think that meant he didn't care about us. I got the impression it was because he was trying to look like he had complete control of the situation. He had told us beforehand what to do and we were doing it. "I need to speak with her."

"She said if she sees you again she will kill you. Do you still want to see her?" the vampire in front of Jin asked.

"I have new information she needs to know," Jin said.