The Last of the Twenty: Broken Pawns

Chapter 45

Delilah closed her eyes and blinked them back open, the green hue of Nadia's replaced once more by the light grey of her own. "You were right, Gabriel. They took her to the top of the mountain."

Gabriel's jaw clenched. "I was hoping I would be wrong." He turned to Ethan. "You, me, and Kelly over here should be the ones to go, along with the pack. Delilah and Keith need to stay here, it'll be too dangerous for them."

"Excuse me?" Delilah exclaimed. "Why on earth would it be more dangerous for me than that little girl over there?" she pointed at Kelly. "I went along with your plan, I'm just as responsible for what happened. I'm going."

"And I'm not letting Kelly go off with you on her own." Keith said, slamming a loaded magazine into the bottom of his gun. "After what they did to Raymond, I'm sure as hell not going to miss this fight."

"You'd never be able to keep up with us." Ethan said.

"I'll carry him if I have to." Kelly replied. "If he wants to go, he's going."

"He's human," Gabriel said, "He won't stand a chance up there."

"Then I'll just have to look after him, I promised Raymond I would and I intend to keep that promise."

"I'll help with that," Delilah said, "The three of us will get Nadia off that mountain and keep her safe while you all distract the other vampires. Do to them what they did to us."

"We don't have time for this!" Ethan yelled, "We leave now or let her die and the angel get away! I'm not willing to take that chance!"

"I'll carry him up." Daniel's voice echoed in Gabriel's mind. The three wolves were pacing impatiently around the house, eager to go.

Gabriel rubbed his eyes, frustrated. "Fine. If he dies I take no responsibility. Delilah, trust me when I tell you, get Nadia and get off that mountain in a hurry. Don't stick around, don't try to fight." He turned towards Ethan. "If the angel, or angels, appear, don't try to fight them. They'll have weapons, weapons that will appear out of nowhere. If you can, get hold of one. It'll be the only way you can be sure to hurt them, but you'll have to act quickly. An angel can make his weapon disappear with a thought, you have to use it before that happens. They'll be much stronger, and much faster than you."

Ethan nodded. "We go up on separate sides of the mountain. We'll close in on them at the top and surround them."

"Wait, how am I getting up there?" Keith asked.

His question was answered when Daniel's huge form walked into the room, a length of rope clenched between his teeth. "Tie the ends around your wrists and throw the rope around my neck. When I run hold on tight, I won't stop if you fall off."

Keith's face went pale when Daniel's voice rang through his mind. He took the rope with shaking hands and nodded silently, allowing Kelly to step up and gently tie the rope for him. "Don't think about your friend when you're up there." Ethan told him, "Those thoughts have a way of distracting you at the worst times during a fight. Trust me. Concentrate on what you're doing, survive and grieve later."

Keith looked into Ethan's face with bloodshot eyes, his expression serious. "Oh trust me, I have no intention of losing my focus."

"Neither do I." Kelly said beside him, stuffing extra magazines for Keith's gun into her pockets.

"Let's go." Gabriel said.

Outside the house Wes and Dillon howled. Keithfollowed Daniel out the door and gingerly climbed onto his back. Daniel joinedhis brothers in their chorus before following them into the woods, the fourvampires close behind. They ran with focused determination towards themountain, straight into the set jaws of the trap.