Reign of Blood (The Vampires of Vegas Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-five

The blades flashed in the rays of sun as I sent them swinging along with my arms, slashing off heads like nothing. Hacking at their necks when I could, they fell into piles, forcing me to move farther into the chaotic mess. I spotted Rye to my right, his katana flashing. He jabbed and spun like a dancer, taking ferals down with every move. He was graceful and fluid, like he had fought all his life. I wondered if he had. My momentary glance ended faster than I would have liked when two ferals approached me, snarling and snapping their jaws as if they were wild dogs.

The differences were obvious up close. These ferals were much more muscular in build and their eyes were a more brilliant blood red, almost glowing as they took pains to remain in the darkness. They waited, wanting me to enter their realm just a bit more before pouncing on me. Their eyes were not as vicious and empty as those of ferals I had fought before. These were focused on me, with malice swimming across their faces. Their snarls seemed to morph into evil smiles. This made my heart jump, realizing that there was intelligence behind their expressions. I wondered just how much they could think. The other ferals had been so dead and lifeless that to see life behind the eyes of these made me more aware of them, more cautious.

I bent my knees, ready for their advances. They all-too-willingly lunged forward as I stepped out of the light. I swung my machetes in dual arcs, hitting one in the legs and the other across the chest. Their screeches joined the chorus of pain as their comrades died all around us. I hoped none of the screams were from our hive. I prayed that we were on the winning side; it was too hard to tell in the confusing wave of chaos.

One of the ferals was down but one remained in the fight despite his shredded legs. He pulled himself along on his arms, inching closer to me. I finished him with a hack to the neck and rushed forward. The rest of the ferals were beginning to scatter. Glancing around, I found Rye as he motioned me deeper into the building.

"Where are they keeping them?" I whispered. He shook his head and mouthed "Seraphin" before he was sent hurtling into one of the great pillars that held the room up. A hybrid vampire had jumped onto him and pummeling him with his fists. I ran over to hack into him but another got in my way before I could reach him. This one shoved me too, which seemed to be a popular fighting technique here. I caught my footing before crashing to the ground, turning and running to avoid another hit. The hybrid laughed, taking chase after me, but I was just a hair faster. His hand reached out and grabbed my jacket as I flipped the hilt of one machete in my hand to jab backwards into his stomach.

A screech of agony filled my ears, letting me know the machete had hit its mark. Yanking it out was another problem entirely. Underestimating my newfound strength, I had plunged it so deep into his chest cavity it was stuck on his spinal column. I yanked on it to no avail, leaving me no choice but to let him drop to the ground, writhing in pain, a blade sticking out of his chest. He recovered quickly, pulling himself up onto his arms, then up onto his legs as he lunged back at me, blade and all.

I pulled one of my knives from the bandoleer band across my chest. I was ready to swing my body weight with his, letting his momentum take me on a spin as I plunged the knife deep into his temple. The knife sank into his head like butter, up to the hilt. His body flew onto the debris before coming to a stop, a trail of dark blood in his wake. I landed lightly on my legs, bending them as I landed to absorb any shock. Smiling, I found that I liked this newfound graceful strength that the blood had given me. It was working in my favor in every way and the surge was a high I had never experienced.

Scanning the chaos around me, my eyes could not find Rye. A flutter of panic hit my chest and I began to run toward the spot I had last seen him. Not finding him, I looked for the next person on my short list to see: Seraphin.

Her black-as-night hair was whipping around as she swung a hatchet, slamming it into some ferals that had remained behind as their comrades fled. A hybrid, clearly either her mate or close friend by the way they kept exchanging glances, was next to her fighting off another hybrid from their hive. I pondered why they had betrayed their hive for Blaze's favor. Had she lied about her mate being dead? I wondered if they would be executed if caught or if this went the wrong way today. I still had some reservations about her but now, seeing her diligently fighting and bringing the enemy hive down, I felt unsure, a bit confused, but relieved that she fought on our side. Even if trust was not yet won, I had a whole new respect for her and what she had endured by spending all that time in the enemy hive. She had risked so much and here was the culmination of all her work. I wanted to make it worth it for her, even if she wasn't my favorite person in the world.