Bleeder [Blood Magic, Book 1]

Chapter 35: Ascension

Apparently the blood contract didn't change the way the bond made us feel, only the ramifications of acting on those feelings. But hadn't my father warned me about that?

Speaking of whom, what had happened to Ephraim? I was supposed to return to the minivan after Keel and I had completed the ritual, so why hadn't he come looking for me? What was his excuse this time?

The bedroom window shattered and snapped me back to the here and now. I spun around, but couldn't see anything in the dark. There was a sharp crack, then another and another. The Nosferatu weren't just trying to pull the house apart with their bare hands anymore: they'd found tools - and from the sounds of it, that included an axe. It wasn't going to take them long to chop the rest of the way through the slats.

I pressed my fingernails into my palms - an almost automatic reaction to danger now - but stopped myself before I broke skin. If my blood scented the air mid-ritual, who knew what it would do to Keel?

The axe smashed into the boarded window again and a spray of splinters dusted the room. I needed to think quickly; I couldn't stay there. I glanced back into the living room just in time to see Arthos shutting the heavy volume.

"Your Majesty," he announced, in a voice far too big for the limited audience and small domestic space. "Her life is yours to take. Do as you will and become what you are."

Keel fell upon the girl like a rabid dog. A strangled cry got lost in her throat as his fangs found their mark.

I turned back toward the window, partly from revulsion, and partly because of the strange scuffling sound coming from it. Something large was pushing its way through.

As calmly as I could, I stood up and slipped out the door into the living room, closing it behind me. Boras spotted me right away. I gestured at him with a series of tiny, furious motions, not daring to use words or anything else that could draw Keel's attention to me. In fact, I didn't look at Keel at all. Focusing on the incoming threat was a lot less soul destroying.

Boras moved towards me, herding me into the centre of the room. I'd only taken a couple of steps when the axe crashed through the bedroom door. Boras was ready for it, though. He grabbed the metal head before the intruder could pull it free, then spun it around and sank it deep into the skull of the first Nosferatu that crossed the threshold.

As that body hit the floor two more Nosferatu stumbled over it, only to be immediately engaged by a tag-team of Boras and Arthos. When I finally forced myself to look at Keel again, his head was still buried deep in the girl; he was either oblivious to what was going on around him or ignoring it completely.

My attention was yanked back to the fight when the vampire Arthos was duelling ducked an incoming elbow, and attempted to make a dash for Keel. Arthos dove forward, snatched the back of the vampire's black leather jacket and delivered two devastating punches to the base of his skull that were so fast I would have missed them had I blinked. Then he snapped the guy's neck and tossed him aside like an empty pop can.

Just in time, too: three more Nosferatu appeared in the bedroom doorway. Arthos turned and hurled himself in their direction, attempting to engage all of them at once, but two managed to dance past him.

"Protect him!" Arthos yelled at me, and I sprang into action. I back-peddled until Keel and the girl were directly behind me, then crouched down and cast my shield spell. Since my magic was still recharging I figured it best to keep things efficient. I wanted to have something offensive left in the cannon, just in case.

The Nosferatu rushed towards us, kneecapping themselves on my invisible barrier. As they went staggering, I turned to check on Keel, but found myself staring at the girl instead. Somehow, she was still clinging to life. In her glazed eyes, I saw a clarity that hadn't been there before. She knew what was happening to her and she was issuing a silent plea: Let me die.