“Are you questioning my authority?” The look on Tyron’s face confirmed he didn’t hold much store by his father’s authority. “I said release her.”
A movement in the shadows caught my eye.
“I’m sorry old friend, but we cannot stand back any longer. It is clear your son has no intention of letting her go, and we must insist upon it.”
Relief flooded through me as Hemming strode confidently into the room, closely followed by Sebastian, Seff, and Arta. Sebastian advanced towards me, and I offered him a weak smile.
My relief, however, was short lived.
“Traitor.” Tyron hissed at his father, signalling to his men for back up. “How could you? Not killing them is one thing, but inviting the enemy to our house? You’re a disgrace to Vira.” Tyron stood defiantly before me, an angry shield.
Sebastian stopped short and considered the unfurling situation, his eyes pools of fury at my condition.
“And you’re not?” Sirus screamed hate at his son. “We rule with intellect and guile, not rape and murder. It is you who is the disgrace.”
Tyron flicked his fingers at Durus and Daryl. They understood the meaning, and in the blink of an eye, they crossed the room and took hold of Sirus.
“Times change…and so do rulers.” Tyron drew a sword from a nearby suit of armour, swung the blade with great accuracy, and severed Sirus’s head clean off. It rolled away and landed with a thud against the wall, and before the vamps let Sirus’s body fall to the floor, Tyron took hold of the severed torso and licked the wound.
I felt sick to my stomach. Tyron was a depraved, insane individual who deserved to die in the worst possible manner.
“You have gone too far this time. Your actions will be condemned by the whole community,” Hemming snarled. “I advise you to be prepared.”
Tyron was unconcerned. “He was old. His time has passed. It’s time for some new blood around here.”
“You try to justify your crimes?”
Tyron turned his back to Hemming and addressed Durus and Daryl. “Gentlemen, we appear to have a problem with vermin in the place.” They sniggered excitedly, knowing he wasn’t talking about the rat in the dungeon. “Guards!”
“Afraid you’ll lose without backup?” said Sebastian. “It’s been a while since I killed a piece of scum like you, but I think I remember how.”
Tyron curled his eyebrow. “You don’t have the balls.”
“Shall we test that theory?”
“Be my guest…Daryl.”
“I have no beef with Daryl,” Sebastian said.
“You’re on my territory now, and here I make the rules, here I am god, you are nothing. Besides, I’m a little tired from killing your cousin earlier, so I’ll be sitting this dance out. I’d prefer to be a spectator to your death.”
“In your dreams.”
The sound of grinding stones echoed through the hall. Around the circumference, openings appeared and more vamps materialised from every orifice. There must have been at least twenty. We were surrounded. I looked at our pack of four. They didn’t stand a chance.
The Lovells signalled to each other, stood fast, bowed their heads, and began to shake. Before my eyes, they transformed. A dozen more wolves appeared out of thin air to join in the fight. The vamps were quick to respond. They crouched and pounced, fangs bared at the unexpected intruders, who answered the assault, leaping up and clawing out at their attackers.
I was powerless to do anything but watch the massacre. All around me, the unearthly sounds of the slaying monsters bounced off the walls and reverberated in my head. I tried to follow Sebastian’s movements, but the werewolves were all too similar in appearance, and they moved quicker than my eye could trace. A ball of half vampire half werewolf flew through the air, landed at my feet, with teeth around each other’s throats, and rolled behind my pillar out of sight. Another werewolf was thrown across the room, by Durus, and landed on the huge dining table, shattering it into dozens of ready-made weapons. Its paw clawed out and grasped the wood, thrusting it forward and expertly finding Durus’s heart. His skin shrivelled and retracted, exposing skeletal features, before he exploded in a cloud of ashes. So vampires really did die like that. To my left, one werewolf rammed a blazing torch under a vamp’s jacket. It promptly caught fire, and the vamp exploded in a rage of flames.
The hall emptied quickly. More and more vampires became dust. I spotted Tyron sneaking through a stone door, thinking he was unnoticed. The coward. However, my attention was diverted by the sudden release of my wrists. I felt the links break under the crushing grip of…
“Sebastian? A minute ago you were…er…”
“Never mind. We need to get you out of here.” Sebastian spoke forcefully, grabbing my hand and steering a path through the carnage.
“I’m sooo sorry, Sophie. It’s all my fault,” he said. “I was too focussed on our good news. I admit I didn’t realise how long you’d been absent, and when Connor disappeared too, I thought nothing of it. I figured he’d also gone to the bathroom. It was only when Beth pointed out that neither of you had returned that I came looking. Thank God you’re okay. Did Tyron hurt you? How are you feeling?”
I ducked under a flying body. “There are so many emotions running around in my head right now. I don’t know how I’m supposed to be feeling. How did you know where to find me?”
Sebastian stopped short, and I crashed into his back, before he jumped over a severed werewolf head, and we continued our escape. “Poor Emmel, sad loss. I discovered Vincent’s body in the office and remembered you mentioned seeing Tyron’s car outside. I knew he must be involved. I’m sorry we took so long. I knew he wouldn’t kill you; you’re too valuable to him. And I had to get back-up. Father didn’t want us to come storming in, and upset the equilibrium, if it could be done peacefully. I think we’ve burnt that bridge now, don’t you?”
We headed for the exit the Lovells had entered by, dodging past grappling monsters and flailing bodies. Outside, a long corridor with a bright red strip of carpet paved the way to freedom. We had almost reached the end, when two vamps materialised out of nowhere and blocked our path. Sebastian stopped dead and bundled me behind him. We retraced our steps, backwards. The vamps, pleased with their find, grinned.
Sebastian mumbled behind gritted teeth. “Go, Sophie, go.”
“Where? Where am I supposed to go? I can’t go back in there; they’ll eat me alive!”
We’d retreated far enough to draw level with a stairway.
“There, up there…now!”
I obeyed, climbing quickly, all the while listening to the scuffle below. I had to trust that Sebastian would win out and follow me soon.
The stairway wound high into the eaves. Eventually, I reached an exit and found myself on the roof. The rain was beating down and bouncing off the floor. The wind whipped my hair into a nest of rats’ tails and lashed it back down across my cheeks, where it stuck fast. Above me, thunder cracks vibrated the heavens, and sheets of lightening lit up the sky in brief flashes, illuminating the eerie setting I now found myself occupying.
Where to now? I searched left and right, seeking some path of escape. Why bother having a door when all it leads to is a small parapet between the steepled roofs? I ran to the edge and peered over. The rugged coastline extended way beyond my limited vision. I remembered tales of this section being littered with the shells of past shipwrecks from bygone days of pirates and smugglers. Huge grey waves beat against the cliffs below and exploded in a foam rage. We wouldn’t be jumping off there.
“Missed me so much you came to find me?”
Tyron!
I spun around, gripping the wall behind me when the wind threatened to dislodge my footing.
“Hmm, I’ve always had a preference for women who weren’t razor shy, but I think I could see past the excess hair and the big nose. What do you say, my foxy lady? Join me?” Tyron took a step forward with his arms outstretched and his eyes on my sodden, clinging, and barely useful attire.
“Hold that thought…and then forget it!” Sebastian shielded me with his body, quicker than the lightening above.
Black veins pulsed under Tyron’s skin. “Are you ready to die?”
Sebastian stood strong. “You first.”
Another flash lit up the roof.
Connor emerged through the door.
I was hallucinating.
“Need some help there, Bro?”
Hearing things too.
Tyron let out a frustrated sigh. “How I long for the good old days. Time was, when you killed someone…they actually stayed dead.” He turned slowly.
“Sorry to disappoint.”
“I won’t make that mistake again.”
Sebastian grinned at his cousin. “I thought I told you to stay home and rest”
“And miss all the fun here? Not likely.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Oh yeah. I’m all kinds of good.”
Tyron considered his options. “You two have become a real thorn in my side.”
“And yet, the funny thing is, we were willing to keep to the agreement, but you seem to think that you can steal from us and we’ll let it pass.”
“Have you never seen something and realised you have to own it?”
What was I? A possession?
“Sometimes you have to accept that something will never be yours.”
I glanced at Connor. He was looking right at me, but then lowered his eyes to the floor.
Tyron’s eyes flicked between the boys. “Well gentlemen, as much as I’ve enjoyed this little tête-à-tête, I have an army to assemble.” He sprang onto a nearby roof and vanished over the ridge tiles.
“Oh no, you don’t,” said Connor, quickly following.
A strong arm whipped me off my feet, and Sebastian and I joined in the chase across the rooftops.
The rain continued to pelt from the heavens and would have beaten any ordinary man into submission, but not these men. They scaled the steepest of inclines with ease; even losing the use of an arm didn’t present a problem for Sebastian.
“Can’t you take me home and let the others deal with him?” I shouted over yet another thunder clap. Sebastian stopped suddenly on the top of a conical turret, scanning for movement…and found it. I relaxed a little, picking strands of hair out of my eyes.
“Trail of smoke…over there. He must have gone through that door. We can’t give up now.” The arm that wasn’t gripping the steeple and should have been curled around my waist lifted and pointed to a spot in the distance.
“Sebastian!” I screamed. My feet flew out from under me, and my bottom slid down the roof. I turned onto my stomach, just in time to grab hold of a particularly ugly gargoyle protruding from the overhang. I was left dangling, staring at its grotesque open mouth, until my arm was yanked up.
I filled with anger. “Nice of you to notice my absence.”
“You’re okay, aren’t you?”
“Thanks to the monster on the roof…and I don’t mean you. I was seconds from being pavement pancake, and you don’t seem at all concerned. Look, stay if you must. Just get me to a car so I can go home.”
“You can’t drive.”
“I don’t care, I’ll learn.”
“Don’t be stupid, come on.”
I was left with no choice. Once more, I was scooped up, and we raced to the offending door. Sebastian opened it cautiously, not knowing what lay behind. The answer was nothing, which frustrated him greatly, but ahead of us lay another door. Relieved to be back in the dry at least, I followed him without protest.
The next room held a terraplunger. Sebastian ran over and studied the markings, before turning his back to the column and sliding down it to the ground. I squatted down beside him, as he placed his head in his hands. Another nearby door flung open, and the space filled with Lovells.
“All the vamps are toast, except Daryl, who got away from us. We followed him up here. Have you seen him?” asked Arta.
I shook my head and turned to Sebastian. “What is it? What’s the matter?”
“Tyron. It’s set for Vira. He’s gone.”
THE END