There was a huge chaos as the vampires started to attack the hunters. I looked at Eva and Peter who were nearby already fighting off some of the vampires.
"Get all the non-graduated hunters out of here; they don't know how to defend themselves properly. Get them out of here before they get harmed!" I told them fighting some of the vampires that went after them.
I started to fight off the vampires that approached to me with their fangs out; some of the other hunters that were in the ballroom as well were fighting off the vampires. They had reacted properly to a threat like this one but most of them were mainly shocked or confused for this imminent attack.
I turned around to help Naomi who was still in the floor paralyzed by the fear, I helped her get up and told her to go with Kole and Mason and just as I turned around somebody swung at me, I went down just quickly enough to avoid the hit.
I looked up at Ellen shocked; she was the one who had attacked me.
"Get up and fight!" Ellen yelled at me.
"What's wrong with you Ellen? I'm only your bloody side!" I told her as I got up.
Ellen snorted at that.
"As if I was stupid enough to believe that; you probably brought all these vampires along with those that you call family, you're a filthy traitor Alice Wythman!" Ellen said with rage as she swung at me again.
I grabbed her hand and arm taking away her wooden stake from her hand.
"My name is Alice Pierce and even if I'm a vampire now I'm still a huntress, a huntress that will stand up for the right things and if to do such thing I have to get through you so be it!" I said as I looked at her.
Ellen glared at me.
"So now you're threatening me? Are you going to kill me in order so you can get what you want, to be part of those leeches that you call your dear family?" Ellen said as she tried to hit me.
I blocked her and met her eyes.
"Of course, not Ellen, who do you think I am? I wouldn't be capable of killing a hunter; you have to understand Ellen that I'm here to protect all of you." I told her as I held her arms.
Ellen pushed me away as she rolled her eyes at me not believing a single word I said.
"Do you really think I'm going to buy that crap?" Ellen said breathless as she kicked me in my ribcage sending me down to the floor but before my body could touch the floor Peter grabbed my arms pulling me up.
"Ellen, stop it!" Peter told her with a glare.
Ellen looked at him shocked.
"Are you seriously defending her now? But I thought you hated her as much as I did?" Ellen yelled at him.
"I know that Ellen you may have gotten the impression of that all these years but this time you really have to listen Alice is really telling the truth. She had nothing to do with this conspiracy so for once we have to listen to what Alice has to say, she knows what she's doing." Peter told her.
Ellen shook her head as she looked at Peter in disbelief.
"She brainwashed you, didn't she? She brainwashed you like every other male in this Academy, right? She fooled you with her charms and looks, well I think Alice had more things to offer you than I can; with that said I believe that we are through, we are over." Ellen said before she yanked away her wooden stake from my hand.
I took a step back making my back collide with into Peter's chest; Peter placed his hands on my shoulders before he stepped in front of me protecting me from Ellen.
"Ellen, please don't do anything you might regret later." Peter told her in a concerned voice.
Ellen gave a small hiss in frustration.
"Fine, I'll stay and fight off the vampires but have this very clear Alice I will kill every vampire that stands on my way whenever or not it's good or bad." Ellen said before she walked away.
I looked at Peter who watched how Ellen walked away from him and started to kill the vampires that had cornered some of the non-graduated hunters from Spain.
"I really am sorry that you had to do that Peter." I told him, I knew how much he loved Ellen.
Peter turned around and started to walk pulling me along with him.
"It's alright, sometimes to do the right things you have to make some sacrifices. Now let's go get your family out of here." Peter told me.
I nodded and went along with him.
We got to where Eva and the rest where and found Cassandra the member of the Association fighting along them. My dad and Eva were also there fighting side to side so perfectly synchronized as if they had fought like this before but as I looked around I noticed the sudden number of vampires that where entering the ballroom.
"Fighting them off like this will never result, we are completely outnumbered. We need every hunter to fight." Peter said next to me.
I looked at him.
"But they are not trained for something like this, they are not ready!" I told him shocked.
Peter glared at me.
"They'll die either way if they don't try to defend themselves, we need every single hunter of this Academy to fight otherwise this will be the end of us!" Peter yelled as he started to fight some of the vampires that were now getting closer to us.
"Alice, get the non-graduated hunters out of here!" Cassandra ordered me.
I nodded and looked at some of the hunters that were nearby that I recognized.
"Charles, Felix and Peter help me clear the way out of here!" I told them as I looked around frenetically.
They all nodded and started to work the way out.
"As for the rest of you follow me. That also includes you Mason, Kole and Naomi as well." I said before I started to head to the hallway, as soon as all the hunters entered the hallway I started to close the huge heavy doors with Peter's and Felix's help, but as I was closing the doors I stopped and looked at Eva and my dad who were still in the ballroom fighting against the vampires.
As I locked the doors I paused slightly, I hated to think that it could be the last time I would see them, I hated to think about that possibility but there was no way to discharge it.
"So where are we going now?" Peter asked me as he placed the steel bars on the door blocking the entrance.
"To the West wing, we need to go to my bedroom." I said before I ran to the hallway not waiting for them to say something back.
I entered my bedroom with the others walking behind me and looked around to see if the place was clear.
"What are we doing in your bedroom mate?" Charles asked me confused.
"You'll see." I said as I got to the wall that was near the closet and took off the huge painting that was there revealing the number of weapons that were attached to a small square hole in the wall.
"Wow London you're more stacked up than an officer would." Kole told me and I could tell he was impressed.
I looked at him for a second before I looked back at the wall.
"Can you give me a hand please?" I asked him.
Kole nodded as I started to hand him the weapons.
"Alice, what is all of this for?" Peter asked me confused.
I turned around with a gun in my hand.
"Have any of you shot a gun before?" I asked as I looked at them.
One of the non-graduated hunters snorted earning a deadly glare from me.
"A gun, really? And how is a gun supposed to help use against the vampires? They're fast healers, you know?" The non-graduated hunter said.
I rolled my eyes at him and Charles smiled.
"They're rookies after all mate, don't forget that." Charles told me as he smiled at me.
"I know but I don't see how that could make any of this more difficult, they have been trained for situations like this and I will like you all to act like the hunters that you are with no further exceptions, I will not tolerate any other smart remarks, the life of everyone in here is in danger." I told them in a harsh tone.
They all nodded silently.
"And as for these guns that I have-." I said as I held out the gun. "-they are different, of course normal bullets would never really stop a vampire, it would slightly harm them but these are charged with wooden bullets that were previously soaked in Vervain, one shot in the right place and you can get definitely rid of a vampire." I told them.
"So now what mate?" Felix asked me.
"I want you and Charles to take all of the hunters down to the cellar, in there you will find a small room with the number C-7 in it, you will enter there and pull out the chain that is attached to the wall that will trigger the door to reveal itself leading to a stone stairway. You will follow those as well and it will lead you to a secret backdoor out of the Academy so you can run off to the forest and be protected until the attack is over; now I also want you Naomi, Mason and Kole to go with them as well and don't hesitate on shooting a vampire that attacks you, it will be you or them." I said as I handed them the guns.
"Alice, you perfectly know that it's not going to be that way, I can't leave you alone you're my little sister. I'm supposed to protect you." Mason said as he got near me.
I shook my head.
"No Mason, I'm trained for this besides we never always get what we want in this life, it's never fair." I told him.
"But Alice, listen-." Mason started but I got closer to him and shook my head.
"No Mason you listen to me, I know what I'm doing I was trained my whole life for something like this now please for both of our sakes get out of here before any of us get hurt." I told him.
Mason looked at me before he gave a sight.
"Okay, but promise me you'll be careful." Mason told me as he hugged me and kissed my forehead.
I nodded.
"Of course, I will, now all of you roll along but Mason, please take care of Naomi and Kole, I'll see you after midnight." I said before they all started to leave.
Once we were alone in the room Peter looked at me.
"So now what, what are we going to do?" He asked me.
I grabbed my two daggers and placed them on my belt.
"We go for Ryder." I told him, I was not leaving without him.
We headed to the end of the hallway and Peter looked at me confused.
"Now what, what's next?" He asked me.
I started to hit the wall listening to the noise.
"I know where Nastasia could be, I know her well enough to think about this place since whatever she is planning on doing she will do it in public so what another better place than the roof but no one can get there unless you really know every single inch of this Academy." I said as I heard a hollow noise come from the wall.
I moved the fake piece of wall by pulling the small night lamp that was attacked to it revealing a spiral stone stairway.
"How did you know that it was there? How did you even know that it existed?" Peter asked me shocked.
I looked at him with a lazy smile.
"I have lived in this Academy ever since I was ten and before that I would spend six or eight months a year since Eva worked here. I've known this Academy since I was four and I had plenty of time to explore the whole facility. Now are you coming with me or are you staying here to guard the hallway?" I asked him.
"You don't have to ask twice; wherever you go I'm going. I'm like your personal guard now." Peter said as he followed me.
As we climbed the stairs I looked at Peter.
"I simply don't get it Pete, before we couldn't even stand each other in the same room and you have never broken a rule before so why are you doing this? Why would Mathew even trust you?" I said as I continue to go up the huge flight of stairs that seemed to be endless.
"That would be because of my family, both of my parents are hunters but not your typical type of hunters; my parents have always followed the real teachings of Anna Falcon, the Vampire Queen not the made-up sweet huntress the Association created to fool all of us. Alice I know who you really are and how the whole Falcon's Legacy applies to you. I know that Falcon's daughter was never a myth, she was your mom, I always knew who you really were, in a way I was sent here to protect you." Peter told me to my surprise.
I stopped and looked at him.
"Protect me? But you literally bothered me ever since you entered the Academy so how could you have been protecting me?" I asked him.
"I always had your back Alice, when the vampires attacked you in the forest I was the one that told Nicholas and Beck about it and I fought along them but you were so scared that you were barely aware of what was going on and also that summer night when you were sixteen and that vampire ambushed you in the alley, he tried to drink your blood and to rape you but I was the one that shot him with some wooden bullets so you could get away." Peter told me explaining.
I looked at him astonished, nobody not even Eva knew about that incident.
"Then, it, was you? You saved my life but how did you know, you followed me? It was summer and you were supposed to be in Oxford with your family." I said as I looked at him.
"Like I said before Alice I am your guard, I was prepared my entire life to protect you, look the only reason why I was so rude to you before was so no one would be suspicious and so the Headmistress could trust me. She told me what her plans where with the attacks and of using Antonio, what his real purpose was. There is a reason why Antonio chose you for the evaluation, he was supposed to never let you graduate, to defeat you and never let you become a huntress but since you did defeat Antonio his next plan was to win your heart and earn your trust. When you decided to leave for the mission I was going to go after you but Mathew ordered me to stay, his wife Selene was going to take care of you so I had to stay behind and keep an eye on Antonio and the Headmistress so that was I could inform everything to Mathew. Alice, I'm not going to hurt you, I'll never will you are my top priority now." Peter told me in a calm voice.
I nodded.
"I understand that but all I can think about right now is getting Ryder away from the Headmistress, if I get there too late I will never forgive myself but I don't want to drag you along not when the mission is suicidal." I told him.
Peter shook his head.
"No, where you go I go." He told me as he grabbed my arm and with that said we continue to go upstairs as fast as we could.
When we got to the top we opened the door that led to a cold and dark room, as we entered a dagger flew between us staking itself on the wall behind us.
I flinched in surprise before I looked at the person who had thrown it, it was Antonio.
"Will you look at that, it's Alice Wythman looking more alive than ever?" Antonio said in a mocking tone.
"It's actually Pierce not Wythman, I'm Alice Pierce." I said correcting him as I took a step forward but Peter grabbed my hand with his stopping me.
"Alice, don't." Peter told me in a low voice.
Antonio raised his eyebrow at me.
"Well it seems like Miss Pierce has found yet another boyfriend for her collection. Do you easily tired and bored of boys Alice? You have had an awful share of them, first me, then Ryder and now Peter that must be a personal record? But they aren't the only boys you have, right? You still have Beck, Nicholas, Charles, Felix and even that vampire that calls you London and the blonde vampire that you called Mason, they would do anything for you, right? You like to play with boys and their hearts, don't you?" Antonio yelled at me.
I glared at him.
"You don't have the right to yell at me like that, it's not like you ever had real feelings for me before." I told him.
"I did, I really did love you but you made fun of me by running off with that blood sucking parasite and don't you dare to deny it because I saw the two of you together in Mount Vernon." Antonio yelled.
I gave a scoff.
"Antonio please, quit acting like the bloody damn victim! I know that the feelings you claimed to have for me were nothing but a game, simple orders you had to follow now get out of my way or you will regret that you ever used me like that!" I said through my teeth.
Antonio chuckled.
"I see that you're not very bright after all Alice, but let me make this a bit clearer for you, I'm not leaving this room or letting you out of here until one of the two of us is dead." Antonio said.
I smiled and reached for my daggers.
"Then we shall let it be that way." I said before I charged towards him.