Sneaking down the hallway without the flashlight to help us see where we were going was pretty tough but we didn't want to alert the Afanc to our presence. To mask our scent better, we caved in and covered some of our clothes with blood. We moved slowly to not accidentally trip over any bodies that might be slumped on the floor.We could hear the Afanc sniffing around. It seemed to be searching for us but thanks to the blood we had used, it had lost our scent. Standing on its hind legs, it was almost as tall as me but it didn't look too dangerous otherwise. Still, I knew better by now that I shouldn't judge a book by its cover. For all I knew, this thing was swift and powerful even on land.DJay quietly held up the item and within seconds our surroundings looked as though we were on the grassy banks near a giant lake. The bracelet on my wrist felt warm and although it didn't prevent me from seeing the illusion it did help me see
After a good half hour, DJay sent me the go-ahead that it would be safe to continue down to the lower levels of the building, though with how far away he was becoming, it was getting fuzzier to hear his thoughts. Still, it was enough and Lee and I continued on our way."You know," I began as I glanced towards Lee as we neared the end of the last stairwell. I could sense several people on this floor but their thoughts were muffled as though they were trying to keep anyone from entering their minds though I wasn't exactly trying to force myself into anyone's thoughts to begin with."Hrm?" Lee prompted me to continue my words."It is strange, so many vampires have gone crazy, unable to control their own actions, but some of us are fine," I commented and then stepped through the door as Lee held it open for me. I continued with, "I can't sense anything strange that would make that happen and Rakesh is an Ancient One, I don't know how possible it should b
The ground floor was rather fancy compared to the rest of the building. It wasn't hotel level refined but it was certainly rather well kept and smart. Sort of like an entrance one might find when entering an office business of a sort. Lee had made sure to let me know where the hidden exit was and pointed it out to me in case we needed to make a quick getaway. Our communication was silent.As we neared the end of the hallway, we could hear muffled voices talking between themselves and right away I could sense Rakesh was very close. I wondered why he hadn't come further up in the building, or maybe he had and had somehow found his way back down again for some reason? I gathered I would figure it out sooner or later. Either way, I didn't try and reach out to him again. I wasn't sure if they had known I had tried to reach him before, but for now, I had to be patient.Lee paused our advance near the edge of the wall where it turned to either go down the opposite cor
With a fluid motion, I drew the sword at my side, and as soon as the tip of the blade left the sheath, my whole hand and arm felt a heat emanate from it. However, my movements had been too swift to take in what had happened right away. The first vampire who had been cut down went up in flames and the sound of their screaming rang through my ears. My eyes were wide as I looked at the blade that was engulfed in flames. I wasn't familiar with the legend of the sword, but no wonder this thing was so potent despite being so damned old."Well, things are getting a bit hot, might be a bit of a scorcher today," I half-joked and then looked back to the last four vampires who had paused in their attack for a moment. Then with a bit more of a serious look, I continued, "are you sure you don't want to turn around now?"The four hesitated with glances between them all, but their fear of their leader outweighed their fear of me and they charged me again, bearing their fangs.
"One," I began to count but the three seemed to dig their heels in stubbornly and began to back away from me. The flames licked at my wrist and I realised that not once did they seem to burn me, even when they had gotten close to my skin. I watched the three carefully while keeping Rakesh in the corner of my eyes. I couldn't let him sneak up behind me and surprise me."Two," I continued to count. They were going to let me and Rakesh kill one another as they planned but I wasn't going to allow that to happen.I decided to risk sending Lee an order to his mind, 'Lee? Can you keep an eye on Rakesh for me? I can't let these bastards get away.'I sensed Lee agreeing to my request though he was nervous. I waited to see if anyone else had picked up on our little communication but it didn't seem as though these three had caught it. Lee hadn't been known to them and unlike me, they hadn't any way of passively hearing thoughts from everyone around them. Either that or Lee
The tension could be cut with a knife as the three of us waited for Rakesh to strike. I slowly moved my hand to the hilt of the sword but I hoped I wouldn't have to use it against him. I didn't want to hurt him at all, I just wanted us to go back to how things were.He uttered a low, almost sadistic growl and began to slowly stand up while watching me like a hungry animal. His dull eyes seemed to hone in on me.I breathed in and then out slowly. I hoped I could keep him distracted long enough to let the younger man behind me get to Lee but I wasn't going to push it unless I was sure Rakesh would come for me and not him."Um, dude, do you think that if I can get Rakesh's full attention, you can make your way over to Lee?" I asked quietly as Rakesh slowly began to stalk towards us. I knew any sudden movements would bring him to act suddenly and for now, I needed him to be slow and predictable."My name is Rich... and maybe," Rich said as he
The smell of my blood was enough to catch Rakesh's attention it seemed. He stopped chasing the group of people and turned his attention back on me. My scent had been intoxicating to him once before so I had a feeling that he would not be able to resist it this time either and thankfully, I was right.I moved slowly towards him, offering out my wrist. I could feel his wary emotions of dealing with me but the coppery scent was irresistible to him. As I neared Rakesh, he pounced and sunk his teeth into my wrist without care for how much he was tearing at the flesh. Searing pain shot through my whole arm but I didn't pull away from Rakesh, I wouldn't abandon him no matter what."That's right," I offered softly and pulled him closer to me, wrapping my other arm around Rakesh tightly to hold him in place within my arm. I shot a warning look to the others, my eyes flashing their violet hue as I said sharply, "I suggest if you want to live, you all get the fuck out of
Slowly I could feel myself rousing from the darkest parts of the unconsciousness and my eyes slowly fluttered open and dozily stared into what I could only assume was a mirror. Beautiful violet eyes were gazing back into mine and with a dizzy drop of my head, I closed my eyes again. I could feel the comfortable plushness of a bed or sofa under my body.I hadn't expected to wake up at all, in all honesty, and yet I was still alive. Praise be to whatever miracle had been blessed on me. I felt something brush over the lower half of my neck and I attempted to open my eyes again. I was met with the same beautiful eyes as before but after a moment of just laying there, I noticed the eyes look down to where I had felt the movement before.It wasn't a mirror! And those were in fact, not my eyes! Startled, I tried to pull away from the other person but the arm I had used in my attempt sent a painful sting all the way up and into my body, causing me to let out a pained c
I watched Tudyr intently as he moved over to where Rakesh was. He seemed to be checking on him, and although I couldn't quite read his thoughts or body language, I could tell he was not a threat. At least not right now. I furrowed my brows and looked down in thought.I was still trying to figure out just how he and I were related. He wasn't a direct relative, this much I knew and it was somewhere on my mother's side as my grandmother had apparently had the same eyes as me too but she had at least one human parent as she was a half-breed. Beyond this? I didn't have a clue. Was he her father? Or maybe further back than even that?I had so many questions but I just didn't know where to start. Then there was everything that had happened here in this very building and what had happened after I had passed out. Were the others safe somewhere else, or had the fighting continued? I couldn't sense anyone though I did hear thoughts here and