before skidding to a halt and turning back.
His feet thudded against the wooden steps as he raced up them while seeking to avoid the holes in the rotting wood. The mildew stench of the place enveloped him as he plunged into the building. Beneath that potent aroma, he detected the feral scent of wild animals living in the walls.
The woman squirmed on his shoulder, and he didn’t go far before he abruptly set her down. She was still stumbling away from him when he spun to face the Savages coming through the door and charging at him.
Lacking the finesse and discipline that came from years of training and learning to fight, these idiots relied on their strength alone to win a battle. It would result in their deaths.
The first one came in low while the second one ran for her. Lucien didn’t know why it went for her, but as the first one wrapped his arms around Lucien’s waist, he threw himself to the side and crashed into the Savage who was only inches away from her.
The impact caused something to crack in the creature’s shoulder, and it howled as it staggered through a doorway and vanished.
Callie worked to catch her breath as the primal sound of animals tearing each other apart filled the room while they rebounded off the broken, graffiti-covered plaster lining the walls.
She wanted to cringe from the sound and flee this awful place, but even as she contemplated running back out the door, the other creature reappeared in it. The monster’s grin revealed its fangs before it ran at her. She dashed to the right, but it followed her.
When she went back to the left, it blocked her and started to laugh as it spread its legs like a defender in football. She’d spent enough time trying to evade her friends in backyards and fields to be confident in her ability to get past most people.
However, this thing wasn’t a person.
She darted to the right again, and when it started to laugh, she resisted the urge to rush at it and throw herself against the infuriating monster. However, handing herself over to the thing trying to kill her didn’t sound like the best idea.
Sensing her inability to escape, it ran at her. Knowing she couldn’t get away—it was far faster than her—she stayed where she was. On her tiptoes, she danced back and forth as she debated going left or right. When it was only feet away from her, instinct took over and she threw herself to the ground.
She grunted when it ran over the top of her and skidded to a halt. Back and ribs aching from the impact of its weight, she pushed herself to her feet and stumbled away from the vampire. She staggered and fell against a wall before turning to survey the room.
The vampire no longer looked amused as it stalked toward her with a murderous look on its twisted face and its fangs bared. She searched for a route out, but there was nowhere for her to go.
The man who’d carried her from the tunnels shoved aside the creature he fought and charged toward her attacker. Her eyes fell on a board only a few feet away from her. The vampire was almost to her when she threw herself to the side and rolled across the ground.
She grabbed the board and pushed herself up as the beast fell on her. The weight of the creature knocked her back and shoved her into the ground. Somehow, she managed to get the board between them as it lunged at her.
The wood dug into her palms and she tried to resist the vampire’s weight bearing down on her, but she would have had a better chance of fending off a grizzly bear. Fangs snapped in her face as its warm, copper-tinged breath billowed into her face.
She realized the coppery tinge was the scent of blood. Her stomach churned, and the board bent beneath the monster’s weight before cracking. She cried out as the wood gave way, and the creature fell onto her.
Chapter Seven
The fingers of one hand encircled her throat as the man appeared over the creature’s shoulder and loomed over top of it. Callie found herself staring into his red eyes as he lifted a piece of broken board, spun it in his hands, and drove it through the vampire’s back.
The monster’s hand compressed on her throat; its back arched, and blood sprayed out of its chest before spilling from its mouth.