away from his body to keep from being cut. Behind them, just as smoothly, just as silently, the entrance was gone and they were left in the open with a monstrous vampire staring at them with red eyes.
Jubal barely saw the attack. The apparition had been crouching on the ground and it drove forward at him the moment he emerged. Gabrielle screamed and swung the ice axe at the vampire’s head as the spinning blades suddenly leapt from Jubal’s wrist, as if alive with a mind of their own. The weapon hummed as it spun through the air, glowing red, giving off a tremendous heat. The whirling blades slammed into the vampire’s chest, right over the heart, cutting a perfect circle hole through the chest, burning as it did so.
The spike drove deep into the right temple of the undead. He opened his mouth wide in a scream that had the mountain rumbling ominously. Snow slithered down from above them, the first sign of an avalanche. Jubal shoved Gabrielle back towards the overhang and both watched in a kind of horror as the undead burst into flame and incinerated. The mountain rumbled again and shook itself. The weapon leapt toward Jubal’s outstretched arm just as tons of snow blew down the mountain, taking the ashes of the vampire with it.
Gabrielle and Jubal clung to one another there in the shelter of the overhang, waiting for the snow to settle. He stared down at his wrist. The bracelet was once more just that, a thick band of metal with familiar etchings keeping him warm.
Gabrielle lifted her head from his shoulder and gave him a small, wan smile. “If we’re going to spend any time around Joie’s man, I’m going to have to buy a new ice axe . . . fast.”
The two burst out laughing, half relieved, half a little hysterically.
The chamber stopped rumbling and the ice settled around Traian and Joie. Traian was on his feet instantly, facing the threat of the vampires, his hand pulling Joie up with his easy strength. Her heart thundered loudly in her ears and she tasted fear in her mouth.
Let your heart follow the rhythm of mine.
His voice was terribly intimate, a soothing balm that allowed her to keep her breathing even. She moved a distance from Traian, giving him room to fight. She could taste fear in her mouth. She had no gun, and only one knife.
My fourth dan black belt doesn’t look too promising considering that those very nasty things have wicked-looking talons and mouths full of shark teeth. We could use a gun or two. Maybe a machine gun.
Stay close to me. I want you where I can protect you. They can move the earth, and rain down missiles from the ceiling. They will not fight in the way you expect.
Traian had never really experienced gut-wrenching, bone-deep fear before. He had never had anything to lose. Now there was everything. A woman whose mind he shared, whose body he didn’t yet know intimately.
I’m well aware of that. Joie inched closer to him, trying to appear confident in a situation she’d never encountered and had little idea what to expect.
For some reason her simple words made Traian relax, want to smile. Joie didn’t panic easily. She didn’t lack for courage and she was committed to fighting with him. She wasn’t going to faint because vampires were real and had come with vengeance and death in mind.
Don’t count on it, she denied, staying close in his mind, reading his thoughts. Fainting might be my only option if they get their hands on me, and I’m not above trying it.
Her wry amusement told him she was a shadow in his mind, looking for strategy on how to defeat the enemy.
Do they have a weakness?
Ego. Vampires are extremely vain.
Joie took a deep breath as the creatures slowly pulled themselves up to their impressive heights. Fire burned in their eyes. A foul stench permeated the cavern, choked off all the cool, clean air and replaced it with a thick putrid substance. The falling ice hadn’t come from them, that much was obvious. They had protected themselves just as Traian had done.
Which is the stronger?
Traian noted her calm manner. She accepted that they would have to fight their way clear. Having battled with the same vampires on three occasions, Traian was well aware of their strengths and capabilities.
The one with the incisors over his lower lip—he is extremely powerful. He is called Valenteen and is a master