rushing out of the kitchen, a long chef’s knife in hand.
The vampire turned just in time for Lilly to stab him deep in the upper chest.
Everyone stared as the knife plunged three inches down into the cloud gray skin, drawing a trickle of blood, the crimson liquid a sharp contrast to the ashy skin tone. Even the vampire appeared shocked that the knife had penetrated.
Reacting on instinct and anger, Claire reached out with her free hand, yanked the knife free and shoved it at the vamp’s eye. It sank in deep, a spray of liquid splashing over Claire.
She shrieked.
The vampire shrieked, an inhuman sound that threatened to burst her eardrums with its intensity. It was in pain. A lot of pain.
Claire kicked it.
The creature angrily tossed her into the exterior wall between two windows across from the front door. Claire hit hard, drywall cracking under the impact. She fell to the ground amidst a shower of dust and bits and pieces of paint-covered drywall.
She groaned and lay still.
Everything hurt. The room was spinning. There was no way the two of them could defeat the vampire. No way the pair of humans could hope to stop a being from another dimension. The knife had delayed the inevitable, but now Claire could only watch as it all came crashing down.
This is how it ends. My life. At the hands of a vampire. Who would have seen that coming?
The knife clattered to the ground nearby as the vampire pulled it free and then advanced on Lilly, who was trapped against the stove. There was a frying pan on it that she brandished as a weapon, but the vampire caught it and hurled it across the room with casual violence, the handle embedding itself in the wall.
“Claire, I’m scared,” Lilly moaned as the creature loomed up in front of her.
There was nothing Claire could do. Everything hurt. All she wanted to do was close her eyes and sleep. They could get back to this again after she’d had a nap and was refreshed.
Light glinted off the knife.
No. There is something I can do. Something I can help with. Give Lilly a chance.
Pulling herself together as best she could, Claire grabbed the knife and crawled silently toward the first vampire, trying not to make any sound. Once she got close, she rose up on one arm and stabbed the vampire in the calf, shoving the knife as deep as she could.
The creature turned with inhuman swiftness and delivered a kick right to her stomach. Air exploded from her lungs. Claire curled up around herself, desperately trying to breathe.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lilly crouch, reaching for the protruding knife and pulling it free. Maniacal grin plastered on her face, Claire’s best friend turned the knife and lifted it. She was gunning for the vampire’s dick.
“Fuck you,” Lilly spat as the knife headed home.
She was fast, but the vampire was faster. It turned, reached between its legs, and simply pinched the blade between two fingers. Lilly stopped cold an inch short of her target, her arms shaking with effort, but she couldn’t overpower the vampire.
Then, the vampire blurred in a twisting motion, and abruptly Lilly was back in the main room, on her knees, head wrenched to one side. Claire watched in horror as fangs emerged from within its mouth. The vampire was preparing to feed.
Claire got to her knees and reached for another kitchen knife, preparing to charge at it.
Something closed around her wrist before she could find one. Claire looked up to see the second vampire looming over her, a deadly smile on its face.
Muscles screamed, and suddenly she was next to Lilly, heads bent in toward one another. The vampires were hissing with delight. She could only imagine the fangs emerging from its mouth, preparing to suck her dry of blood.
This was it then. This was how it ended for both of them.
“I’m so sorry I got you into this, Lil,” Claire said softly. “You’ve been a great friend.”
“I’m sorry too. I should have been there for you.”
She felt muscles tense as the vampires lowered themselves to the women in unison. Claire tensed, steeling herself against the pain she knew was to come.
Then, the lights went out.
Claire blinked, and for a second, she thought she was dead. Everything was frozen, and in that moment, she realized one very crucial detail.
The lights hadn’t gone out. She wasn’t blind.
They had just dimmed.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Pietro
Something violent and electric surged through his system, jolting