To Save a Vampire - A.K. Koonce Page 0,56

face.

It only takes seconds. With the time it takes me to realize hope is no longer something floating through my mind, the creature takes one long, clawed hand and picks up Ky’s metal running blade from beside him and rams the curved, blunt edge through the back of Ky’s neck. It bursts through his throat.

Ky’s kind eyes widen alarmingly at the running blade protruding through his bloody and mangled throat in front of his face. His mouth opens to speak, but nothing comes out.

I watch in horror as the pain leaves Ky’s face, a sense of relaxation settling into his lifeless body. My mother’s shuddering scream is heard next to me, but I can’t take my eyes off of Ky or the willowy beast before me, its head tilting to one side as it inspects its work.

It takes me a moment to realize Asher has brushed passed me, the Crimson Sword held low in his steady hand.

In one swift leap, the creature is on Asher, bringing with it another veil that crawls down the cliff with spider-like movements. Asher plummets to the forest floor with the veil, the creature’s long limbs pulling him down to the ground.

I look to my mother for guidance, but her tearful eyes never leave Ky’s lifeless body. Reaching for the gun at my hip, I aim and fire at the veil climbing quickly down the cliff. My aim is perfect, hitting it square in the back, but it has the opposite effect I was hoping for. Instead of killing the creature, it falls immediately to the ground and gets right back up with just a small shriek as it turns toward us.

My heart stumbles in my chest the closer it comes to us.

Asher sees the other monster just as another begins to climb down the jagged rock wall. Terror fills my mind as I fire uselessly into the veil’s chest with little effect.

As panic strangles my lungs, Gabriel falls from the cliff in a stumbling and harsh landing. I can’t help but wonder if he’ll assist in killing his friend.

The veil thrashes through the dry leaves, and I lift my arms protectively as its claws rise to strike me. But it shrieks out in pain, its mouth wide open as its voice grows smaller by the second. It falls strangely to the ground, and just behind it stands Gabriel with a large, inky-black heart in his fist.

I stare in horror at the gaping and bloody hole in the veil’s back where its soul once was.

“Fallon, take your mother and run,” Asher says as he plunges his sword into the veil’s chest. Another creature makes its way quickly toward us. “Don’t stop running.”

I grab my mother’s shaking hand and fumble backward a few steps, forcing her to move with me, before racing through the trees at a pace I wasn’t aware I could manage. The two of us fling dirt and leaves in our wake, and my mother’s sobbing is all I can hear. Ky’s shocked expression keeps flashing in my mind with every step I take.

A high shriek is heard in the distance behind us, but my feet never falter. My cluttered mind doesn’t affect my physical instinct to survive. Asher’s command controls my body with each mile we run.

I’ll never stop running.

Twelve

Coming Home

Asher’s body slams into mine, halting my scrambling limbs and pulling my body into his warmth. My reaction is brash. I respond instinctually without thought: My arm strikes out fast and hard.

My fist surprisingly, lands evenly against his perfect face. Pain rushes into my hand as soon as I make contact. I stumble away from his grip, my feet slipping against the leaves to get away just as realization sets in.

My mother stands unmoving behind me, her uneven breath filled with unshed tears. Ripper pants at my feet. Asher’s tongue darts out and licks his lip where I hit him. The red hint of a split in his bottom lip heals right before my eyes before the drop of blood ever releases.

Guilt reaches the edges of my mind for a moment for hitting him, but the memory of what happened to Ky washes all other emotions away. The hurt fills my lungs and pushes against the cavity of my chest. My throat is tight, and tears burn my eyes.

Asher slowly reaches out for me, my arms hanging at my sides, the pain in my fist completely forgotten. His body envelopes mine. His arms wrap around me, his warmth pushing the pain to