Silence - By Kailin Gow Page 0,48

one of those to get through to Palisor, but instead started to move to intercept the attack. A black clad vampire stepped into her path. Briony lashed out, not wasting a second as she staked it in a single movement, but by then…

The sword swept up and then down, plunging through the shoulder of the wolf and sending blood spraying.

“You should never have come through, wolf.

With that bite of yours, you are far too dangerous to leave alive here in Palisor.”

“No!” Briony charged towards Pietre as

Kevin slumped to the floor, thrusting her stake at the master vampire’s back. He deserved to die. More than any vampire Briony had met, Pietre deserved to die.

At the last minute, Pietre spun, catching Briony’s wrist easily and twisting it painful y up behind her back. “Hel o, Briony. Tel me, how does it feel to know that you can’t save your precious wolf? He is wounded beyond al help, you know.”

“Let the Princess go.” Vigor stepped between them and Kevin, his sword held level. The vampires around them seemed content to leave him alone while he did it. They had seen what he could do with a blade, after al . “I wil make your end quick, if you do.”

Pietre laughed. “I’m sorry, I must have misheard. Excuse me for one moment.” He looked around the room. “Everybody stop.”

Amazingly, they did. Perhaps it was just that so many of them were Pietre’s vampires. Perhaps it was simply that strange charisma he seemed to have, but they stopped. Marcus didn’t seem happy about it.

“What are you doing, youngling? Who are you to say that my vampires should stop?”

“Oh, shut up. If you want to argue about whose vampires they are, we can do it later. Though you might want to remember that I have more vampires than you. For now though, I want to listen to what the young man in the armor has to say.” He turned his attention to Vigor. “Did you cal Briony a princess?”

“She is her royal highness, Princess Briony of Palisor,” Vigor said, “and this is your final warning.

Release her.”

“Now this is surprising,” Pietre said. He leaned close to Briony. “Who would have thought it?

You, a princess. Which makes the idiot with the sword what? Your knight? Another young man for your col ection?”

“I,” Vigor said, “am Prince Vigor of Palisor.

You are in our lands, stranger. Release the Princess.”

Pietre laughed. “You keep saying that. Why should I, boy? I have Briony and you’re tel ing me to let her go, but real y, why shouldn’t I just snap her neck if you don’t drop that sword of yours? Go on. Drop it.”

Vigor’s face flushed, but he dropped his sword. “Very wel .”

“You see,” Pietre said with a glance across at Marcus, “al this ‘kil them al ’ nonsense is total y unnecessary.”

Vigor smiled and brought his hands together. Blue light flared between them, reminding Briony of nothing so much as the flames that consumed vampires when they died. “But then, I don’t need a sword to kil you.”

let Briony’s eyes widened as Vigor drew his arm back like a basebal pitcher.

“I can easily break her neck before you can throw,” Pietre pointed out.

At that, the Prince stopped. But he did glance off to the side with a faint smile. Archer and Fletcher cannoned into Pietre, tearing him away from Briony and throwing him back into the horde of vampires.

Fletcher plunged after Pietre, while Vigor snatched up his sword again and fol owed suit. It seemed that the battle was back on again.

Briony didn’t care. She knelt by the prone form of Kevin, stil bleeding on the floor of the suite, hardly noticing the violence taking place around her.

“Don’t you dare leave me, Kevin,” she whispered.

“He doesn’t have to, Princess,” Archer said, moving to kneel beside her. “Not if you heal him.”

“Heal him?” Briony asked. It was hard to think with Kevin there like that. “Heal him how? I could get some vampire blood, I guess, but-”

Archer shook his head. “You don’t need to.

Hugtandalfers can heal, Princess.”

“So we need Vigor.” Briony looked across to where the Prince was fighting at least three vampires, including Pietre. Somehow, she doubted that he would be done any time soon. But if it meant Kevin’s life, she would go over there and drag him out of the battle herself.

“You aren’t listening,” Archer insisted. “Al of the Hugtandalfers can heal to some extent. You can heal him, Briony.”

“Me?” Briony leaned forward, trying to keep pressure on