“That’s them,” she whispered, unable to hide her building fury. “Those are the two who were in my apartment.”
Good, he silently cheered. An angry Caroline would fight better than a scared one, and the vampires had unwittingly given her that advantage.
“Well, it seems we’re all old friends,” Christian said loudly, “so why don’t we just get down to it?”
He grabbed Caroline by the arm and pushed her towards Lorenzo.
“Stay together,” he ordered them as he was rushed from both sides. He would have to trust now that both Lorenzo and Caroline would be able to help themselves and each other until he had gotten rid of a few vamps and freed up his hands to give them some help.
A young, reckless vampire grabbed him by the arm. Using his other hand, Christian faked a punch to the vamp’s face, and as he sidestepped the swing, delivered a quick kick to the groin. As the vampire collapsed, Christian buried his stake in his chest, watching as he disappeared in a cloud of dust.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lorenzo struggling with a female vampire. Caroline noticed it at the same time and without thinking, buried her own stake in the vampire’s back, gasping in surprise and horror as the vampire turned to dust. Lorenzo didn’t have time to thank her before they were attacked again. Caroline turned in time to see Chris being grabbed from behind, his arms pinned. She screamed and began to run to him but felt her own arm being grabbed, sharp nails biting into her skin.
Whirling around, she attempted to deliver a sharp kick to her attacker’s side, but instead felt her leg being grabbed, and suddenly, she was flying through the air. She landed hard on the concrete sidewalk, just missing hitting her head, but banging her arm and leg badly. Her vision blurred for a moment as a wave of pain washed over her body.
Christian wrestled with his own vampire, unable to shake the creature’s hold. He did provide some leverage, however, from which he was able to double kick an approaching vampire. A double roll threw the first vampire over his back and onto the ground in front of him, an easy target. Two more down.
Christian turned to see Lorenzo being double teamed. Running and growling, he tackled one of the vampires, throwing them both to the ground, where Christian found himself pinned. They struggled, but the vampire was strong, and Christian couldn’t shake him. The vampire grabbed his wrist and squeezed real hard. Christian gasped in pain, and felt his fingers fly open, his stake dropping uselessly to the ground. The vampire on top of him grinned, only to disappear in a cloud of dust. Panting, Christian saw Lorenzo standing over him, his stake in hand.
Grabbing Lorenzo’s outstretched hand, Christian jumped to his feet, grabbing another stake and wincing at a sharp pain in his side, where his healing wound had been reopened. He watched as even now the next vampire was rushing him.
Angel watched from the shadows. She had been staking out the hotel, and had alerted Anya, Gideon, and the other vamps when she saw the trio leave for God knows what reason – they were the ones always telling her to not go out after dark. Despite the number of vampires who had attacked them, the two sides seemed evenly matched. Even now, the Hunter was dusting yet another vampire. He was obviously the most skilled at vampire killing, but Angel was impressed at how well even the old man was holding up; she hadn’t expected that he could be so spry. Caroline, however, could have used a few more pointers. She was having some problems, although Angel had a feeling the hunter would be by her side first chance he got. Angel couldn’t help but smile. Soon, the tide would turn in one direction, and she continued to watch, hidden by the darkness, to see what would happen next.
Caroline struggled to her feet only to find herself being thrown to the ground yet again. The vampire was attempting to straddle her, but bringing her knee up sharp, she got him right in the groin and was able to throw him off of her. A quick jab to the heart, and he was history.
Caroline turned to see what had happened to Lorenzo and Chris when she felt an arm snake around her neck. She opened her mouth to scream, but a hand quickly clamped down over it. She felt hot breath on her ear, and her stomach churned in disgust. She felt her neck being bent to the side, and she whimpered in terror. The action, however, forced her captor to loosen his hold on her neck; Caroline used the opportunity to grab his arm, and gathering all her strength, flipped him over onto the ground in front of her. The vampire screamed in pain as a bone snapped in his arm. Caroline winced at the sound, but lost no time in burying her stake in the vampire’s chest.
Breathing fast and shallow, her side burning from lack of air, her leg killing her, she quickly scanned her surroundings. Chris and Lorenzo were to her left, making quick work of two other vampires. She turned around and groaned to see she would have one of her own to take care of. Getting to her feet, she turned to face him, when out of the corner of her eye, she saw another coming from the other direction. Her eyes darting in all directions, she realized she had nowhere to run. She was being backed into a corner; behind her was a solid brick wall. There was a fire escape above her, but it was too far out of her reach, even if she got a running start.
She was exhausted, and she was in pain. She was angry and frightened and as she watched the two vampires stalk closer, she knew she couldn’t fight them both, so she did the only thing she could think of: she screamed at the top of her lungs.
The sound of Caroline’s scream got Christian’s attention right away. Momentarily distracted, it gave the vampire he was fighting the opportunity to get in a quick punch to Christian’s face, but a sudden adrenaline rush proved to be more powerful; Christian wasted no time in killing him, burying his stake in the vampire’s heart, whirling around and doing the same to the back of the vampire Lorenzo was grappling with.
Following the sound of Caroline’s scream, Christian turned, and froze. The scene before him caused his heart to stop and then leap into his throat. Across the street, Caroline had been backed into a corner by not one, but two vamps. In seconds, Christian ran through all his options and realized that not one of them would get him there quick enough to save her. In that instant, everything became crystal clear. He was going to fail her, after all his promises not to. He was going to fail her, and he was going to lose her.
Without thinking, he began running towards her, time seeming to slow down. As he approached, he saw acceptance in her eyes as she crouched down low, determined to go down fighting. The vampire on the left was closest, and in what seemed like slow motion, she lashed out at him with her foot, catching him in the rib cage so hard that even from where he was, Christian could hear the bones shattering. Even as the creature crumpled to the pavement, however, the one to her right had grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back, eliciting from her a scream of sheer pain.
Not much farther to go. He was almost there. But it wasn’t close enough. As Caroline fell to her knees, the vampire grabbed her head in his hands, ready to snap her neck. Christian wasn’t even aware that he was screaming her name, but just as the vampire’s hands began to move, he was gone, and Christian saw him flying through the air.
Not even caring about the vampire, Christian flew to his knees by Caroline’s side, where she had crumpled, now unconscious, to the ground. He was there now, but he would have been too late; he should have been too late. Gathering Caroline’s head in his lap, he turned to where the vampire had landed and jumped to his feet. Christian didn’t know what had happened, and obviously, neither did the vampire, but suddenly, from the fire escape above, a shadowy figure dropped to the ground in front of the creature. He heard the vampire growl and watched as it attacked the figure, who attacked back just as fiercely.
“Go help,” Lorenzo commanded, suddenly kneeling by his side. Christian hadn’t even heard the old man approach, but he got up without argument, watching as the two figures grappled in the darkness. Christian grabbed his last stake and ran to help just as the vampire doubled over in pain, courtesy of the stranger’s fist to his gut. Christian watched in surprise as the stranger reached into
his sleeve, pulled out his own stake, and brought it down, hard, into the vampire’s chest.
Christian stopped in his tracks, as the stranger stood up; the few vampires left, including the two who had attacked Caroline’s family, melted back into the shadows, leaving the night quiet and empty except for the four people on the street.
Christian was in shock. Normal people didn’t carry wooden stakes around with them. Which meant…but how? He knew all the other Hunters, if only by name and face, and no two hunters were ever assigned to the same city or state, sometimes even country, even when there was a Master Vampire on the loose. Christian watched as the stranger put away his stake and turned around and faced him. Taking out a silver lighter and a pack of cigarettes, he put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. Slowly, he approached, exhaling a cloud of smoke, and Christian felt himself getting into a defensive position. Behind him, Caroline still lay on the ground.
“Who are you?” Christian asked, wondering if he sounded as shocked and confused as he felt.
“I should be asking you that,” the stranger replied. His voice contained a strong Southern accent and a sharp edge, as if he didn’t spend much time being polite or friendly. Christian heard someone approach him from behind, and he turned quickly, but it was only Lorenzo. The old priest walked past him and up to the stranger.
“Are you new to the order?” he asked. “Anselm did not inform me that he was sending another hunter to New York.”
A look of confusion and annoyance crossed the stranger’s face, mirroring the confusion and annoyance Christian felt. Christian couldn’t tell for sure, but the guy looked like he couldn’t be any older than he was.
“What the hell are you talking about?” was the stranger’s response to Lorenzo’s question. “Order? Hunter? And who the hell is Anselm?”
“I’m not sure I understand,” Lorenzo muttered, and the guy threw up his hands in frustration.
“My name is Luke Talbot,” he said with annoyance, “and I’m here to fight vampires.”
Christian heard Lorenzo’s sharp intake of breath.
“You are not a member of Manus Dei?” Lorenzo asked again, as if the guy’s answer would change.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Christian could hear the irritation continue to grow in the stranger’s - Luke’s - voice. “And who the hell are you? What are you two anyway? You do realize those were vampires you were fighting, right?”
“We are perfectly aware of that, but I am curious how you are aware of it,” Lorenzo answered. “My name is Father Lorenzo Catalano, and this is my associate, Christian Dreiden. We, too, fight vampires.”
“So is vampire hunting a common New York nightlife past-time, or was I just lucky enough to come across the freaks?” He gestured at Christian with his hand, the one holding the cigarette.
“I saw you the other night, fighting a group of vamps, so I know this is not some one night deal. Is this the kind of thing New Yorkers consider a hobby?”
A groan from the ground got everyone’s attention. Christian was the first to her side as her eyes fluttered open.
“How are you feeling?” he asked her gently.
“Like I’ve been through hell and back,” she answered, grimacing in pain as she sat up. “Am I alive?”
“Yeah, you’re alive,” he said, smiling. No thanks to me. His smile quickly disappeared. She suddenly realized there was an addition to their group.
“Who’s that?” she whispered to Christian, but it was Lorenzo who answered.
“This is Luke Talbot, Caroline. He saved your life. It appears that he, too, is a vampire hunter.”
“How come you never mentioned him before?” Caroline asked, a puzzled expression on her face, which quickly changed to a grimace as she gripped her suddenly throbbing head.
“Because we just met him,” Lorenzo answered, not quite successful at keeping the bafflement from his voice. “Luke, it would seem, is a civilian hunter.”
When Gideon and Anya joined her in the shadows, Angel could see the looks of disgust on their faces. She knew the fight hadn’t gone exactly as they had planned.
“That wasn’t very fun,” Anya whined petulantly.
“We should have been able to at least kill one. Maybe not the hunter, but at least the old man,” Gideon spat out, then turned his icy glare on Angel.
“I bet you can’t wait to go running back to the Master to tell him how we failed.”
“Not exactly,” Angel said, smiling. “From here, I was able to notice a lot more than you probably could in the thick of the fight. You may not have killed anyone, but don’t worry. I have good news to bring back to the Master.”
“And what news could that possibly be?” Gideon asked, his voice laced with disbelief, patronization, and something else akin to curiosity. Angel felt as is she was nearly bursting; the Master was going to be so proud of her. Gesturing for Anya and Gideon to come closer, she waited until they had leaned in before whispering excitedly.
“I have found the Hunter’s weakness.”
“What is it?” The curiosity had climbed to Gideon’s otherwise lifeless eyes.
“Not what. Who,” Angel corrected; she had seen it in the hunter’s eyes, and heard it in his voice.
“All right,” Gideon played along. “Who is Christian Dreiden’s weakness?”
Angel smiled, and she knew it would rival any vampires for its coldness, and she knew beyond a doubt, that she was absolutely, positively right when she answered Gideon with two simple words.
“Caroline Gallagher.”
The Master was going to be very, very pleased with her.
TO BE CONTINUED
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
After the Fall: A Vampire Chronicle (Book One) Page 11