by D. N. Hoxa
She leaned back. “I’m not going to leave you again.”
I heard the footsteps the same time she did. I put an arm under her knees, another on her back, and I ran with her in my arms. If I could make it even close to the building where the soldiers where…
Three vampires were running towards me. Another turn, and I couldn’t see the building where the soldiers were anymore. I ran, and Morta held on tightly to my neck. Her beating heart was a comfort. It gave me peace. It filled me with thoughts that nothing bad could happen.
When I couldn’t hear the footsteps any longer, I jumped on the roof of the highest building around. I sat down and she leaned on my knee, never moving her eyes from my face.
“I’ve missed you so much,” she said. Her cheeks were wet with tears, and I wiped them.
“Please don’t cry.” I hated to see her cry.
“I’m not,” she said, sniffing. “I’m fine.”
“Morta, you really need to run. Go back to the wall and wait for me.” She began to shake her head before I finished speaking.
“No. Forget it. I’m not leaving.”
At least I couldn’t hear the vampires anymore, though I did hear Sharps yelling through the earpiece.
“I’m going back to the wall in just a little while, and I’ll meet you there.” She touched my face with her small hands.
“Why did you give your mind?” she asked me instead.
“To come back here.”
“How is that even possible?” she whispered and touched my lips.
“Would you believe me if I said I came back for you? I don’t remember, but it feels like it.”
“I would,” she said. “I do.”
I tucked a string of white hair behind her ear, and she didn’t let me move my hand away.
“Morta, you need—”
“I love you.” The words got stuck in my throat. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I wanted to, but I just…”
The whole world could’ve been after me, and it still wouldn’t have stopped me from kissing her. Those were the best words I’d ever heard in all my life. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me even closer. Just like the first time, in that moment, my whole world hung on her lips.
“I understood. I know what the old man always asked you in Paris,” she whispered. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll have all the time in the world to tell me about the man in Paris. But right now, I need you to leave, Morta. I need you to go wait for me by the wall.”
“I’m not going to leave you, Hammer. You can’t ask that of me. Not after everything.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Explain it to me. Whatever it is, I’m not leaving. So stop being an asshole about it.”
“I’m not being an asshole—”
“Yes, you are—”
Despite the situation, I still smiled. It felt natural to talk to her that way. It felt natural to hold her. It felt like I’d found the best purpose in life and nothing could stop me anymore.
“Then listen to me closely. There are humans not far from here, who are waiting for the vampires that were after me. I need to take those vampires to the humans, so they can kill them.”
Her brows narrowed. “Why would you do that?”
“I’ll explain everything later, but right now, I need you to run with me. I’m going to need to make a little noise to give away our location so they can follow me again.”
“Let’s go,” she said, and jumped to her feet. Not a second’s hesitation.
“I don’t think we’ll even need to make noise. Your heart will give us away,” I said, looking at her chest. “You’ll need a soundproof vest.”
“What’s a soundproof vest?”
“Later,” I said, and kissed her forehead. “Just stay behind me, okay?”
“Don’t worry. You’re not getting away from me this time.”
She grinned, and it was impossible not to kiss her lips again, just for a second.
“Let’s go.”
We jumped from the roof and made enough noise for vampires who were close to hear. Then we ran. Sharps made me run a full circle around the buildings until he was satisfied with the number of vampires I attracted, and we finally made it inside.
Up to the fourth floor, we opened the only closed door, and Sharps immediately began to whisper-yell.
“Where the hell have you been?”
Then he saw Morta. He looked at her face, then looked at her chest.
“I can hear her heart,” he said.
“And I can’t hear yours,” Morta said, and moved in front of him. “I can’t hear any heartbeat.”
“Is this her?” Sharps asked.
“Yes, this is Morta. Morta, this is Sharps. And the vampires are here,” I said as I looked through the broken window.
“We’ll talk later,” Sharps mumbled and moved over to me to show me the screen on his wrist. “That’s not all of them. We need to wait for another minute.”
“That’s not safe,” I said.
“They’re going to come in any second now,” Morta said. “They’re not going to wait.”
“Just tell them to shoot,” I said to Sharps. He looked pale as a ghost.
“Do you have your marks?” he whispered reluctantly, and everyone replied with a yes. After a deep breath, Sharps said: “Go!”
The shots were fired all at once, and they came from everywhere. Thirty seconds later, fifteen vampires were on the ground, all around us.
“Stay alert,” Sharps said to the soldiers. “Shoot on sight.”
A heartbeat later, and the others came flying.
The shooting started again, but this time, it lasted twice as long. We waited in front of the window, looking at Sharps’s screen every few seconds, until soldiers began to jump off windows from the buildings around us.
“This isn’t going to work,” Morta mumbled.
“They’re inside,” I said, looking at the screen. “They’re inside the buildings.”
“Shit!” Sharps hissed.
“Stay here,” I said to both of them and broke the window with both my elbows before I jumped to the ground.
The next second, Morta jumped right next to me.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“You’re not getting all the fun,” she said and ran ahead to one of the buildings.
I turned to my right. There were three vampires in there, and the first one went under the net I threw at him. With my two-bladed knife on one hand and a gun with silver bullets in the other, I fought the other two. I got one in the stomach with my knife, but had to leave it in to make sure he wouldn’t be able to move again, and the second it took me to make the decision, cost me. The other grabbed me by the shoulders and threw me outside.
I pulled the trigger three times while I went down and he jumped after me, but he was expecting it. On the ground, I threw the gun and took two more knives from my vest while we danced around each other. He showed me his sharp teeth before he jumped me. I managed to cut him a few times, but before I could do any real damage, another came at me.
And another.
And another…
“Hammer, there’s too many of them,” Sharps hissed in the earpiece still in my pocket.
“Get everyone out, now,” I said, just as they all jumped at me.
I ran back a couple of steps to gain momentum and to lead them away while Sharps got the humans out.
“Get Morta, too!” I called to Sharps before I stopped.
They surrounded me. Seven vampires. Murder was written in their silver eyes. I cut as many as I could, and threw that much more off me, but they kept coming.
“Hammer!” Morta called, but I couldn’t see her. I’d gone too far away. It didn’t matter. They were all after me, anyway.
The first silver knife that went into my chest didn’t hurt that much, or maybe I didn’t think about it. The second and the third, though—both in my gut—did
. My knees shook a second before they gave. I bit the hand that was holding me upright by my right arm until my jaw closed. They didn’t let me go. Instead, they put three smaller knives on my back.
The pain was indescribable. It took all I had not to scream and make their fucking night. Above me were four vampires, and behind them, more. I couldn’t concentrate enough to count them. The one closest to me whose hand I’d bitten showed me his sharp teeth and another silver knife. He touched it to the side of my neck and burned my skin. My eyes wanted to close before he cut me with it all the way, but he never did.
“Stop!” Morta’s voice made us all freeze for a short second. The vampires around me moved away from in front of me.
Across from me was Morta, almost completely covered in blood, her eyes and hair shining silver. Behind her was Sharps and eleven humans with guns pointed at us.
“Let him go, right now.”
“If you make a single move, any of you…” one of the vampires said, then he pulled out a gun from under his jacket and pointed it at my head. Another four did the same. Five barrels were aimed at my forehead, and they all had silver bullets in them.
Morta’s eyes grew wide. We were far apart, and I was hurt, but somehow, I saw her face with eerie clarity.
“It’s me Mohg wants,” she hissed. “Let him go, and I’ll come with you.”
She threw the knives she had to the ground and stepped forward. I wanted to shake my head at her, to tell her to get the hell out of there. Save herself.
“One more move, Morta Fox. One more, and his head blows off.”
They began to drag me backwards. The barrels never moved away from my forehead. I was done. My body didn’t feel like mine. All strength had left me, and I was being dragged away from her.
The tears in her eyes made my pain worse. They dragged me and dragged me, and she stood still and watched me, cried for me again. The desperation in her eyes broke my still heart. The pain in them was larger than the one in my body. The further they dragged me away from her, the clearer and stronger it became.
“Hammer,” she mouthed, but I couldn’t speak her name.
I couldn’t speak her name, and there was nothing else I hated more. I hadn’t been able to say her name in the Red Dimension for seven years, and it had nearly driven me mad. My mind screamed as if it wanted me to tear my eyes from hers, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. I let it scream, and let it writhe. Let it shed light to every dark corner in my head.
I’d promised her once, and now I promised her again. I would go back for her. Hell couldn’t stop me the first time. Nothing on earth ever would.
Because I remembered what the old man had always said to me in Paris.
I remembered everything.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for joining Hammer to the end of his journey. It's been quite a ride and book three--Unchanged--is almost ready. If you are subscribed to my mailing list, I will email you as soon as it is out. If you haven't, sign up here. I promise, no spamming.
If you liked Morta Fox so far, check out my newest series: DEVIL'S BROTHER. Book 1 is live on Amazon, and the next is coming out very soon.
Happy reading,
D.N. Hoxa