Liz stood frozen in place, now cursing the fact there was nowhere to hide. The handle moved back and forth a few times, then she heard the rattle of keys, and finally a muffled, “Aargh! Damn lock!”
The voice broke her paralysis and she quickly resigned herself to the only hiding spot she could see, pressed against the wall next to the door. She only hoped they wouldn’t swing it wide open, crashing it into her.
She heard another voice, calmer than the first. “You’re doing it wrong … again.”
“Alright then,” she heard the keys rattle as she assumed they were forced into another’s hands. “You open it!”
“Certainly, just step aside.” There was the rustle of shifting bodies, then he cleared his throat. “First, you jiggle the handle.” She watched as the handle moved.
“Yeah, I did that.”
“Then you put the key in and turn it halfway.” The other remained silent after this bit of instruction. She heard the key slide into the lock, followed by a small grind as it was turned. “Jiggle the handle again,” he continued, and the handle moved. “Turn the key the rest of the way.” Grind. “One final jiggle,” the handle squeaked as it moved, followed by a loud click, “and the door is unlocked.”
Liz held her breath as the door swung open, stopping close enough for her to touch it. “See, just like I said. Empty.” She could see the two men through the crack of the door, and watched as they stepped to the threshold. They were vampires, she was sure. She just hoped they wouldn’t notice her. The safety of sunlight was only a few feet away, but she would have to get out from behind the door first.
“I’m telling you, I heard something.” He paused and Liz tried to keep still. “Look!” She nearly jumped for the light. “The books are all scattered.”
“Weren’t they already like that?”
“No, they were stacked up all nice and neat.”
“Hmm. Well, looks like whoever did it is gone now.”
“We need guards up here. Why don’t we have any guards?”
“First of all, guards in an empty warehouse? That doesn’t look suspicious. Second of all, you know how he feels about humans.”
There was a grunt, then, “What about some cameras? He doesn’t have anything against cameras, does he?”
Liz saw shoulders shrug, and then, “Why don’t you just go on down to the breakroom and slip that little idea into the suggestion box?”
They both laughed. “Sure, and while I’m there, might as well add another one about replacing this lock. I swear it’s older than I am.” The laughter continued as the door swung shut, then she heard footsteps trailing away from the door. They only made it a few steps before stopping. She put her ear to the door. “Aren’t you going to lock it back?”
“Oh, I don’t know how to lock it. Sanders is the only one that can do that.” They both chuckled and started walking away again. The last thing she clearly heard was, “Besides, it’ll be dark soon anyway.”
Their footsteps and voices trailed away, but that last sentence echoed in her mind. She had only to look at the lengthening shadows on the floor to see the truth of it. She was running out of time.
Chapter Twenty-five
“He doesn’t look so good.”
“Yeah, well, that’s because he’s been chained to a wall and unconscious for two days.”
“I suppose that would do it. How long do you think he’ll stay that way?”
“Malock said probably for at least another day.”
“Where is Malock?”
Liz leaned in closer, though careful to remain hidden behind the square concrete pillar. This was an answer she was interested in hearing.
“He was meeting with the group that swept the monastery. They should be back tonight.”
Tonight. Those responsible for killing her friends, and the one who planned it, would be here, tonight. Liz could feel the anger rising as she envisioned exacting her revenge. She didn’t let herself entertain the images for long. She pushed them from her mind, and took several deep breaths, burying the rage, for now. She was going to need Braughton’s help to defeat Malock and Samuel, which meant she needed to rescue him first.
The room she had finally emerged in, after quietly following the chatty vampires through what seemed to be endless hallways and stairs, reminded her of a small underground parking garage. Everything was concrete, and there were numerous support columns, although, this would be the first she had seen with chains on the walls. She had dropped the bulky duffel bag near the entrance, and worked her way towards the small group, stopping at a column less than ten feet from them. It was from here she had heard them discussing Malock.
She stole a quick glance around the pillar, confirming what she had glimpsed while darting between pillars. She counted five vampires, all with their backs to her, facing the body chained to the wall. Braughton. They were right, he didn’t look good, but they were wrong about him being unconscious.
In her right hand she held her sword, and in the left, her pistol. Decisions, decisions. With the sword she could decapitate one, maybe two of them before they could react, but that would put her in a position to be overpowered by the remaining three. With the pistol she could split them up, draw them away from Braughton, and see exactly what damage she could do with a bullet.
Gun it is then.
Liz stood up, took a breath, and pulled back the hammer on her pistol. The metallic click echoed through the chamber, and Liz realized her mistake even before she heard, “What was that?” Her window of surprise was slamming shut, and she had to act fast.
Liz stepped out from behind the pillar, a little surprised to see the entire group facing her now, but not as surprised as they were to see her. She relished watching that look change to shock as she started pulling the trigger. The first two bullets hit their mark, dead center in a vampire’s forehead, sending them both to the ground. The rest of the group scattered, so her next two shots just managed to hit the chest, causing them to stumble, but not fall. The last shot missed the fifth vampire completely. She wasn’t sure, but she could have sworn he actually dodged it. She ducked back behind a column before she could be sure.
“Who was that?!” She heard from in front of her as the sounds of gunshots died.
“I don’t know,” a voice to her left, “but she’s gonna be one dead bitch when I find her. Those bullets really sting!”
“Yeah, well, you should try getting shot in the head,” one of them groaned from the ground.
Liz looked down disapprovingly at her pistol. It hurt them, and they didn’t like getting hit by it, but it wasn’t going to be effective as anything much more than a distraction. It was just as well, she thought as she pulled the sword back out. It wasn’t as if she could use it to sever a head.
“You know what I think?” a voice taunted from her right side. “I think the slave has finally come to fetch her master.” This drew agreeing laughter from the others, and Liz could tell they were slowly surrounding her.
“Guess that means we can’t kill her, or Malock will have our heads.”
“Yeah, well, all he said was he wanted her ‘alive’.” That voice was close … too close. “There’s plenty of room for pain between alive and dead.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” she whispered as she rounded the corner of the column and put her gun barrel against the vamp’s head. The hole in his forehead drew her eyes almost immediately. She had hoped the wound would have been more debilitating, but it was already nearly closed.
His jaw was open in surprise, but it slowly turned into a smile filled with pointed teeth. “Go ahead, dear,” he taunted. “Give us another hole, and maybe buy yourself one more minute of freedom, but I’ll be sure to repay the favor.” His eyes darted across her body as he laughed. Liz gave him a warning shake of her head, but he had already decided she wasn’t fast enough.
A tiny ripple went through his arm, a small flex of his muscles. He might have been going fo
r his weapon, or grabbing for hers, or even just going to scratch his nose. Whatever the intent had been, the end result was the same – an empty clip and a face full of hot lead.
His body fell lifeless to the ground, and she stared at the bloody mess that had been his face. She could see the skin mending, and holes closing, and she realized she may not have even bought herself a full minute.
“Whoa! Whoa!” one of them called out as the echo of gunshots died. “Who’s doing all the shooting?!”
“It’s the bitch,” Liz yelled back, her paralysis broken. She swung her sword, severing the still healing head, then kicked it towards the direction of the voice. She dove behind another pillar, reloading as bullets sailed by her and peppered the ground around her. A few more struck the back of the column, and she stuck the gun out, blindly firing a few back.
As a few more shots ricocheted around her, Liz took a breath and a quick look around. On her right she saw Braughton, still chained to the wall, chin resting on his chest. He hadn’t moved, but she was sure he was awake. If she could draw them away, leave him alone, maybe he could free himself.
She fired two more shots on either side of the column, then dashed towards the far side of the room. More gunshots followed her footsteps, as well as shouts from the vampires trying to close in on her. She moved from column to column, firing the gun at any sign of movement, mostly missing her target, but at least keeping them off her. By the time she reached the far side of the room, she had another empty clip. She could hear the vamps moving around her, searching.
The noise of reloading would give her away, but there were still four of them out there, and she wasn’t ready to swap over to untested weaponry yet. Besides, she thought as her hands performed the reload dance, one of them might give himself away too.
Almost on cue, from behind her she heard, “I think she’s over here.” Sword and gun in hand, she spun around the corner, and came face-to-face with the vampire. She didn’t hesitate this time, but the vamp was fast. He struck the gun, sending the bullet meant for his head well off course, and the gun skittering across the ground.
“Swords it is then,” Liz said as she swung for the exposed neck under his gaping grin. He easily blocked it, then countered with his own strike.
He began pushing her backwards, and Liz could feel the panic building. She knew they had orders not to kill her, but it was of little comfort when she realized somewhere there were still three more vampires anxious to test the limits of that order. Plus, she was fairly certain she was about to back into one of the columns, but didn’t dare take a chance of looking.
She swung wildly in desperation, and he took full advantage of it. He brought his sword down hard against hers, pinning it to the ground. He followed it with a back hand punch across her face that sent her flying backwards.
That move was definitely not something she and Braughton had ever practiced. She just missed crashing into the column, and lost her sword, but did manage to hang onto consciousness. The vampire laughed, his red eyes glaring down at her as he slowly walked towards her. He kicked her sword, sliding it within reach of her hand.
“Get up,” he growled. “There are still lessons to be learned.”
The entire side of Liz’s face throbbed, and she was still trying to regain her breath from her landing. She raised up slowly, saw her sword, and beyond it the vampire waiting for her to retrieve it. What caught her eye though was what lay a few feet past her sword. Her pistol.
If she could just get a shot or two off, it could be just what she needed to put a quick end to this, which she desperately needed. The vampire growled. Liz got to her knees and spit out a mouthful of blood. The vampire’s attention snapped to the crimson splash, and Liz leapt. She rolled forward, snatched up the gun, and fired off two quick shots.
It was the red eyes. They shone out like two bullseyes and she aimed right for them. Both shots hit their mark, but Liz was already reaching for her sword. The vamp’s reaction made her pause.
He dropped his weapon and covered the two black holes that had been his eyes with his hands. The room was filled with inhuman screams of pain and rage, mixed with the words, “My eyes! She shot my eyes!”
He really did have another lesson, she thought. From now on, aim for the eyes.
Remembering there were still three more uninjured vampires lurking around, she swung her sword, and ended the screaming. The brief silence was broken by the growl of another vampire. Liz turned just in time to see him charging towards her, sword raised.
Liz stood still, frozen, until at the last possible second she sidestepped his attack. His body overextended as it met empty space, and he stumbled forward. Liz swung for his neck, hoping to end the encounter quickly, but was surprised when she heard the clang of steel against steel. The vibrations ran through her hand and she knew he had managed to deflect her strike with his sword.
He recovered his balance, spun around, and charged towards her again. Liz moved to sidestep, but this time he was ready for it. He swung where he knew she would be, not where she was, and managed to slice across her arm.
She drew a sharp inhale of breath as she felt the pain of the cut. It wasn’t deep, but she didn’t like the grin it put on his face. She stepped forward and swung at him. His sword clashed against hers, then he stepped forward, sliding the blades against one another, locking them at the hilt.
They stared at one another for a moment over crossed swords, then the vampire began pushing against her. Liz could feel herself starting to slide backwards, her muscles beginning to burn.
“That’s a nasty mark on the side of your face,” he said. “I’ve got just the thing for the other side to even out that swelling.”
“That’s funny,” she grunted, then managed a smile. “I was just going to offer you something to match what I gave your buddy.” She raised her pistol to eye-level and pulled back the hammer. His eyes widened, and she pulled the trigger.
She knew she had missed as soon as she fired. The vampire pushed up with his sword, forcing the gun up as well, while at the same time he ducked. The bullet missed his head by a wide margin, striking a column behind him. Not to let the bullet go to waste, Liz delivered a swift kick to the vampire’s leg, knocking him over. He rolled and bounced back to his feet just in time to block another attempt at his neck.
Back and forth they moved, exchanging blows, but neither able to gain an advantage. Liz continued to add a gunshot here and there. She wasn’t getting very close to hitting him, but it did seem to keep him at arm’s length. Truthfully though, she did it more to encourage the other two vampires to stay behind cover. She dreaded to even consider the outcome should they decide to engage her at the same time. So, it was when she heard the dry click of another spent clip, her last clip, that she knew she needed to end this quickly.
She holstered the gun, and a large toothy grin spread across the vampire’s face. “Let’s see how tough you are without your gun,” he taunted, stepping closer.
“Did I forget to mention?” she asked through her own smile, as she passed the sword to her now empty left hand. “I’m left handed.”
She charged the vampire, and much like the day she had first beat Braughton, she felt as though she were not alone. There were no voices, but those signals, hints as to his next move, were suddenly clear. She only hoped her own were not so obvious.
It should have been impossible. He couldn’t understand how this slave was not just matching his skill, she was besting him. I mean, sure, he had probably been a bit lax with sword practice the past few years, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in an actual fight with it. Still, he knew he needed to end this before any of the others saw him losing. He was desperate, which meant he was also getting sloppy.
She cut a small slice across his arm, but he barely noticed, the wound healing almost as quickly as it appeared. The second one was more severe. Her sword plunged deep into his side, and there was a groan of pain as she pulled
it back.
“Enough!” he roared. “Now, you die!” Sword raised, he rushed towards her in a blind rage of swinging steel. There were no signals or hints now, just the unrelenting assault aimed at removing her head.
She blocked or dodged strike after strike as she moved backwards. She couldn’t help but wonder which was going to happen first, exhaustion or surprise attack by one of the other vampires. Her only consolation was she could see him tiring as well. Then she saw her opening, or rather, she felt it.
Her foot brushed against a column, and as he raised his sword over his head, she prepared to dodge instead of block it. She ducked the swing meant for her neck, and his sword crashed against the column, stunning him for a second. It was the second she needed. She spun on her heel, bringing her sword around, and cleft head from shoulders.
Two more. She repeated it over and over as she took deep breaths and tried to quiet her pounding heartbeat. She checked the cut on her arm, but it was little more than a dark red scratch. She touched her face and felt almost no swelling. She didn’t heal as fast as the vampires, but it was definitely faster than normal.
As her heart slowed to normal she couldn’t help but notice the silent stillness that had settled in the room. She felt completely alone, isolated. Had they left the room, perhaps for backup? She hadn’t considered that before now, and suddenly freeing Braughton became a much more urgent priority.
Liz moved quickly and quietly back towards Braughton, pausing at each column to listen, but heard nothing. Once she reached the back of the room she realized they had been waiting on her.
“We knew you’d eventually make your way back here,” said the one standing to the left of Braughton. He nodded towards Braughton’s still secured body and added, “I mean, he’s the reason you’re here, right?” The one on the right chuckled, but Liz remained silent.
“All out of those nasty little bullets?” right-side asked with a grin. She didn’t answer. “Not much good for more than a distraction though, are they? I mean, sure, they burn like a white hot fire going in, but they heal just like any other wound. Even those shots to the eyes, which were impressive by the way, will still heal … eventually.”
Shackles of Sunlight Page 21