“How about the decapitations?” she called back. “How long do those take to heal?”
“She’s a feisty little slave, isn’t she,” remarked left-side.
“I’m gonna enjoy this,” the other replied. “You circle around that way and I’ll take this side. We’ll force her to fight us at the same time.”
Liz’s eyes widened. This was exactly the situation she’d been trying to avoid. One-on-one she had done even better than she had hoped, but she had no intention of testing her skills against two at once.
Liz sheathed the sword and pulled both guns from the shoulder holsters. She wasn’t sure she could pull off two shots to the eyes from this distance, but she knew enough bullets to the head would slow one of them down. Now, the only question was which one of them?
She peered around both sides of the column and right-side gave her a sneer when he caught her looking. “Good enough for me,” she said to herself. “Right-side it is.” Since they thought she was out of bullets, this should be a nice surprise. I’m gonna enjoy this, she thought as she raised the pistols and began firing.
Something was wrong. Why had she not noticed it before? The weight of the pistols was off, like the clips weren’t full. How many bullets did she have? And would it be enough to slow him down long enough to deal with the other one? All of these questions went through her mind before the first shot even left the barrel. Once it did, and missed its mark, is when the cursing started.
How could she have been so stupid as to not have checked the guns? She was most likely going to end up dead, or even worse – undead, and she would have no one to blame but herself. One thing was for sure, she certainly wasn’t going to have enough bullets if she couldn’t manage to hit anything. The bullet struck the wall just to the left of the vampire’s head, followed by the first bullet from the second pistol striking the wall just to the right. It was the third bullet that finally hit something, but just barely.
The vampire had been caught completely off guard by the first two shots, but by the third he was prepared. He nearly dodged the shot, and what was meant for his head wound up striking him in the shoulder. Before Liz could berate herself about the waste of yet another bullet, she was stunned to silence by its effect.
The vampire twisted and flew backwards several feet. Actually, it looked more like he was dragged, pulled by some unseen force on his shoulder. She imagined the surprised look on his face probably closely mirrored her own. He was then slammed to the ground, and everything around her seemed to stop for a few moments as he lay motionless on the floor.
“Son of a-,” the rest of his sentence became an unintelligible scream of pain as he tried to sit up. The shoulder hit by her bullet wouldn’t budge, as if it was pinned to the ground … or staked.
Liz looked down at the guns in her hands, and, curious, pulled out one of the clips. It was definitely lighter than it should have been, but she couldn’t see anything special about it. The brass casings appeared normal, although looking closer, the actual bullet was a bit off-color. She rubbed her finger across it, and instead of smooth metal she felt the unmistakable texture of wood.
“Wooden bullets,” she said with a half-smile of amusement. “Score one for the movies, I guess.” Another piercing howl of agony snapped her attention back to the vampire. He was sitting up, and staring at her with empty, black eyes. His shoulder was missing a large chunk, which she spotted still stuck to the ground behind him. His arm lay lifeless against his body while he used the other one to prop himself up.
“You will beg for death before I’m through with you,” he threatened through clenched teeth.
“I really don’t do begging,” she replied, pushing the clip back into place and leveling the pistols at him. “It just completely undermines this anti-slave-master protest I’m waging.” She cocked the pistols and gave him a smile. She found it a little odd when he returned the smile, until she noticed he was looking behind her.
Her eyes widened as she realized she had forgotten about the other vampire. She turned, pulling the pistols back in front of her just in time to block his sword with the barrels. The clang of metal on metal reverberated in the room, and Liz took advantage of the surprise block by pushing the sword back and pointing one of the guns at him. She started firing, not expecting to hit him, but just trying to push him back.
It worked. The sword wielding vampire disappeared behind a column, retreating further into the room. Without looking, Liz fired three shots behind her at the vampire she hoped was still on the ground. The subsequent scream told her at least one had hit its mark.
Satisfied the still mobile vampire wasn’t close by, she chanced a look behind her at the other as she moved behind the safety of a column. Two bullets had hit him, one in the shoulder and the other in the left thigh. His right leg was flailing wildly about, trying to find enough leverage to pry himself loose. He wasn’t going anywhere for a while.
Liz stood behind the column and waited. The pinned vampire alternated between thrashing his body around and yelling, “Get her, Jonas! Kill her!” She considered going over to finish the job, but that would be just what Jonas expected. Instead she moved away from the screams, taunting Jonas in to following her.
“Yeah, Jonas, come and get me,” she called out, then quietly moved a little farther away. “Surely you can handle one little slave girl, right?” she teased from further across the room. She could still hear the screams, but they weren’t the only things she could hear. There was also, for instance, a footstep. He was closing in on her.
She had no idea if he knew where she was or not, so she needed to be ready. Looking down at her hands, she knew she was in trouble. She was still wielding dual pistols, but if she was going to win this fight she needed her sword. Holstering the pistol and drawing her sword would definitely give away her position. Another sound of foot scraping against stone told her it was too late. He knew she was there and he was right on top of her.
Liz stepped out from behind the column and fired several rounds at the vampire, then swapped pistol for sword. It took less time than a blink of the eye, but he had been ready for it. He easily dodged the hastily fired bullets, and put two hands of force into the swing of his broadsword. Liz just managed to raise her own sword in time to block the strike, but the force of it knocked her backwards. As she fought to regain balance, her feet tangled beneath her, sending her tumbling to the ground.
Jonas was over her almost the same moment her back hit the ground. She tried scooting backwards as she blocked his attacks, but he kept her pinned down. He slashed down and pressed against her crossed sword. Liz braced one hand at the end of the blade, struggling to keep him off of her.
“I can’t wait to taste your blood,” he said, pointed teeth bared. “I’m going to take my time draining you, making sure to savor every last drop.” He emphasized the last three words with a push that brought him and his sword closer to Liz’s face. Sweat covered her brow, and she could feel the strength in her arms giving out. The only thing she was trying harder to do than keep him off her, was to not panic. She glanced at the large broadsword, at his body pressing against it, then looked back at his face, a smile forming on her lips.
“That’s a nice, big sword you’ve got there,” she managed to say without too much strain in her voice. “You wouldn’t happen to be compensating for something, would you?” she added with a wink. The look of confusion on his face changed quickly to pain as she drove her knee into his groin.
He groaned and his weight shifted off her as he fell to the side, bent over in pain. Need to add ‘knee to the crotch’ to the books, Liz thought as she picked herself up from the ground. “Hope you don’t mind drinking through a straw for a while,” she said, then delivered a kick directly to his jaw. Jonas flew backwards, crashed into a column, then slid to the ground, motionless.
Liz braced her hands on her knees for a moment, catching her breath. She could still hear the other vampire struggling behind her. He
was likely getting close to freeing himself, judging from the sound. She turned and tried to see if she could catch a glimpse of him, but there were too many obstacles between them. In a few minutes it wouldn’t matter anyway, she thought. She just needed to finish off Jonas and then she could go deal with the last one. She gripped the sword, turned around and saw Jonas was gone.
“Dammit, Liz,” she cursed herself. “Another rookie mistake.” She shook her head, tightened her grip on the sword, and waited.
Perhaps sensing his turn was coming soon, the staked vampire redoubled his efforts to liberate himself. The resulting noise was all Liz could hear at first. Then she heard a rustle, followed by a small metal clink from close to the entrance of the room.
No, no, no, she thought as she dashed towards the sound. She knew exactly what it was, and only hoped she wasn’t too late to stop him. She rounded the column she was headed for and found nothing. She lowered her head, anger at her own decisions rising again. The duffle bag of extra clips was gone. And so was Jonas.
Liz walked straight back towards the pinned vampire, sure he was the last threat in the room. Jonas had left him for dead. No honor among these monsters, she thought as she approached. She noticed he’d almost managed to free his leg, but had exhausted himself in the process. When he spotted her, his wild convulsions began again, but it hardly mattered now. She raised her sword, taking aim at his neck.
“Wait! Wait!” he bawled, trying unsuccessfully to raise his still healing arm in defense. “You need me!”
“No, I don’t,” Liz said with no emotion. The only thing that stopped her swing was a voice from behind her.
“Yes, we do.”
Chapter Twenty-six
“We need him alive, Elizabeth.” It was Braughton. She was both relieved and frustrated to hear his voice.
“Why?” she asked without turning to look at him. “If Jonas didn’t think he was worth saving, then why should we?”
“He may not know as much as Jonas, but he knows enough.”
She was still holding the sword above her head, she tried again. “You know they attacked the monastery. They slaughtered every single one of them.” Trying to raise Braughton’s anger was fanning the flames of her own. The sword felt anxious to fly.
“I know,” Braughton replied. “They will pay for what they have done, but right now we need him alive. Now, put the sword down, Elizabeth.”
She sighed, then lowered the sword to her side. The smug smile on the vampire’s face was easy to read: the slave had been put in her place. She really hated seeing it.
Three shots rang through the air, followed by another fresh round of screaming. With two holes in the chest and one in what was once his free leg, Liz was sure the vampire was secure. She looked down, mocking his now absent smug smile, and said, “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.” She then noticed the ring of keys hanging from his belt. “I’ll just take these,” she said, removing them from the clip.
Braughton was still chained to the wall, but his head was up now and she thought she even saw a small smile on his face. He looked unharmed, but anything they might have subjected him to would have quickly healed.
“Those are the guns from the monastery?” he asked, nodding towards the pistol in her hand. She nodded, and he looked past her to the vampire stuck fast to the floor. “I really should have taken a closer look at those.” Liz stopped in front of him, arms crossed. “Is that all of the guards?”
“Jonas got away, and I wasn’t exactly through with that last one, but the rest are dead. So, tell me,” she said, tossing the keys from one hand to the other. “What could he possibly know that’s worth keeping him alive?”
“Well, how many vampires Malock will have with him when he returns, for starters.” Liz didn’t look convinced. “And perhaps of more importance, depending on the answer to the first question: is there another way out of here?”
Liz shrugged, reluctant to agree with him. “Both of those things would be helpful to know, but does he deserve to live after what they’ve done?”
Braughton rattled his chains. “I don’t suppose we could discuss this while you remove these, could we?”
“Yes, Master,” she somehow managed to say with a straight face. She found a stool nearby, and dragged it closer to reach Braughton’s arm. The key ring held more than a few keys, so she opened it and began trying each key, discarding it when it didn’t fit.
“I overheard them talking about the monastery,” Braughton said. “How did you manage to escape?”
“Monk locked me in the library.” She wanted to tell him about what happened afterwards, the bodies, the fire, and Monk. She wanted to tell him about having to kill Monk, and all because these monsters had decided to turn him into one of their own. She couldn’t do it though. Her mouth wouldn’t form the words, and her mind even refused to replay the images. It wasn’t until she heard Braughton clear his throat that she realized she had stopped trying keys, and was simply holding the last failed key, staring at the wall.
She dropped the key into the small pile below her stool and continued, “I tried to open the door, but then I sort of collapsed. There was a sharp pain in my neck, I stumbled to a table, and closed my eyes.” Another key dropped to the floor with a tiny clink. “The next thing I knew, I saw you.” She paused. “No, that’s not right. I was seeing as you, through your eyes.”
“I thought I felt something,” Braughton mumbled to himself. Then he looked up at Elizabeth, curious. “What did you see?”
“Everything. The syringe, the warehouse, the kick to your face, and more. After you lost consciousness, I followed you. I was remembering your memories, reliving what happened to you … and Samuel.”
“I haven’t thought about that day in centuries. Strange it should be that memory.”
“I don’t find that part strange at all. I mean, he was standing right in front of you when, well, when he kicked your lights out.” Clink. “What I found strange was me being there, with you. But I suppose that kind of thing happens all the time between you and your bonding partners.” Clink.
“Actually, no. I’ve never shared a vision with anyone else, conscious or otherwise.” They were both silent for a moment.
“It wasn’t your fault, you know.” Clink.
“What wasn’t my fault?”
“What happened.” He stared blankly at her. She rolled her eyes and added, “To Samuel.” Clink.
“Of course it wasn’t. Why would I think that?”
She shrugged, then said, “Because you do.” He opened his mouth, ready to protest, but she stopped him. “I didn’t just see your memory, I lived it. I felt everything you did, heard every thought, experienced every regret and emotion.”
“What you experienced were the thoughts and fears of a boy. Feelings he carried around for years, but were dealt with and forgotten by the time he became a man.”
“Then explain why I first felt them before you lost consciousness. Right about the same time you realized the man behind the mask was Samuel.” Click! The key turned and the lock securing Braughton’s wrist opened. She started to open the restraint, but was stopped by a voice behind her.
“Leave him where he is please, Elizabeth.” Malock. She recognized his voice instantly from Braughton’s memory, and, judging from Braughton’s face, he did too. “Now, if you would be so kind as to hold your hands out where I can see them.” She slipped the key that worked into Braughton’s hand then extended her arms out, one hand empty, the other holding the remainder of the keys still on the ring. “Very good, now turn around.” She could hear the smile on his face.
Liz looked over at Braughton, caught his eyes, looked down at her chest, then back at him. He caught the message, and followed her eyes. Loosely strapped across her back, the assault rifle had been a bit of a nuisance while fighting. By this time, it had migrated, hanging at her side, hidden under her coat, and it was what she wanted Braughton to see.
&nb
sp; He met her eyes again, to which she raised her eyebrows. Whaddya think? they asked. He glanced past her for a moment, then gave her a slight grimace that read: Risky. Meanwhile, Malock had grown impatient.
“I said turn around,” he repeated, then added, “or shall I have your master issue my command?”
Liz rolled her eyes and shifted slightly on the stool. Now? she asked with her eyes. Now. Braughton agreed with a slight nod of his head. Liz opened her hand and let the open key ring, with its handful of keys still attached, fall to the floor. When they hit, the keys scattered in all directions, creating a chorus of clanging metal, which was quickly drowned out by the crack of automatic gunfire.
The keys were the perfect diversion, but Liz knew she had to act fast. She turned, leaping from the stool, and let the rifle slide into her hands, spraying bullets before she could even see what was in front of her. When she hit the ground, she pulled the trigger again, releasing another hail of bullets, then leapt for the nearest column.
Return fire peppered the back side of the column as well as the ground to either side of her. Interspersed with the gunfire, she could hear yelling, although she had no idea what they were saying. She pulled the rifle close to her, and waited, trying to recall what little detail she had caught before vaulting for cover.
There were around ten vampires, and she was fairly certain she’d staked at least two of them. She had seen them all react with surprise, some even ducking for cover, but not the two in front. Samuel and Malock had stood calm and still even as the bullets flew past them. She wondered if they might be beyond the effects of wooden stakes, and decided she would most likely find out before this was over. The bullets had ceased for the moment, which meant she needed to move.
Shackles of Sunlight Page 22