Kali staggered back, but didn’t make a sound.
I launched myself at him but I was too late. The blade sank into her right side as I knocked him backward onto the floor. Kali collapsed behind me. I could only hope that my momentum in the other direction had kept it from sinking in too deep.
“Gregory!” I screamed in rage. I wanted to attack him again, but Kali was my priority. I turned my head to look behind me, seized power from the ka-tet, and flung the Hunter standing over her into the one holding a sword on David.
Everyone else in the room hesitated as Gregory got back to his feet. He smiled. “Ciao, Juliana. It’s nice of you to join us, albeit a little late.”
While all of the Hunters’ attention was on me, David used the opening I had created to break away from his captor. He knelt next to Kali. I glanced behind me and saw her move slightly. Stephen also took advantage of our enemies’ confusion and went to Kali. Between them, they dragged her into the corner of the room closest to the hall. Stephen took off his shirt and pressed it to the wound. David turned to guard against the nearest attackers.
Gregory glanced at them and then at Samuel unconscious behind him. “Leave them alone, Gregory. This is between you and me,” I snarled. “No one else.”
He smiled at me. “You have never bested me. Why would you think this time will be different?”
“I am different.”
“Then come get me.” I pulled out my sword and swung at him. He instantly dodged my swing and pulled out a long sword. Seconds later, all hell broke loose.
Sandro and Chiara spun toward two of the Hunters standing next to them. Sandro successfully knocked the crossbow out of one of their hands. Chiara did as well, but not before getting an arrow to the leg. She howled and yanked it out.
Mary Anne’s face lined with concentration. I sensed the ka-tet’s power stir. She used it on the stake the Hunter held to her and it dropped harmlessly out of his hand. He was so startled he leapt away from her. She used the opportunity to rush to Samuel’s side. I noticed with relief that he was coming to as she blocked an incoming attack by the other Saladino twin. She was the lone female among them.
Matthew and Christina both jumped off the landing, tackling two more Hunters. Samuel was back on his feet, helping Mary Anne defend against Donna and the last Hunter. Samuel was a little slow and the left side of his face was caked in blood, but at least he was able to help.
I swung my sword again. Gregory blocked, then jabbed his blade at me. The sword sliced my hip, bringing instant pain. “You have to do better than that, Juliana,” he sneered.
Angrily, I swung the opposite way, catching him in the right shoulder. He grunted in pain and I smiled. “I’m not your weak little wife anymore, Gregory.”
Samuel shoved Donna into one of the walls. A Hunter Chiara was fighting managed to grab one of the crossbows. He set off one of the arrows before she could stop him.
Mary Anne ducked. The arrow barely missed her and Samuel before embedding itself in the wall. He swore as Donna came after him again. “Chiara! Break that damn crossbow!”
Chiara growled something before grappling with the weapon. I sighed and did my best to stay away from her and Sandro both. The last thing I needed was to be ‘accidentally’ shot with an arrow. I still didn’t trust them, even if I did save their worthless hides.
Gregory swung his blade again. It was my turn to sneer. I spun out of reach and mocked him: “You have to be faster than that.”
Movement at my right caught my attention. Matthew had just thrown the person he was fighting to the ground and punched him. He drove his sword into the man, then looked up at me with grim satisfaction. “I think this is the last of his crew. At least we’re not outnumbered anymore,” he said. He rushed to help David protect Stephen and Kali.
Matthew had a point: neither side had an advantage. We were pretty evenly matched. I brought up my sword to block Gregory’s swing but he knocked it out of my hands. “Now, my dear, this is more like it,” he said and swung at me again.
I jumped backward, landing almost cat-like. “You have to get me first.”
He smiled. I circled him warily, waiting for the right moment to attack. The crack of wood breaking as Mary Anne threw a Hunter into a small table distracted Gregory momentarily. I lunged at him, knocking his sword away.
He looked surprised. “My, such spirit . . . where is my frightened, timid wife?”
“I am no longer she, Gregory. She is gone.” I was terrified, but my fear was no longer for myself. I was afraid for Kali, and for the others too.
He glared at me. “Perhaps,” he said, and tackled me. “It would be so much easier if you would just give up, Juliana.”
“No.” He tried to invade my mind, but he made a critical error. He had succeeded a few days before because I had been attempting to attack at the same time. This time I wasn’t, and I barricaded my thoughts with relative ease. I remained aware of him and my surroundings this time and used it to my advantage. I twisted in his grasp and kicked him in the knee. It bought me enough time to tear away from him and get to my feet.
Fury distorted Gregory’s features. He too rose to his feet. He attacked me again. I fell against the wall and he threw a punch. I ducked it. His fist slammed against the wall and he swore.
I stepped aside and grabbed his arm, intending to break it. He swung around, throwing me to the floor. My jaw hit one of the chairs, stunning me. He stepped toward me and I watched as Matthew turned from his fight and hit Gregory across the face. The possessed Hunter rocked back as Matthew reached down to me without taking his eyes off the room. As he helped me to my feet, I heard him say, “Oh, bloody hell.”
I looked in the direction he was looking and saw Amita and six more vampires entering through the broken doorway. She immediately charged Samuel, knocking him into one of the chairs. The chair crashed to the floor, taking Samuel and Amita along with it. The rest of the vampires spread out and attacked. The fight suddenly got much more complicated.
“Matthew, I think we have a small problem.”
“Yes, Julia,” he agreed. “Now we know what Amita has been up to: making alliances with the enemy.”
I spotted my sword and seized it again. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend?”
Matthew nodded as we moved apart again. Several of the vampires weaved through the skirmishes toward us. Matthew jumped back as two of the vampires moved to attack him. Three of the other four vampires went after Mary Anne, David, and Christina while the last came after me.
The male vampire from Amita’s group lashed out. He hit my shoulder as I tried to dodge him. It was a glancing blow and I turned toward him ready to strike. Before I could, Gregory slammed into me and I landed painfully on my right side.
A shout like a battle cry rang through the villa. Gregory and I both looked up, startled, as the Hunter who had been fighting Chiara ran through the room, wielding a knife from the kitchen. This is utter chaos, I thought as he swung it at Sandro.
I rolled away while Gregory’s attention was still averted and grabbed a broken chair leg to use as a stake on my other attacker. The vampire taunted me. “You cannot win here, Julia. You’re outnumbered. Surrender now and we’ll save your worthless life.”
Not bothering to comment, I moved fast and struck him in the jaw. He snarled and swung but I ducked and kicked out his kneecap. He fell and I thrust the wood deep into his chest. I stood with a frown. “You were not worth my time or effort.”
“I hope you think I’m worthy enough, cara mia?”
I turned to stare at the Hunter known in this life as Stefan
Saladino – who would always be to me the demon named Gregory who had tormented me and killed my child. “Do not call me that! I am not your beloved and never was,” I said bitterly.
He curled his lip up in scorn and circled me w
arily. My eyes never left him but I could hear the fighting around me grow more desperate. He lunged at me and I parried his swing, pushing him toward the wall. I turned to face him and saw Mary Anne throw the Hunter she was fighting into one of Amita’s vampires. They both stumbled and fell. She joined David by Kali and took up position there to protect her and Stephen.
To my left were Matthew and Christina. The female vampire fighting Matthew threw him into a small table. His head collided with the sharp corner and he gasped. The vampire and Hunter moved in on him immediately. He pushed himself away so they missed him and fell against the table. Matthew sidestepped them, grabbing a lit candle that was still standing miraculously upright. Christina saw this and shoved her opponent toward him before running. The other two stared at him and stupidly moved to attack him again.
Matthew caught the flame in his hand, and threw it at them. It became a larger flame as it flew and ignited the clothing of all three. They screamed and dove for the nearest window behind the table, desperately trying to put out the flames. Matthew’s gaze flickered briefly to me and I saw that his head was bleeding slightly. But a grim smile touched his lips. It was a look I had come to know well the last few months. His face furrowed in concentration, and the flames that threatened to ignite the villa disappeared.
Distracted, I barely saw Gregory’s fist as it made contact with my jaw. Then he kicked me in the stomach and I doubled over. There was a roaring sound in my ears as I tried to take in air. The next thing I knew, I was flat on my back. Gregory pulled out a stake and thrust it down at me; I supposed he had given up on his delusion that he would take me alive. I rolled out of the way and scrambled to my feet. Gregory swore and tried to get up but I was faster and kicked him in the face, sending him back down to his knees.
There was a crash behind me and I heard Christina scream Samuel’s name. I whirled around and saw Samuel on the floor by the door, dazed or unconscious. Donna dropped a large piece of wood and stepped over him with her sword drawn. I flung some power from the ka-tet at her, but Amita took most of the force from it. I knew I would never be able to reach them in time. She swung the blade and I screamed. Gregory’s cruel laughter echoed in my ears as my worst nightmares came to life.
Suddenly the clang of metal hitting metal echoed through the building. Another blade had appeared between Donna’s blade and Samuel, blocking the potentially lethal blow. Relief washed through me in a wave. Samuel and I were having problems, but I didn’t want to see him hurt. I still loved him. I whispered the name of the person carrying the blade almost like a prayer: “Lane.”
The blade he held was his usual weapon. He wore the strange long coat, and his expression betrayed no hint of emotion. He brought his sword up, forcing her weapon with it. Donna stepped back and glared at him. “You,” she said in distaste. “Why do you insist on interfering? We aren’t here to fight you.”
“Speak for yourself, Hunter,” Amita snorted, readying her blade.
Lane said nothing. Although his attention never truly left Amita and Donna, I saw his gaze flicker down to Samuel, then toward me. He casually stepped around so he was between them and Samuel.
I noticed that Samuel was stirring. I could only imagine how badly his head was hurting. Between the blow from the spiked mace earlier and the broken furniture now, the pain had to be intense. It hardly surprised me that people were using pieces of the table and chairs. We aren’t always the most conventional fighters, and neither are our enemies.
I heard a noise from behind me and sidestepped Gregory’s rush. He swung his sword. I blocked and swung at his face but he parried my attempt and knocked my sword out of my hand. He grabbed my wrist and twisted it painfully. I cried out and tried to pull away. “Stop struggling, Juliana,” he sneered. He was close to breaking my wrist. I gritted my teeth against the pain and steeled myself for the immobility that would come when he finally succeeded in breaking it.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of orange erupt. Someone started screaming. Gregory flinched at the noise and his grip loosened. I wrenched free, knocked him to the floor, and lunged for my sword. As I picked it up, I looked toward where the screams were coming from.
Another vampire was now engulfed in flames. Enemies fled the immediate area until the fire mysteriously disappeared again. One of the few Hunters still left ran out of the villa. Matthew turned away and caught both Lane and me looking at him. He shrugged, but I could see signs of fatigue in his face. He was using a lot of power to control the element so carefully. He still smiled at the closest enemy as Christina rejoined him. “Would you like to try to best me?” he asked the opponent facing them.
Lane silently turned back to his own adversary. Donna swung her sword in a rage. He blocked, then quickly slashed her shoulder with his blade. Samuel was back on his feet, fighting Amita alongside Lane.
I turned my attention back to Gregory. As I prepared to square off with him again, I heard Matthew’s voice in my mind.
The battles around me appeared to be just a flurry of movements. When Gregory fell back a little, I looked to where David and Mary Anne were still defending Kali and her caretaker. They appeared to be in some trouble. “We need to move!” Mary Anne called. Stephen had Kali in his arms as they backed up to the hall leading to the bedrooms. Two vampires and a Hunter were trying to get past them. David blocked the attacks of one vampire, and Mary Anne blocked the other’s. The Hunter slipped past them. Stephen spun to shield Kali as the man attacked. I felt Mary Anne gather some of the ka-tet’s power and unleash it in a silent call. I had no idea who or what she was calling.
I glanced around, trying to figure out who was closest to help. Everyone seemed too far away or locked in fights. I tried to edge my way to them, but Gregory had me pinned down. A feral howl pierced the air. Most of the combatants looked up, baffled. They watched a wolf advance through the hall toward the small group around Kali. Mary Anne twisted around to look at it with another blast of power. The animal growled and launched itself at the Hunter.
The Hunter sprang away from Stephen and ran through the room before diving out the window. I heard a scream and several howls as the wolf followed him out. I smiled, remembering what Matthew had said about Mary Anne’s power. Its usefulness was limited, but it served us all well at that moment. She could communicate with animals telepathically.
I advanced on Gregory and caught him across the shoulder. He mumbled a curse, looking frustrated. I don’t think he had expected such a fight from me, but that was where he had made his mistake. He hadn’t gone after me; he had gone after the child I had come to love as my own. And I’d be damned if I let him take her away as well.
We circled each other warily, each looking for an opening. He lunged forward. Before I could move to defend myself against the movement he was past my defenses and hitting home. The blade sank deep into my right side. I screamed in anger and pain. As he ripped his sword free, I swung my own weapon, trying to keep him distracted as I drew upon both my power and the ka-tet’s.
Lane re-entered my line of sight, still exchanging blows with Donna. She swung her sword somewhat desperately. He moved to block just as fast. I heard their blades meet and saw Donna’s slip downward enough to cut into Lane’s wrist. His gaze flickered down, and then back up to meet hers directly. He spoke; what he said I didn’t hear.
She stared at him blankly as he moved again, so swiftly I barely followed his movements. He swung his sword, knocking hers from her hand. She seemed to snap out of her trance and moved sluggishly to gain both distance and another weapon but Lane was still moving. Before she knew what was happening, he was behind her with his weapon
pressed to her throat. He smiled as he turned her head and sank his fangs into her neck. Lane let her drop and turned toward Samuel and Amita.
Gregory smiled at me as he came in for another attack. I turned slightly and brought up my sword to block his assault. I held tightly to the power I gathered, knowing I only had one chance at this. Using this amount of power was enough to weaken me significantly even with the ka-tet’s aid. As his blade met mine again, I flung that energy directly at his mind.
He was about to swing at me again when it hit him. He staggered back, the sword falling from his hand. Without hesitation I lunged forward and drove my own sword into his chest. I let go and stared at him as he looked down at the sword embedded in his flesh. He looked back up at me with a look of disbelief before he fell to the floor.
I knelt beside him, noting the fear in his eyes with satisfaction. Smiling, I put my lips against his ear. “Our child finally has the justice she deserves, dear.”
I was surprised he could still speak when he rasped, “You are still just like me, Juliana.”
“No, Gregory, I have finally proved I’m better than you. Have a nice trip back to hell.” My vision swam for a second as I got back to my feet. Ignoring it, I stumbled my way to the hall past David and Mary Anne. The fight was still raging, but I was oblivious to it. My only concern was Kali.
Stephen moved out of my way without a word. Kali was so still that at first I thought she was already dead. Her entire bodice was covered in blood. She didn’t move as I lifted her into my arms. Tears flooded my eyes as I thought I had once more been left with a ‘daughter’ dead in my arms. “Oh no! No, no, no! Kali . . . ”
As her name left my lips, she stirred, turning her head enough that I could see her face. Her eyes cracked open. She looked like any other frightened injured girl. “Julia,” she whispered.
“Kali! Oh, thank God!”
“So much pain . . .”
I bit my lip in an attempt to stop my tears from falling. I was sure she had lost too much blood for human medicine to save her now. The only reason she was still alive was that Stephen and David had reacted so quickly.
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