by Derek Gunn
Harris watched Steele’s face for any show of emotion, any sign that the man he knew might still have some influence on the monster he had become. “Steele, please,” Harris urged. “Let her go. Don’t let her die as your sister did.”
Harris saw a flicker of something in Steele’s face, an uncertainty in his eyes. Suddenly April was thrown toward him and he couldn’t move quickly enough to avoid her and they went down in a heap. His weapon fell from his hands and Steele was upon him in a blink of an eye.
The others around Harris brought their weapons up and shouted in panic but the two figures were too close together to get a clear shot.
“He isn’t going to tell the other vampires about the serum, Harris.” Steele seemed to be fighting himself to get the words out. “You’ll have to come up with something else.”
Harris was shocked that he was still alive. He looked up into the vampire’s face. It looked nothing like Steele but the eyes mirrored that part of him that spoke. Steele reached over for Harris’s XM8. “It is intoxicating, Harris. The power is too much to resist. Take care of her.” Harris nodded and Steele turned the weapon on himself.
“One final thing, you have a traitor amongst you.” He pulled the trigger and his screams easily drowned out the burst of fire.
Harris rose and gently took his weapon from Steele’s dead fingers. He reached forward and closed his friend’s eyes. He felt a tear fall down his cheek. He turned to the others and saw their shock. Von Richelieu knew where they were, he knew about serum’s effects and was happy to let humanity die out to cull his own race’s huge numbers.
Steele’s sacrifice had not been in vain, though. They would not have known about the traitor if he had not come. They were about to embark on a very different war now. They could not rely on secrecy and subterfuge anymore, but they were prepared and still had a few surprises up their sleeves.
Let the vampires do their worst. They would be ready.
The End
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue