“Go down this tunnel, and get out of here. Do not look back. You have got to run away, and protect the amulet.”
“But I can't leave you! I won't leave you,” Namon says firmly.
"Okay, okay I'll go with you,” Katrina says.
Namon enters the tunnel, and as soon as he does, Katrina kicks him hard, knocking him to the ground. Quickly she returns to the organ, and presses the same keys in reverse, which seals up the door. Namon gets up, and starts pounding on the door. Once he realizes that he is stuck on the other side of the door, he turns, and starts running, phasing as he goes, thinking maybe he can make it through, and get to the front door in time to help.
Back inside, everyone is on standby, ready for Cyrus. Katrina looks around at her surroundings.
“There isn't enough room in here to effectively fight in wolf form. I need to conserve my strength anyway since I just phased recently. I will save that for a last resort.”
The door splinters, and an explosion of wood flies through the air, and warrior demons rush inside, and start attacking the guards. The barricades on the windows fail as well, and warrior demons start coming in through the windows. In just a few moments, the church has become a battlefield. Knights fight warrior demons, and Katrina runs past them, using her sword to fend off demons. She slashes, stabs, and decapitates each one she comes across. Half of the knights fall at the hands of the demons, so she doubles her efforts to finish off the remainder of them.
Katrina turns to see a huge vampire covered in tattoos push his way into the church. He grabs one of the knights, and begins using him as a club, swatting at each of the other knights. He knocks them into the walls, rendering them unconscious, and even impales some of them on candle holders. Katrina rushes over with her sword held high to strike at the behemoth, but he is surprisingly fast for being as large as he is. He swings the limp body of the knight, and hits Katrina with all his might. She flies through the air, and just before she has a chance to hit the floor, a smaller vampire grabs her by the arms, and swings her around, slamming her into the ground. He climbs on top of her, and holds her arms down as he straddles her.
Cyrus walks in through the broken doorway. A few of the knights regain consciousness, and start opening fire on him. A hail of bullets hits him, but with very little effect. The wounds heal almost as fast as they are inflicted. With great celerity, Cyrus runs through, slashing the knights' throats one by one until they are all dead. He licks the blood from his fingers as he looks over at Katrina, and the vampire pinning her down.
“Hold her tightly. She must be one of the wolves,” Cyrus says while approaching the priest.
“So this is what's left of the almighty Church; the secret organization that combats evil. Pity it will soon be gone as well.”
“There are others, Cyrus. You will never get them all,” the priest says.
“On the contrary, dear priest, I assure you I have eliminated all of them. This is the very last one, but enough about that. Where is the amulet?”
“It's not here, and you will not find it.”
Cyrus frowns before placing the tip of his finger beneath the priest's chin. The priest cringes as he feels the talon start to extend, but he does not give in.
“I know you want to tell me, and be free of your burden. So, tell me now, and I will let you live.”
“I would rather die! So go ahead, and kill me!” The priest declares boldly.
Cyrus grabs the priest by his throat, and brings his face right in front of his own. His breath coating the priest’s face as they are nose to nose.
“As you wish,” he says as he lifts the priest into the air, and brings him down over the top of the pipe organ, impaling him.
Katrina flinches as she witnesses this, and that draws Cyrus's attention toward her. He walks over to her, and grabs her hair, lifts her head slightly, and slams it down on the floor.
“I am really getting tired of y'all doing that,” she says after spitting blood to the floor.
“Where is the other wolf?” Cyrus asks.
“I'm the last one,” She claims vehemently, a low growl emanating from her throat.
Drake materializes behind them, and walks around.
“She's lying, my lord. The younger one attacked a zombie right after I removed the ring from the corpse's finger.”
“So do you want to try, and answer that again?” Cyrus looks at the smaller twin that is holding her down. “Turn her loose.”
The twin lets go, and Cyrus drags Katrina to the center of the room by her hair. She screams out in pain as he drops her to the floor, and places his foot over her throat.
“Who are you protecting?” He demands.
A curious thought enters his mind.
“Drake, what grave was the ring in?”
“The name on the tombstone was Michelle Freeman. The remains were mangled like she had been crushed,” Drake says.
Cyrus laughs as he realizes an interesting fact.
“So the other White Wolf is the offspring from that oh so lovely couple that met a most unfortunate end by the destroyer demon, just as I suspected. So where is he and what is his name? I'm sure it is he you are trusting to guard the amulet.”
Katrina grabs Cyrus's foot, and uses all her strength to throw him back. This catches him off guard, he falls back, and within a split second, she phases. She stumbles slightly from being weakened by the fight before, and leaps on top of him. She snarls, and snaps at him, but the bigger twin then hits her with the back of his hand, making her hit the wall. She lands on the bodies of the knights that lay on the floor. Barely able to move, she gets back up, and charges towards the large vampire, and lunging at him, trying to get at his throat, but he grabs her in mid-air, and squeezes her with both hands. A high-pitched whine comes from her snout as she feels her ribs breaking under the pressure of his massive hands. Then he grabs her by the tail, and slams her down on the floor with such force it shakes the church's foundation.
Katrina now lies on the floor in her human form because of the massive amount of force she has been hit with. She coughs, and blood flows from her mouth onto the floor. Struggling, she attempts to stand, but fumbles back down. Cyrus approaches her, and grabs her left leg as she tries to crawl away from him. He snaps her leg like a twig, breaking it right in the middle, and she cries out loudly from the pain.
“One more time now, and I will make your death quick. Refuse me, and you will have a slow death. What is his name, and where is he?”
She weakly waves her hand for him to move in closer as if she is going to tell him. He leans forward, and she spits blood right in his face.
“Fuck you,” she says with defiance.
He reaches into his pocket, pulls out a handkerchief, and wipes the blood from his face.
“I am getting tired of this game. Drake, call your creature.” He kicks Katrina in the ribs. “Well, my dear, I have played long enough. My sorcerer here is going to bring his pet salamander to come play with you while I hunt down the boy you are protecting. Twins, let us now leave Drake to do what he does best.”
Cyrus leans forward, grabs her by the hair, bringing her face up to his, and kisses her. When he is done, he licks the blood from his lips then let’s her go. His tongue sizzles slightly at the taste of her blood, but it doesn't kill him. He and the twins leave the church, leaving Drake as he starts chanting, and drawing symbols on the floor. As the words are coming from his lips, a hole opens from the center of the symbols, and gradually opens wider until it is massive enough for a large red lizard to crawl out from it. The lizard crawls through the church, its massive tail knocking furniture down, and it starts breathing fire on everything. The furniture ignites along with any fabrics that line the walls. Katrina starts sweating from the heat as the flames grow larger, burning everything in their path. The ceiling starts to crumble as the beams holding it up weaken from the flames, and Katrina screams as her blood boils, and her skin bubbles. The salamander crawls back into the hole, and it close
s behind it. Drake bows at Katrina as he leaves the church, and the moment he steps out of the door, the building collapses on itself. Brick, glass, and wood all pin Katrina to the floor as the remains of the church burn around her.
As soon as Namon makes it out of the tunnel, he runs full speed trying to get to the church in time. Once he approaches the front of the church, he can see Katrina through the entrance. She lies on the floor pinned by debris. He watches in horror as he sees her burning alive, he starts howling, as his form shifts, his howls turn into screams of heartache. He falls to his knees feeling waves of sorrow wash over him, and his tears flowing. He feels all his strength leave him, and his heart breaks, not knowing how to deal with such a loss. He can hear the sound of sirens as they get closer, and closer. Oz gets out of the car, rushes over to Namon, and grabs his shirt, trying to pull him. Namon looks down at him, and realizes that the police, and probably the fire department are on their way, and it wouldn't look good for him to be there in front of a burning church. Plus there is also Oz to think of; now more than ever, he understands how the little Gremlin feels losing his whole family, and he realizes the little guy needs him. So he does one of the hardest things he's ever had to do. He gets into the car, and drives off before the sirens arrive.
“Well buddy, it's just you and me now. We have to go back to the apartment, and get a few things before we go into hiding. That is, if you want to tag along.”
Oz grabs hold of his arm even more tightly to acknowledge that he is going wherever Namon goes. He shifts the car into reverse, and drives toward the apartment away from the nearing sirens. Once they get to the apartment, they gather some clothing, and all the books that he needs. He also stuffs a bag as full as he can with junk food. He still hungers, so he stops long enough to eat something, but as soon as he and Oz are done, they load up the car, and leave their home, even though they are not quite sure where they will go.
Cyrus and the twins show up at the mayor’s office.
“So what do you have for me, Mr. Mayor?” Cyrus asks.
“While you were gone, I was able to pull files of the church, and the only person on the staff that meets the description Drake gave is this woman right here,” he says while showing Cyrus a picture of Katrina. “I have her address, and vehicle registration records right here. So we could check out her apartment, and put out an APB out for her car.”
Cyrus smiles chillingly.
“You did very well, Mayor. I will check the apartment, and the twins will search for the car. That is their specialty, you know, recovering vehicles. I want that boy tonight, so everyone must act quickly.”
Chapter Nine
Namon drives on Tom Hill Sr. Boulevard very carefully so that he will not draw any attention. Despite his caution, though, a Bibb County patrol car pulls behind him as he gets onto the interstate. It is early in the morning, and there aren't any other cars in sight. As soon as he begins to pick up speed on I-75 North, the deputy turns on his emergency lights. Namon swears under his breath as he pulls off on the right shoulder, only a few yards away from exit 171.
“Shit, I don't even have a license. This is not good at all.”
Oz gets into the passenger seat, and uses the jacket there to conceal himself. Namon waits for the officer to get out of his patrol car. Inside the deputy's car, he reaches for his radio, and speaks into it.
“I have spotted the car that the mayor is looking for, and have him pulled over. How should I proceed? Over.” He waits for a response.
“Keep him busy. The mayor is dispatching a private response team to come get him. They will be driving a black van. Over.”
“I copy.”
The deputy gets out with his flashlight in hand, and slowly approaches the vehicle. Namon gets very nervous, and begins to panic. Katrina's voice then speaks into his mind.
“Keep calm, son. Everything is going to be fine.”
The officer taps on the glass, and Namon rolls the window down.
“Can I help you, officer?”
“Yes, can I see your license and registration, please?”
Namon reaches into the glove box, and feels around for the registration papers, and the proof of insurance. He hands them to the officer while trying to keep his hand steady, and keep it from shaking.
“I'm sorry, officer, this is my mom's car, and I am on my way to pick her up right now from work. She had to work the late shift tonight, sir, and I left my license at home by accident,” Namon says.
“Good job, son. You're doing great,” Katrina says to him.
“Okay, son, let me just go run your information and I will be right back,” the deputy says with a smile.
The deputy walks back to his cruiser and gets inside. He messes around with his computer, pretending he is running the information through the system to stall. Minutes later, a black van passes, and pulls up in front of Namon. It backs up so close that the rear bumper pushes the car back, making it hit the deputy's car. Now Namon is pinned between the van, and the patrol car. The deputy gets out of the car, and runs toward the van, banging on the side of it with his flashlight.
“What the hell are you thinking there, buddy? I don't care who you work for, that’s government property you made that boy hit. I need your information right now!”
The driver’s door opens with such force it knocks the police deputy clear across the interstate and into the ditch on the other side. A large man covered with tattoos gets out of the van, and then a smaller one gets out of the passenger side.
“Get out, Namon, those are vampires!”
Namon grabs Oz, gets out of the car, and breaks out into a full run. As soon as he passes the patrol car, he heads for the slightly wooded area. The large vampire flips the patrol car over, making it roll down the hill. Namon makes it past the tree line just before the car hits against the trees. He continues to run, slinging Oz onto his back.
“HOLD ON TIGHT!” he commands.
His body glows with pure white light, and his form changes to his wolf form, landing gracefully onto the ground. He can smell all of the surrounding scents, and the vampires that are in pursuit of him. The scent of the smaller one is drawing near as Namon can see the railroad tracks ahead of him.
“Do not look back, or slow down, you have got to get away from them, these are very dangerous vampires,” Katrina says in Namon's head.
Oz has a tight grip on Namon’s fur and rides him as if he were a horse. He even kicks his heels into his sides after looking back to see the vampire closing in on them. Namon picks up speed, and Oz does the best that he can to keep from falling off. They reach the railroad tracks, and the scent of the vampire grows even stronger now. The vampire catches up to Namon and tackles him to the ground. He tries to wrap his arm around Namon’s neck, but Namon is too fast for him, and bites down on the vampire's arm. He keeps a very firm grip on it, refusing to let him go even as steam starts to come from the vampire’s arm. When his mouth begins to feel the warmth from the wound he has inflicted, he lets go, and falls back, facing the vampire. He sees the wound is red, and the skin bubbling and this confuses Namon for a moment since he has never seen this power in use. That is before he gets a good look at the vampire's face. At that moment, he has a vision seeing this very vampire straddling Katrina, and holding her arms down as Cyrus bangs her head to the floor as if he were there in the church with her.
Namon snarls and growls before he rushes at the vampire. The vampire swings at Namon, but he dodges, and bites down on the vampire’s leg with all the strength in his jaws. The vampire falls to the ground, and Namon drags him by the leg; then walks across his back, allowing his claws to dig into the vampire's back. Steam comes from the scratch marks, and small flames start to come out of the wound on the vampire's arm and leg. He cries out in pain right before Namon brings his jaws down over his neck, biting with great pressure until the vampire’s head is completely removed from its body. Namon jumps off and starts running at full speed once again, leaving the vampire's remains to
smolder, and turn into ash.
“Good job, Namon, but you need to hurry up. The other vampire may be slower, but he is much stronger.”
Namon is equally baffled by how Katrina is communicating with him, but since he needs the help, he isn’t going to question it too hard right now.
“Why did he burst into flames from my bites, and scratches?” he asks her as he runs.
“White Wolf bites are very lethal to vampires and many other evil monsters. If anything evil tries to bite you, then their teeth will dissolve from being in contact with your blood. If they wind up swallowing any of your blood, they would burn from the inside out. The only exceptions are some much older vampires and creatures. All it would be slightly irritating them.”
He can now hear the sound of water flowing from the Ocmulgee River close by. Heading in that direction, he can smell the larger vampire getting closer now. Leaping with incredible grace, he goes from boulder to boulder that lie within the river until he reaches the small island in the center of it. There is a big distance to have to cover from the island to the land on the other side of the river. He hesitates, but then backs up a little bit, dashes, and leaps into the air. Landing in the water, he makes his way to dry land, and he hears a snarl. He looks back in time to see the massive vampire leap the entire distance of the river and land just a few feet away from Namon.
He reaches for Namon, and he evades quickly as Oz still holds on for dear life. The vampire swings away, slamming his hands down hard onto the ground when Namon dodges, creating craters the size of his fists. Suddenly, a howl fills the air and the vampire turns his attention towards the tree line. A gray wolf with a black spot on its back and the top of its snout curls back as it snarls, appears showing its teeth aggressively. The brutish vampire just ignores the wolf and turns his attention back to Namon, catching him by surprise, back handing him and slamming Namon into a tree.
Blood Stained Lives (The Blood Stained Saga Book 1) Page 10