by Jaz Primo
Prologue: Caleb
Caleb Taylor's heartbeat thundered in his ears as he raced down the hallway. Have to help Katrina! Speeding through the living area into the dining room and wielding the polished sword over his head with both hands, he closed on the unprotected back of the hideous-faced vampire, Chimalma, who was battling the woman he loved. Katrina's eyes widened for an instant, enough for the disfigured female vampire to notice. Chimalma's bared fangs and blazing hazel eyes targeted Caleb. She jerked her hand away from Katrina's grip, throwing a dagger at Caleb as he charged.
The dagger hammered into Caleb's upper chest with a force that caused him to topple backwards from the impact. Intense pain cascaded through his chest and shoulder, and the sword slipped from his hands and skittered across the floor towards Katrina. The red-haired vampire managed to grab the hilt as it nearly slid past her and whipped the blade upwards, plunging the sword into Chimalma's heart. With a twist, she broke the sword tip off in the vampire's chest. Chimalma sharply gasped and grabbed at one of the arrow bolts stuck in Katrina's chest with her free hand, pressing it into her further, causing Katrina to scream in pain.
With one swift sweep of Katrina's right arm, the broken blade swooshed upwards, neatly separating the vampire's head from her shoulders. As Caleb lay on the floor in horror, Chimalma's head rolled across the floor, spraying a mist of cascading blood in its path. The body slumped to the tiled floor with a squishy thud, and Chimalma's head came to a stop against the far wall, shock reflected in her face.
Caleb gasped as he lurched into a sitting position in the darkness, covered in sweat. Katrina appeared at his bedside and placed her soft, warm palm against his face.
"Another nightmare, my love?" she asked softly with glowing green eyes.
He nodded. That's the problem with vampires, he thought sourly. Even when you kill them, they still manage to haunt you.