by Art DeForest
“Escape to where?” I asked as I looked around the room.
“Through there.” Said Deacon as he finished typing and motioned to a doorway in the corner that I hadn’t noticed as my attention had been fixed on the security monitors.
The door opened onto an emergency stairway that circled up or down. Deacon led us up the steps, followed by Victor, Sara and myself. Marcus brought up the rear with a pistol in one hand and a stake in the other.
A single flight up led to the roof entry and the waiting helicopter. Deacon led the way up, dagger poised in his hand. He peered cautiously out of the narrow window in the security door before opening it. Thankfully the helicopter was still in place on the pad and there didn’t appear to be anyone on the roof except for the pilot. We could see his silhouette through the cockpit window.
We quickly ran across the roof to the waiting bird. As Deacon reached for the latch to open the side door, we heard a voice behind us. “You see? I told you they’d make it out.” We all jerked around to see a line of vampires coming out from behind the elevator and HVAC equipment on the roof. The man who spoke was of medium height. He was thin, but not skinny. You could see whipcord muscles standing out on his arms. A broad smile was fixed on an attractive face, but the smile didn’t reach the dead black eyes that stared at us intently. Long black hair was tied back in a ponytail and a katana was resting casually in his hand.
Seven additional people move in to flank him on either side, all carrying swords similar to the speaker. I never liked the katana personally. It gave a bit of range over most swords but you really had to know what you were doing to use one effectively. Just my opinion.
“I’m afraid your pilot is a bit indisposed.” Continued the speaker. “He was somewhat uncooperative.
“You should have stayed out of this Aiden.” Said Sara, stepping forward with her staff in her hands. Kangee took off from her shoulder and began circling.
“Sara, it’s lovely to see you of course, but the money being offered was too much for even me to pass up. Surely you can see that?”
“I can see you’ve become even more mercenary since we last met. You used to have at least some scruples when it came to who you would work for.” Sara said haughtily.
The smile fell from Aiden’s face. “Scruples don’t pay the bills.” He said coldly. “Now come along quietly. Antonella wishes to speak to you all one last time.”
“You should have brought more men, Aiden. Especially if you’re going to try to take us alive.” Said Sara just as coldly.
“These men have all been trained by me personally and you’re outnumbered. I don’t think it will be a problem.” He said with supreme arrogance.
I smiled to myself. I love it when people are overconfident. I especially love it when they discount our companions. This guy was in for a rude awakening. I hoped.
Deacon slipped up between Marcus and I as Sara and Aiden were talking. “Keep them busy.” He whispered to us. “I don’t need a pilot to fly this bird.”
Marcus and I gave a short nod to Deacon before locking eyes. Marcus silently mouthed “Guns first,” to me before turning back to face our opponents. I casually switched my kukri from my right hand over to my left, so I could draw the Colt from the small of my back.
“Now” continued Aiden Grey in his cold voice. “Put all your weapons on the ground or not all of you will make it to Antonella alive.
“I don’t think so asshole.” Said Marcus stepping forward. “Not all of us are vampires.” A pistol appeared in his hand as if by magic and he started firing as fast as he could pull the trigger. A split second later my own pistol added its voice to the cacophony.
Aiden seemed to blur with speed as he hit the ground and rolled towards us. Two of Aiden’s men went down under the volley of bullets and one more seemed to have taken a wound that was at least slowing him down. The rest of the goons started following their boss towards us. The slide on Marcus’ gun locked back in the empty position and he tossed it aside as he exploded into his battle form. Sara’s sword appeared from it’s hiding spot in her staff and she swirled out to take on Aiden head to head.
The slide locked back on my Colt and I tossed it to the side, flipping the kukri back into my right hand. I grabbed a stake from the breast pocket of my jacket as I stepped toward the oncoming attackers.
Marcus charged full speed at our assailants before launching himself through the air. Three vampires went down before they had a chance to bring up the swords.
I made full use of my enhanced speed, coming within range of the two vampires who remained standing almost as fast as Marcus. My bond to Fangs told me that he was directly behind me, using my body as cover from which to launch an attack of his own. Damn, he is getting smarter.
The vampire on my left managed to bring his sword into a defensive position before I arrived, so I feinted to the opponent on my right with the kukri. The feint took me to the side of where Left Goon’s sword was pointed. Holding my stake in a reverse defensive grip, I swept it down and contacted the side of blade before it could move to impale me. As I allowed my stake to take the katana out wide past my body, I stepped into the opening it created and brought my kukri whistling in to take the guy’s head.
Right Goon immediately stepped in to take advantage of the opening I’d created He didn’t realize the opening was covered by 50 pounds of snarling Savannah Cat. Fang hit the bad guy in the chest at full speed, taking him immediately to the ground. This gave me a fraction of a second to recover my stance and assess the situation.
Sara and Aiden were engaged in a swirling battle, so elegant that it almost looked like a ballet. The speed and precision with which both combatants moved was breathtaking.
Tearing my eyes away from the battle, I jerked my head around to see how Marcus was faring. He and two vampires were rolling on the ground amidst the ashes of the third vampire. Marcus was trying to keep both down and close to his body, so they couldn’t make efficient use of their katanas. He’d need help soon.
I brought my attention down to the battle between Fangs and his opponent. Fangs had taken the guys eyes with his front paws while raking his back paws down his belly, leaving long bloody furrows. The big cat was now crouched on the ground looking for an opening as the vamp slashed blindly through the air with his sword. As I came around to face the two of them, Fangs hissed loudly. The guy heard the noise and quickly turned to face it, coincidentally ….or maybe not, exposing his back to me. As his sword came back to take another slash, my kukri swept down and removed his head.
A yelp and a growl brought my attention back to Marcus. He and one of the vampires remained on the ground. The other vamp was able to regain his feet and was just pulling his sword from Marcus’ side. He raised his sword for another strike as I threw my kukri as hard as I could. People don’t think of the kukri as a throwing weapon, but it’s shaped kinda like a boomerang for a reason. It was also heavy enough to do real damage even if it didn’t hit point first.
My blade crashed into the side of the vamps head with a sickening thud as I sprinted to where Marcus was weakly trying to heal and protect himself from the assailant who had by now gained the top position. Animal speed and vampire strength combined to drive my stake into the center of his back, piercing his heart. I left it in place as he flopped bonelessly on top of Marcus and continued on to retrieve my kukri from the other vamp’s skull.
By the time I had removed my blade and then the guys head, Marcus had pushed the staked vampire off of himself and was trying to stand. Fangs had positioned himself between us and the two vampires who had been shot. The were both healed enough by this point to attempt to stand. I also noticed the sound of the engines on the helicopter starting to spool up.
The deadly dance between Aiden and Sara was slowing. Both combatants had blood on them, but whereas Sara seemed fully functional, if tired, Aiden had one arm hanging limply at his side and was desperately trying to defend himself with one arm. I ran over to Marcus as he stood sway
ing on his feet.
“Come on.” I said, grabbing one large furry arm. “Let’s get to the chopper.”
Marcus growled and resisted as he watched Sara battle for her life against the master assassin.
“Go to the chopper, I’ll help Sara.” I pleaded.
Marcus looked at me briefly then acquiesced, moving low under the now moving blades of the helicopter.
The two wounded vamps were up now and trying to get around a crouched and snarling fangs. As I approached Sara to render what help, an exquisitely executed slash with her staff caught Aiden Grey on the side of the head that sent him staggering back into the surprised arms of his men, tumbling them all to the ground.
Sara made to step forward and finish the job when I grabbed her by the shoulder. “We need to get out of here!” I shouted at her over the loud roar of the helicopter. Sara looked at me briefly with fire in her eyes before coming back to herself and nodding.
“Fangs come!” I shouted as we sprinted for the chopper. Victor was in the doorway, having just helped Marcus in to lay on the floor next to what appeared to be the body of our pilot. He grabbed Sara’s hand and helped her in as I waited for Fangs to leap past me into the passenger compartment.
I jumped in after him and Victor slammed the compartment door shut behind me. I sat down in the closest seat and looked back down at the roof. Aiden Grey had a pistol in his hand and was bringing it to bear on the helicopter as we lifted off.
“Everybody down!” I shouted as the chopper banked to the side and away from the building . Two holes appeared in the door, but no one seemed to take any additional damage. Leaning forward I shouted at Sara over the roar of the engines. “What about Kangee?”
Her eyes went blank for a moment before coming back to lock on mine. “He’s okay and following as best he can. He’d rather fly using his own wings anyway.” She said with a crooked smile. I leaned back and relaxed for a moment before going forward to check on Deacon.
As I stepped towards the cockpit, the chopper slipped to the side, causing me to reach out and grab a nearby seat to keep from falling. Regaining my balance, I moved on and sat myself in the copilot’s chair. “Are you okay?” I asked, looking at the concerned expression on Deacon’s face.
“I am fine.” He said as he concentrated on handling the controls. “Our ride seems to have some issues though.” He said tightly.
“What’s wrong?” I asked looking worriedly at the streets and buildings passing by below us.
“We’re losing hydraulic pressure. I think a bullet punctured one of the lines.” he said in frustration.
“Can we make it back to the compound?” I asked in trepidation.
“I don’t know.” He said through gritted teeth as he had to fight the controls more and more. “I will get us as far out of the city as possible. Even if we can’t make it all the way, we’ll have a better chance of finding some open ground to land on.” He looked over at me briefly with a worried expression. “Try to get everyone secured. This could be a rough landing.”
I nodded once and headed back into the passenger compartment. “Everybody buckle up.” I said loudly. “The chopper took some damage and we may be in for a rough landing. As Victor and Sara fiddled to find their belts, I helped Marcus into a seat. He was back in human form by now. “Their damned swords were silvered.” He said as he saw me gazing at the still open wound. “I’ll be alright though.” He said, trying to reassure me. I nodded and patted his arm before taking my own seat.
I called Fangs to me and made him lay down in the seat next to mine. Taking one end of the belt, I lengthened it out to it’s fullest extent then wrapped it all the way around his torso before buckling it and cinching it as tight as I dared. I don’t think any other cat alive would have put up with that, but the sheer panic and worry I had for his safety must have leaked through our bond. He tried to adjust himself for a little more comfort before settling down and nuzzling my hand as it lay protectively on his shoulder.
I reached down and put on the headphones next to my seat. “All secure. How are we doing?” I asked through the intercom up to Deacon.
“We’ll be landing very shortly one way or the other. Brace yourselves for impact.” He said tersely.
I leaned over as close as I could to Fangs and put both hands on him protectively. I just hoped that our combined strength would be enough to keep him safe.
The sound of the engines changed and my stomach rose into my throat as we started losing altitude quickly. The big craft started spinning faster and faster as Deacon slowly lost control of the craft.
Abruptly the ground came up and slapped us like the hand of god. Red lights and sparks flashed as the violent movement of the helicopter tried to throw us about the cabin. Fangs yowled in fear, digging his powerful claws into the upholstery of the chair. It was still all I could manage to keep him in his seat.
As quickly as it started, it ended. Smoke filled the dark interior of the chopper as I sat up and took stock. “Is everyone okay I said into the sudden eerie silence. “I..I think I’m okay” I heard from Sara.
“I as well.” Came a gruff voice from Victor’s position. Those were the only voices I heard.
Jerking around from my position over a growling and irritated Fangs, I looked over at Marcus. He was still in his seat, but his eyes were closed and blood dripped from his head as it hung down to his chest. Feeling frantically around his throat I felt a weak pulse and sighed with relief.
“Sara can you help Marcus?” I asked quickly. “I’ll go up and check on Deacon.”
Sara nodded curtly as she started unbuckling her seatbelt.
Deacon was slumped sideways in the pilot’s seat, leaning heavily against the door. His head was just starting to move and a groan escaped him as I knelt down at his side. “Deacon?” I said urgently. “Are you still with us?”
Deacon put his hand to his head and shook it slightly before sitting up with a sudden jerk and looking around. His eyes finally came to rest on mine. He stared at me intensely for a second before putting a bloodied hand to my face. “Are you alright?” He asked in worry.
“I’m fine.” I said leaning into his touch briefly. “Marcus is not doing too well, but the rest of us just seem to be shaken. “How about you big guy?” I asked with a small smile.
“I will be fine.” He said, lowering his hand from my face and reaching for the buckle of his seatbelt.
I rose up and went to check on Sara and Marcus. Sara had her wrist against Marcus’ mouth. A bloody dagger in her other hand told me what she was doing. “He was more seriously injured than he was letting on.” She said with concern on her face. “I hope that I have enough blood to help.”
I walked over and held out my wrist to her. “How about mine?” I asked.
She looked at my wrist for a moment before looking up to meet my gaze. “I...I don’t know what the consequences would be. Even though you have gained some of the powers of a blood shaman, you and I are not quite the same physically. Mixing the blood of all three of us in this way could have consequences nobody can foresee.”
“If it’s a choice between life and death, I think we have to take the risk. I said seriously. “If Marcus was conscious we could ask him, but as it is, the decision lies with us.”
Sara nodded and removed her wrist from Marcus’ mouth then moved her hand over to take his pulse. “It is still very weak. I’m afraid we must try. We will deal with the consequences if they arise.”
I nodded and pulled my kukri. I sliced a long cut along the vein and immediately set it to Marcus’ lips, allowing the dark red blood to flow down his throat. Sara placed her hands on Marcus and I and started chanting. Just like when I had given my blood to Fangs, I felt the power of the earth rise up and keep the blood flowing.
After a few minutes, Marcus started shuddering. At Sara’s direction I moved my wrist away from his mouth and covered the wound with my other hand. Marcus’ shaking became more violent and his back arched in convulsions. Sara clu
ng to him desperately, trying to keep him in the seat. Abruptly the convulsion ceased and Marcus slumped limply back into his seat.
“I...Is he…” I started as Sara put her fingers to the side of Marcus’ throat.
“No.” She said with a sigh. “He still has a pulse.” She continued to monitor his pulse and breathing for a moment before sitting back. He seems to be stabilizing. I sighed in relief and went over to unbuckle Fangs. He looked intently at my wrist as the incision I’d made quickly sealed itself after Sara’s magic had stopped. Assuring himself that I was alright he stood and stretched before giving me a head bump as I crouched next to him.
“We should get out of here.” Said Deacon from where he was standing between the pilot’s and copilot’s chairs. “Dawn is not too far away.”
“Where are we?” I asked as I returned to a standing position.