face. She swallowed bile and forced air through her lungs. What is he?
He is vampire. The undead. And there are several more. You must get your family out before the others return.
Traian watched his tormentor intently. The vampire leaned close to the gaping wound in Traian’s neck, his breath a sickly green vapor as he licked at the blood with a thick, dark tongue. “I just might kill you instead. A stake through the heart for what you did to my master.” He lifted a lethal-looking stake over his head and gave a maniacal laugh.
Vampires are difficult to kill. You will only get one chance. Go for his heart .
Joie didn’t dare hesitate. She didn’t want to lose her nerve, or risk waiting and allowing the terrible creature to kill Traian. She threw the knife with deadly accuracy. It hummed as it rocketed across the chamber and buried itself deep in the vampire’s chest. The creature screamed, the sound cracking the ice so that sharp daggers broke from the high ceiling and rained down like deadly missiles. Joie flung her body against Traian’s, in an effort to protect him from the falling ice. The vampire went down hard, thrashing wildly, the sounds echoing through the cavern, and then there was sudden silence. Once again the sound of water was overloud in the chamber.
Joie moved back slowly, slipping a second knife from the scabbard on her calf. “That didn’t look so difficult to me.” She drew in a couple of deep, shuddering breaths and managed a small, tentative smile. “If you want, I’ll give you a lesson or two.”
“What took you so long?” Traian asked.
She made her way cautiously around him, kicking aside the bigger chunks of ice. “Bad directions. You know how traffic in these places can be.” She leaned close to study one of the stakes slicing through his shoulder to hold him to the wall. “I hate to point this out to you, but you’re in a bit of a mess. What was all that he-man macho crap telling me to stay away? If you ask me, you’re in serious need of rescuing.”
Joie! Answer me now, Jubal demanded.
I’m good. You’d better come in here, she assured him. How was she going to explain any of this to him?
Traian arched an eyebrow. His skin appeared pale, and he was clearly weak from loss of blood. Unattended wounds from a recent battle leeched away more of his precious life fluid. He shook uncontrollably, unable to maintain his body’s temperature. His hair was black and matted with blood. “I am certain I would have thought of something. He has friends. They will be returning soon, and when they see him, they are not going to be happy. And if I do not incinerate his body immediately, he will rise again.”
“Lovely thought,” Joie said and turned to keep a wary eye on the repulsive corpse. “Lucky for you I travel with a doctor. My sister Gabrielle is quite mad, always peering into microscopes and lecturing us about how we’re parasites on earth, but she does have certain skills.”
Jubal entered, coming in low, gun in his fist, his features hard and determined. Gabrielle peered into the chamber and gave a soft cry when she saw Traian’s bloody body. Immediately she started across the floor to him, but Jubal caught her arm, halting her.
“Explain.” A single word. A command.
Joie did so quickly, stumbling over the word vampire . The creature lay on the floor, looking foul and scary, but her brother hadn’t seen his teeth tearing into Traian’s neck as she had. She pressed her lips together, watching Jubal closely.
“We have to hurry, Jubal,” Gabrielle said. “He can’t stay like that. He needs medical attention right now.”
Joie noticed Traian didn’t attempt to plead his case to either of her siblings, he was conserving energy and leaving her to do the explanations.
Gabrielle made the first move, her compassionate nature getting the better of her. She pushed past Jubal and, carefully avoiding looking at the vampire, stepped right up to Traian, studying the
He is vampire. The undead. And there are several more. You must get your family out before the others return.
Traian watched his tormentor intently. The vampire leaned close to the gaping wound in Traian’s neck, his breath a sickly green vapor as he licked at the blood with a thick, dark tongue. “I just might kill you instead. A stake through the heart for what you did to my master.” He lifted a lethal-looking stake over his head and gave a maniacal laugh.
Vampires are difficult to kill. You will only get one chance. Go for his heart .
Joie didn’t dare hesitate. She didn’t want to lose her nerve, or risk waiting and allowing the terrible creature to kill Traian. She threw the knife with deadly accuracy. It hummed as it rocketed across the chamber and buried itself deep in the vampire’s chest. The creature screamed, the sound cracking the ice so that sharp daggers broke from the high ceiling and rained down like deadly missiles. Joie flung her body against Traian’s, in an effort to protect him from the falling ice. The vampire went down hard, thrashing wildly, the sounds echoing through the cavern, and then there was sudden silence. Once again the sound of water was overloud in the chamber.
Joie moved back slowly, slipping a second knife from the scabbard on her calf. “That didn’t look so difficult to me.” She drew in a couple of deep, shuddering breaths and managed a small, tentative smile. “If you want, I’ll give you a lesson or two.”
“What took you so long?” Traian asked.
She made her way cautiously around him, kicking aside the bigger chunks of ice. “Bad directions. You know how traffic in these places can be.” She leaned close to study one of the stakes slicing through his shoulder to hold him to the wall. “I hate to point this out to you, but you’re in a bit of a mess. What was all that he-man macho crap telling me to stay away? If you ask me, you’re in serious need of rescuing.”
Joie! Answer me now, Jubal demanded.
I’m good. You’d better come in here, she assured him. How was she going to explain any of this to him?
Traian arched an eyebrow. His skin appeared pale, and he was clearly weak from loss of blood. Unattended wounds from a recent battle leeched away more of his precious life fluid. He shook uncontrollably, unable to maintain his body’s temperature. His hair was black and matted with blood. “I am certain I would have thought of something. He has friends. They will be returning soon, and when they see him, they are not going to be happy. And if I do not incinerate his body immediately, he will rise again.”
“Lovely thought,” Joie said and turned to keep a wary eye on the repulsive corpse. “Lucky for you I travel with a doctor. My sister Gabrielle is quite mad, always peering into microscopes and lecturing us about how we’re parasites on earth, but she does have certain skills.”
Jubal entered, coming in low, gun in his fist, his features hard and determined. Gabrielle peered into the chamber and gave a soft cry when she saw Traian’s bloody body. Immediately she started across the floor to him, but Jubal caught her arm, halting her.
“Explain.” A single word. A command.
Joie did so quickly, stumbling over the word vampire . The creature lay on the floor, looking foul and scary, but her brother hadn’t seen his teeth tearing into Traian’s neck as she had. She pressed her lips together, watching Jubal closely.
“We have to hurry, Jubal,” Gabrielle said. “He can’t stay like that. He needs medical attention right now.”
Joie noticed Traian didn’t attempt to plead his case to either of her siblings, he was conserving energy and leaving her to do the explanations.
Gabrielle made the first move, her compassionate nature getting the better of her. She pushed past Jubal and, carefully avoiding looking at the vampire, stepped right up to Traian, studying the
Similar Books
