Refuge(144)

White-hot rage exploded in my brain, and my Mori cried out happily as we came together. Its power roared through me, saturating every muscle, every tendon, and bone. I lifted my eyes to the vampire as the world sharpened into brilliant focus around me.

I don’t know who was more surprised – the vampire or me – by the fist that slammed into his nose with a satisfying crunch. He howled and put a hand to his bleeding face. A few seconds later, his mouth twisted into a snarl and he came at me again. He was fast, but not fast enough.

The world slowed down around me, and I watched his clawed hand swipe at my face before I tilted to one side to evade it. I kicked out and my booted foot struck him squarely between the legs.

He wheezed and sank to his knees, and I grinned with malicious pleasure to see that Nikolas had been right about the effectiveness of a well-placed kick. Before the vampire could recover, I spun and my other foot connected with his face.

The vampire flailed as he flew backward, right onto the blade in Jordan’s hand as she came up behind him. His eyes widened in shock, and he made a choking sound before he fell face first into the snow.

“Liv!” Jordan dropped her knife and ran to Olivia. The rage drained out of me as I went to kneel beside our fallen friend. As soon as I touched Olivia’s face I knew her life force was gone. My eyes met Jordan’s and I shook my head, unable to speak.

“Can’t you help her?” Jordan begged desperately.

“She’s gone. I’m sorry.”

Jordan’s eyes filled with tears for the first time since I’d met her. “You idiot,” she whispered hoarsely, brushing Olivia’s hair out of her face. “How many times did I tell you to always carry your weapon?” Her breath hitched, and she looked at me. “I always teased her, but she was my friend.”

“I know, and she knew it, too.” I stood and grabbed Olivia’s arms.

“What are you doing?”

“She should be next to Mark.” The two of them had finally admitted they were a couple last week, but everyone knew they were crazy about each other long before that. They had died together, and it was only right that they lie beside each other in death.

Jordan got up and took Olivia’s legs, and together we carried her over and laid her at Mark’s side. I closed his eyes, and Jordan put their hands together. Then she wiped her eyes on her sleeve and cleared her throat. “Come on. We can’t stay here.”

I cringed at the screams coming from behind us, near the main building. We were out of sight for the moment, but we were stuck between the battle and the woods. An attack could come from either direction, and we were looking a bit worse for wear with only one weapon between us. Using my Mori’s strength had left me tired, and our dunk in the river hadn’t helped. I wasn’t sure either of us would survive another attack.

“Which way should we go?”

Jordan found her knife and wiped it on the snow, leaving bloody streaks behind. “I don’t know, but we’re sitting ducks out here.”

“Lead the way,” I said, waving in front of me. Pain shot up my arm, and I grunted loudly.

“Ah shit, did he get you?” Jordan lifted my arm to examine it, and I saw for the first time, the long tears in my coat sleeve. There was blood on my sleeve, but it didn’t look too serious. It just hurt like the devil.

“I’ve had worse than this. Let’s go.”

“Sara!”

I turned at the sound of my name, and my lips parted in a trembling smile when I saw Chris sprinting toward us from the main building.

“Chris,” I yelled hoarsely, running toward him, relieved to see he was okay.

“Behind you!” Jordan shouted, and Chris and I looked at the same time to see two vampires run at him from behind. Neither of them looked older than sixteen, and their slower movements marked them as newly made. Chris brought up his sword and cut them down with little effort. I couldn’t help but feel a dull pang of sorrow for the two teenage boys whose life had been cut so short.

Chris waved us toward him. “Let’s go. We have to get you two out of here.”

Jordan and I were twenty feet from Chris when he suddenly stopped, his body going rigid like he’d been shot. I screamed his name as his face twisted in agony and he sank to his knees. A second later, my eyes were drawn to a slight figure emerging from the woods to our right, walking with purposeful strides toward Chris. It took me another few seconds to recognize the white markings on the person’s dark face.

“No!” Power seared my throat and tongue as I sprinted forward and threw my body on top of Chris’s to shield him from the Hale witch. My hands found Chris’s face, and I opened myself to rip the witch’s magic from him before it could burrow inside his mind like a cold maggot. Revulsion filled me when I touched it, but unlike the old magic that had festered inside Desmund, this was new and much weaker. This witch was nowhere near as powerful as the one who had attacked Desmund or the witch who had come after me.