The Vampire Gift 2: Kingdom of(94)

But the memory of it is clear in my mind.

He has the same floating specks in the whites of his eyes that Logan does.





Chapter Sixty-One




RAUL



I stand on the edge of battle as hordes of Haven vampires rain down on The Convicted, who are tearing through the humans below.

I want to be there. I want to be leading my people.

But Mother forbids it. She says that a general, a leader, is only good to his people alive.

I hate the truth in those words, as much as I hate how much of a coward they make me feel.

Screams a thousand times worse than anything heard during The Hunt echo across the massive caverns. The humans are running scared, fighting as much as they can against the deranged, bloodthirsty Convicted let loose on them. My vampires, the vampires of The Haven, have been given free rein to kill any Convicted on sight. And to save the lives of as many humans as they can.

It’s an absolute bloodbath down there. The humans have no organization, no leaders. They are being picked off one by one by The Convicted. The Haven vampires fight, too, but they are distracted, and rightfully so, by the powerful lure of human blood.

They are also badly outnumbered by The Convicted. That shocks me. I never knew so many of the zombie vampires existed.

It means Mother’s been making them not just from Haven criminals. But who else, and how many, and why?

Suddenly the Queen casts a fireball spell. It flares and crashes into the midst of the fight. Humans and vampires alike jump to get out of the way. Some make it. Some do not.

I turn on her. “What are you doing?” I demand. “You’re killing our own!”

Grim determination is all I see in her eyes. “In a war, there are casualties,” she answers, readying another spell.

“No!” I yell, and charge into her to knock her off her feet before she can cast a second one.

“Get off me!” she snarls. “Can’t you see we’re losing?”

I look down—and to my horror, realize she’s right. Half, or more than half, of the humans are dead or dying. The Convicted, having fed on fresh blood, are only getting stronger. Stronger and more enraged.

The Haven vampires, on the other hand, don’t have the benefit of fresh blood in their veins. And they’ve taken casualties, too.

Where are the Wyvern vampires? I think. Why are none of them helping?

But the answer is obvious to me. This is not their fight. It never has been.

This is not even their home.

I cannot take sitting on the sidelines any more. In a blinding rage I tear down the steep cliff and jump into the heart of the battle. Convicted after Convicted leap at me, but I fling them off. One jabs a clawed hand at my heart. I spin, avoiding the attack, and pierce my own hand through his chest.

I rip out his heart.

The killing blow gives me only a sliver of satisfaction before more of The Convicted fling themselves at me.

I dance with them all, operating on instinct alone. I am the strongest one down here by far—that gives me a considerable advantage.

My one thought is on keeping as many of the humans alive for as long as possible, while giving The Haven vampires a chance to finish off The Convicted.

“HAVEN VAMPRIES!” I scream out. “WITH ME! STAND WITH ME!” I rip off the head of a Convicted who gets too close. “HUMANS! GET BEHIND US! NOW!”

With someone taking up the lead, the chaos becomes a bit less… chaotic. The Haven vampires rush to form a wall around me. The humans run to get behind the line.

It’s not clean, of course, nor pretty. As the arrangement is being formed, more humans are picked off by The Convicted. Screams ring out as hungry fangs sink into vulnerable necks.

“WITH ME!” I scream. “HAVEN VAMPIRES, STAND WITH ME!”

Some of the sharper vampires, seeing what’s happening, pick up the humans and carry them to safety faster. It seems like it takes ages, but eventually, the humans are all behind us, separated from the rabid Convicted on the other side by a wall of vampires.

Vampires fighting for humans in The Haven - who would have ever thought?

“We protect all the humans,” I inform my comrades. “And we destroy all The Convicted.” A cheer raises around me. Some of The Convicted still run at us. They are flung away like waves against a rocky beach.

The others, seemingly more aware of what’s going on, stop and stand back.

Slowly a great divide forms between us. The Convicted ebb away and take shape like an assembled army. Snarling, hissing, snapping, they challenge us.

But none attack.

One steps forth from their midst. His face is half ruined, one eye missing and an entire cheek ripped off. He opens his mouth, but instead of the blood-curdling scream that I expect, The Ancient’s voice comes out.