Forbidden Nights with a Vampire(101)

 

"Ian's back," Howard whispered.

 

Ian, dressed entirely in black, slipped noiselessly into the clearing. With his sword, he drew in the dirt. "The campground has a central open area with a fire that's been lit in the middle. The buildings surround the area like a square. The main lodge is on one side, and there are nine cabins on the other three sides."

 

"How many Malcontents did ye see?" Angus asked.

 

"I spotted fifteen Malcontents in the lodge," Ian continued. "They're holding a group of mortals prisoner—the original campers, I assume. Each cabin was occupied with another three or four Malcontents."

 

"So there are about fifty of them," Jean-Luc concluded.

 

"And we have seventy-four," Angus said. "Any sign of Robby?"

 

"Nay, but I did see three Malcontents leaving the campground, going east, so I followed them." Ian drew a line in the dirt. "They went into a cave. I think Robby could be in there."

 

"They probably use the cave for their death-sleep," Jean-Luc said.

 

Angus frowned. "There could be more Malcontents in there. We could still be outnumbered." He looked at everyone in the clearing. "I canna guarantee how safe this will be."

 

Jack waved a hand in dismissal. "Battles are never safe. I came here to rescue Robby. I'm not leaving without him."

 

The others nodded in agreement.

 

"Verra well, then," Angus said. "We'll divide into five groups, captained by Jean-Luc, Connor, Jack, Colbert, and myself. My group will attack the lodge. Jean-Luc, Connor, and Jack—your groups will take the other three sides of the square. Colbert, you'll take the fifth group and station yourself here." Angus marked an X in the dirt. "Halfway between the camp and the cave, so you can kill anyone coming or going. Let's go."

 

There was some quick shuffling while the five captains selected their groups. Jean-Luc asked Roman, Phil, Ian, and two other Vamps from Texas to join him.

 

All five groups moved stealthily through the woods and into position. Phil crouched behind some bushes between Roman and Ian. He heard Roman murmur a prayer, and he added a silent amen.

 

When Angus bellowed a war cry, they charged.

 

Phil rushed through the back door of a cabin. Four Malcontents jumped up from a card table. He skewered one. The other three were quick to grab their swords. Phil and Roman each engaged a Malcontent in battle. The other one ran out the front door, into the central open area.

 

Phil killed his second opponent. Roman's opponent, realizing he was alone with two swordsmen, teleported away.

 

"God's blood," Roman muttered.

 

Phil ran out the front door. Several Malcontents from each of the nine cabins had escaped out the front door when the Vamps had invaded through the back. The Malcontents formed a huddle close to the bonfire. More Malcontents dashed from the lodge, narrowly missing execution by Angus and his group.

 

Phil estimated about twenty-five Malcontents were left in the open area. They'd lost perhaps half their original number. As far as he could tell, all of the Vamps had survived the initial assault. Seventy-four to twenty-five. Victory was within their grasp.

 

The Vamps surrounded the Malcontents and closed in.

 

"En garde!" Colbert ran toward the open area with his three men. He was bleeding from a chest wound. "They're coming from the cave. There must be a hundred of them!"

 

Phil swallowed hard. He and his friends were in deep shit.

 

Vanda paced about the cabin. She had a bad feeling about this battle. If the Vamps fell, the war would be over. The Malcontents would win.

 

And how could she do nothing while Phil fought for his life? How could she live with herself if he died?

 

She stopped at the table and looked through the weapons he'd bought for her. In an instant she knew what she had to do. She rolled up a leg of her jeans, strapped on the sheath, and inserted the knife.

 

"Are you going?" Brynley asked.

 

Vanda nodded. "I have a bad feeling about it."

 

"Then I'm going, too. You can teleport me, right?"

 

The door swung open and all the boys barged in.

 

"We want to fight," Davy announced.

 

"No," Brynley said. "You're too young."

 

"But we can shift," Griffin insisted. "We can really tear into them as wolves."

 

"You can shift?" Vanda asked. "I thought that was last night."

 

"The full moon cycle affects us for three nights," Brynley explained. "On the first night we shift involuntarily for the whole night. On the next two nights we can choose whether or not to shift."