Then a girlish giggle sounded in the distance. "Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me..." And Mei's voice changed to one made of pure evil. "I'm the gingerbread man."
"Oh, I think she's pissed," Brice breathed.
"And we know which way they went," Thane pointed out. "At least one of them."
All three of them began jogging that way, trying to keep their steps as soft as possible. They were crouched, using the mounds of dirt to hide them the same way the women probably were, but they weren't heading straight to the voice. They were trying hard to flank it.
"Remind me why we don't have radio earpieces again?" Brice asked.
Lucas scoffed at that. "We're grunts, remember? Can't make priests, so we became the cannon fodder. They don't care if we die."
Then something moved behind them. Thane had just enough time to turn before Mei was on him. Brice yelled as he charged in to pull her off. Lucas roared. Thane just got his hand under Mei's chin, keeping her teeth off him. They rolled, the movement preventing him from using the clavum. Then Mei was gone, hurled away by Lucas. Thane had the chance to catch his breath before yelling started a few yards over.
"Converge!" Thane yelled. "Watch your backs!"
His team hurried toward the sound of more men fighting. In the darkness, he could see shadows doing the same. He just hoped it would be enough. This was not how he wanted to die, but Mei hadn't actually been trying to hurt him. She'd made him into a distraction, which meant those guys were being hit by Dahlia.
They came around a corner to find an arm laying in the dirt. There was no body attached. None of them slowed. Only a few steps further, and he saw her. Dahlia had become larger than life. She used a pipe like a sword, mowing men down with it, and for a split second, Thane understood what the Vikings must have felt when they thought of the women who'd carry them to Valhalla.
"That's not a vampire," Brice breathed.
"No, she really isn't," Thane mumbled.
And then they were rushing in. A scream warned him to turn as Mei hit from the side. She looked like some phantom with her pasty skin and claw-like hands, and she moved in jerks and stutters, faster than he could keep up with. Someone cried out in pain, the voice male. A body landed beside him with a thud, and the world around him turned insane.
Thane pushed toward Dahlia. He'd promised to kill her fast. She'd sworn to do the same to him. Killing Mei wasn't in their agreement, so he'd leave that to someone else. It was as honest as he could be. He was two steps away when she grabbed a hunter and snapped his neck like a twig. The next man who rushed her met nothing but teeth. Dahlia ripped off half his face. Then Thane struck with all the strength he had.
She caught his arm, but couldn't stop the hit. The clavum skittered off her dress, piercing nothing, but that didn't matter. Their eyes met, and he saw only darkness on the other side - and recognition. With a snarl, Dahlia slung him away, heaving him around much too easily, which meant she'd recently fed.
Around her, the bodies were starting to pile up, and he didn't want to look too hard at the faces. Some of those men had been his friends for years. Others he could care less about. Regardless, it was proof that this time the Church was not winning. Sadly, he couldn't stop. The elders had his balls in a vice, and killing her was the only way to get them out.
He forced himself back to his feet, aware of the wave of men rushing at her. Like some bad movie, Dahlia knocked them back, beat them down, and the hunters just kept getting up to come back for more. Some she broke. Others, she flat-out killed, but it didn't matter. She was a demon, and they were on the side of God, fighting for the salvation of the Earth.
Then Mei hit him again, but this time he hadn't seen her coming. Her hand grabbed his throat, squeezing hard, and Thane punched her in the side. With his fist, not the clavum his hand was wrapped around. Mei grunted at the impact, then her head snapped over to look at his fist. Then back to his face.
The smile that took over her lips was the most horrifying thing he'd ever seen. "That's what I thought," she breathed, tightening her grip a little more.
A Word whipped across the battlefield. On his back, most of the impact missed him, but Mei was flung off, landing hard a few feet away. Thane scrambled to his feet, daring to look back to see how Dahlia was doing. Like Mei, she'd been knocked away, but that woman was pissed.
"Priest!" she roared. "Try that again and I will tear your lungs from your mouth."
"And she means it," Mei snarled, crawling toward him.
Thane's head snapped back around just in time for her to lunge. He caught her mass and pushed, using her own momentum to propel her toward Dahlia. He didn't want to fight Mei. He wanted to face the valkyrie. He wanted it to be her who ended him. Thankfully, when Mei landed beside another hunter, it was all the excuse she needed to jump on him.
Her mouth landed on his back, ripping at his spine. The man's legs gave out, and the nu gui moved on. Where Dahlia stood as the center, daring these men to come at her, Mei darted among them, tearing apart anything she could. It was carnage. More hunters lay still on the ground than fighting back, but the priests were here, which meant Thane couldn't waste any more time.
"Dahlia!" he roared.
Her head snapped around, her blonde hair fanning around her face. The ends were streaked with blood, yet the halo was still perfect for her. Then she stormed toward him, her eyes dropping to the stake in his hand.
Thane braced, knowing he'd only have one shot at this. "Make it fast," he breathed, unsure if he was talking to her or himself.
But another Word hit. Together, Thane and Dahlia tumbled before the force of it. When they stopped moving, she was right beside him. He lunged, throwing himself over her, but she was ready. Her hand caught the wrist that held the clavum. The other crashed into the side of his face, dazing him for a second.
"Just fucking stay down!" she hissed.
"Just fucking go away!" he shot back. "They won't stop. They won't give up. They will never let you live!"