“Oh, no you don’t, mother fucker,” Skylar yelled.
I couldn’t look back to check on her but I could tell from her tone that she was stressed. There wasn’t time to fight these vampires slowly. I had to help her.
I called my magic, summoning that dark part of me I didn’t like to use. Oddly, since I’d met Skylar, I’d been using it more than I had in decades. The drive to protect her couldn’t be extinguished. It was worth calling up that magic. When I was younger, I thought it was a curse. Now that it’s finally serving some good instead of being used to further causes I didn’t support, I felt differently about it.
Gold sparks crackled on my fingertips. A female vampire growled at me, her eyes darting to my hands then back up to my face.
“You’ve heard of me, haven’t you?” I asked. “You know what I can do.”
She took a step back while the other two advanced.
“I don’t give a shit who you are,” the male said. “Your sparklers don’t scare me. Mage magic tricks aren’t any match for our strength.”
He charged me with a roar, his long arms outstretched. He ran toward me and I lifted my hands, sending my magic out in a pulse. Gold lightning shot from my fingers, hitting the vampire in the chest.
He stopped moving and convulsed a few times before exploding, sending blood and entrails and bits of singed vampire flesh all over the two remaining vampires.
The female who had backed away from me took off at a run while the other started screaming. She ran to the bloody mess that had been a vampire and knelt next to it. She let out a wail of pain before turning her gaze back to me. Baring her teeth, she rose from the ground and then pulled a knife out of her belt.
She paced in front of me like a lion staring down her pray, her eyes darting between the gold dancing on my hands and my eyes.
“You sure you want to do this?” I asked. “You’re going to follow him to the final death.”
“You underestimate me,” she said as she moved her knife from one hand to the other.
“You sure about that?” I asked. “We just wanted information. We didn’t come here to clear out your nest.”
She growled as she tensed like a spring. I knew she was going to charge me any second and I was going to have to add more vampire guts to the floor.
A blur of silver hair flew past me and the female vampire’s eyes widened, her gaze moving to Skylar.
I took a step back, out of Skylar’s warpath. She lunged for the vampire and the female hissed at her, slashing Skylar with her knife.
They fell to the ground, the vampire on top of Skylar. They rolled around, both females fighting for dominance. I moved forward, then stopped. I couldn’t engage. If I accidentally touched Skylar, she’d go the way the last vampire had.
“Skylar, move out of the way,” I yelled.
She ignored me as she took a punch to the jaw. My pulse raced. I had to help her. A knife slid across the stone floor and I realized it wasn’t Skylar’s knife. The vampire was unarmed. Skylar was holding her own. And while I still wanted to intervene, I knew she could manage.
I looked around the church and saw a few bodies littering the floor and the other vampires seemed to be gone. Most of them must have fled while we were fighting. Knowing the kind of disloyal scum the Clover Coven attracted, I didn’t expect them back until tomorrow night. They’d crawl back like cockroaches after dark and out of the remains, the strongest would claim the title of new leader.
I’d have to start all over again to gain a new informant. Usually, though the leader of this group was eager to work with me. While they were on the outskirts of Vampire society, they rarely turned down the protection I could offer as an envoy of the queen.
Feeling more secure in our surroundings, I turned back to the fight. Skylar was now on top of the vampire, her knee holding down one arm while she held the other arm. I was no longer worried, now I was watching with rapt attention, impressed by her skills.
With her free hand, Skylar held her silver blade to the female’s neck. I could see blood trickling out from where the blade bit into the skin.
The vampire hissed in pain, probably feeling the silver in the blade. I called my magic back, knowing that if Skylar needed back up, my normal strength would be enough.
“Who are you working for? Why are you after the stone? Who took out Lola?” Skylar shouted.
“Please, I don’t want the final death.”
“Talk,” Skylar demanded.
Something gold fell from under the vampire’s black shirt. A necklace that looked far too familiar. I moved closer and knelt next to her.
“Stay back, you freak.” She started to squirm harder, desperate to get away from me. The knife cut deeper into her neck and she winced but continued to fight.