Chapter Seventeen
Still in his wolf form, Erik had been fighting the tall vampire when the bright light ripped through the alleyway. The two men separated in surprise, neither of them quite certain what the hell had just happened.
Never in his life had he seen something like that before. And it came from Lillian.
He watched as the small vampire slammed against the wall, his body cold and lifeless. Well, colder and more lifeless than normal.
“Paul,” the tall vampire called out.
The smaller man stayed on the ground. His body was already turning black with decay.
Stunned, Erik watched as the vampire checked on his friend and looked over at him.
“She killed him,” the vampire said.
Erik glanced between the small woman and the vampire but couldn't tell what exactly had happened. Maybe she'd impaled his heart somehow. Although he wasn't even certain how a thing like that could happen.
There were only two ways he knew to kill a vampire: with a silver blade like the one that Corso held or by impaling them in the heart with wood. Many times, his people liked to employ both.
The tall vampire screamed as he charged Lillian’s still form.
Erik couldn't allow that to happen. No way in hell he was going to let anything happen to her.
He jumped on the back of the vampire and crunched down on his throat, crushing his windpipe and tearing into the flesh there.
The vampire spurted blood as he stumbled back, surprised that Erik had been able to get the jump on him. With ease, Erik shifted back into his human form and grabbed a wooden board out of the trash to slam it into the vampire’s heart.
The vampire tumbled to the ground, mouth still open in surprise. When Erik turned back to check on Lillian, Hall was nearly on her.
“Hall!” Erik yelled
The other man turned to look. His blood red eyes fixed on Erik’s.
“Don’t do this,” Erik warned, his voice a near growl.
The man shook his head as he’d done before. Erik could only hope the other man was trying to shake himself out of whatever the hell was wrong with him.
Hall let out a loud growl as he struggled for control. “She must die,” he shouted.
Erik stepped forward. He had to do something. Hall was far too close to Lillian. One well-timed leap, and he’d be on her before Erik even had time to stop him.
“Little help over here,” he shouted to Corso.
Erik briefly glanced over to where the two vampires were fighting. Their movements were so fast they created their own wind, proof of their age.
“Slightly busy at the moment,” Corso replied.
This Anca was more than Erik expected if she could keep up with Corso in battle. The other man might be on the younger side when it came to those that served the elders, but he was old enough and no slouch in the fighting department. For her to even keep up was enough to make Erik worry.
He took a step forward, readying himself for the shift he would have to make again. It wasn’t on the top of his list to take down one of his own, but he couldn’t let Hall kill Lillian.
The two stared at one another, each willing the other to start when a loud screech filled the air. Erik jerked his head in the direction of the scream just in time to see Corso slicing through Anca’s arm.
As if Erik wasn’t even near, Hall burst toward Anca. He was fast, faster than Erik had ever seen from a werewolf. He whisked her out of reach of Corso.
"Hall," Erik shouted.
The other man turned his eyes toward him and snarled loudly. There was no sign of the young man that he had once known.
His shift came out of nowhere. Faster than anyone Erik had ever seen. Instant.
The large light-colored wolf lunged out at Corso like lightning, but the vampire was faster.
"Your friend seems to be having an issue," Corso said as he avoided the massive jaws.
"He’s not himself right now.”
Corso frowned. “Yes, I can see that,” he said dryly. "We had gotten reports about a wolf on the loose.” He moved over to where Anca was leaning against the wall. "And somehow our little Anca is related to the whole thing."
Anca rushed to the other side of the alley, holding her wounded arm. It was clear the silver had done more damage than she cared to admit. The silver would make sure it didn't heal as quickly as it normally would. Hall stood beside her, his large wolf form coming up to her middle.
“Can’t a girl have a beau?” she said with a smile.
"Are you ready to deal with this?" Corso asked, and moved next to Erik.
The rogue vampire and werewolf stood across the way.
"You think it's going to be that simple?" Anca shouted at them. She held a hand over the slice in her arm as she shouted. Blood soaked her coat.
“It’d be nice if it was,” Corso said.
Erik just glared at her.
"Neither of you have a fucking clue what is going on," she said. "In the end you’ll pay. You will all pay."
Corso sighed loudly and stepped forward. "I'm nearly 300 years old," he said. "I've heard all sorts of crazy over the years. You're going to have to try much harder than crazy man on the street corner if you want to even when runner-up in the crazy department." He waved his sickle around.
Anca glared at him. A Hummer pulled up at the end of the alley, and Erik was glad to see Leif step out. Three against two put the odds in their favor, especially with a man like Leif.
"There's no time for this," she said, frowning. "Maybe next time we’ll be able to see this through."
The vampire pulled two small balls from her pocket. In a near blur, she flipped the caps and tossed them down on the ground. Smoke filled the air. The pungent smell filled Erik’s nose and choked him. It was so thick it was hard to even see his hand in front of his face.
Erik coughed hard and covered his mouth as he raced over to where Lillian lay on the ground. Still suffering from the harsh smoke, he lifted her into his arms.
"Chase after them," Erik coughed to Corso.
The vampire was gone before the words had even fully left his mouth.
"What the hell happened here?" Leif asked.
Erik shook his head. "Did you get Gwen to safety?"
The large man nodded and frowned. They hadn't expected to run into either of the women at the club, and both were proving to be far more trouble than either of them had expected.
After a moment Corso returned.
"They vanished," he said, frowning.
Erik grunted and glanced down at Lillian. She was still asleep in his arms. That little flash stunt earlier further proved that she was something more than human, but he had no clue what. It didn’t matter. He had more immediate concerns.
"Vanished?" he asked.
Corso shook his head. Erik could see the irritation on his face. It wasn’t often a vampire like him was bested.
"They shouldn't have been able to get away, and yet they did," Corso said. "There's something strange about the whole situation, and none of it good, for your people or mine.”
Distant sirens grew closer. Soon the alley would be crawling with police, but they weren’t who worried him.
"We can't be here," Leif said.
Corso nodded. "Council representatives will be here snooping. It would be better if it just looks like a random vampire fight."
Erik frowned. "Won't the elders be irritated?"
Corso shrugged. "What they don't know won't hurt them," he said. "I have a place nearby. We can wait this out there."
Erik glanced down at Lillian in his arms. She still hadn’t moved since the ball of light came out of her. She needed a comfortable place to rest, and Corso's place would be safe enough.
He shifted his weight and nodded toward the Hummer. "Your place it is.”