Same hour that night; USA:
The vampire to the left of Dobah(Yodah’s uncle; hope you guys remember ?) suddenly launched himself, wings bursting through his back as he leaped into the air, talons twisting his hands, his face contorting until he wore a razor-sharp beak. Even as he attacked, the second vampire’s body rippled with fur and his face lengthened into a long muzzle to accommodate the teeth filling his mouth. While the bird went high, the wolf attacked low. The third vampire wavered until he was transparent, dissolving into droplets of mist streaking toward Dobah.
To Blenda’s horror, she could see a vine creeping along the ground, a long deadly tendril reaching out toward Dobah’s ankle. She pressed a hand to her mouth to keep from screaming. It wouldn’t do to distract him. She had to trust in the fact that he was very experienced and would see each and every threat directed at him even though the attacks had been launched simultaneously.
“Get home now!” Dobah’s voice issued the command in her mind. It was sent sharply and with a strong underlying compulsion to obey. She knew he had no energy to spare to force his will on her.
Blenda felt the seriousness of his command deep within her body. His first concern would be her protection, not that of his own life, and with her out in the open, vulnerable, she would be a weapon to be used against him. The information flooded her mind out of nowhere; she wasn’t even certain it came from Dobah, but she turned at once to obey him.
But as she turned toward the lights of the city, a single figure moved out of the night and blocked the way between her and freedom. The beast was tall and gaunt with gray skin stretched tightly over his skull. His teeth were blackened and jagged, stained with the blood of so many innocents. He smiled at her, a terrible parody of a smile. (Okay guys, these are the real vampires in this book-very ugly and prideful… lol… I will mention about Aiden’s kind soon)
Blenda was screaming, although no sound emerged from her throat. Dobah was engaged in a terrible battle with three ferocious enemies, his very life at stake. She closed herself off from him immediately, not willing to take the chance of distracting him from his duty. He could not help her.
“What the hell is going on?” An ‘unfortunate’ passerby, who had happened to be passing the park at that hour of the night, muttered, his voice strangled in his throat. He was terrified, certain someone had slipped him a hallucinogenic. This could not be reality, not with monsters fighting, demons turning into wolves, and winged gargoyles coming to life.
Automatically, Blenda reached out to soothe him, her fingers settling lightly around his wrist so she could manipulate his mind. Her voice was low and compelling, the compulsion embedding itself deep within his brain. She might not be able to save his life, but she could make the dying easier. He would never feel the teeth in his throat, ripping and tearing while the monster gulped fresh blood. With her head held high, she faced the creature, her eyes blazing defiance, her soft mouth set with distaste.
“How dare you come to me in such a way?” she said softly. “You are well aware such things are against the laws of our people.”
The vampire’s smile was a macabre parody. “Stand aside, healer, allow me to dine tonight.” He mentioned, still smiling.
But Blenda retained her light hold on the human stranger, kept her body positioned slightly in front of him. The enemy was calling to him, the command floating in the air, but she had successfully cut him off from the rest of the world. His head was down like a small child’s, innocent of the things happening around him.
“I will not. Go away from this place. you do not belong here.” She said.
The vampire hissed horribly, spittle spraying into the air between them. “Take care, woman, the hunter is otherwise occupied. He will not rescue you tonight. I would not want to see harm come to you, but if you do not place yourself in my care, it will be necessary to force your compliance.” He stated.
“You take care, evil one. I am no rank fledging to be forced into anything. I have no intention of going anywhere with you,” Blenda said quietly. She pressed a hand to her stomach protectively. He would force her to accept his tainted blood. It would run in her veins, it would contaminate her child, Yodah’s baby sister.
She screamed again silently, using every ounce of self-control she possessed not to call out to Dobah.
Her only chance was for Dobah to defeat his enemies and rescue her. But her baby, it would be far too late for her child. Vampires deceived themselves into believing that if they found a woman of the light, their souls might be restored. They sought the women of her kind and human women with psychic abilities in the hope of regaining what they had chosen to lose. She would have to make the decision to sacrifice the stranger to this thing; eventually she would have no other choice.
It would be the stranger or her daughter. Inadvertently her hand tightened around his wrist as if she could anchor him to her. She kept her mind firmly away from thoughts of Yodah and Freya and disciplined herself to keep from calling out frantically to Dobah. She almost called for Kane, but guilt swamped her. He had told them not to leave the house to this area at night, his instincts had forbade it, but she had refuted the advice, wanting to go to the park at night. Dobah had agreed to go with her. She wondered now what would have happened if he hadn’t come with her. He would come to her as soon as he was able. It was up to her to stall the vampire. She concluded.
“Do not anger me, woman. I am far more powerful than that one who claims you. An unknown upstart who believes he is a hunter. I know every hunter and this one has no reputation. I am an ancient. Do not think he can save you.” The vampire said, and she kept her amusement in check. He didn’t know who her lifemate was.