AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I have an idea,” Freya whispered, “but you’ll have to give me the torch.”
We had only a few seconds before the remaining vampires caught up to us. I handed her the torch, and Freya hurried backward a few steps. Her back pressed against the wall, so she wasn’t in the way of the hidden door.
“You can have the human!” Freya yelled. “Just let us talk things over in peace once you’re done with him.”
She held the flame closer to her face.
“Stay there,” she whispered.
Surely, Freya wouldn’t actually betray me to work with her mother’s murderers? Right?
I had no more time to ponder the question because the vampires arrived.
And they were hungry.
*
Freya
Please don’t fail me again, I thought.
The vampires raced down the hall. Their hands were out, ready to grab Walker. Their fangs were fully extended and prepared to tear into his throat.
Luckily, Arion was close enough that I’d been able to siphon some of his power and counteract the draining spell. It was something I rarely did—Arion’s power was volatile and difficult to convert, and it always felt like a violation, regardless of how willingly he offered it.
Desperate times call for desperate spells.
The vampires were only a few feet from Walker. Though his fists shook at his sides, he stood stoically before them.
Just a couple steps closer, I thought.
Now.
With the last drops of magic that I’d taken from Arion, I wrapped wind around Walker and pulled him to me. His landing on the floor next to me was far from soft, but at least he wasn’t someone’s meal. The vampires moved too fast to follow him and collided into the doorway.
Under the force of five racing vampires, the door flew open.
I helped Walker to his feet. Before the door could close again, we hurried through it. While the vampires were still disoriented from their crash, I ended them with the torch. We were out of the dark hallway before their screams diminished, and they were nothing but ashes.
Walker and I raced past the Master’s empty bed and into the endless grand hall. The light from the windows had dimmed even more—the sun would set soon. Together, we raced down the hall. I recalled the path we’d taken before—we turned right, then left. I wouldn’t be trapped in this maze of a castle. Still, as we neared the main hall, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
More vampires than we’d encountered lived here, and the Master wouldn’t let us go so easily. I wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating him again. As we made the final turn, my fears were made reality.
More than twenty vampires awaited us.
They filled the hall, which had once seemed so wide but now felt cramped. Each of their pale faces were twisted into hungry sneers.
Someone laughed behind us, and we spun to face them.
The Master grinned.
“Once again,” he crooned, “the witch is bested by the lowly vampire.”
My heart sank.
The vampires surrounded us but kept just out of reach of the torch. I pushed our only saving grace into Walker’s hands and moved until we were back-to-back. I didn’t give him the chance to protest. For whatever reason, the vampires would keep me alive, but they had no reservations about killing him. If there was any way he could escape, maybe he could send help.
The hope was fickle.
