Chapter 21: HoldenSeveral things happened at once. The mysterious vampire leaped from the patio and I heard Gwynn shriek. Lucas launched into motion from across the garden in a burst of superhuman movement. From the corner of my eye, I saw the stranger racing towards me and I tumbled backwards, hitting the ground. Striker snatched for the stranger but he was much too fast, escaping Striker's clutching hands as he ran like a cheetah towards me. I scrambled in reverse, saw Lucas launch himself towards the strange vampire even as Ripley leapt forward. It seemed as though all the men were going to reach a pivotal point – me – in the same instant. Despite this all happening in milliseconds, to my eyes, it was happening in slow motion. In tiny split second increments of time, I watched them comi
