Chapter Fourteen
1525 Words
“Well, well,” a sinister voice echoes around us. “I think we just hit the leech jackpot.”
The menacing words alone have me nervous… and pissed. Nervous and pissed isn’t a very good combination for me. If I feel threatened, I will damn well react, and this creepy dude doesn’t want my reaction.
But I have to rethink my badassery. After all, I’m human now. How much ass can I kick as a human?
“Shh…” Semion hisses, the shush whistling through his teeth nearly inaudible as he glues his body to mine, his arms wrapping around me protectively.
He’s telling me I need to quiet my mind, and my heart, both of which I can’t seem to shut off even if my life—our lives—depended on it.
“RUN!” Semion yells, pushing me away from him as a swarm of men surround us. “Run, Tesla!”
At this point, I’m lost. I don’t know what to think as I’m yanked from the ground, dirt and leaves now matted in my hair, as two men hold me up by my arms.
I feel like screaming for Semion, but I know damn well he’s in no condition to save me when he has to focus on saving himself.
“She’s a f*****g human!” a man whispers next to me, his spittle sprinkling all over the side of my face, causing me to flinch in reaction to his disgusting, vile saliva coating my skin.
I struggle against their hold, and yet all I can think about is what they will do to Semion.
They can’t hurt him. They just can’t.
“Don’t you worry, princess,” a male’s voice hisses in my ear. “Your boyfriend will be one of you before you know it. It’s like a dream come true—running into two beasts while they romp in the shadows. We’re going to have some serious fun ridding the world of your disease. You’re nothing but a toy to him, and soon, the world will be wiped of his vile existence.”
He’s speaking gibberish now, and I damn well didn’t have the patience to continue listening to his babble.
Struggling and keeping my feeble eyes on Semion are the only two tasks I can handle in that moment… and damn if it didn’t make me feel weaker than a butterfly in a snowstorm.
I can’t protect him. I can’t do anything but watch as he struggles, three men holding him at an arm’s length.
“They’re scared of him,” I whisper, satisfaction flowing through me at the thought he can totally take them on if they fear him.
The two men holding me don’t react to my words, and I wonder if they heard me. It’s not until I see a knife, a familiar glow surrounding its blade, that my contentment plummets.
They’re Mages… just like the man who took my life.
Just like Rune.
“Knife! Semion! They have the knife!” I scream, my words suddenly muffled by the hand of one of my captors.
Memories flood my mind. The men are holding me so tightly, I can’t breathe, my mouth now smothered by their grimy, nasty hands. I scream for help, though there’s really no use. Sound doesn’t travel far when a man’s meaty hand suffocates my face. It pains me as the memories of my adolescence flood my brain.
The knife now held so close to Semion’s face illuminates the forest around us, and I idly wonder if it’s the same exact knife I had experience with the night before.
I also can’t help but wonder if I can take these monsters out the same way I did Rune. This whole vampire hunters clique is getting on my last nerve.
The knife glows, lighting Semion’s face with purples and reds, casting eerie shadows across his features. Just when I think they’ll make contact with his throat, his body starts to move, striking them like lightning.
He’s fast. He’s fluid. He’s an amazing fighter. And the three shmucks who once held him down didn’t stand a chance.
Each time he strikes them, I flinch. His blows are damn near deadly, and I can’t help but feel bad for the assholes.
Not really though. Feeling bad for the enemy just isn’t in my nature.
The two men holding me hostage loosen their grips on me, distracted by the pummeling their little buddies are getting. I’m not quite sure what to do, but I know I need to get away, and fast. Their distraction leaves a perfect window open for a good knee to the groin.
The whoosh of air that leaves the first guy pumps satisfaction through me I never thought possible.
I’m kicking ass and taking down the numbnuts—well, kicking nuts and taking down the assholes. Yeah, that’s more accurate.
The curses that rush from the second guy’s lips are even more rewarding than the first, and I don’t waste a single second before hurrying to Semion’s side.
My shoes pound against the dirt-covered ground, and I’m almost taken aback when I see the glowing blade clatter against a nearby rock. The knife pings and clanks until it finally settles on the ground. I don’t waste a single second before lunging at it, wrapping my fingers around the handle and gripping it for dear life.
My body isn’t straightened but for a second when I look up and see all five men surrounding us.
My back bumps into Semion’s, and I don’t have to see his face to know that we’re in deep.
“Oh s**t,” I mumble, just in case Semion missed the memo.
“s**t is right,” he says back. I’m not only surprised to hear him speak, but also beyond stupefied to hear the humor laced in his tone.
As if we counted to three, we simultaneously spring to action—Semion with his fists and me with the knife.
We aren’t going down without a fight.
Semion does most of the work, his fists faster than anything I’ve ever seen before. He definitely has the advantage of speed against these assholes.
The knife I hold so protectively in my hand doesn’t even find purchase before all the asshole men are flat on the ground, their bodies no longer moving.
I can’t even ask what the f**k happened when Semion grabs me by the arm and flings me over his back.
“Just keep that blade away from me,” he says as he takes off running.
If it can even be called running.
With my eyes closed and my stomach left behind us, I feel like I’m flying. Finally, Semion stops, dropping me to the ground and steadying me so I don’t fall flat on my ass.
The knife is still clutched in my hand, and I idly wonder how the hell I managed to keep it from digging into him when he took me on that goddamn roller coaster of a ride. I also have to question why he hadn’t run like that over the past few days while he attempted to leave me behind.
“You’re hurt,” he says, pointing to the minor cut on the inside of my forearm, dangerously close to the veins in my wrist—veins I’ve spent hours studying over the years.
I cover the hemorrhage with my other hand, the one not holding the knife, and just smile at him. I don’t need him to focus on my injuries, especially since we just dodged death mere moments before.
“It’s really such a small scratch,” I say as I shrug him off. The most I will need for this is a Band-Aid. Still, the fierce look in his eyes tells me the blood is bothering him.
Well, duh, Tesla.
Blood and vampires don’t mix… unless they’re a glutton for punishment.
“You shouldn’t have gotten involved,” Semion barks, his words harsh and determined as he rips part of his shirt and wraps it around my forearm, deftly dodging the blade that’s still hanging lifelessly in my fingers.
The forcefulness of his tone makes me flinch, and I have to take a breath before I can even comprehend what to say next.
“But, seriously?” he adds, his eyes glowing with excitement and his mouth tilting up with a smirk that screams mischief. “You were awesome. I’m pretty impressed.”
I can’t help but return the grin, my chest filling with joy in response to his.
He doesn’t say anything else as he deftly wraps the rest of his shirt around the knife, the glow of it disappearing behind the fabric as it layers up on the sharp end of the blade.
I smile even wider. “Any chance you’ll tell me what the hell is going on?”
He touches my cheek with his free hand, the other still holding the shirt-covered knife at bay.
“I’m going to kill you.” With that, he launches me over his back again and takes off further up the mountain.
- Writer
