Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
The fourth and fifth lesser vampires rushed the king of the Lycans, desperate to get at him. Any who could claim to have killed a royal would be richly rewarded by the high mage. Unlike either of his brothers, Xayvion seemed to keep his word.
Andros had stepped out of the protective circle, a large dark wolf with ice-blue eyes attempting to draw as much danger as possible away from his sister and brother. Both were more vulnerable in their human form. Six feet from him was Grigor, a tall, broad-shouldered wolf with powerful muscles and the same ice-blue eyes.
The vampires came at them, chanting, swaying, doing their best to distract and mesmerize as they approached the wolves. Andros and Grigor allowed them to come closer before they sprang at the two vampires with the incredible speed of a Lycan. The vampires simply took to the air, certain they could get above the wolves and then drop down on them to rip their heads from their shoulders. Lycans could leap incredible distances, but few knew of their abilities unless they had reason to know. The vampires found themselves with jaws that felt like steel clamped around their legs and claws tearing into their chests, digging for their hearts before they’d even been torn from the skies and brought back to earth.
The wolves dragged the vampires to the ground, ignoring the black acid pouring over their muzzles as they held them down while they tried to drag the hearts out of the chests. Vampires and demons rushed from all directions of the forest, bearing down on the group. Andros and Grigor didn’t stop. They continued ripping at the chests of the two lesser vampires until they managed to extract the hearts.
Vasi. Andros tossed the heart high. Grigor did the same.
Vasilisa used the blue flame from her sword to incinerate the hearts and then turned the hot flames on the vampire bodies as her brothers sprang away. Choosing two of the vampires closest to their siblings, Andros and Grigor rushed toward them, angling away from Vasilisa and Garald.
Vasilisa turned her attention fully onto the approaching elite demons. There were only so many places on one of these thick-chested, armor-plated demons where one could kill them. Still, they couldn’t take the blazing light of her crystalline sword any better than the vampires could. As the lowered heads with the sharpened horns of the demons closed in on her, she waited until the last possible second. Garald never flinched, although he was facing three of the demons, and he could feel the heat of the putrid breath on his face. He waited for his sister to take control.
The blazing light of the crystalline sword turned night into day, as if the sun had suddenly switched places with the moon in the night sky. It was just for a split second that the elite demons were completely disoriented, blinded by the light. They tried skidding to a halt, dust and snow thrown up as their hooves fought for traction.
Garald stepped forward, his sword stabbing deep into the eye of one while his smaller dagger found the eye of the second demon. As he pulled the sword free, he kept the movement continuous, slicing the head from first one and then the second. He danced closer to the third as it righted itself, shaking its massive head. His sword swung under the head, coming up through the throat. The demon jerked its head high off the blade before it could do any real damage. Garald had anticipated the move, having fought the elite on a number of occasions with his sister. As his opponent jerked upward freeing the blade, Garald turned in an elegant, almost ballet move, the sword going up and over, slicing cleanly through the back of the neck, removing the head.
Vasilisa blinded the demons with the blazing light from her sword as their foul breath reached her. The moment they seemed confused, trying to pull up, clearly unable to see, she stabbed deep, one eye after another, with blinding speed. The moment she did, she used the burning hot blade to remove the heads of all three elite demons. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that her brother had dropped the demons charging him. Together, they moved out and away from the house and circle of protection the hidden ancients provided in order to better protect their brothers from the demons rushing from the forest.
Afanasiv felt his heart nearly stop. Sívamet. Stay close to me. The master vampires will be exiting. I must stay here in order to stop them.
This is what I do, Siv. Just as you fight vampires, I fight demons. These are my brothers, my people. Trust in my abilities.
For one terrible moment, Afanasiv fought with himself not to use his considerable powers to force obedience. He couldn’t be in two places at one time. Most master vampires had gotten to be in that position because they had fought and killed many hunters. They’d learned how to use lesser vampires as pawns to tire the hunter or wound him and make him vulnerable. Over the centuries, they had acquired battle strategy. Depending on the age and experience of a master vampire, they could be quite deadly to fight.