Vampire Hunt (Kiera Hudson Series #3) (13 page)

“I know,” I whispered, and winked back.

“Without wishing to sound completely
heartless,”
Potter said, “I really think you should save the reunions until later.” And he looked at both of us curiously as if wanting to know what it was we were whispering about.

“I’m all done,” Isidor smiled at Potter, taking his arms from around my waist.

“Good!” Potter said. “Then perhaps we can get out of here!”

I let go of Isidor, and wiping the tears from my face, I said to Potter, “So, what’s the plan?”

Without speaking, he raised his claws. His hands were smeared with blood, and dried bits of vampire flesh hung from beneath his fingernails. Potter stared at me with those cold, black eyes I had seen in the passageway below, and once again I was sure I could see just the faintest of smiles tugging at the corners of his lips. Then my attention was broken. Spinning round, I could see Luke slamming one of the Vampyrus into the wall of the bell tower. Brick and dust flew into the air as the wall began to crumble and crack. Again, another vampire threw itself at him, but within a blink of an eye, Luke had snatched it from the air and was pounding it into the wall. He did it with such force, the whole tower began to tremor. Snatching hold of a vampire by its entangled black hair, Murphy launched it at the wall. He’d figured out what Luke was up to. A giant crack had now begun to appear down the side of the tower, and it split open. Rain and wind rushed through the hole as the tower began to rock from side to side.

Taking hold of the wooden rail, I raced around the inside of the wall, brick dust and stone falling all around me.

“Are you crazy?” I shouted over the sound of screeching vampires and falling masonry. “The whole place is gonna collapse!”

“That’s the idea!” Luke shouted back at me as he smashed another vampire into the wall.

The crack was so big now, that you could actually squeeze through it and out into the sky three-hundred feet up above the ground.

“Give me a hand with this, Potter!” Murphy shouted as he started to claw bricks from the wall, making the hole bigger.

Potter was beside him in a spray of shadows, tearing and ripping at the hole. With their backs turned away from the approaching vampires, Isidor covered them with his crossbow. The tower lurched violently to the right and losing my balance, I clattered into the wall.

“The whole place is gonna come down!” I screeched at them, holding onto the railing so tightly that my knuckles glowed white through the skin.

With their arms pinwheeling like pistons, Murphy, Luke, and Potter punched and clawed at the hole, sending forth clouds of rock and stone showering down on the vampires that still tried to work their way up the tower.

The tower listed to the left this time, and I watched as Isidor steadied himself, to take aim at the vampires. The tower made an earsplitting creaking noise as it lent forward at an impossible angle. And just as I thought it was going to collapse, Murphy roared, “Let’s go!”

Racing around the wooden platform, I glanced through the gaping hole they’d made. Looking down at the ground below, I gasped at how far away it seemed.

“What now?” I asked breathlessly.

“Hold on!” Luke grinned as he grabbed hold of me and jumped.

With his wings spreading out on either side of him, we tore through the night sky. Rain spattered my face and the wind yanked at my hair. With his arms tight about me, I pressed my face against his chest. Treetops whizzed beneath us, and looking back, I could see Murphy and Potter racing after us as the tower toppled to the ground like a pile of children’s building blocks. But I couldn’t see Isidor, and my heart began to race. Then I saw him, his monk robes falling away in tatters as he spread his wings and soared through the night. This was the first time that I’d seen Isidor fly and it was breathtaking to watch – his wings rippling in the wind beneath his arms like that of a vampire-bat.

As I peered at him from the safety of Luke’s arms, I wondered how soon it would be before I had wings. Would they look like Isidor’s, or be pretty like Kayla’s?

We hit the ground with a thud and I rolled clear of Luke’s arms. We were back on the other side of the monastery wall. Looking up, I watched the others swoop out of the sky and land beside us.

Within seconds, their wings had slithered back inside them, and Isidor was fastening his coat.

“That went well,” Potter said, wrapping what was left of his tattered coat about him and lighting a cigarette.

“What about Kayla?” Murphy asked me.

“We found something,” I said glancing at Isidor.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Luke said, coming towards me.

“Remember Doc Ravenwood said that they wanted the DNA from the half-breeds…to breed more?” I reminded him.

“Sure,” he said, pulling the torn robe from over his head.

“Well, I think they’ve already started breeding them,” I said, looking between him and Murphy.

“Why, what did you find?” Murphy asked, his silver eyebrows making a v-shape above his eyes as he stared at me.

“We found a girl – she looked liked Kayla – but it wasn’t her,” I started to explain.

“How can you be so sure?” Murphy asked me.

“Believe me, it wasn’t Kayla,” Isidor said.

“What would you know?” Potter cut in.

“Look,” I said, turning on him. “I saw her, and although it looked like Kayla, it wasn’t her. Whoever told the Sarge that it was Kayla got their facts wrong.”

“That isn’t possible,” Murphy said. “They assured me Kayla was in that monastery.”

“So who did tell you?” Potter asked, eyeing Murphy and drawing on his cigarette.

“I don’t understand it,” Murphy said to himself, ignoring Potter’s question.

“Who told you Kayla was in that place?” Luke pushed, and I thought of that long, black shadow I’d seen with Murphy in the derelict farmhouse.

Then looking at all of us he said, “The Lycanthrope.”

As if he had just been punched in the face, Potter spat the half smoked cigarette from the corner of his mouth and said, “Did you just say
Lycanthrope
? Tell me I’m hearing things. You’ve got to be kidding us, right?”

Murphy looked at Potter and for the first time since meeting him, he had a look of shame splashed across his face.

“No, Sarge,” Luke said, his voice sounding breathless. “Tell me you didn’t -”

“I was desperate, okay!” Murphy barked at them, and that look of shame had disappeared and was replaced with anger.

“What was I supposed to do? They murdered my daughters!”

“But the Lycanthrope!” Potter snapped back. “I’ve got one word to say to you Sarge –
insane
! If you think they are going to help you –
us
– you must have lost your freaking mind!”

Then going to him, Luke placed a hand on Murphy’s shoulder and said, “Tell me that you didn’t really -”

Brushing his hand away, Murphy snapped, “It’s done now and I can’t take it back – so get over it, for Christ’s sake.”

“What’s the Lycanthrope?” I asked feeling bewildered and left out.

“Lycanthrope is Greek for wolf-man,” Isidor said, “You know –
werewolves!
” And even he was looking at Murphy as if he were mad.

Chapter Nineteen

The sound from the vampires trying to scramble over the wall could be heard through the darkness, like rats scurrying through a sewer. From our hiding place beneath the clump of trees, I could see Vampyrus swooping above the grounds of the monastery in search of us, their giant black wings casting shadows like sails on the ground.

“It isn’t going to take them long to work out where we are,” Murphy muttered. “We should keep moving.”

Before we had a chance to say anything, Murphy was bent over and crawling away into the night. I saw Potter and Luke pass a concerned look between each other. Then crouching low, they followed their sergeant. Without saying anything, Isidor and I followed.

With the muscles in my legs burning, I wondered how much longer I could crawl through the undergrowth following Murphy. My hands and face were covered in a crisscross of tiny scratches from the thorns and nettles that snagged at me. Glancing back over my shoulder, I could see the outline of the monastery in the distance. Behind it, I could see a faint glow of an orange autumn sunrise. The sight of it filled me with hope as I knew that the vampires wouldn’t be able to pursue us once the sun was up. As for the Vampyrus, I knew that some of them would be able to carry on their search. Murphy, Luke, and Potter would need to shelter though, since being banished from The Hollows for respite from the sun, their skin had become more and more intolerant to its ultraviolet rays. Facing front again, I continued on, my back aching and legs burning. Ahead, through the bushes and thickets, I could see a mountain and the first rays of sunlight glistened off its peak like snow.

Murphy headed towards it and I could now sense his desire to find shelter for the day. We all sped up, as we clambered from our crouching positions and raced across the wide open, barren landscape towards a narrow gorge set in the side of the mountain. Reaching it, we slipped between the black slices of granite rock to find ourselves in a deep-set overhang. It was covered on three sides and would prevent the sun from spilling in and burning my friends. Murphy dropped to his knees, crawled to the furthest part of the overhang, and slumped against the wall. He looked exhausted and I wondered how long it had been since he had slept. His eyes were tired and dull-looking.

Luke, Potter, and Murphy ignored one another and the tension between the three of them was unbearable. Potter stood away from them, scowling and sucking on the end of a cigarette.

Without looking at anyone, Luke said, “I’m going to see if I can find some fresh water for us to drink.” I guessed he just wanted a few moments on his own. Although the ground was dry, protected by the rocks above us, it was cold and I couldn’t help but shiver. Wrapping my arms around me to keep warm, my stomach rumbled and I couldn’t remember how long it had been since I’d eaten anything. I was beginning to feel weak and tired. Isidor looked at my stomach as it rumbled again.

“I’ll be back in a minute or two,” he said. Then sniffing the air like a dog, he raced out from beneath the overhang.

Needing to rest my aching legs, I sat on the ground. I felt dirty and a total mess. Looking down at my hands, I could see the red goo from that Vampyrus’ eyes streaked down my fingers and under my nails. Putting my head in my hands, I closed my eyes and thought of my snug little flat back in Havensfield and I just wanted to be back there – in the warm, wearing my dressing gown, drinking a nice cup of sweet tea and reading ‘MIA’ by Sienna Rose, which I’d started but never had a chance to finish.

“Are you okay?” Luke asked, sitting beside me.

“Not really,” I sighed.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Look at me,” I said. “I’m a mess. I’m filthy-looking and I stink like a pig!”

“Oink! Oink!” Luke said with a smile.

“It’s not funny!” I snapped.

Then taking my hand, he gently pulled me to my feet and said, “Come with me.”

“Where?” I asked, just feeling tired and wanting to rest.

“I’ve found something that will put a smile back on that pretty face of yours.”

Pulling me by the hand, he led me to the furthest part of the overhang. Pointing out a small narrow gap in the rocks, he led me through it.

“Close your eyes,” he whispered, covering them with his hands. I could feel the ground sloping away as he led me downwards. At the bottom, the ground leveled out and became flat.

Luke removed his hands from over my eyes, and whispered in my ear, “Take a look, Kiera,” and as I did, I gasped in wonder. Before me lay one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen, an underground lake which was lit from above by a series of stalagmites. They hung from the roof of the underground chamber like upside-down candles.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, drawing breath in wonder.

“It reminds me of home,” he sighed, “This is what parts of The Hollows look like.”

I looked at him and he had an almost kind of sad look on his face. “You miss home, don’t you?” I said.

“Sometimes,” he said, staring in awe at the stalagmites that glistened like diamonds above us, and the water that shone like a sheet of glass before us.

“I wish I could see it someday,” I whispered.

Looking at me, he said, “Maybe one day.” Then smiling at me he said, “Fancy a swim?”

But before I could answer, he was pulling off his clothes. Once naked he raced towards the water and dived in. He disappeared beneath the surface and I lost sight of him. Then his head appeared above the water. And with that wonderful boyish grin of his, he shouted, “Come on Kiera, the water feels wonderful!”

Desperate to rid myself of the dirt and grime that covered me, I pulled off my clothes and underwear and dived into the water. Although it was cold enough to snatch my breath away, it felt wonderful against my skin. It felt like it was cleansing me, washing away the horrors of the last few days. The last time I’d felt like this had been back on the road, in one of those cheap motels. I laid back in the bath with my eyes closed and listened to Leona Lewis sing ‘Run’ to me via my iPod.

Splashing above the surface of the lake, I giggled at Luke and said, “The water is freezing!”

“But doesn’t it feel good though!” he laughed, swimming towards me.

“It feels like heaven!” I screeched with joy.

“Come here,” he said, snaking his arms around me, holding me close. Then leaning me back in the water, he cupped one of his hands with water and poured it over my hair.

“What are you doing?” I laughed.

“You said that you felt a mess, so I’m washing your hair,” he smiled down at me.

So, closing my eyes, I relaxed in his arms as he gently poured water over my hair. I stayed in his arms for what seemed like forever, my fears and worries almost seeming to ebb away.

Then easing me slightly up, he poured water down my neck and back. With his strong hands, he made gentle circular motions with his fingers up and down my spine. Then working his hands around my middle, he traced his fingertips across my stomach and chest. Turning around in the water, I faced him. With the tips of our noses only millimeters apart, I lent forward and kissed him on his lips. He kissed me back with such passion that it felt like my skin was on fire. Running his hands through my hair, he pulled me closer still, covering my whole face with kisses. He worked his mouth down my neck and over my shoulders to my chest. The passion I felt inside began to grow and I felt as if I was being smothered by it. My head began to feel dizzy as he wrapped me in his arms, the muscles in his chest firm against me.