Vampire in the Woods (Merlin's Hoods Book 2) (7 page)

F
rom a distance
, Angeline took a quick glance into the abandoned cottage through the dusty window. She could see Geoffrey in the corner of the room, crouched down against the wall and—from what she could see—shaking.
Small wonder
, she thought. The boy had probably been through more in the last few hours than he had in his entire life. He’d always been a cautious lad, and this must have been the last position he’d ever imagined for himself.

Still, at least he was still alive. And conscious. Those were two marks in his favor. Because she would need him to be able to move, and quickly, once she started fighting the vampires. She needed to get him out of there and to safety; worrying about him during the coming battle wouldn’t be an option.

First, she needed to get the vampires away from him. Before the master changed his mind about using the boy to draw her out. Because once the master withdrew his protection, she knew, the others would be on the boy. And then it would be far too late.

What to do?
she asked herself silently. She couldn’t fight all four vampires at once, particularly if one of them was a master. Vampires were beyond her ken, for the most part, and though she thought she could probably handle one at a time, a master would … challenge her. Greatly. She needed to separate them to start, and kill them as she got them alone. Preferably kill the underlings first; if they were dead, they wouldn’t be able to come to the master’s aid. And if she got him alone … well, she just might stand a chance. If luck were on her side.

Ducking down, and before she could think any further on it, she grabbed a stone and heaved it toward the door. It hit with a sharp crack, bringing up a cloud of dust, and she crouched, her hands on her daggers. But there was no response from those within. Frowning, she threw another rock, harder this time, so that it left a mark in the door.

“Come out, come out, whichever you choose,” she breathed out, her hands going back to her daggers, her skin tingling with the coming conflict. She could feel the power of the hood awakening in her blood, its fire beginning to race through her veins, singing. Yes, the hood was ready for this fight. And so was she.

“Find out what that is!” she heard the oldest vampire snarl suddenly.

She maintained her distance but glanced through the window again and saw one of the younger vampires start to move toward the door. She smiled. Good. The younger creatures wouldn’t have as much experience, and had likely never faced the Red Hood, with her greater strength and intelligence.

With luck, this one would never know what hit him.

She watched him open the door and glance around the clearing, his face drawn into a frown. When he didn’t see anyone, he stepped through the door and onto the dusty stoop, leaving the door open behind him as he walked farther into the clearing.

Suddenly Angeline sprang into motion, jumping forward to grasp the creature and throw him to the edge of the clearing before he could make a sound. Within moments, she was in front of him, her hands up in protective positions.

To her surprise, the vampire laughed at her. “Such a little woman!” he chuckled. “And an unarmed one at that. Foolish girl.” He looked up her up and down, his eyes considering. “This is a boon for me, little Red Hood. I will kill you and take you to the master. He will be pleased with me for bringing him his second dead Hood.”

She didn’t wait to hear any more from him. Her hands flashed from their defensive positions into action, driving into his nose and then his throat so quickly that he didn’t have time to react. He reached for her, but too slowly, and she whirled away from his hands and came to face him again, now behind him. A quick jab to his lower back sent him sprawling to the ground, and she kicked him once, twice, and then again, using the heel of her boots to do as much damage as possible.

The vampire, now paying attention, jumped to his feet with a snarl, his fangs suddenly exposed. “Foolish human,” he hissed. “Now I will kill you.”

But Angeline had thrown herself to the ground before he was finished speaking, and tucked herself into a roll. She came back up on his other side, nearly laughing at how easy it was. Young vampires were quicker than werewolves, but they weren’t as strong, which meant that she could evade his grasp more easily than she’d thought she could. She was breathing hard, but she had the advantage now.

When he turned back toward her, his eyes glowing with fury, she was ready, one of the silver-tipped stakes in her hand. He rushed forward, his fangs bared, and she brought the stake up and shoved it forward, driving it right into his heart.

The vampire exploded on the tip of her dagger, becoming nothing more than a cloud of dust. When the wind reached them, the cloud dispersed, until there was nothing left of the creature.

Angeline exhaled slowly, seeking to slow her racing heart, and then turned to face the cottage.

“Right,” she murmured. “One down, three to go.”

And very little time to do it
, she thought, for the others should soon realize that their friend hadn’t returned.

She’d no sooner had the thought than two more vampires appeared at the door of the cottage—one male and one female, both unearthly in their beauty. Angeline, thankful now that she hadn’t gone back into the clearing, crouched and jumped straight up, her hands reaching for the tree branch she knew was above her. Her hands met the rough bark, and she pulled, yanking herself up into the foliage, where she’d be hidden by the leaves and branches.

It wouldn’t last forever because vampires, like werewolves, had extremely keen senses. But it would give her some time, and let her move around. Until she found the right position.

She began leaping from limb to limb, moving with as much grace and silence as she could, the hood lending her its strength and stealth. Its power was still roaring through her veins, begging her to confront the vampires and kill them, but now that there were two of them—and they’d come armed—she needed to be more careful. Needed to find the right place, and use the element of surprise.

Stopping to gauge her position, she saw that the vampires were now almost directly below her. They were moving slowly, looking into the forest and behind each tree as they sought their fellow. Not that they’d ever find him. She stifled a smile at the thought then took one more leap, grabbing the trunk of a new tree as she landed softly on its branch. The male vampire was now just below her, searching around the very tree on which she knelt. She threw a pine cone as far as she could to her right, and saw both vampires turn in that direction.

A slight breath, a step from the branch, a soft landing that went into a crouch, and she was right behind the male, who was looking the other way. She yanked the silver chain from her belt, then leapt onto his back and grabbed on with her legs. Looping the chain around his neck, she began to saw with all her might. The sliver of the chain hissed as it came into contact with the creature’s skin, and it screamed in pain, surprise, and rage. But the silver made quick work of his flesh, and within moments he was no longer able to scream.

It took her only three breaths to saw through his neck entirely and jump down. His head began to drop to the ground, and then exploded into a whirlwind of dust, his body following suit. A quick exhalation, and the dust was gone, nothing left of the male vampire.

Angeline turned to see the woman behind her, watching, a slight smile on her face.

“That was my mate, human,” the female vampire said. “I shall make you pay for that.”

For a moment of weakness, Angeline felt for the vampire. Her mate. Killed by an enemy who had never met them before. Yes, she knew that feeling. “I’m sorry,” she breathed. “I know how it feels to lose a loved one to this war that we are forced to fight.”

To her surprise, the vampire actually laughed. “I am not sorry at all, woman. In fact, I should be thanking you. Now I will be free to mate with the master, as I’ve longed to do. And he’ll want me even more when I bring him your head. And that pretty red hood you’re wearing.”

Angeline’s instincts awoke at her words, and she dropped again into a fighting stance. This vampire showed no fear. And she was better armed than Angeline herself, with a large broadsword.

But she didn’t know how to use it—that much became clear immediately. She swung the sword over her head, its keen blade whistling through the air in a deadly arc. The move was clumsy and unbalanced—no better than one of Alison’s attempts. The female vampire was untrained. She likely had the weapon only for show, and had never bothered to learn what to do with it. Her very nature was weapon enough.

Still, the blade would bite deep if Angeline let it get too close. The danger was very real.

She paused, watching, and quickly learned that the vampire was even more unbalanced in her swinging than she’d originally thought. She swung quickly from the left to right, but then paused before she swung from right to left. Her left arm was stronger then.

That was the one she needed to wound first.

The vampire swung, and then swung again, moving toward Angeline and seeking to drive her back into a tree. But there was a pause when she finished the arc, and Angeline used it, darting in during the silence and swiping once, and then twice, with one of her daggers. Lines of blood welled up on the vampire’s left arm, and she screamed.

Already, Angeline knew, the silver of the daggers would be eating through the vampire’s flesh. The creature stumbled and then tried to swing the sword, furious. But her swing was sloppier now that her stronger arm was wounded, and barely moved the air between them. Angeline darted forward again, no hesitation in her movement, and thrust one of her daggers forward, burying it in the vampire’s stomach. She pulled it out as quickly as she’d thrust it in and aimed again for the creature’s chest.

The knife sank in up to its hilt, and the vampire disintegrated.

Angeline bent down and grabbed the sword the creature had held. It might not be silver, but surely she could find a use for it. Then she was running for the cottage. The three young vampires had been gone for far too long, leaving the master vampire alone with Geoffrey. There was no telling what he might have done to the boy.

A
ngeline decided
that her best plan of action was to get into the cottage, draw the master vampire out, avoid a battle, and then return to rescue Geoffrey. She couldn’t afford to fight the vampire until the boy was safely away. If she were killed, it would leave Geoff at the mercy of the creature. If he were at home with his father, on the other hand, they would at least have a fighting chance.

“Right, get in, get the boy out, and get away. No problem,” she laughed quietly. Certainly she’d been in more difficult situations in her time as Red Hood.

But those battles had been against mere werewolves. Not master vampires. She had no idea whether she would be able to beat this particular creature.

Putting the thought away as distinctly unhelpful, she scanned the ground with her eyes. A large stone caught her attention, and she ran toward it. It took all her strength to heft the rock, and she quickly decided that rolling it toward the cottage would be a better idea. She needed to save whatever energy she had.

Once she was within range, she hauled the rock up into her arms and heaved, sending it flying toward the door. The wood shattered under its assault, and she had a moment to see two pairs of eyes—both shocked, and still alive, thank the Heavens—and was then ducking back out into the clearing, her heart racing.

She’d certainly got the master vampire’s attention, now. The question was whether her plan would work.

When she turned, she saw that it had. At least up to this point. The master vampire was standing in the door, his face ancient beyond the understanding of her mortal mind, his eyes dark and piercing. He’d been human once—she could see that much. His lips still bore the slight smile he might have tucked into the corner of his mouth when he was human. His hands were lovely as well—long-fingered and smooth, untouched by time. But that was where the humanity ended. His sapphire-blue eyes held centuries of knowledge, and an evil that she’d never encountered before.

Without meaning to, she gasped. Then she pressed on. This was no time to lose her nerve.

“I’ve heard rumors that you are looking for me, vampire,” she said quietly.

His ancient eyes went to the red hood she wore, and then to her face. “Indeed. You wear the same smile as the Green Hood. Rather … the smile that he
once
wore.” He smirked at her, the knowledge of what he’d done between them, and she thought for a moment that he was trying to use that to intimidate her. As if she could be so easily frightened.

“Talkative, just like your female,” she muttered. “She had a lot to say as well. Before I turned her to dust on the end of my blade. This was hers, was it not?” And she pulled the sword from the strap on her back, holding it out to him with one eyebrow lifted. “I took it after I killed her.”

She knew immediately that the remark had hit home. The vampire hissed, baring his teeth in either displeasure or pain, and his eyes shot from the sword back up to her face. “She meant nothing to me. Just a servant.”

“So I see,” she said with a smile. The death of his underlings might not have weakened him, but it had certainly upset him, and that told her much.

“I’ll kill you just as I killed the Green Hood, you know,” he said, ignoring her statement and smile. “And when I’m done with you, I’ll kill all the Hoods, for what they’ve done to my kind. When I’m done with that, I will make a meal of Merlin himself. But, little Red Hood, I shall start with you.”

Angeline gave him one last mocking smile. “Well, you can’t kill what you can’t catch, vampire.”

She spun around and dashed into the forest, willing her legs to move faster than they’d ever moved before, and drawing the strength of the hood into her body. “Help me, hood,” she breathed, reaching for its strength.

A moment later, she felt that strength flooding her body, lending its power to her feet and muscles, and allowing her to run faster—and with better flexibility—than any human had run before. She darted in and out of the trees, and crashed through bushes in her path. Above her, she could hear the birds shrieking at the monster in their forest, and the disruption of their slumber.

It didn’t stop her. The master vampire was at her heels—she could hear him—and he would prove faster than her. She had no doubt of this. But he hadn’t grown up in this forest. She had, and she knew exactly where she was going. The knowledge gave her feet wings, and she knew without looking that she was managing to get around and through the underbrush more quickly than he, simply because she knew what was coming. She used a set of trees she’d always adored—ones that grew far too close to each other—to stop him entirely for a moment, launching herself into the air and rebounding off the branches, where the trees grew farther apart, to give her some space.

Once he was hopelessly entangled in the maze of vegetation that grew at their base, she turned and sprinted for the abandoned cottage. It took her only moments to get there.

She was already shouting when she burst through the door.

“Take off your clothes, Geoffrey, and give them to me. I’ve lost him, but we must hurry.”

She bounced on her toes, impatient, as the boy stripped out of his trousers, shirt, and shoes, and tossed them toward her. Once she had the bundle, she raced outside and threw them as hard as she could toward the back of the cottage. Turning, she found Geoffrey at her back.

“And now, we run. And we pray that we can get away before that vampire finds his way out of the maze into which I led him,” she breathed, grasping his hand. “Come, Geoff. You must run faster than you’ve ever run before.”

They raced away, Angeline already praying that the boy would be able to keep up with her. For though the hood gave her feet wings, it could do nothing for Geoffrey, and if the boy fell behind, she wouldn’t be able to save him from the creature at their backs.