Chapter Seventeen: Attacked en Route
Warning: several characters are introduced, might be a bit confusing, and also, long battle scene.
"Where are we?" Kenny asked quietly, looking out the window of the train. "What is this place? It's spooky."
"We're in the Carpathian Mountains, my homeland." Midnight whispered, heart fluttering. She was home, she was home again, she could see her family! "My people are strongest in this land, the realm of our birth. I was born here almost a quarter of a million years ago." The boys all turned to stare at her. "Everything was so much safer then, in the Old World. I can't wait to get home."
"How... how old are you, Dara? Exactly?" Kenny asked breathlessly. Did he really want to know? Well, Midnight was the oldest vampire, which meant she must be ancient. Was she the first, or just the oldest living?
"I'm reading your thoughts, Kenny. I am not the first, but I am the oldest who lives, or has ever lived. My many times great-grandmother, Raksha herself, was the first, over four billion years ago. She is technically the oldest, as there is no legend or record of her death. It is said she passed into Heaven to guard and guide her people from above, but I do not know. The royal family, of which I am the head, is directly descended from her. As for my age, I am exactly one hundred eighty-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-one, as of last December, the twenty-fourth. I will be all that and ninety-two in a week. Lucky me." She smiled at their amazed looks. "I may be an old hag, but I got the looks and the moves of a hot young thing from the eighties.
"So, how are you guys dealing?" She had summoned her brother, Mithainde, and her cousins, Lucian, Gabriel, and Gregori, and they had obliged her in changing them to vampires. Kai was still half, because Midnight was the only one who could change him right now, and she was too exhausted. Or she had been. The vampiress shook her head at the thought, then glanced at the boys. "Have you four fed this night?"
"N-no..." Tyson looked at the floor.
"We... we can't do it, it's too gross." Max admitted, then added hurriedly, "Not that you're gross, but..."
"I understand. I can put you under compulsion, which will make it much easier, if you wish. I'm sure the other passengers can oblige you." She sensed their reluctance. "You want to help me. You made the transformation because of this wish. But you are of no use if you are ill with malnutrition when I need you. You will become dangerous to humans if you do not feed soon. I don't want to force you, but you will lose control of yourselves if you don't take sustenance this night. I will aid you in this." She smiled kindly. "It is not so bad as you would think. I shall return shortly."
She stood and moved through the compartment they were in to the one behind them. A group of teenage boys were talking, but Midnight called them to her with compulsion. She took what she needed, but as usual once she'd begun Kai's transformation, there was no pleasure in it anymore. Only in taking her beloved mortal's blood was there joy. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and glided back into her compartment where the boys were.
"Kenny, you are weak. Come here." He stood and went to her willingly. "Listen, not to my voice, but to my heart beat. You can hear it, can't you? My heart? My blood, rushing through my body? Listen to it, let it ensnare you." Kenny's eyes began drifting closed. Midnight sent a command for the other boys not to watch, and held out her wrist. She slashed it with one dagger-like talon, and Kenny took what she offered. First him, then Max, then Ray, and finally Tyson, fed only under the compulsion of their new natures. She did nothing but speak to them, didn't influence them in any way. Tyson put a hand to his mouth. Ray looked slightly green. Kenny was typing furiously at his computer, and Max was staring out the window.
"Are you guys all okay?" Kai asked indifferently, looking over Kenny's bent head in Midnight's direction. They locked gazes, and she shook her head. She'd known this idea had been a mistake, but she'd been unable to sway them, to make them understand. Fledglings needed far more blood, more often, than ancients. She had known they'd have problems drinking blood, preying on humans. Damn her, but she should have been more firm. Well, there was no help for it now. She beckoned to Kai, who followed her out to the walkway outside. "They can't stomach it."
"I know."
"I never had any problems."
"You're brave."
"I had you to help me. Dara... can we agree on something?" She nodded, puzzled. "I want to at least try out immortality. Please? It would mean so much to me." She should say no, she thought to herself. She ought to say no. So, why couldn't she? Well, was it so terrible to please her one and only over this small thing? The decision was no longer irreversible, so by what right could she say no? Suddenly, she was very confused. She had reasons to say no, good reasons. What were they again? Damn, she was giving in.
"I love you, Kai."
"And I you, dark goddess of my soul." He whispered just before her fangs sank deep into his throat. His blood, still so human, welled up and flowed into her mouth. Kai's eyes drifted closed, and he groaned, murmured, "Harder, please Dara...." Her fangs went even deeper, bringing a rush of warm, scarlet blood to her mouth. She could hear his heartbeat, or was it hers? She could feel the rich life surging under Kai's skin, just waiting to be tasted. She needed to taste him, to know the sweetness of his blood, his life force. Kai's hand went up to touch the back of her head, using just a slight push to get her to increase the pressure. Kai's body trembled, his heart fluttering. Midnight's tongue swirled tenderly over the wound, healing it. When she pulled back, Kai was struck with how beautiful she was. Her eyes were wide and shining with a mix of tenderness and animal bloodlust. A smear of blood stained her cheek. Her lips were red, wet, and shining, colored freshly with Kai's own blood. She should have been sated. If it had been another, she would have been, but this was Kai. She wanted more.
Kai pulled her to him, holding her close as his mouth latched onto hers, hot and demanding. He tenderly sucked her tongue from her mouth, bit down hard enough to draw blood. She whimpered softly and put a hand up to caress his cheek. His own hand went to her shirt front, which was tied shut at the top. He untied the satin bow, pushed aside a bit of the soft material. "Kai..." His mouth left hers, and went t her throat, nipping at the soft skin. Dara gasped when he drew blood. His tongue lapped gently at the bite, catching a taste of her blood. His mouth moved lower, over her collar bone, down and down. "Oh, Kai..."
"May I, Dara?"
"Please..." He pushed down on the top of her shirt, which yielded to show the pale, creamy skin beneath. Kai's fangs scraped over her skin, making her catch her breath. His mouth went ever lower, moving over the vulnerable swell of her breast. "Kai, please, I beg you..." There was a flash of white hot pain, then delicious heat flooded her body, making her gasp. Kai's taste buds thrilled at the well of blood flowing over them, suffusing with his body. He could feel it changing him, but he paid it little attention, more interested in the little noises his beloved was making. Kai lost himself in feeding from her, ignoring their surroundings, intent on the feasting. Her blood was the sweetest thing he'd ever tasted. Oh, God...
"Dara..." He healed the bite, pulled his head up. "Oh, Midnight..." She kissed him, the blood on their lips mingling. Suddenly, Kai felt her stiffen. "What is it?"
"Trouble. There are hunters here. Night demons. We're close to the Hall, we might be able to... no, it's too far, never mind. We will have problems, Kai. Come on." He followed her back inside. "Boys, we have problems. There are night demons on this god forsaken train. We'll have to fight them. I don't want to, but they'll kill us if we don't. There are quite a lot of them, which is why I'm warning you. I may not be able to keep them at bay long enough for... anyway, stay on your guard.Understand?"
Dark Lady? You have need of us?
Gabriel, Lucian. Julian, Aidan. Gregori, Darius. Othello, Mithainde. Dayan, Erych. Hear me, all of you. I am in danger, as are my five fledglings. We will need your assistance. Come quickly, I beg you.
We are on our way, little sister.
Why do we call her that, Gabriel? She's just as old as we are.
Actually, Midnight retorted mentally, I'm about half a minute younger than Lucian and Gabriel. But that's unimportant. Please, brothers, come.
We are coming. Midnight sighed, then straightened. Her eyes turned from the gold of the well fed vampire to the blood red of a predator. Her pupils, already slit, contracted so much they were almost invisible. Her fangs grew long and thin, indenting her bottom lip. Her hair moved as if blown by the wind, though there was none. She suddenly seemed to grow taller, more menacing. Her nails lengthened into dead claws. She was not ready for the night demons, but she was prepared to defend as needed.
"Well, it's the Lady of the Night." A tall, disproportioned thing, seemingly of shadows, hissed laughter. Its eyes were as red as Midnight's, but it's fangs were a sickly green, and its claws were brown with dried blood. Its mouth literally stretched from the far left of its head to the far right. Midnight squared her shoulders, then gasped when she was attacked from behind, below, and the right. She had thought there was only one. She had not sensed the many, hiding, because... because she'd been careless. Dear Raksha, Lady of the Undead...
Kai and the others saw a mass of shadows converge on Midnight, hiding her from view, and then they heard a blood curdling scream of rage and pain. Crimson light flared, and a shower of black ash fell to the ground. Midnight slumped to the ground, bleeding from hundreds of stab wounds. She pushed herself to her feet, only to be attacked. Or, at least she would have been, but when the shadow thing sliced down with its blade, the vampiress was no longer in where she'd been standing. A flash of red light rushed past Kai's ear, and the shadow demon began screaming as Midnight ripped its pulsing, black heart from its chest. A black something sliced at her inner thigh, then her shoulder. She fell again, rose once more, her life's blood draining away onto the floor.
"Why do you persist, dead ones? You cannot win, once the hunters come. Simply allow me to aid you in your endeavor to end your hellish existence." She sliced the head off one as it's dagger like nails slammed into her stomach. The white shirt and dark green shorts had long since been drenched in her blood, but she would be damned before she fell to a gang of night demons. She slit the throat of another, but the favor was returned when she turned to meet another attack. She staggered and hit the wall. Kai tried to get to her, but an invisible wall kept him from the battle, as well as keeping the boys away.
"Why do you attempt these childish tricks, Lady of the Dead Ones? You will die from this battle."
"No, evil one. It takes more than this to kill a vampire, much less an ancient of my power." Midnight fell to her knees. She would not die like this, no, her people needed her. Kai needed her. She would not fall, would not submit. Fuck that.
"Hear me... dead one. I will not be... destroyed by the likes of you. Get over it." Midnight vanished, and three of the five night demons screamed in agony as, one by one, she ripped out their hearts. The black, pulsing organs were thrown to the floor and enveloped in flames. The demons shrieked, but Midnight paid it no attention. She would kill these monsters... They three heartless ones suddenly exploded in gouts of black fire. Midnight fell to her knees once more, but did not collapse. She faced the two remaining demons unflinchingly, determined. Still, she could not help but call out quietly, Brothers?
We are almost upon you, beloved one. That was Gabriel.
Yeah, hang tight, stubborn one. Jacques, one of the older ones. No heroics. Midnight stood, swaying with weakness. Kai couldn't tear his eyes from her. She was pale, not just white pale, but gray, like a living corpse. Her eyes were huge in her face, solid black, burning with red flames in their centers. Her skin was stretched along her skeletal frame almost to emaciation. Her fangs were steadily growing longer, as were her nails. She looked like a demon out of a horror film, and Kai could feel her revulsion for what she'd become during the fight.
"Evil demon, dead one, your life is forfeit. I will destroy you."
"Dark Lady, you are blind to your own imminent death. Die, and leave the rest of us in peace." The demons flew at her, but she dodge one, only to be slashed across the back by the other. Blood, what little there was, began flowing steadily from the wound. Midnight suppressed her fear. She was not capable of death. It was only through exposure to the sun, in a state even weaker than this, that she could be killed. And she would not be killed so easily as yet. She gathered power, shadows, darkness, drawing them into her body to give her strength, even as she side stepped an attack designed to leave her headless. Claws filthy with old blood raked down the side of her face.
Kai raged against the invisible barrier, furious. Was this shield of Dara's making, or the demons, to make it easier to kill her? He didn't care, he had to help her. "MIDNIGHT!!!" She looked at him for a brief moment, then turned back to the fight. Like a lamb, she faced the slaughter without fear. She slammed her fist through the chest of one demon, and with a horrible, squelching sucking noise, she withdrew the disgusting, soulless heart and crushed it in her fist. The other demon roared, drew it's talons down her back. Midnight fell to the ground and slid a few feet in the pool of her blood. She shoved herself upright, trying to regain her footing. A sharp kick made contact with her side, cracking several ribs. She fell, only to be toed sharply, the dagger like toe nails piercing the skin and bringing forth a rush of blood and pain. She grabbed the thing's foot- it was a different one, there were more- and squeezed, crushing the leg bones to a fine powder.
"Bitch! You will pay dearly for your sins!" She nearly groaned with anger. It wasn't fair, she was surrounded on all sides once more. Many others had come, not all of them night demons. She could not fight them all, not in her present state. She was going to die, unable to get out of the sun in time...
BROTHERS!
They materialized out of thin air, ten tall, forbidding men. Two of them had wild blond hair and slashing golden eyes, both identical. The boys recognized Julian Savage. That had to be his twin, Aidan. Most of the men had black hair, with black eyes though six did not: Jacques had golden eyes, Mikhail green. Lucian and Gabriel had pale blue eyes, and a man who was just as handsome, dark, and deadly as Midnight was beautiful, shadowed, and lethal, had Midnight's beautiful blue-violet eyes with the melted star centers. Gregori, one of Midnight's brothers, had steel gray eyes. But all of them were tall, broad shouldered, muscular, and furious. Midnight stood slowly and went to her twin, Mithainde.
"Dead ones, you are tired. Go now into oblivion." Lucian's voice was soothing, gentle. The undead began to scream as Lucian and the others exacted their revenge. Darius attacked the one closest to Julian, who was sheltering Midnight from the approaching dawn. Aidan kept the demons from the two, as did Mithainde, who also used his powers to check his twin for serious, fatal injury. There was none. Jacques, Mikhail, and Dayan were busy feasting on the blood of the demons and the ghouls. Erych silently killed one of the rogue vampires from the second round. The last of the evil ones fell to the ground, dead, eaten by vampiric power from the inside out. Gabriel called forth the flames to destroy their bodies. All of them turned as one to regard Midnight, unconscious, cradled in Kai's arms.
"You are Kaiaden Kaido? Good. Bring her with you, and follow us. We will take her to a place of healing." Aidan ordered imperiously. Kai rose, but did not follow. He sensed no evil or ill will from these men, but the instincts his almost completely vampiric nature brought forth were nagging at him to be sure. He snarled when Erych moved as if to take his soul mate from him forcibly.
"Erych, stand down. I am Midnight's twin, Mithainde. She needs to go to ground, to heal. If she is caught in the sun in this state, she will die. Follow us... you are all vampire, are you not?"
"I'm three-fourths." Kai snapped defensively. The tall man shrugged.
"It is enough for you to use your new found powers. You can fly her. Just imagine yourself lifting into the air, and you shall." Kai stared in amazement. He could... he'd seen Midnight do the speed thing, and when he'd asked how to, she'd said it had to do with imagination. But, flying? The vampires followed him outside. He wondered when the train had stopped, but when he saw blood splashing the engine car windows, he had a feeling it was the demons who had attacked Midnight. Kai brought himself back to the task at hand. He shut his eyes, concentrated, and imagined himself floating up into the air. He opened his eyes, and saw that he and all the others were drifting high off the ground.
"Holy shit."
"Dawn approached, lifemate of my sister. Follow with all speed." Kai and the Blade Breakers followed the other vampires wherever they were leading them, deeper into the wilds of the Carpathian Mountains.
Warning: several characters are introduced, might be a bit confusing, and also, long battle scene.
"Where are we?" Kenny asked quietly, looking out the window of the train. "What is this place? It's spooky."
"We're in the Carpathian Mountains, my homeland." Midnight whispered, heart fluttering. She was home, she was home again, she could see her family! "My people are strongest in this land, the realm of our birth. I was born here almost a quarter of a million years ago." The boys all turned to stare at her. "Everything was so much safer then, in the Old World. I can't wait to get home."
"How... how old are you, Dara? Exactly?" Kenny asked breathlessly. Did he really want to know? Well, Midnight was the oldest vampire, which meant she must be ancient. Was she the first, or just the oldest living?
"I'm reading your thoughts, Kenny. I am not the first, but I am the oldest who lives, or has ever lived. My many times great-grandmother, Raksha herself, was the first, over four billion years ago. She is technically the oldest, as there is no legend or record of her death. It is said she passed into Heaven to guard and guide her people from above, but I do not know. The royal family, of which I am the head, is directly descended from her. As for my age, I am exactly one hundred eighty-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-one, as of last December, the twenty-fourth. I will be all that and ninety-two in a week. Lucky me." She smiled at their amazed looks. "I may be an old hag, but I got the looks and the moves of a hot young thing from the eighties.
"So, how are you guys dealing?" She had summoned her brother, Mithainde, and her cousins, Lucian, Gabriel, and Gregori, and they had obliged her in changing them to vampires. Kai was still half, because Midnight was the only one who could change him right now, and she was too exhausted. Or she had been. The vampiress shook her head at the thought, then glanced at the boys. "Have you four fed this night?"
"N-no..." Tyson looked at the floor.
"We... we can't do it, it's too gross." Max admitted, then added hurriedly, "Not that you're gross, but..."
"I understand. I can put you under compulsion, which will make it much easier, if you wish. I'm sure the other passengers can oblige you." She sensed their reluctance. "You want to help me. You made the transformation because of this wish. But you are of no use if you are ill with malnutrition when I need you. You will become dangerous to humans if you do not feed soon. I don't want to force you, but you will lose control of yourselves if you don't take sustenance this night. I will aid you in this." She smiled kindly. "It is not so bad as you would think. I shall return shortly."
She stood and moved through the compartment they were in to the one behind them. A group of teenage boys were talking, but Midnight called them to her with compulsion. She took what she needed, but as usual once she'd begun Kai's transformation, there was no pleasure in it anymore. Only in taking her beloved mortal's blood was there joy. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and glided back into her compartment where the boys were.
"Kenny, you are weak. Come here." He stood and went to her willingly. "Listen, not to my voice, but to my heart beat. You can hear it, can't you? My heart? My blood, rushing through my body? Listen to it, let it ensnare you." Kenny's eyes began drifting closed. Midnight sent a command for the other boys not to watch, and held out her wrist. She slashed it with one dagger-like talon, and Kenny took what she offered. First him, then Max, then Ray, and finally Tyson, fed only under the compulsion of their new natures. She did nothing but speak to them, didn't influence them in any way. Tyson put a hand to his mouth. Ray looked slightly green. Kenny was typing furiously at his computer, and Max was staring out the window.
"Are you guys all okay?" Kai asked indifferently, looking over Kenny's bent head in Midnight's direction. They locked gazes, and she shook her head. She'd known this idea had been a mistake, but she'd been unable to sway them, to make them understand. Fledglings needed far more blood, more often, than ancients. She had known they'd have problems drinking blood, preying on humans. Damn her, but she should have been more firm. Well, there was no help for it now. She beckoned to Kai, who followed her out to the walkway outside. "They can't stomach it."
"I know."
"I never had any problems."
"You're brave."
"I had you to help me. Dara... can we agree on something?" She nodded, puzzled. "I want to at least try out immortality. Please? It would mean so much to me." She should say no, she thought to herself. She ought to say no. So, why couldn't she? Well, was it so terrible to please her one and only over this small thing? The decision was no longer irreversible, so by what right could she say no? Suddenly, she was very confused. She had reasons to say no, good reasons. What were they again? Damn, she was giving in.
"I love you, Kai."
"And I you, dark goddess of my soul." He whispered just before her fangs sank deep into his throat. His blood, still so human, welled up and flowed into her mouth. Kai's eyes drifted closed, and he groaned, murmured, "Harder, please Dara...." Her fangs went even deeper, bringing a rush of warm, scarlet blood to her mouth. She could hear his heartbeat, or was it hers? She could feel the rich life surging under Kai's skin, just waiting to be tasted. She needed to taste him, to know the sweetness of his blood, his life force. Kai's hand went up to touch the back of her head, using just a slight push to get her to increase the pressure. Kai's body trembled, his heart fluttering. Midnight's tongue swirled tenderly over the wound, healing it. When she pulled back, Kai was struck with how beautiful she was. Her eyes were wide and shining with a mix of tenderness and animal bloodlust. A smear of blood stained her cheek. Her lips were red, wet, and shining, colored freshly with Kai's own blood. She should have been sated. If it had been another, she would have been, but this was Kai. She wanted more.
Kai pulled her to him, holding her close as his mouth latched onto hers, hot and demanding. He tenderly sucked her tongue from her mouth, bit down hard enough to draw blood. She whimpered softly and put a hand up to caress his cheek. His own hand went to her shirt front, which was tied shut at the top. He untied the satin bow, pushed aside a bit of the soft material. "Kai..." His mouth left hers, and went t her throat, nipping at the soft skin. Dara gasped when he drew blood. His tongue lapped gently at the bite, catching a taste of her blood. His mouth moved lower, over her collar bone, down and down. "Oh, Kai..."
"May I, Dara?"
"Please..." He pushed down on the top of her shirt, which yielded to show the pale, creamy skin beneath. Kai's fangs scraped over her skin, making her catch her breath. His mouth went ever lower, moving over the vulnerable swell of her breast. "Kai, please, I beg you..." There was a flash of white hot pain, then delicious heat flooded her body, making her gasp. Kai's taste buds thrilled at the well of blood flowing over them, suffusing with his body. He could feel it changing him, but he paid it little attention, more interested in the little noises his beloved was making. Kai lost himself in feeding from her, ignoring their surroundings, intent on the feasting. Her blood was the sweetest thing he'd ever tasted. Oh, God...
"Dara..." He healed the bite, pulled his head up. "Oh, Midnight..." She kissed him, the blood on their lips mingling. Suddenly, Kai felt her stiffen. "What is it?"
"Trouble. There are hunters here. Night demons. We're close to the Hall, we might be able to... no, it's too far, never mind. We will have problems, Kai. Come on." He followed her back inside. "Boys, we have problems. There are night demons on this god forsaken train. We'll have to fight them. I don't want to, but they'll kill us if we don't. There are quite a lot of them, which is why I'm warning you. I may not be able to keep them at bay long enough for... anyway, stay on your guard.Understand?"
Dark Lady? You have need of us?
Gabriel, Lucian. Julian, Aidan. Gregori, Darius. Othello, Mithainde. Dayan, Erych. Hear me, all of you. I am in danger, as are my five fledglings. We will need your assistance. Come quickly, I beg you.
We are on our way, little sister.
Why do we call her that, Gabriel? She's just as old as we are.
Actually, Midnight retorted mentally, I'm about half a minute younger than Lucian and Gabriel. But that's unimportant. Please, brothers, come.
We are coming. Midnight sighed, then straightened. Her eyes turned from the gold of the well fed vampire to the blood red of a predator. Her pupils, already slit, contracted so much they were almost invisible. Her fangs grew long and thin, indenting her bottom lip. Her hair moved as if blown by the wind, though there was none. She suddenly seemed to grow taller, more menacing. Her nails lengthened into dead claws. She was not ready for the night demons, but she was prepared to defend as needed.
"Well, it's the Lady of the Night." A tall, disproportioned thing, seemingly of shadows, hissed laughter. Its eyes were as red as Midnight's, but it's fangs were a sickly green, and its claws were brown with dried blood. Its mouth literally stretched from the far left of its head to the far right. Midnight squared her shoulders, then gasped when she was attacked from behind, below, and the right. She had thought there was only one. She had not sensed the many, hiding, because... because she'd been careless. Dear Raksha, Lady of the Undead...
Kai and the others saw a mass of shadows converge on Midnight, hiding her from view, and then they heard a blood curdling scream of rage and pain. Crimson light flared, and a shower of black ash fell to the ground. Midnight slumped to the ground, bleeding from hundreds of stab wounds. She pushed herself to her feet, only to be attacked. Or, at least she would have been, but when the shadow thing sliced down with its blade, the vampiress was no longer in where she'd been standing. A flash of red light rushed past Kai's ear, and the shadow demon began screaming as Midnight ripped its pulsing, black heart from its chest. A black something sliced at her inner thigh, then her shoulder. She fell again, rose once more, her life's blood draining away onto the floor.
"Why do you persist, dead ones? You cannot win, once the hunters come. Simply allow me to aid you in your endeavor to end your hellish existence." She sliced the head off one as it's dagger like nails slammed into her stomach. The white shirt and dark green shorts had long since been drenched in her blood, but she would be damned before she fell to a gang of night demons. She slit the throat of another, but the favor was returned when she turned to meet another attack. She staggered and hit the wall. Kai tried to get to her, but an invisible wall kept him from the battle, as well as keeping the boys away.
"Why do you attempt these childish tricks, Lady of the Dead Ones? You will die from this battle."
"No, evil one. It takes more than this to kill a vampire, much less an ancient of my power." Midnight fell to her knees. She would not die like this, no, her people needed her. Kai needed her. She would not fall, would not submit. Fuck that.
"Hear me... dead one. I will not be... destroyed by the likes of you. Get over it." Midnight vanished, and three of the five night demons screamed in agony as, one by one, she ripped out their hearts. The black, pulsing organs were thrown to the floor and enveloped in flames. The demons shrieked, but Midnight paid it no attention. She would kill these monsters... They three heartless ones suddenly exploded in gouts of black fire. Midnight fell to her knees once more, but did not collapse. She faced the two remaining demons unflinchingly, determined. Still, she could not help but call out quietly, Brothers?
We are almost upon you, beloved one. That was Gabriel.
Yeah, hang tight, stubborn one. Jacques, one of the older ones. No heroics. Midnight stood, swaying with weakness. Kai couldn't tear his eyes from her. She was pale, not just white pale, but gray, like a living corpse. Her eyes were huge in her face, solid black, burning with red flames in their centers. Her skin was stretched along her skeletal frame almost to emaciation. Her fangs were steadily growing longer, as were her nails. She looked like a demon out of a horror film, and Kai could feel her revulsion for what she'd become during the fight.
"Evil demon, dead one, your life is forfeit. I will destroy you."
"Dark Lady, you are blind to your own imminent death. Die, and leave the rest of us in peace." The demons flew at her, but she dodge one, only to be slashed across the back by the other. Blood, what little there was, began flowing steadily from the wound. Midnight suppressed her fear. She was not capable of death. It was only through exposure to the sun, in a state even weaker than this, that she could be killed. And she would not be killed so easily as yet. She gathered power, shadows, darkness, drawing them into her body to give her strength, even as she side stepped an attack designed to leave her headless. Claws filthy with old blood raked down the side of her face.
Kai raged against the invisible barrier, furious. Was this shield of Dara's making, or the demons, to make it easier to kill her? He didn't care, he had to help her. "MIDNIGHT!!!" She looked at him for a brief moment, then turned back to the fight. Like a lamb, she faced the slaughter without fear. She slammed her fist through the chest of one demon, and with a horrible, squelching sucking noise, she withdrew the disgusting, soulless heart and crushed it in her fist. The other demon roared, drew it's talons down her back. Midnight fell to the ground and slid a few feet in the pool of her blood. She shoved herself upright, trying to regain her footing. A sharp kick made contact with her side, cracking several ribs. She fell, only to be toed sharply, the dagger like toe nails piercing the skin and bringing forth a rush of blood and pain. She grabbed the thing's foot- it was a different one, there were more- and squeezed, crushing the leg bones to a fine powder.
"Bitch! You will pay dearly for your sins!" She nearly groaned with anger. It wasn't fair, she was surrounded on all sides once more. Many others had come, not all of them night demons. She could not fight them all, not in her present state. She was going to die, unable to get out of the sun in time...
BROTHERS!
They materialized out of thin air, ten tall, forbidding men. Two of them had wild blond hair and slashing golden eyes, both identical. The boys recognized Julian Savage. That had to be his twin, Aidan. Most of the men had black hair, with black eyes though six did not: Jacques had golden eyes, Mikhail green. Lucian and Gabriel had pale blue eyes, and a man who was just as handsome, dark, and deadly as Midnight was beautiful, shadowed, and lethal, had Midnight's beautiful blue-violet eyes with the melted star centers. Gregori, one of Midnight's brothers, had steel gray eyes. But all of them were tall, broad shouldered, muscular, and furious. Midnight stood slowly and went to her twin, Mithainde.
"Dead ones, you are tired. Go now into oblivion." Lucian's voice was soothing, gentle. The undead began to scream as Lucian and the others exacted their revenge. Darius attacked the one closest to Julian, who was sheltering Midnight from the approaching dawn. Aidan kept the demons from the two, as did Mithainde, who also used his powers to check his twin for serious, fatal injury. There was none. Jacques, Mikhail, and Dayan were busy feasting on the blood of the demons and the ghouls. Erych silently killed one of the rogue vampires from the second round. The last of the evil ones fell to the ground, dead, eaten by vampiric power from the inside out. Gabriel called forth the flames to destroy their bodies. All of them turned as one to regard Midnight, unconscious, cradled in Kai's arms.
"You are Kaiaden Kaido? Good. Bring her with you, and follow us. We will take her to a place of healing." Aidan ordered imperiously. Kai rose, but did not follow. He sensed no evil or ill will from these men, but the instincts his almost completely vampiric nature brought forth were nagging at him to be sure. He snarled when Erych moved as if to take his soul mate from him forcibly.
"Erych, stand down. I am Midnight's twin, Mithainde. She needs to go to ground, to heal. If she is caught in the sun in this state, she will die. Follow us... you are all vampire, are you not?"
"I'm three-fourths." Kai snapped defensively. The tall man shrugged.
"It is enough for you to use your new found powers. You can fly her. Just imagine yourself lifting into the air, and you shall." Kai stared in amazement. He could... he'd seen Midnight do the speed thing, and when he'd asked how to, she'd said it had to do with imagination. But, flying? The vampires followed him outside. He wondered when the train had stopped, but when he saw blood splashing the engine car windows, he had a feeling it was the demons who had attacked Midnight. Kai brought himself back to the task at hand. He shut his eyes, concentrated, and imagined himself floating up into the air. He opened his eyes, and saw that he and all the others were drifting high off the ground.
"Holy shit."
"Dawn approached, lifemate of my sister. Follow with all speed." Kai and the Blade Breakers followed the other vampires wherever they were leading them, deeper into the wilds of the Carpathian Mountains.