Disclaimer: Priest and its characters belong to Scott Stewart.
Claimer: I own Tessa.
(La Guera): Haha, yeah she's definitely going to feel that in the morning, but so is he considering she probably tore his back up with her nails xD
(Sebastian): I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Priest will loosen up a little eventually :p
(TheElegantFaerie): More coming soon! Thank you for the review. xoxo
(Gypsy32): Gotta love Hicks. He'll be less useless in this story xD
(Echo94): Everyone loves a good quickie :p Hope to hear more from you!
(BrySt1): Every story needs a hot young buck. At least now Priest isn't a third wheel xD
Chapter #20: Let the Games Begin
The motorcycles' hackneyed wheels rolled to a gradual halt atop the rocky hill overlooking the base of the Nightshade Reservation. By first glance, it appeared exactly as they had left it during their previous journey, guards absent from their posts, and the front heavy doors having been left ajar. There would be good chance that the bodies of the deceased Familiars still remained, decaying in the hot afternoon sun. Beyond the horizon, the sun was already in the early stages of setting beneath the hills.
"This brings back memories I'd rather forget," muttered Hicks.
"We should wait until dawn," said Black Hat. "The sun is going to be setting soon."
"We don't have time to wait," stated Priest brusquely. "If we hurry, we can make it in and out in time."
"You said yourself this was going to be a trap. Don't be foolish, Priest."
Priest turned on him. "I'm not allowing her to slip from my grasp again. If you want to stay here, then stay." Turning away, he mounted his motorcycle and headed off.
Black Hat released a lackluster sigh. "He hasn't changed."
"Well, I'm going with him," announced Hicks. He, too, returned to his bike and kicked up the stand.
"It's crazy enough he's going down there, lawman. You'll be torn to shreds."
Hicks looked back at him. "How do you even know there are vamps down there? They might have—"
"If this guy is any type of smart, he has a small army down there waiting for us. Priest was right. This is a trap."
"But Lucy might be down there." His baby blues had darkened to a fierce cerulean. "I can't take that chance." Turning, he sped off after Priest.
Black Hat was shaking his head as he watched their retreating forms. Fools. The lawman he had expected this from, but not from Priest. The man wasn't thinking clearly. "Idiots." A vague shuffling caused him to look over his shoulder at Tessa, when he grew alert at the sight of her swinging her leg over the seat of her bike. He turned around to face her swiftly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"I can't just stand here and wait, Julian."
"You're not going down there." To further stress his words, he gripped the handle bar firmly, but that didn't stop her. Hitting the gas, he was forced to step off to the side when she rocketed forward. "TESSA! DAMN IT!" Leaping onto his motorcycle, he shot off after her.
They met Priest and Hicks on the platform, but none of them made a move to enter the danger zone right away. Hicks drew his gun, and behind them Black Hat was fixing Tessa with a furious glare. With the caution of prey, they guardedly entered the reservation. Upon first glance, there were no signs of life to be detected, but they didn't drop their guard.
"Where is everyone?" whispered Hicks. "Shouldn't this place be crawling with Familiars?"
Priest's eyes were scanning along the rooftops of the ramshackle buildings and along the windows of the multiple sheds and shacks scattered about the reservation. No movement shifted amongst the area.
"They were here."
They all looked back at Black Hat.
"The scent is fresh. Either they're hiding, or they just left."
Their heads suddenly snapped up at a noise, and Hicks raised his gun. Tessa whipped out her katanas, and Black Hat stepped forward to place a hand on Priest's shoulder. When he looked at him with a questioning frown, Black Hat made a series of signals with his hand, and although it made no sense to Tessa or Hicks, Priest seemed to understand. His response was a single nod of confirmation, and Black Hat broke off from the group. Priest proceeded to stalk forward.
Hicks and Tessa exchange glances as Priest jumped up onto a stack of crates with catlike stealth before leaping onto the shed's roof, landing with silent feet. For a moment he crouched there, appearing much like a gargoyle, when he suddenly leapt off the other side. Shouts echoed through the air followed by a series of cursing, and they watched as Priest dragged out a Familiar while Black Hat hauled out a human man. They struggled and thrashed in their captors' holds, snarls present on their faces. In the blink of an eye, Priest whipped out a blade and held it to the Familiar's throat, Black Hat following his actions with the man. At feeling the chill of the blades against their throats, they ceased in their struggles, and Hicks approached with Tessa.
"You've got ten seconds to start talking," Priest hissed through his teeth.
"Where's the girl?" Black Hat demanded.
"We ain't tellin' you nothin', fanger," the man spat at him.
Black Hat glanced towards the Familiar in Priest's grasp, and unlike the man he was clearly nervous, ghostly blue eyes alight with fear. "Fine. If you won't talk, he will." Without warning, he snapped the man's neck, and he fell to the ground in a tangled heap of limp limbs.
Priest snapped his head down to the man, and then to him. "Why did you do that?" he asked, vague annoyance lacing his tone.
"Because now this one knows I'm not screwing around." Stepping up to the Familiar, he got in his face so they were a mere few inches apart. The Familiar was visibly terrified, trembling in Priest's hold. "You have five seconds." For emphasis, he flashed his blade so it glinted in the dimming sunlight.
"Now, now, Julian. Don't scare the man."
Their heads whipped around, eyes darting around their surroundings with full alert. The voice had come from thin air. No one was in sight.
"Show yourself!" Hicks barked.
"I see you've joined the fun, lawman," the voice echoed. "Julian, who is this striking blossom you have with you?"
"Come here, Tessa," Black Hat muttered lowly. She immediately went to his side, and he pulled her to him protectively.
"Who are you?" she asked cautiously.
"I am evolution, my dear."
Priest sneered. "Come out and face us."
"In good time, Priest, but first I have a few tests for you."
"Tests…" said Hicks.
"You would have been smart to wait until sunrise, Priest."
Black Hat's eyes widened, when he abruptly turned over his shoulder to look at the sun. It was setting steadily.
"Yep." Hicks' voice was flat. "Brings back memories, all right." He lifted his gun and cocked it.
Priest's foot made abrupt contact with the Familiar's ankle, who released a pained shout at he fell to the ground. "Stay there," he said monotonously.
Tessa's eyes were filled with trepidation. "Julian…"
He pulled her close, head dipping to whisper in her ear, but his eyes never left his surroundings. "Just remember your training. Can they get you?"
"No…"
Turning her around, he kissed her on the mouth. "I love you."
She gazed into his eyes. "I love you," she breathed.
Priest and Hicks were eyeing them closely.
"Let the games begin," the voice purred.
They stood in a circle, eyes darting every which way as they awaited their enemy's arrival. There was no turning back now. They had to fight. Inch by inch the sun retreated behind the concrete walls, when at last the final sliver of light disappeared. For a long, pregnant minute there was a deathly silence that settled over them like a grave, their weapons poised at the ready and bodies tensed for combat. Then suddenly, a high-pitched screech penetrated the air, alerting them to their foe's entrance. More screeches soon joined, as the sound of rapid movement echoed all around them, but they could not see the creatures just yet. They were boxing them in. Tessa sheathed her swords and instead pulls out her guns. She was a better shot than she was vampire slayer. Hicks was backing up slowly, eyes shifting every which way with a look of vigilance, but because he never looked up he failed to see the figure creeping up on building's roof behind him.
Priest was the first to glance over his shoulder, when he suddenly took a double take and whirled to face the lawman. "Hicks!"
Hicks spun around and fired, but the vampire leapt out of way unharmed. The gunshot was what triggered the ambush, as more vampires appeared around them, flying in from seemingly nowhere. They landed all around them on roofs, walls, and the ground, causing the group to tighten their ranks. After a swift survey, Priest had counted eleven in total, and within seconds agitated chirps and snarls were filling the air.
"Everyone focus," said Priest.
The vampires lunged, leaping into action like eleven deranged Jack in the Boxes. Priest whipped out three throwing stars into the air, while Black Hat threw the blade in his hand. Hicks spun around and shot at a vampire, but he missed both times. By the time he aimed again, it was too late, and the vampire lunged before tackling him to the ground. His gun was knocked from his hand as his head made harsh contact with the dirt.
"Priest!"
Then suddenly, the vampire let out a sharp yelp before falling limp. He shoved body off him and scooted back hastily before looking up to see Tessa standing over him. She offered him her hand, and he reached for it, but she was abruptly tackled from the side without any warning.
"Shit!" Hicks exclaimed.
She rolled with the landing, and by luck she managed to get the vampire on its back before driving her dagger into the beast's chest. Hicks wasted no time in grabbing his gun, and he looked up just as another vampire sprung at him, claws spread wide. Before it could reached him, however, it stopped dead in the air when a blade pierced its head, and he looked up sharply as Priest ran by, snatching his blade from vampire without pause before he leapt into the air once again. He met a vampire halfway and grabbed it by the shoulder before plunging the blade in. By the time they land, the vampire was dead.
Priest suddenly jerked around when he heard a shrill screech. A vampire had leapt off the side of a building and was soaring at him, and it would have gotten him if Black Hat hadn't run in from nowhere and tackled it full body. They rolled for a second before he grabbed it by the head and snapped its neck. For the briefest moment they met eyes, but all Priest was able to do was stare at him curiously before a shrill scream snatched their attentions away from each other. They whipped about, and their eyes widened when they saw Tessa crashing to the ground on her back, a vampire rapidly snapping its jaws at her face as it released an enraged roar.
Black Hat bolted forward and delivered a brutal, bone-breaking kick to vampire's ribs. It flew off her with a yelp, and Hicks took its brief moment of incapacitation to shoot it in the head. It took mere seconds before another leapt in near Priest, and he released a grunt as he was knocked to the ground. Rolling over quickly, he was only able to get to his knees before the vampire was springing at him again, but before he could react Black Hat ran up behind him and jumped off his back. A surprised screech was all the vampire could manage as it was met with two sharpened blades driving into its chest.
It was as if they had been set on pause, as they all stood rigid, waiting for another of the creatures to make an appearance. Tessa was counting the bodies with her eyes, standing back to back with Hicks in a guard. After a tense minute, she realized all eleven were dead, as was the Familiar, who had been caught in the crossfire.
"Come on!" Priest snapped. "That voice came from the intercom at the front gates!"
They ran to the entrance of reservation, but no one was there. What they did find was a note that was pinned to the door. Black Hat yanked it off.
"What does it say?" snapped Priest.
"It says to go to Silverstein…"
"What for?" asked Hicks.
"If we don't get there by tomorrow at nine PM sharp, they take the place down."
Hicks' eyes widened. "But Silverstein is at least a two day ride from here! They can't seriously expect us to make that."
Priest walked passed them. "We need to try."
A little vampire action to hold you over while I get over this writers block :p xoxo