Of Blood and Brooms - Chapter 15
Of Blood and Brooms
Chapter 15
He could feel it, feel the readiness of the pack, the energy streaming through the bonds. They had talked about strategy and formations, but only in the briefest sense of the idea and as he stood amongst the wolves, he understood why. He could feel their unity as they shifted about him. He knew without a doubt that they could fight seamlessly as a group when it was necessary. Even he, although different from the other wolves, could feel the earth beneath his paws as his body teemed with an incredible sense of readiness.
He hadn’t ever been in battle, not quite like the one they were in now, and he knew some of the wolves hadn’t either. It didn’t matter, their Beasts knew of fighting, even his Beast, who seemed so much tamer than theirs, was bubbling at the back of his mind, eager to begin. As a Quieter he could amplify that eagerness, but he didn’t yet know how to do so without the potential for harm at the same time. It was safer to simply tuck his feelings of peace away so they wouldn’t hurt the fighting edge of the pack.
Across the field the vampires’ exchanging of words was audible to his sensitive hearing. It was a pointless act, since he could smell the eagerness in the monster, eagerness for blood. The vampires would be coming for the pack first, he had been warned. They would desire the strong rich blood flowing through the werewolves’ veins, blood that would not be easy to obtain.
Zhou mi watched the first group of the creatures charge them like a wave rushing to the shore. Kangin was there to greet the first of them, his strong paws slamming one backwards into the ground and making it an easy target for his powerful jaws. He watched Eunhyuk dance sideways, inflicting jagged tearing wounds as he slipped out of harm’s way, and Taeyeon with him, sleek and graceful, guarding his back.
Then he had no more time to watch others as the vampires were suddenly on them and he had to move or die. Sliding gracefully out of the way of the grasping fingers, he tried not to think about the smell. It was a scent of humans covered with death and blood that unnerved him. The creatures smelled like the humans they had been, but also like the monsters they had become. Suddenly he realized that he didn’t know if he could perform the task before him. Killing something, no matter what it was, just simply might not be in him.
‘Move Zhou mi!’ a voice within him ordered, urging him into action. By the time he pulled himself from his thoughts, Kyuhyun had already disposed of the vampire that had been coming for him and was currently trying to dislodge another from his back. Zhou mi couldn’t kill these creatures, but he could protect his mate.
He leapt forward, sinking his sharp canines into the flesh of the creature’s arm. A violent tug dislodged it from his mate and Kyuhyun was spinning to deal with the creature before Zhou mi had a chance to release it. The pieces of the vampire on the ground were disturbing, but the feeling of pride flowing through their mate bond from Kyuhyun was exhilarating. He only had a moment to appreciate it before the next target was there and he and Kyuhyun leapt towards it together.
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Yesung never made it to Kibum, but he hadn’t expected to. Seungri would never let go of his taunt to Heechul so easily, his pride wouldn’t allow it. As the small army of vampires suddenly surged in to block his way, he simply jumped around them, straight towards Seungri. The older vampire offered him a taunting smirk as Yesung closed the distance between them in a few leaps. He knew Seungri was more experienced, stronger, and in possession of a Talent that by far prevailed over Yesung’s own, but he didn’t care.
Immediately fire, white and hot, lanced through his mind, slicing through Heechul’s shields like they were made of butter. The pain made his vision blurry and scrambled his senses, but he had been expecting the mental attack. He knew where Seungri was, and he sprang for him blindly. His fingers closed around the vampire’s throat and he could feel the vibrations of laughter under his touch. The older vampire didn’t bother attempting to break his hold; instead he mirrored it and lifted him from the ground. Seungri, he knew, was certain that his grip wouldn’t matter as his mind couldn’t withstand the attack from the other vampire for much longer.
Yesung felt as though someone had jammed a mixer straight into his brain and then turned up the speed in an effort to scramble and liquefy it. He could feel Heechul on the edge of his consciousness trying to thwart the other vampire but his Maker was stretched far too thin trying to protect the rest of the minds from the invasion of the enemy to be of much help. To make matters worse, the physical touch amplified Seungri’s talent to the point that Heechul could do nothing but swat at him mentally. In a few moments there would be nothing left of Yesung’s mind.
None of that mattered to him, for a second later he knew he had won. Yesung couldn’t see it, the pain was too great for that, but he could feel it, like ripples in a pond. He felt as Sooyoung appeared from seemingly nowhere behind the vampire that held their brother. Felt as her hand punched through and tore out the vampire’s heart before removing its head. He felt the surprise of the vampire holding him turn to anger as she lifted the form of their brother and disappeared with him again.
“Check,” Yesung rasped, his face twisting into a smile. A vampire could survive the destruction of any of their children unscathed for the most part, any except their First Born and that particular weapon had just been removed from Seungri’s possession.
The pain in his mind intensified as the vampire in front of him snarled. It couldn’t be long now, vampire or not, his mind could only take so much torment. Suddenly Seungri cried out, a sound of pain that he could still read even in his nearly destroyed state. The hand around his throat disappeared replaced by one around his waist, supporting and lifting his weight with much more care than he had previously been shown.
“Heechul wouldn’t survive your death,” a voice growled in anger, Hankyung’s from the sound of it. He couldn’t find the strength to respond but he managed an acknowledging grunt.
In no time at all he was being propped against something solid and left by himself. His vision returned slowly, blurred shapes focusing and refocusing in his line of sight. He could just make out the form of his Maker trading blows with Seungri. He needed to get back there, to help Heechul in any way possible. The vampire’s abominations were everywhere and he vowed to kill as many as he possibly could on the way back to the side of his Maker, once, of course, he remembered how to work his legs.
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They were being overwhelmed and the worst part was that Onew knew there was nothing he could do about it. He and Minho were the last line of defense to keep the creatures from the rest of his coven stationed on either of the two balconies overhead, but there were simply too many of the creatures. Every time he took one of the vampires down, another was there to replace it. Even his improved skills didn’t seem to be helping. He and Minho simply couldn’t be everywhere and some of the creatures were bound to get through.
“Bind!” he yelled, immobilizing one of the creatures with his magic so it was easier to dispose of. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a vampire sprint by, leaving him helpless to stop it. Casting another spell would undo the first. He had no choice but to finish what he had started and then go after the other creature.
The moment he was done he spun, only to find the creature on the ground with a man kneeling over it. Silver flashed in the man’s hands and easily severed flesh and bone. When he was finished he rose, body covered in so much blood he was nearly indistinguishable.
“Ryeowook?” Onew called uncertain. The man offered him a half smile in response. “But I heard Heechul ordered you away.”
“Heechul is too full of himself sometimes. I don’t belong to him,” Ryeowook said firmly. “Go. I’ll get whatever slips past you.”
Onew wanted to tell him no, that it wasn’t safe for him here, but he couldn’t deny that they could use his help. He swallowed, then nodded and turned around just in time to catch sight of another vampire leaping at him. “Bind!”
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Key grunted as he held the crossbow against his stomach and loaded another blood coated bolt from the bucket. Every one of the homemade wooden objects had hit its target guided by his magic there and done the job of paralyzing the creatures perfectly, but even a hundred of the things wouldn’t be enough. From his vantage point he could see the massive amount of the monsters, over half of which hadn’t even been able to engage in combat yet due to their sheer numbers. Seungri and his creatures wouldn’t have to kill them; they could simply wear them down to exhaustion and do whatever they wanted.
He grunted as he lifted the crossbow and sighted along the arrow. “Find your mark, effortlessly through the dark,” he whispered, casting the spell over the make shift arrow that would guide it straight to the heart of one of their enemies. Then, without another word he fired it. He didn’t bother to watch it as he had the first ten or so, he was certain it would strike true.
As he was reaching for another arrow to reload, he heard a voice shout from behind him, “Kibum! Down!” At the cry he reflexively dropped to the hard stone of the balcony, shoving the crossbow away from himself. He felt the breeze from something passing through his former location and a moment later he was looking at a severed head. Pure determination kept him from throwing up the contents of his stomach as he turned his face away.
“Sorry,” the voice said soothingly as a strong grip helped him to stand. Key turned to see Jonghyun, who he had expected, helping him to his feet with one hand and clutching a broadsword in the other.
“What are you doing here?” Key hissed pulling his arm away.
“Killing vampires,” Jonghyun responded as though it should be obvious. “Good thing too, since it looked hungry.”
“You’re going to get yourself killed. That is why Heechul told you to stay inside.”
“I’m hardly in that much danger up here. Taemin is out there looking for Heechul if you care,” Jonghyun told him, fingers tightening around the sword.
“Of course I care!” Key snapped.
“Good,” Jonghyun replied with a nod, “because you aren’t allowed to die before Taemin kicks the shit out of you for the way you have been treating him.
For reasons he couldn’t name, the statement warmed him. “I’ll keep that in mind. You know how to use that thing?” he asked, giving the sword a pointed look.
“Sort of,” Jonghyun admitted. “Just be ready to duck if I yell.”
“Comforting,” Key grumbled, picking up the discarded crossbow. “Henry?” he called, raising his voice.
“Golden,” was the reply from the direction of another balcony a moment later.
“Back to work then,” Key grumbled, picking up another arrow and setting about trying to load it. He felt Jonghyun there at his side, ready to act, and oddly enough the presence was a comforting one.
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She could hear the sounds of battle and it sounded nothing like what she had come to expect from the movies. There was no clanging of swords or shouts of brave men. Instead the battlefield was filled with inhuman snarls and pained noises, most of which were coming from the vampires she guessed. She could feel the tension in Siwon’s body as he moved, covering the distance effortlessly.
He longed to reach the battlefield and join his pack, of that she was certain. She, however, longed for a tropical beach, the sun and the sand, anything to get her away from where she was. She felt like a coward but she couldn’t help it, shopping and fashion was her thing, not battle. Xena Warrior Princess, she was not.
As they neared, the sounds intensified and she never thought she would be as grateful for the complete lack of night vision as she was that that moment. She buried her face in Siwon’s soft fur and trusted him to keep her safe. Hands grabbed at her as they ran past, but couldn’t get enough of a hold to pull her from his back. If one of them did, it would be all over. Carefully so as to not lose her grip on Siwon’s fur, she shifted her arms until she could get at the charm bracelet.
Her fingers found the correct one and she focused on it, before she muttered, “Shield.” It wasn’t much, just a modified dome hovering over them and leaving Siwon’s legs to free to move, but it made her feel a bit better. One of the vampires could crawl under it, but she didn’t think they would be able to manage figuring that out. With the shield over her and moving with them, she clung as tightly to the werewolf as she could. She had no idea where they were heading, but she was praying that he wasn’t planning to charge back to the pack’s side with her on his back. That would get them both killed.
Suddenly it was as if the world had shifted and she nearly slid backwards right off Siwon’s back. Her fingers tightened the hold on his fur as he climbed straight up something, the only plausible explanation for the change in gravity. Her fingers and knees tightened in an effort to hold on, but she wasn’t sure she could stay that way for long.
Then, as quickly as it had changed the first time, gravity shifted again back to where it should be. She could feel their forward momentum stop with the shift and a second later something impacted her shield. It bounce off harmless, but not before making her heart flutter with fear.
A warning growl rumbled from Siwon, followed by a confused voice, “Jessica?”
“Henry?” she gasped, lifting her head. She could just make out the young man from the light filtering through the sliding glass door behind her.
“Oh my god!” he exclaimed. “I shot you!” his voice sounded horrified at the idea. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” she reassured him. “I have a shield up.”
There was a relieved sigh from the young man. “What are you doing here? I saw the barrier was up. You should have stayed out there.”
“Siwon wouldn’t leave me,” she mumbled, dismissing the shield of protection around her.
At the mention of his name, the wolf’s body shook beneath her as if he was trying to dislodge something. She could take a hint and slid slowly sideways, swinging over her right leg until her feet were under her. They touched the firm footing of the balcony and she released the wolf only to fall flat on her butt.
Siwon huffed either in concern or amusement, she couldn’t tell which, and nosed at her hair lightly. “Go,” she told him, waving him away. “I’m fine.”
He looked at her for another moment and then offered her a nod. With an easy bound he was to the railing of the balcony and over it with another. He could land with no problem from the third story height, she was fairly sure, but the thought of it made her queasy.
“You okay?” Henry asked.
“Yes,” she told him, pressing a hand to her stomach. “Don’t you have something to shot that isn’t me?” she asked before he could get any ideas.
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He had a gash on his forearm, four oozing puncture wounds in his neck, a slash across one knee, a potentially sprained wrist, and a small cut across his cheek, but his heart was still beating. In his eyes he counted that as a fairly decent battle so far, although he supposed it was part adrenaline and part his body being used to the loss of blood that had kept him going this far.
Only habit had him wiping at the sweat on his forehead to keep it from sliding into his eyes. The action was pointless since he could hardly see through the darkness and was relying on his other senses to aid him in the fight. The creatures were lacking in the grace and stealth of their true counterpoints, to the extent that even he could hear their approach.
His senses were of no help to him however, when cold fingers wrapped around his wrists in vice like grips. With both hands disabled he was left with a very limited choice of weapons. Vampires, he was fairly certain, would not fall to a swift kick to the knee.
His brain was somewhere between trying to devise a strategy and riddle out how such a brainless creature had come up with such an effective weapon, when a tongue ran across his cheek. It lapped there for a moment, licking the blood that had been slowly seeping from the wound. When it had finished with that, the licking began again, cool and wet against the puncture wounds in his neck. Instinctively he relaxed into the touch and the slow curl of pleasure building in him at it.
“Ryeowook,” a familiar voice growled against his skin, “I should kill you for being here.”
“That would defeat the purpose of why you sent me away now wouldn’t it,” he snapped, allowing his irritation to show in his voice.
“I did it to protect you!” Yesung snapped right back, releasing his wrists and stepping away.
“By taking away my right to choose?” he hissed.
“You don’t understand what you are to me,” Yesung growled.
“I’m a Pet, apparently good only for taming!”
Yesung snarled, an animalistic sound full of anger, “You are-” Whatever he was going to say died on his lips as he lunged past Ryeowook’s body and quickly dealt with an approaching creature that the human hadn’t seen.
When he was finished Yesung moved back to him and touched his face gently. “I have to go to Heechul. You should know that it wasn’t because I thought you couldn’t take care of yourself that I sent you away, it was because I knew you could.” With that cryptic remark the vampire vanished, bleeding into the night before Ryeowook could even offer a countering comment. The speech did nothing to quell his anger, and when the next of the creatures reached for his body, he pretended it was Yesung he was stabbing the knife into.
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Kibum was weak but alive when she left him. She had given as much of her blood as she dared, before leaving him still starved in the bowels of the seethe. Never had she seen a vampire in as bad of shape as he was and still somehow managing to survive. Time and time again her Master Heechul and his children defied all expectations and made her proud to be called a member of the seethe.
Using her unique Talent it had been easy to simply appear within the midst of a collection of the creatures, and begin systematically destroying them. The wolf pack that she was on the fringes of, seemed to be faring well enough. Even though she could smell blood of the wild kind, none of them had stopped moving.
When finished with the small group of the creatures she had been destroying, Sooyoung teleported away, moving instantaneously across the field to another small clump. She didn’t have the strength left to deal with more than a few of the creatures at once, not after feeding Kibum as she had, but she was no stranger to fighting and her skills would be needed.
The next group she moved to was a small group of two creatures circling what appeared to be a human. She could smell him the moment she appeared, his fear so deep that no word in the languages she did know could properly describe it. He was swinging what appeared to be a silver kitchen knife in wide arcs in front of his body. It seemed as though the wild pattern had already sliced one of the creatures, but was hardly enough to deter them from the pounding blood that smelled so tempting even to her.
The human was not supposed to be here, his scent was layered over with Kibum’s signifying his important role in the vampire’s existence. Yet here he was with two of the creatures circling him and a third lying motionless on the ground with a stake protruding from its chest. The creatures never saw her coming as she appeared first behind one and tore it in half before appearing behind the other and doing the same.
The destruction of the creatures did nothing calm the human’s fear; in fact it seemed to only intensify it. Sooyoung teleported directly behind him and quickly grabbed his flailing arm knocking the knife from his hand. The human screamed out his terror and she sighed.
She hadn’t ever seen the benefits of pretending to be human as her Master was so fond of doing, however she wondered if it would help this little if she did so. She inhaled, exhaling shortly after and inhaling again in a steady rhythm. Breathing seemed like a pointless act to her since all it did was keep the scent of his tangy fear fresh in her senses.
“I will not harm you,” she told him, loosening her grip on his arm. Kibum would never forgive her if she broke the human’s bones. “I will take you to the vampire that you belong to.”
This battlefield was no place for the human and Kibum would never forgive her if she left him here. The creature on the ground was still alive and she would have to deal with it when she returned. She didn’t need any greater hold on the human before she extended her Talent to him and pulled him with her though space.
The room they reappeared in was Kibum’s own, covered in darkness. She hadn’t taken the time to turn on any lights when she had brought him here since she hadn’t needed to in order to see and she didn’t turn them on now. Kibum’s human was frightened enough without being able to see what had become of the vampire that owned him.
“The vampire you belong to is in here. He is dying and will continue to do so without blood. Go to him if you chose, or stand and shake here in your fear,” she told him. She didn’t care to hear his answer, so she released him, stepping back and vanishing from the room before he could offer one. She had much better things to do anyway.
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Donghae had never been so frightened in his life. He had thought he could handle it. He had thought he would be just a bit afraid. He had thought he could fight through it anyway. He had been wrong. By the time the vampire whose voice he recognized had appeared, he had been clinging to the fringes of his sanity.
Post-traumatic stress the doctors had called it, and he had tried his hardest to let Kibum sooth it away. It seemed as though it hadn’t made any difference as he stood in the dark room gasping for breath. He was hyperventilating, that much he knew, and if he didn’t calm down he could very easily lose his grasp on consciousness. That particular thought only edged his panic higher and made his breath quicken further. He sunk to the floor, resting his head back against the wall and trying to remember the breathing activities that they had taught him in the ward, but nothing seemed to be helping. Donghae couldn’t get a handle on the fear within him.
Then slowly a small tendril of calm edged into his mind. He grasped at it firmly, trying to pull it deep within him and banish the fear that clawed at him. Ever so slowly it grew and filled him until he was able to take deep steadying breaths as Kibum had showed him to do. Memories of the first time he had a panic attack in the seethe filled him, of the gentle hands that held him, and the calm that seeped into his pores helping him to push the fear away. He used that now, to calm himself and let the calm from Kibum wash over him, helping him to find his own.
Only after his breathing had regulated did he remember the words that the female vampire had told him. Kibum was dying. The man that had saved him from his fear was dying and still trying to save him at the same time. Kibum was the only vampire he knew that was quite like that, so human that he nearly didn’t seem to be anything else.
He owed Kibum everything. Without the man he never would have found the courage to even try to face his own fear, let alone the freedom to do so. Kibum had given him a home, a job, the will to become a person again instead of simply a patient, and so much more that he couldn’t even name. The debt that he owed was so deep by his calculations that he never thought he would be able to repay it.
That debt wasn’t what drove him to rise shakily to his feet. He could still feel the calm from Kibum, warm and tender as it always was, and that drove him forward. The vampire that could make him feel so much so gently should be able to go on to do so much more. Kibum had never acted as he thought a vampire should, had never asked anything of him, but Donghae found that he wanted to give everything anyway.
He stumbled to the bed, moving solely on his memory of the room he was so familiar with. There was something lying there and he when he reached out to touch it a roughened piece flaked off. He was frightened to think about what that could mean so he simply shifted further onto the bed.
“Kibum?” he questioned softly.
Glowing red eyes opened and focused on him. He had never experienced Kibum looking at him like that and a tingle of fear shot down his spine before he could stop it. It was too late to go back now, not when he was this close. He could do this, he knew he could.
“Just don’t stop calming me okay?” he pleaded softly.
The strike was so fast he never saw it coming and it hurt, more than it ever had, but the pain was quickly smoothed away by a delirious calm from which he found he didn’t care so much about anything at all. Arms encircled him, drawing him in close against something that felt so much like sandpaper and pressing him there. He leaned his head against what he thought to be the shoulder of the vampire and closed his eyes as Kibum steadily drank the life from him.
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A headache didn’t even begin to cover the pain that he was currently experiencing. After this battle, if he was still in this particular plane of existence, he was going to spend a long time doing absolutely nothing. Perhaps this was why some of the older vampires simply went into seclusion or settled things by other means then battle. Battle fucking hurt.
Heechul grit his teeth together and jumped sideways, dodging a superficial blow from one of the creatures. The vampire abominations themselves were easy enough to kill; it was their Maker beyond them that was giving him so much trouble. Seungri wasn’t stronger than him, not in any real sense as Heechul knew he was far older, however he couldn’t keep focused long enough to beat the vampire. The moment Heechul withdrew his presence from the minds of his comrades, Seungri’s Talent rushed towards them to do irreparable damage.
He couldn’t afford to protect all of his allies with his own Talent as doing so stretched him too thin and didn’t give him the power he needed to fight Seungri mind to mind. Yet he couldn’t afford not to protect his allies. If Seungri took command of only one of their minds, it could be disastrous for them.
The vampires Seungri had brought had massive numbers but they were not particularly difficult to kill. A witch, werewolf, or one of his own vampires with years of existence and experience however, could create more destruction then he cared to think about. It wasn’t as though Seungri couldn’t force his way past Heechul’s shielding of their mind. He could, but the moment he tried, Heechul would divert his attention by a mental attack of his own.
Beyond them, still within sight range, was the one person that Heechul didn’t have to protect. Whatever impenetrable shields Hangeng had constructed around his own mind to keep Heechul out, they seemed to work just as well against Seungri. However even as the beautiful dance of death that Hangeng was, he couldn’t seem to make a dent in the creatures they were facing.
More and more of the creatures seemed to be coming from nowhere, as if they were crawling out of the very ground itself and at this point that wouldn’t surprise Heechul too much if that was the case. It wasn’t very difficult for a vampire with Seungri’s Talent to reanimate a lifeless mind. The creatures would be brainless and have to be controlled at all times, but they would exist and be a usable weapon, a zombie of sorts as humans had affectionately called them in the past.
If they could only force Seungri to create a good number of the creatures then his mind would be stretched as far as Heechul’s was and they would be evenly matched at last. Heechul doubted that Seungri would create enough of the zombie creatures before he wore them all down to exhaustion. As he glared across his backyard at the grinning vampire, Heechul realized with a sickening finality that Seungri had him, and the smug vampire knew it.
Chapter Sixteen
Masterlist
AN: Sorry that it has been so long since I have posted a chapter! Most of that is to blame on muses that didn't want any part of the battle scenes... Thank you all for sticking with me. I only think there are a few more chapters before this will be considered done so hang in there! I can't tell you all how much I appreciate your patience. I don't get any messages or e-mails demanding that I update or complaining that I haven't and I really appreciate that!
On a slightly different note, I have recently discovered Google+. I like it much better then facebook already! I plan to use it as a way to communicate with and follow my friends and what not but I would also love to use it as a way to communicate with my readers. If you happen to have a google+ account you can find me over there listed as Katharina Wine. Feel free to drop me a line and add me to any circle you like. If I realize that you are one of my readers I will add you to the 'readers' circle where I will be sharing sneak peaks and news about my writing.
Hope everyone has a great week!
Chapter 15
He could feel it, feel the readiness of the pack, the energy streaming through the bonds. They had talked about strategy and formations, but only in the briefest sense of the idea and as he stood amongst the wolves, he understood why. He could feel their unity as they shifted about him. He knew without a doubt that they could fight seamlessly as a group when it was necessary. Even he, although different from the other wolves, could feel the earth beneath his paws as his body teemed with an incredible sense of readiness.
He hadn’t ever been in battle, not quite like the one they were in now, and he knew some of the wolves hadn’t either. It didn’t matter, their Beasts knew of fighting, even his Beast, who seemed so much tamer than theirs, was bubbling at the back of his mind, eager to begin. As a Quieter he could amplify that eagerness, but he didn’t yet know how to do so without the potential for harm at the same time. It was safer to simply tuck his feelings of peace away so they wouldn’t hurt the fighting edge of the pack.
Across the field the vampires’ exchanging of words was audible to his sensitive hearing. It was a pointless act, since he could smell the eagerness in the monster, eagerness for blood. The vampires would be coming for the pack first, he had been warned. They would desire the strong rich blood flowing through the werewolves’ veins, blood that would not be easy to obtain.
Zhou mi watched the first group of the creatures charge them like a wave rushing to the shore. Kangin was there to greet the first of them, his strong paws slamming one backwards into the ground and making it an easy target for his powerful jaws. He watched Eunhyuk dance sideways, inflicting jagged tearing wounds as he slipped out of harm’s way, and Taeyeon with him, sleek and graceful, guarding his back.
Then he had no more time to watch others as the vampires were suddenly on them and he had to move or die. Sliding gracefully out of the way of the grasping fingers, he tried not to think about the smell. It was a scent of humans covered with death and blood that unnerved him. The creatures smelled like the humans they had been, but also like the monsters they had become. Suddenly he realized that he didn’t know if he could perform the task before him. Killing something, no matter what it was, just simply might not be in him.
‘Move Zhou mi!’ a voice within him ordered, urging him into action. By the time he pulled himself from his thoughts, Kyuhyun had already disposed of the vampire that had been coming for him and was currently trying to dislodge another from his back. Zhou mi couldn’t kill these creatures, but he could protect his mate.
He leapt forward, sinking his sharp canines into the flesh of the creature’s arm. A violent tug dislodged it from his mate and Kyuhyun was spinning to deal with the creature before Zhou mi had a chance to release it. The pieces of the vampire on the ground were disturbing, but the feeling of pride flowing through their mate bond from Kyuhyun was exhilarating. He only had a moment to appreciate it before the next target was there and he and Kyuhyun leapt towards it together.
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Yesung never made it to Kibum, but he hadn’t expected to. Seungri would never let go of his taunt to Heechul so easily, his pride wouldn’t allow it. As the small army of vampires suddenly surged in to block his way, he simply jumped around them, straight towards Seungri. The older vampire offered him a taunting smirk as Yesung closed the distance between them in a few leaps. He knew Seungri was more experienced, stronger, and in possession of a Talent that by far prevailed over Yesung’s own, but he didn’t care.
Immediately fire, white and hot, lanced through his mind, slicing through Heechul’s shields like they were made of butter. The pain made his vision blurry and scrambled his senses, but he had been expecting the mental attack. He knew where Seungri was, and he sprang for him blindly. His fingers closed around the vampire’s throat and he could feel the vibrations of laughter under his touch. The older vampire didn’t bother attempting to break his hold; instead he mirrored it and lifted him from the ground. Seungri, he knew, was certain that his grip wouldn’t matter as his mind couldn’t withstand the attack from the other vampire for much longer.
Yesung felt as though someone had jammed a mixer straight into his brain and then turned up the speed in an effort to scramble and liquefy it. He could feel Heechul on the edge of his consciousness trying to thwart the other vampire but his Maker was stretched far too thin trying to protect the rest of the minds from the invasion of the enemy to be of much help. To make matters worse, the physical touch amplified Seungri’s talent to the point that Heechul could do nothing but swat at him mentally. In a few moments there would be nothing left of Yesung’s mind.
None of that mattered to him, for a second later he knew he had won. Yesung couldn’t see it, the pain was too great for that, but he could feel it, like ripples in a pond. He felt as Sooyoung appeared from seemingly nowhere behind the vampire that held their brother. Felt as her hand punched through and tore out the vampire’s heart before removing its head. He felt the surprise of the vampire holding him turn to anger as she lifted the form of their brother and disappeared with him again.
“Check,” Yesung rasped, his face twisting into a smile. A vampire could survive the destruction of any of their children unscathed for the most part, any except their First Born and that particular weapon had just been removed from Seungri’s possession.
The pain in his mind intensified as the vampire in front of him snarled. It couldn’t be long now, vampire or not, his mind could only take so much torment. Suddenly Seungri cried out, a sound of pain that he could still read even in his nearly destroyed state. The hand around his throat disappeared replaced by one around his waist, supporting and lifting his weight with much more care than he had previously been shown.
“Heechul wouldn’t survive your death,” a voice growled in anger, Hankyung’s from the sound of it. He couldn’t find the strength to respond but he managed an acknowledging grunt.
In no time at all he was being propped against something solid and left by himself. His vision returned slowly, blurred shapes focusing and refocusing in his line of sight. He could just make out the form of his Maker trading blows with Seungri. He needed to get back there, to help Heechul in any way possible. The vampire’s abominations were everywhere and he vowed to kill as many as he possibly could on the way back to the side of his Maker, once, of course, he remembered how to work his legs.
▪▫▪☼▪▫▪
They were being overwhelmed and the worst part was that Onew knew there was nothing he could do about it. He and Minho were the last line of defense to keep the creatures from the rest of his coven stationed on either of the two balconies overhead, but there were simply too many of the creatures. Every time he took one of the vampires down, another was there to replace it. Even his improved skills didn’t seem to be helping. He and Minho simply couldn’t be everywhere and some of the creatures were bound to get through.
“Bind!” he yelled, immobilizing one of the creatures with his magic so it was easier to dispose of. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a vampire sprint by, leaving him helpless to stop it. Casting another spell would undo the first. He had no choice but to finish what he had started and then go after the other creature.
The moment he was done he spun, only to find the creature on the ground with a man kneeling over it. Silver flashed in the man’s hands and easily severed flesh and bone. When he was finished he rose, body covered in so much blood he was nearly indistinguishable.
“Ryeowook?” Onew called uncertain. The man offered him a half smile in response. “But I heard Heechul ordered you away.”
“Heechul is too full of himself sometimes. I don’t belong to him,” Ryeowook said firmly. “Go. I’ll get whatever slips past you.”
Onew wanted to tell him no, that it wasn’t safe for him here, but he couldn’t deny that they could use his help. He swallowed, then nodded and turned around just in time to catch sight of another vampire leaping at him. “Bind!”
▪▫▪☼▪▫▪
Key grunted as he held the crossbow against his stomach and loaded another blood coated bolt from the bucket. Every one of the homemade wooden objects had hit its target guided by his magic there and done the job of paralyzing the creatures perfectly, but even a hundred of the things wouldn’t be enough. From his vantage point he could see the massive amount of the monsters, over half of which hadn’t even been able to engage in combat yet due to their sheer numbers. Seungri and his creatures wouldn’t have to kill them; they could simply wear them down to exhaustion and do whatever they wanted.
He grunted as he lifted the crossbow and sighted along the arrow. “Find your mark, effortlessly through the dark,” he whispered, casting the spell over the make shift arrow that would guide it straight to the heart of one of their enemies. Then, without another word he fired it. He didn’t bother to watch it as he had the first ten or so, he was certain it would strike true.
As he was reaching for another arrow to reload, he heard a voice shout from behind him, “Kibum! Down!” At the cry he reflexively dropped to the hard stone of the balcony, shoving the crossbow away from himself. He felt the breeze from something passing through his former location and a moment later he was looking at a severed head. Pure determination kept him from throwing up the contents of his stomach as he turned his face away.
“Sorry,” the voice said soothingly as a strong grip helped him to stand. Key turned to see Jonghyun, who he had expected, helping him to his feet with one hand and clutching a broadsword in the other.
“What are you doing here?” Key hissed pulling his arm away.
“Killing vampires,” Jonghyun responded as though it should be obvious. “Good thing too, since it looked hungry.”
“You’re going to get yourself killed. That is why Heechul told you to stay inside.”
“I’m hardly in that much danger up here. Taemin is out there looking for Heechul if you care,” Jonghyun told him, fingers tightening around the sword.
“Of course I care!” Key snapped.
“Good,” Jonghyun replied with a nod, “because you aren’t allowed to die before Taemin kicks the shit out of you for the way you have been treating him.
For reasons he couldn’t name, the statement warmed him. “I’ll keep that in mind. You know how to use that thing?” he asked, giving the sword a pointed look.
“Sort of,” Jonghyun admitted. “Just be ready to duck if I yell.”
“Comforting,” Key grumbled, picking up the discarded crossbow. “Henry?” he called, raising his voice.
“Golden,” was the reply from the direction of another balcony a moment later.
“Back to work then,” Key grumbled, picking up another arrow and setting about trying to load it. He felt Jonghyun there at his side, ready to act, and oddly enough the presence was a comforting one.
▪▫▪☼▪▫▪
She could hear the sounds of battle and it sounded nothing like what she had come to expect from the movies. There was no clanging of swords or shouts of brave men. Instead the battlefield was filled with inhuman snarls and pained noises, most of which were coming from the vampires she guessed. She could feel the tension in Siwon’s body as he moved, covering the distance effortlessly.
He longed to reach the battlefield and join his pack, of that she was certain. She, however, longed for a tropical beach, the sun and the sand, anything to get her away from where she was. She felt like a coward but she couldn’t help it, shopping and fashion was her thing, not battle. Xena Warrior Princess, she was not.
As they neared, the sounds intensified and she never thought she would be as grateful for the complete lack of night vision as she was that that moment. She buried her face in Siwon’s soft fur and trusted him to keep her safe. Hands grabbed at her as they ran past, but couldn’t get enough of a hold to pull her from his back. If one of them did, it would be all over. Carefully so as to not lose her grip on Siwon’s fur, she shifted her arms until she could get at the charm bracelet.
Her fingers found the correct one and she focused on it, before she muttered, “Shield.” It wasn’t much, just a modified dome hovering over them and leaving Siwon’s legs to free to move, but it made her feel a bit better. One of the vampires could crawl under it, but she didn’t think they would be able to manage figuring that out. With the shield over her and moving with them, she clung as tightly to the werewolf as she could. She had no idea where they were heading, but she was praying that he wasn’t planning to charge back to the pack’s side with her on his back. That would get them both killed.
Suddenly it was as if the world had shifted and she nearly slid backwards right off Siwon’s back. Her fingers tightened the hold on his fur as he climbed straight up something, the only plausible explanation for the change in gravity. Her fingers and knees tightened in an effort to hold on, but she wasn’t sure she could stay that way for long.
Then, as quickly as it had changed the first time, gravity shifted again back to where it should be. She could feel their forward momentum stop with the shift and a second later something impacted her shield. It bounce off harmless, but not before making her heart flutter with fear.
A warning growl rumbled from Siwon, followed by a confused voice, “Jessica?”
“Henry?” she gasped, lifting her head. She could just make out the young man from the light filtering through the sliding glass door behind her.
“Oh my god!” he exclaimed. “I shot you!” his voice sounded horrified at the idea. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine,” she reassured him. “I have a shield up.”
There was a relieved sigh from the young man. “What are you doing here? I saw the barrier was up. You should have stayed out there.”
“Siwon wouldn’t leave me,” she mumbled, dismissing the shield of protection around her.
At the mention of his name, the wolf’s body shook beneath her as if he was trying to dislodge something. She could take a hint and slid slowly sideways, swinging over her right leg until her feet were under her. They touched the firm footing of the balcony and she released the wolf only to fall flat on her butt.
Siwon huffed either in concern or amusement, she couldn’t tell which, and nosed at her hair lightly. “Go,” she told him, waving him away. “I’m fine.”
He looked at her for another moment and then offered her a nod. With an easy bound he was to the railing of the balcony and over it with another. He could land with no problem from the third story height, she was fairly sure, but the thought of it made her queasy.
“You okay?” Henry asked.
“Yes,” she told him, pressing a hand to her stomach. “Don’t you have something to shot that isn’t me?” she asked before he could get any ideas.
▪▫▪☼▪▫▪
He had a gash on his forearm, four oozing puncture wounds in his neck, a slash across one knee, a potentially sprained wrist, and a small cut across his cheek, but his heart was still beating. In his eyes he counted that as a fairly decent battle so far, although he supposed it was part adrenaline and part his body being used to the loss of blood that had kept him going this far.
Only habit had him wiping at the sweat on his forehead to keep it from sliding into his eyes. The action was pointless since he could hardly see through the darkness and was relying on his other senses to aid him in the fight. The creatures were lacking in the grace and stealth of their true counterpoints, to the extent that even he could hear their approach.
His senses were of no help to him however, when cold fingers wrapped around his wrists in vice like grips. With both hands disabled he was left with a very limited choice of weapons. Vampires, he was fairly certain, would not fall to a swift kick to the knee.
His brain was somewhere between trying to devise a strategy and riddle out how such a brainless creature had come up with such an effective weapon, when a tongue ran across his cheek. It lapped there for a moment, licking the blood that had been slowly seeping from the wound. When it had finished with that, the licking began again, cool and wet against the puncture wounds in his neck. Instinctively he relaxed into the touch and the slow curl of pleasure building in him at it.
“Ryeowook,” a familiar voice growled against his skin, “I should kill you for being here.”
“That would defeat the purpose of why you sent me away now wouldn’t it,” he snapped, allowing his irritation to show in his voice.
“I did it to protect you!” Yesung snapped right back, releasing his wrists and stepping away.
“By taking away my right to choose?” he hissed.
“You don’t understand what you are to me,” Yesung growled.
“I’m a Pet, apparently good only for taming!”
Yesung snarled, an animalistic sound full of anger, “You are-” Whatever he was going to say died on his lips as he lunged past Ryeowook’s body and quickly dealt with an approaching creature that the human hadn’t seen.
When he was finished Yesung moved back to him and touched his face gently. “I have to go to Heechul. You should know that it wasn’t because I thought you couldn’t take care of yourself that I sent you away, it was because I knew you could.” With that cryptic remark the vampire vanished, bleeding into the night before Ryeowook could even offer a countering comment. The speech did nothing to quell his anger, and when the next of the creatures reached for his body, he pretended it was Yesung he was stabbing the knife into.
▪▫▪☼▪▫▪
Kibum was weak but alive when she left him. She had given as much of her blood as she dared, before leaving him still starved in the bowels of the seethe. Never had she seen a vampire in as bad of shape as he was and still somehow managing to survive. Time and time again her Master Heechul and his children defied all expectations and made her proud to be called a member of the seethe.
Using her unique Talent it had been easy to simply appear within the midst of a collection of the creatures, and begin systematically destroying them. The wolf pack that she was on the fringes of, seemed to be faring well enough. Even though she could smell blood of the wild kind, none of them had stopped moving.
When finished with the small group of the creatures she had been destroying, Sooyoung teleported away, moving instantaneously across the field to another small clump. She didn’t have the strength left to deal with more than a few of the creatures at once, not after feeding Kibum as she had, but she was no stranger to fighting and her skills would be needed.
The next group she moved to was a small group of two creatures circling what appeared to be a human. She could smell him the moment she appeared, his fear so deep that no word in the languages she did know could properly describe it. He was swinging what appeared to be a silver kitchen knife in wide arcs in front of his body. It seemed as though the wild pattern had already sliced one of the creatures, but was hardly enough to deter them from the pounding blood that smelled so tempting even to her.
The human was not supposed to be here, his scent was layered over with Kibum’s signifying his important role in the vampire’s existence. Yet here he was with two of the creatures circling him and a third lying motionless on the ground with a stake protruding from its chest. The creatures never saw her coming as she appeared first behind one and tore it in half before appearing behind the other and doing the same.
The destruction of the creatures did nothing calm the human’s fear; in fact it seemed to only intensify it. Sooyoung teleported directly behind him and quickly grabbed his flailing arm knocking the knife from his hand. The human screamed out his terror and she sighed.
She hadn’t ever seen the benefits of pretending to be human as her Master was so fond of doing, however she wondered if it would help this little if she did so. She inhaled, exhaling shortly after and inhaling again in a steady rhythm. Breathing seemed like a pointless act to her since all it did was keep the scent of his tangy fear fresh in her senses.
“I will not harm you,” she told him, loosening her grip on his arm. Kibum would never forgive her if she broke the human’s bones. “I will take you to the vampire that you belong to.”
This battlefield was no place for the human and Kibum would never forgive her if she left him here. The creature on the ground was still alive and she would have to deal with it when she returned. She didn’t need any greater hold on the human before she extended her Talent to him and pulled him with her though space.
The room they reappeared in was Kibum’s own, covered in darkness. She hadn’t taken the time to turn on any lights when she had brought him here since she hadn’t needed to in order to see and she didn’t turn them on now. Kibum’s human was frightened enough without being able to see what had become of the vampire that owned him.
“The vampire you belong to is in here. He is dying and will continue to do so without blood. Go to him if you chose, or stand and shake here in your fear,” she told him. She didn’t care to hear his answer, so she released him, stepping back and vanishing from the room before he could offer one. She had much better things to do anyway.
▪▫▪☼▪▫▪
Donghae had never been so frightened in his life. He had thought he could handle it. He had thought he would be just a bit afraid. He had thought he could fight through it anyway. He had been wrong. By the time the vampire whose voice he recognized had appeared, he had been clinging to the fringes of his sanity.
Post-traumatic stress the doctors had called it, and he had tried his hardest to let Kibum sooth it away. It seemed as though it hadn’t made any difference as he stood in the dark room gasping for breath. He was hyperventilating, that much he knew, and if he didn’t calm down he could very easily lose his grasp on consciousness. That particular thought only edged his panic higher and made his breath quicken further. He sunk to the floor, resting his head back against the wall and trying to remember the breathing activities that they had taught him in the ward, but nothing seemed to be helping. Donghae couldn’t get a handle on the fear within him.
Then slowly a small tendril of calm edged into his mind. He grasped at it firmly, trying to pull it deep within him and banish the fear that clawed at him. Ever so slowly it grew and filled him until he was able to take deep steadying breaths as Kibum had showed him to do. Memories of the first time he had a panic attack in the seethe filled him, of the gentle hands that held him, and the calm that seeped into his pores helping him to push the fear away. He used that now, to calm himself and let the calm from Kibum wash over him, helping him to find his own.
Only after his breathing had regulated did he remember the words that the female vampire had told him. Kibum was dying. The man that had saved him from his fear was dying and still trying to save him at the same time. Kibum was the only vampire he knew that was quite like that, so human that he nearly didn’t seem to be anything else.
He owed Kibum everything. Without the man he never would have found the courage to even try to face his own fear, let alone the freedom to do so. Kibum had given him a home, a job, the will to become a person again instead of simply a patient, and so much more that he couldn’t even name. The debt that he owed was so deep by his calculations that he never thought he would be able to repay it.
That debt wasn’t what drove him to rise shakily to his feet. He could still feel the calm from Kibum, warm and tender as it always was, and that drove him forward. The vampire that could make him feel so much so gently should be able to go on to do so much more. Kibum had never acted as he thought a vampire should, had never asked anything of him, but Donghae found that he wanted to give everything anyway.
He stumbled to the bed, moving solely on his memory of the room he was so familiar with. There was something lying there and he when he reached out to touch it a roughened piece flaked off. He was frightened to think about what that could mean so he simply shifted further onto the bed.
“Kibum?” he questioned softly.
Glowing red eyes opened and focused on him. He had never experienced Kibum looking at him like that and a tingle of fear shot down his spine before he could stop it. It was too late to go back now, not when he was this close. He could do this, he knew he could.
“Just don’t stop calming me okay?” he pleaded softly.
The strike was so fast he never saw it coming and it hurt, more than it ever had, but the pain was quickly smoothed away by a delirious calm from which he found he didn’t care so much about anything at all. Arms encircled him, drawing him in close against something that felt so much like sandpaper and pressing him there. He leaned his head against what he thought to be the shoulder of the vampire and closed his eyes as Kibum steadily drank the life from him.
▪▫▪☼▪▫▪
A headache didn’t even begin to cover the pain that he was currently experiencing. After this battle, if he was still in this particular plane of existence, he was going to spend a long time doing absolutely nothing. Perhaps this was why some of the older vampires simply went into seclusion or settled things by other means then battle. Battle fucking hurt.
Heechul grit his teeth together and jumped sideways, dodging a superficial blow from one of the creatures. The vampire abominations themselves were easy enough to kill; it was their Maker beyond them that was giving him so much trouble. Seungri wasn’t stronger than him, not in any real sense as Heechul knew he was far older, however he couldn’t keep focused long enough to beat the vampire. The moment Heechul withdrew his presence from the minds of his comrades, Seungri’s Talent rushed towards them to do irreparable damage.
He couldn’t afford to protect all of his allies with his own Talent as doing so stretched him too thin and didn’t give him the power he needed to fight Seungri mind to mind. Yet he couldn’t afford not to protect his allies. If Seungri took command of only one of their minds, it could be disastrous for them.
The vampires Seungri had brought had massive numbers but they were not particularly difficult to kill. A witch, werewolf, or one of his own vampires with years of existence and experience however, could create more destruction then he cared to think about. It wasn’t as though Seungri couldn’t force his way past Heechul’s shielding of their mind. He could, but the moment he tried, Heechul would divert his attention by a mental attack of his own.
Beyond them, still within sight range, was the one person that Heechul didn’t have to protect. Whatever impenetrable shields Hangeng had constructed around his own mind to keep Heechul out, they seemed to work just as well against Seungri. However even as the beautiful dance of death that Hangeng was, he couldn’t seem to make a dent in the creatures they were facing.
More and more of the creatures seemed to be coming from nowhere, as if they were crawling out of the very ground itself and at this point that wouldn’t surprise Heechul too much if that was the case. It wasn’t very difficult for a vampire with Seungri’s Talent to reanimate a lifeless mind. The creatures would be brainless and have to be controlled at all times, but they would exist and be a usable weapon, a zombie of sorts as humans had affectionately called them in the past.
If they could only force Seungri to create a good number of the creatures then his mind would be stretched as far as Heechul’s was and they would be evenly matched at last. Heechul doubted that Seungri would create enough of the zombie creatures before he wore them all down to exhaustion. As he glared across his backyard at the grinning vampire, Heechul realized with a sickening finality that Seungri had him, and the smug vampire knew it.
Chapter Sixteen
Masterlist
AN: Sorry that it has been so long since I have posted a chapter! Most of that is to blame on muses that didn't want any part of the battle scenes... Thank you all for sticking with me. I only think there are a few more chapters before this will be considered done so hang in there! I can't tell you all how much I appreciate your patience. I don't get any messages or e-mails demanding that I update or complaining that I haven't and I really appreciate that!
On a slightly different note, I have recently discovered Google+. I like it much better then facebook already! I plan to use it as a way to communicate with and follow my friends and what not but I would also love to use it as a way to communicate with my readers. If you happen to have a google+ account you can find me over there listed as Katharina Wine. Feel free to drop me a line and add me to any circle you like. If I realize that you are one of my readers I will add you to the 'readers' circle where I will be sharing sneak peaks and news about my writing.
Hope everyone has a great week!