Alliances (Guardians of White Light, #1) (9 page)

And then it happened.

She watched as figures crashed through each of the boarded-up windows, four along each side of the room. The shattering of glass was deafening and Jenna shielded her eyes with her arm against the spray of thousands of shards that flew at her. Eight vampires surrounded her. She lowered her arm and readied a stake.

Immortalia soldiers. Covered head to toe in black leather and their signature hooded trench coats sweeping the floor, they brandished medieval broadswords. Their demon faces were exposed baring razor-sharp fangs, snarling at her as they inched closer, one methodical step at a time.

Before she could make a move, the heavy oak entrance flew open with such force that it was almost ripped from its hinges. Its thunderous smack against the brick echoed around the huge room. Arthur walked in, flanked by two of his lieutenants.

“Quite the entrance,” Jenna remarked.

“You know me, Jenna. I like to make my presence known.”

She maintained her fighting stance as he approached. His men stepped aside to allow him through. He stopped a couple of feet from her and smiled maliciously. “Long time, Hunter. You left quite the taste in my mouth.”

“Your boys should leave if they want to keep their heads.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Jenna watched him glance around, searching for something. He sniffed at the air and then he demanded, “Mathias is here? Why?”

He began to pace back and forth, his anger rising. “And, here I figured you came for Jax to try to fix that pesky curse of yours. Instead, you’ve allied yourself with a vampire? Straying from the slayer job description, aren’t you? What’s the matter? Slipping, Jenna? Not strong enough to bear that curse anymore?”

“You couldn’t beat me then, you won’t beat me now,” Jenna seethed.

“Do you know how many humans your new ally has murdered? Thousands. He was a ruthless warrior. Just like us. He’ll rip your throat out. You should walk away while you still can.”

He’s offering me a free pass? Unbelievable. He’s afraid of Mathias and me working together.

“You’re afraid,” she snickered.

His hand shot out so fast that she barely even saw it before she felt it clamp tightly around her throat. “I’ll show you what fear is!”

She watched his face morph into his distorted demon face. Eyes narrowing and glistening with yellow fire, he bared his fangs. They were pure white, which surprised her given his advanced age. But maybe vampire fangs never yellowed or stained with blood. They were like tiny sharp daggers jagging out oddly from a human mouth, but they were more animal than human. Razor sharp and meant for tearing flesh apart. The center two were longer than the others—the two used to pierce a throat and make the bite. The others didn’t look as sharp, their main purpose was clearly for grip and a vicious grip at that, as she remembered.

Her boot plunged into his solar plexus.

The power behind it ripped his hand from her neck and propelled him back. He stumbled but managed to maintain his balance.

She smirked. “Yeah, I was really feeling the fear there.”

Enraged, he bellowed at his soldiers, “Attack! I want to hear the bitch scream!”

They all attacked at once. She leapt into a roundhouse kick that forced back the two in front of her. She now wielded stakes in each hand. As soldiers approached from either side, she thrust out her arms, penetrating their hearts with the wood.
Dust
. She felt a soldier behind her trying to grab her shoulders. Instinctively she ducked and swept her leg at his ankles. As he lost his balance and went down she thrust her elbow into his stomach to finish the job. He hit the floor hard.

To your left. Block!
She turned into a punch from another soldier. Her arm shot out, blocking it just in time. She pressed her body into his and delivered a chop to his arm to dislodge his sword. She used his weight against him and threw him over her shoulder. Snatching up his broadsword, she swept it at another soldier about to take a shot at her from behind. The blade sliced into his neck, cutting through cleanly with little effort, decapitating him. She jumped out of the way as he exploded into dust.

She eyed the scene before her. Three dead. Three down on the ground, but recovering quickly. Two approached her.
Where is Arthur?
She didn’t have time to figure it out as both of the soldiers thrust their blades at her. Her arm shot out with incredible speed, her sword blocking both blades at once. As she held her stance, her senses screamed at her. She used her peripheral vision to locate the danger. Arthur was behind her! She felt his blade slicing through the air towards her neck.

But it never made contact.

The abrasive sound of metal scraping metal rang in her ears. She risked a glance behind her. Mathias’ blade blocked Arthur’s, stopping it mere inches away from her neck.

“Big mistake coming here,” Mathias told Arthur as he grabbed his arm and ripped the blade viciously from his grip.

He kicked him away and then his eyes fell on the two men Jenna was holding at bay. He wielded Arthur’s sword with the expertise of an experienced swordsman, feeling the weight. And then he threw it. It cut the air with a speed barely perceptible to the human eye. In one perfectly executed trajectory it ripped through the necks of both soldiers, severing their heads from their bodies in a fraction of a second.

“Thanks,” Jenna rasped, shocked by his speed and agility.

“You’re…not bad,” he told her, glancing at the scene of battle.

She wiped sweat from her brow. “Not bad, huh?”

A looked passed between them. A look of understanding between two warriors. She knew he was really impressed with her skills in battle. His weak compliment was just a tease.

“You need better defense,” he added with a grin.

“How touching!” Arthur’s voice cut through their conversation.

He had recovered from Mathias’ assault and faced them now, another sword in his hand, taken from one of his dusted soldiers.

“Get up! Now!” he yelled to his remaining soldiers.

He glanced at his watch.

Mathias caught it.
What the hell is he checking the time for? What is coming?

“We need to leave this place ASAP,” he whispered in Jenna’s ear.

She nodded.

“You’re allied with a slayer now, Mathias?”

“That’s right.”

“She’s human,” Arthur said derisively, shaking his head. “But then again, it’s not much of a surprise. After all, you do have a demented predilection for human women. Just biding your time until she’s finally ready to beg you for it, are you?”

Jenna bolted forward, incensed by his accusations. Mathias threw out his arm blocking her path. He shook his head at her.
All in good time.

He caught Arthur eyeing his watch again. He was calling for back up! He gripped Jenna’s arm and whispered softly, “Get Jax. We need to leave. Right now.”

Jenna sped towards the corridor that led to the lab. But before she made it out of the room she was halted by the thunderous sound of heavy steel-toed boot steps. Another dozen Immortalia soldiers flooded the room.

She watched Mathias’ face twist into its demon form. Harsh lines etched his skin. In between them, hollow caverns of nothingness. Just death. His eyes were black with the promise of evil. She had seen the true face of many vampires, but his was the first one to actually affect her. He was barely recognizable. She couldn’t help wondering whether the demon was really
his
true face. It didn’t seem to fit.

He sensed her glance and they locked eyes for a fraction of a second. His yellow demon eyes to her green human eyes. What he saw in hers seemed to wound him.
Why?
He looked away and she witnessed him roar like a wild animal and rip Arthur’s feet from the ground. He threw him into one of the bookcases. His powerful arms wrapped around him and he smashed him into the solid piece of furniture repeatedly. Ferociously. Brutally.

He was lost. The monster had consumed any shred of humanity that he’d championed.

Arthur was barely conscious by the time four of his soldiers launched themselves at Mathias. They jumped on him, fighting to pull him off their leader, to protect the vampire King’s son. Jenna ran to help, but she was forced back by the sudden formation of a wall composed of six soldiers. They had her surrounded in seconds.

She smiled at them as she withdrew two stakes and assumed a fighting stance, a stake in each hand.

Her eyes were calm and cool as she studied them. “You want blood? Take it.”

They bared their fangs and snarled at her like a hungry pack of wolves. She felt adrenaline coursing through her veins. It wasn’t fear; it was the thrill of the fight. She felt alive.

The first one came at her and her stake met his chest.
Dust
. Another moved to strike her with his sword. She snagged his wrist in her vice grip, stopping the blade’s path. Her instincts screamed at her.
To your left!
With her free hand she threw her other stake. It cut through the air spinning like the blades of a chopper. Her aim was flawless. The sharp wood plunged into his heart.
Right! Move!
She slammed her boot into his chest. He roared as a couple of his ribs cracked at the vicious impact. He doubled over and pulled back. It bought her enough time to slam her knee into the solar plexus of the sword wielder. She felt him loosen his hold on the weapon and she ripped it from his grip. Her fist met his face, knocking him out.

Before she could enjoy the victory, she felt the remaining soldiers surrounding her once more. She glanced behind her and eyed the four-foot tall bar.
Perfect.
She waited until her opponents were almost upon her and then she leapt into the air. Executing a back flip, she landed solidly on the top of the bar. Higher ground was always better.

She glanced at Mathias. He was subdued by Arthur’s soldiers and seconds away from a sadistic beating. She couldn’t make out what they were saying but Arthur’s face was contorted with fury.

“You’re a fool. Allying yourself with a slayer!” Arthur yelled as he socked Mathias brutally in the stomach.

Mathias groaned as Arthur hit him again. He struggled against the four soldiers holding him up. He watched Arthur pull a dagger and grin maliciously.

But to Mathias' surprise, Arthur stepped back.

“You know, despite all her power and all her training, there’s one thing she’ll never have,” he said as he eyed Jenna battling his men.
The bitch still has the upper hand!

He twirled the dagger in his hand, locking eyes with Mathias. “Immortality.”

Mathias’ eyes widened in horror as he realized what Arthur was about to do. He watched as he threw the blade at Jenna. He heard himself bellowing a warning to her. But his words couldn’t match the speed of the blade. He watched Jenna catch his eye.

She followed his line of sight to the blade. Terror gripped her as the projectile neared. There was no way she could react in time. There was no escape. She screamed as it plunged into her side, tearing through her flesh.

She fought against crippling pain as she continued battling her assailants. But it was impossible. In a matter of seconds her reactions became purely defensive.

She pushed back a frontal assault with one hand as she held the handle of the dagger in her side as steady as possible. She brought her hand away briefly as she dodged out of the way of another opponent attempting to lunge at her. Blood soaked her hand, trickling down her fingers.
Damn, there’s too much blood.
She looked around to see that all eyes were suddenly on her.
Predatory
eyes. Every remaining vampire in the room snarled and had their attention riveted on her and the heady smell of her blood.
Oh my God.
She caught Mathias’ eye and saw that he wasn’t above it either. He was salivating just like the rest of them.

The distraction of her wound and its accompanying nausea and light-headedness compromised her focus. She was blindsided by a fist to the temple. She stumbled into a pillar, groaning as her back jarred painfully against it. The assailant socked her again and she went down, collapsing to the floor. As he approached, she eyed Mathias wearily. Their eyes met and she watched as he fought against his handlers with a renewed ferocity in an effort to get to her.

“This is how I like Slayers. Helpless and beaten,” a voice above her said.

She looked up at the looming predatory figure of Arthur.

“Stay back,” she rasped.

He knelt down in front of her. “Or what? You’ll bleed on me?” His hand brushed the leather choker around her neck. His nostrils flared and he groaned as he savored the smell of her blood. He could almost taste it already, because it was so incredibly potent, more so than any other human’s.

She flinched and jerked away.

He gripped the sides of her face and forced her to look at him.

“Humans are so fragile,” he whispered in her ear.

She braced herself as he leaned towards her throat.

“Back!” a voice roared from behind them.