Vampire Hunt (Kiera Hudson Series #3) (12 page)

“Because that’s what
it
was,” he said. Although what he said sounded harsh, his voice was gentle. “It was created here, in some laboratory. It was a mutant – a freak.”

“Some would say the same about us,” I said, looking at him.

“Kiera, whatever we are, we were
born
,” he said. “We weren’t conjured up out of someone’s twisted experiment. We aren’t a product of someone’s sick desire to make a super race that will help them destroy the human race. We have a right to exist.”

“So you play God then?” I said. “You decide who lives and dies?”

Letting go of my hand and stepping away from me, he said, “Kiera, I’m not going to get into some theological debate with you. These things have been made for one reason and one reason only and that is to kill. I didn’t ask for these,” he moaned, lifting the monk’s disguise and showing me the wings that hung from beneath his arms. “Don’t you think I’d rather be at college like normal kids my age? Don’t you think I’d rather be making out with girls and playing football with my friends, instead of being hunted down like some wild animal, tearing around the place harpooning Christ-knows-what?”

Seeing the hurt in his face and hearing it in his voice, I said, “I’m sorry Isidor, I didn’t mean to judge you.”

Throwing his coat closed, he said, “Whatever you do Kiera, don’t take pity on these things, because they won’t show any to you.”

“So where is Kayla then?” I asked him.

“Shrugging his shoulders, he said, “I don’t know the answer to that, but one thing I do know is that she isn’t here – I would be able to smell her.”

“But Murphy was given information that Kayla was here,” I reminded him.

“Whoever told him that was wrong,” Isidor said.

Then, a shadow fell across the open doorway. Looking up, I saw Potter. Seeing him there, all I wanted to do was run to him, to be held by him, but I quickly buried those feelings deep inside.

“Well?” he said, looking at me and Isidor then glancing at the dead girl on the bed. I could see that he was covered in blood. There was so much of the stuff, I couldn’t tell if he was injured or whether the blood had come from the Vampyrus he had slaughtered.

“What’s that?” Potter said pointing at the girl.

“What’s what?” Isidor said.

“The dead girl, Sherlock,” Potter growled.

“It isn’t Kayla,” I said, looking at Isidor.

“But it looks like her…” Potter started.

Then looking at him, I said, “Whoever told Murphy that Kayla was here was mistaken…or -”

“Or, what?” Potter snapped at me.

“Or they lied,” I said, brushing past him and back out into the corridor.

Chapter Eighteen

We headed down the candlelit corridor and back the way we had come. There was a bend in the corridor ahead and as we neared it two monks came tearing around it, racing straight for us.

Pushing Isidor and me aside, Potter said, “Leave them to me, I have everything under control.”

Within moments they were upon us, leaping through the air, hoods falling back revealing their contorted bat-like faces. Their eyes burnt red like molten lava, fangs spraying drool up the walls in thick lumps. The first reached out and grabbed Potter by the throat and the second grabbed hold of my arm so tightly, I thought it was going to be ripped out of its socket. Pushing me back against the wall, it lunged at my face and its breath stank of rotten flesh. I clawed at its eyes with my fingernails. I raked them down its face, dragging its eyeballs down his bristly cheeks. The Vampyrus’ eyes felt hot and gloopey under my fingers and it screeched in agony. Releasing me, the Vampyrus threw its hands to his face, and staggered away. The sounds that came from its throat were like a cat in the middle of a fight.

Over the hideous screams, I could hear Potter begin to cough and sputter. The second Vampyrus had lifted him off his feet and had his claws buried in Potter’s throat. He kicked and clawed at the Vampyrus, but with each passing second his efforts became weaker as the life was squeezed from him. He glanced over at me, then at Isidor who stood further down the corridor in the shadows. I could see that Potter’s eyes were bloodshot and bulging from their sockets as the Vampyrus throttled him.

“Crossbow,” he wheezed at Isidor.

“I thought you said you had everything under control,” Isidor said calmly, loading his crossbow.

“Isidor, this isn’t the -” I started.

“I just want him to be nice to me for once,” he said, slowly raising the crossbow.

I glanced back at Potter and his lips had started to turn blue. He tried to say something, but whatever it was, it came out as two short breathless gasps.

“Isidor!” I screamed.

Then the Vampyrus was flying back down the corridor and away from Potter with two wooden stakes protruding from its chest. Potter slumped down the wall and onto the floor. Rushing over to him, I took his face in my hands. His eyes were closed and his lips were still.

“Potter!” I shouted, hating the panic in my voice. “Potter!”

Then opening one eye, he looked up at me and said something, but it was just a whisper.

“Potter!” I shouted again, shaking him in my arms.

He tried to say something.

Leaning in close, I put my ear next to his mouth and said, “What are you trying to say? Are you okay?”

Then seizing the moment, he gently kissed my earlobe. “Stop stressing, tiger – I’m fine.” Then I heard him begin to laugh softly in my ear.

“You’re such a jerk,” I snapped, dropping him back to the floor.

I watched him pull himself to his feet, rubbing his throat with both hands. The blind Vampyrus was still staggering around further up the corridor, hands thrown to its empty eye sockets, and screaming.

“That thing’s getting on my bloody nerves,” Potter said, and his voice sounded croaky and raw.

Without saying anything, Isidor shot the Vampyrus and it fell silent. “Better?” he asked, cocking his pierced eyebrow at Potter.

Still rubbing the purple-black bruises that were now shining on his neck, Potter glared at Isidor and said, “And what’s your problem? That thing could’ve killed me. What took you so long?”

“I just wanted you to realise that you need me,” Isidor said, slinging the crossbow over his back. “I want you to know that I’m not just some dumb kid.”

Dropping his hands from the bruises on his throat, Potter stared at Isidor, and smiling he said, “Isidor, I don’t think you’re some dumb kid.”

“No?” Isidor said, looking surprised.

“No, I think you’re an
arsehole
,” Potter grinned.

Without saying anything, Isidor turned around and walked away down the corridor.

Turning on Potter, I looked him straight in the face and said, “No, Potter, you’re the arsehole. What, are you jealous of him or something?”

“Jealous?” Potter scoffed.

“Yeah, jealous!” I shouted back. “I mean look at him, he’s fit, younger than you and he has that neat little crossbow-thing! Worried he might be stealing some of your limelight? Let’s be honest, you haven’t been able to take your eyes off me since I showed up that night at The Ragged Cove.”

“Take my eyes off you!” Potter said, sounding shocked. “You haven’t been able to take your eyes off
me
, tiger!”

“Oh yeah?” I said. Then, without giving him the chance to say anything back, I fled down the corridor and caught up with Isidor.

Isidor and I traced our steps back down the twisting staircase, which led us to the lower passageway. At the bottom, we turned to see Luke and Murphy charging towards us, a group of Vampyrus and vampires in hot pursuit.

“RUN!” Murphy roared, and turned and swiped his claws at the creatures behind him. But one of the vampires was too quick for him. It threw itself at Murphy and sunk its fangs into his shoulder. No sooner had its teeth drawn a speck of Murphy’s blood, the vampire exploded into a shower of grey dust.

“He wasn’t lying about those queets,” I said, watching the dust fly from Murphy’s shoulder like giant flakes of dandruff.

“How long that stuff will last, I don’t know – now follow me!” Luke shouted over the noise of the screeching vampires.

Potter appeared at the foot of the staircase and looking away from him, I followed Luke as he raced along the corridor and down a flight of stairs. Thrusting open a heavy wooden door, we piled in behind Luke into a large circular room that towered high above us. Looking up, I could see that we were in the bell tower. Four thick ropes hung out of the darkness above us and swung about in the middle of the room.

Murphy was the last to enter the room and he slammed the door shut behind him. Pressing his back against it, the Vampyrus and vampires tried to smash through. The door began to splinter inwards, and their long, yellowy fingernails raked at the air through the holes in the door.

“I can’t hold them off forever!” Murphy shouted at us.

Luke and Potter dashed into the middle of the stone chamber and glanced frantically about. There were no other exits from the room.

“Nice one! We’re trapped!” Isidor shouted.

“Any ideas?” Potter hissed back at him.

Taking hold of one of the ropes, Luke tugged on it. A bell high above us began to chime and we all covered our ears with our hands. It was deafening.

“Take hold of the ropes,” Luke ordered us.

Darting into the middle of the room, I took hold of one. Potter grabbed one, too, and Luke wrapped one around his waist. The door to the bell tower began to buckle under the crashing and banging from the creatures outside.

Coiling one of the bell ropes around his forearm, Isidor looked back at Murphy, who was still trying to hold the door shut “C’mon, Sarge, take hold!” Isidor shouted.

Murphy came running forward, and as he did, the door blew inwards and the vampires came crashing in. Murphy took hold of Luke, making sure the rope around his waist was fastened. Then, reaching out with one of his claws, Luke sliced through a thick cable nearby and roared:

“HOLD ON!”

The vampires
grabbed at us. Then suddenly we were all propelled upwards into the darkness, as the bells above us came thundering down the bell tower. I looked down and saw one of the huge bells plummet into the creatures below, smashing into them and sending clouds of dust and guts back up the tower towards us.

We raced upwards, and as we reached the belfry, I grabbed at a set of wooden rails that circled a ledge that ran around the inside of the tower. Taking hold of them with all my strength, I hoisted myself to safety. Isidor swung towards me, but fell short of the wooden platform that I now stood on. Snapping my arm out, I grabbed hold of him and desperately tried to pull him to safety.

Sensing his fate, Isidor looked back at me through the gloom, and clawed at my hands. I took hold of him, but his grip began to loosen as he slowly slid down the length of rope and towards the vampires that were now crawling up the ropes and walls.

I could see that he was stuck, and I began to panic. With one hand holding the rope and the other slipping through mine, Isidor had no way of escape. He couldn’t reach for his crossbow, because if he did, he would have fallen straight down the bell tower. And if the impact of a three hundred foot drop didn’t kill him, then the vampires and Vampyrus at the bottom surely would have.

Teetering on the edge of the platform, I frantically tried to keep hold of Isidor, but his fingers were slipping through mine. He looked up at me, and I could see the fear in his eyes.

“Help me, Kiera!” he gasped.

I looked around for help, but Murphy and Luke were preoccupied with clawing and biting at the approaching vampires, which were scuttling back and forth around the rim of the belfry. My fingers began to lose their grip on Isidor. Knowing that I was unable to keep hold of him, he looked at me and said:

“Kiera, don’t worry about me – just find Kayla!”

“I’m not letting go of you!” I panicked. “
I’m not letting go!”

“Please, Kiera,” he begged, his eyes wide and fearful. “Save Kayla – she’s my sister.”

“Your
sister
?” I cried.

The tips of our fingers brushed momentarily, then he was gone, falling backwards into the mass of waiting vampires below.

“Take my hand!” I screamed, but he was gone.

Dropping to my knees on the narrow walkway, I covered my face with my hands as tears splashed into them. My heart felt as heavy as lead in my chest. “I’m so sorry, Isidor,” I sobbed.

Then, over the sound of my own sobbing, I heard someone say, “That’s the problem with you girls, you’re always crying about something.”

Lowering my hands, I looked to see Potter staring back at me over the rim of the walkway. His claws dug firmly into the wooden boards so as not to fall back down the bell tower.

“Haven’t you got
any
feelings?” I cried.

“I don’t do regrets,” Potter said emotionlessly. “It doesn’t suit me.”

I couldn’t believe his insensitivity and screamed at him, “I know you’re a freaking vampire-bat, but for God’s sake….don’t you have any
feelings
!”

“I have a
feeling
that if we don’t get out of here right now, we’re all dead,” he grinned in that obnoxious way of his.

“How can you be so heartless -” I started to say as he hoisted himself over the lip of the bell shaft and onto the wooden platform. It was then I noticed one of those Vampyrus monks clinging to his back. Edging away and pointing at him, I screamed, “Potter, there’s a Vampyrus on you!”

Hearing this, the monk ripped back its hood and said, “Kiera, it’s me!”

With my heart racing, I stumbled forwards and said, “Isidor? I thought I’d lost you!”

Potter scrambled to his feet and threw Isidor from his back. I leapt forward and threw my arms around my friend.

“I don’t believe it!” I exclaimed.

Isidor held me tight, then whispering in my ear he said, “Potter must really want you bad.”

“What makes you say that?” I whispered back.

“Apart from that stench of excitement that he gives off every time you go near him, that’s twice he’s saved my life this week.” Then easing us apart, he winked at me and said, “I don’t think he’s as bad as he makes out.”