16. Callie
We slipped behind the huge building where the wall rose up over us and the only way in was a small window high above our heads.
Magnar cupped his hands and I stepped into them as Julius kept watch behind us.
He launched me skyward and I leapt out of his hold and caught the windowsill, pulling myself high enough to peer inside. I jammed the toes of my boots into the brickwork as I looked down at the humans who were penned inside.
Chaos reigned within the building where biters lined the walls, stopping the panicking townsfolk from escaping and more than one of them was feeding on the humans too, making my lip peel back in anger. A fight was taking place near the open doorways, spilling out beyond the building and making it impossible to see what was happening with my sister and the Belvederes.
I spotted Valentina screaming orders from a stage which was raised towards this end of the building. She was dressed all in red with her dark hair pulled back in a long ponytail and a cluster of her followers swarmed around her, clearly acting as guards.
The humans screamed in panic as they clamoured to escape the fighting and the biters howled with excitement while keeping them penned in. I used the distraction and noise they’d caused to smash the window with Fury’s hilt and heaved myself inside.
I dropped to the floor behind the stage and pulled Fury into my hand as I moved towards the left of the room while the biters all swarmed towards my sister and the Belvederes beyond the exit. My heart pounded with fear for Montana but I pushed it aside; she wasn’t helpless anymore and I had to trust that she could hold her own against these monsters.
Magnar and Julius scaled the wall outside and followed me through the window, landing beside me in the darkened space.
There was a large pair of double doors set into the wall a little further from us and three biters stood guarding it, stopping the humans from escaping this way.
The chaos at the front of the building was holding their attention and Magnar slid past me, drawing both of his blades.
A bolt of lightning slammed to the ground outside, making me flinch at the raw power of it, but I forced my attention from it as I turned back to the others.
Magnar seized the distraction and raced towards the biters guarding the door, swinging Venom in a wide arc so that it carved through each of their chests, sending them spiralling into dust before they’d even realised he was there.
The humans closest to us screamed in surprise and more than a little fear.
I hurried forward with Julius at my side just as Magnar started slamming into the door with his shoulder.
“Who are you?” an elderly woman breathed as she caught my eye.
I could tell the humans weren’t sure whether to be afraid of us or not and I lowered Fury in hopes of convincing them that they could trust us.
“We’re getting you out of here,” I promised. “Who’s in charge among you?”
No one spoke up but many heads turned towards a woman with dark curling hair and she raised her chin in response.
“Looks like I am then,” she said as she noticed the attention falling on her.
Julius began to pound the door alongside Magnar as it continued to resist his efforts to break it open and I spied a heavy chain securing it.
“Is there anywhere safe that you can all go while we deal with this?” I asked urgently. “You need to hide until we can clear the biters out of here.”
She frowned thoughtfully for a moment before nodding. “The school. It’s on the west side of the Realm. It should be big enough for all of us.”
The doors finally gave way and Julius grinned at me triumphantly.
“Go,” I urged. “We’ll make sure everyone follows you.”
The woman nodded as the terrified humans started running for the open door and I turned away from her to survey the madness at the far end of the hall. I couldn’t see much over the sea of humans so I hoisted myself up on to the stage to get a better look.
The front doors were blazing and the fight outside was little more than a sprawling mess of flailing bodies.
My gaze caught on Valentina’s red dress as she swept beneath the burning doorframe and I released a snarl of anger as I tightened my grip on Fury. The blade yearned for her death as fiercely as I did and I ached to race after her and plunge it through her black heart.
I took a step towards her then stopped as I heard a scream. Some of the biters had remained inside and they were tearing a bloody path through the fleeing humans as they drained anyone they could get their fangs into.
I leapt into the crowd without waiting for the other slayers to join me.
The tide of terrified humans surged around me, their shoulders crashing against mine and threatening to knock me from my feet as I carved a path in the opposite direction, following the sounds of the screams.
I shoved a large man aside and spotted two biters ripping into the neck of a woman around my age. Her eyes were filled with pain and terror as she feebly clawed at them, and they fell into a frenzy. They were going to kill her, I could see it coming and pure unadulterated rage swept through my body.
How dare they? What makes them think their lives are worth more than hers?
I’ll show them what it feels like to be hunted.
I raced towards the girl, slamming into the first biter with my shoulder and sending him flying to the floor before swinging Fury straight through the heart of the next. The girl tried to run but I caught her arm before she could get away.
“Wash the venom out with water before too much gets into your veins,” I instructed, making sure she understood me before pushing her after the rest of the humans.
I turned my attention back to the remaining biter as he rose to his feet, baring his bloodstained teeth at me.
“You wanna take her place?” he cooed, and I rolled my shoulders back as I realised he was an Elite.
“Make me,” I dared, drawing on my ancestors’ gifts as I prepared to attack.
My kind were made to destroy his and I was looking forward to seeing what I could do when I gave myself to my slayer nature.
The biter leapt at me and I twisted aside, slashing Fury across his back and spraying bright red blood over both of us. He hissed in pain as he shot towards me in a rush of motion, knocking me from my feet and landing on top of me with a feral laugh.
He grabbed my left wrist, dragging it towards his fangs and I gave him a savage smile just as I brought Fury down on his back. The first blow missed his heart and he shrieked as blood poured from his mouth, coating my face. I recoiled in disgust as I stabbed him again, this time finding my mark and destroying him.
I rolled back to my feet, wiping my arm over my face in an attempt to rid it of the Elite’s blood but it flaked away into ash as I did so and tumbled from my skin.
I found myself in an open space as the humans continued to flee through the door at the back of the room. Magnar and Julius were cutting through the biters who tried to chase after their prey and I turned to look out of a window at the battle which raged beyond the town hall.
Hairs rose along the back of my neck as I spotted Montana flying across the street outside. She crashed to the floor and rolled out of sight before I could be sure if she was alright. Wolfe stalked after her like a hungry predator and my heart lurched as I turned and raced for the door.
My boots skidded in a puddle of blood and I almost slipped over as I made it beneath the burning entrance.
A huge groaning filled the air and I leapt outside as the massive wooden beam which secured the doorframe fell to the ground, consumed in flames.
I stared back into the town hall as the embers swirled across the blocked doorway and found Magnar looking at me, his swords drawn and ready for battle. The fire blazed hungrily between us, stopping him from following me.
A moment of understanding passed between us. He was alive. I was alive. That was all I had time to convey before I turned and raced after my sister. I was going to end Wolfe’s existence once and for all. That monster had taken too much from us when he’d murdered our father. I refused to let him take anything else.
And if I had anything to do with it, then General Wolfe was about to meet his end.