Sam suddenly felt a terrible pain shooting through his head, through his muscles. He crouched down, grabbing his head in his hands and moaning in pain.
Samantha came running over and squatted beside him, placing her hand on his back.
“Sam, I’m so sorry,” she said. “The pain, it will go away. Trust me. It will all be OK. But for now, we have to get out of here. We don’t have much time.”
Sam dimly heard her words, but the pain was overwhelming. It was just too hard to concentrate.
“Sam, do you hear me? We have to escape. We have to get out of here! Just the two of us. There isn’t—”
Suddenly, there was a pounding on the huge, oak door.
Samantha looked over, while Sam ignored it, still clutching his head in pain.
The pounding grew louder and louder.
With every bang, Sam winced. The pain was ripping through his head. He couldn’t stand the noise.
“Sam, they’re here!” she said. “They’re going to try to kill us. I need you to snap out of it. I need you to help me. We need to fight!”
The pounding came again, and the pain ricocheted through Sam’s head. Sam could take it no more. He suddenly leapt to his feet, charged the door and, with his superhuman strength, tore it completely off its hinges.
Outside the open door stood a group of vampires, vicious enforcers who had clearly already seen the dead guards outside the door. They had come to kill Sam and Samantha, that was obvious.
But Sam never gave them the chance. As they all gaped, shocked that he had the strength to tear out the door, Sam raised the massive door over his head with both hands, and as they charged him, he swung it.
He smacked the door into them, sending them flying cleanly across the room.
They smashed into the far wall, hitting it hard, and slumped to the ground. Sam then reached back and threw the door on top of them, crushing them beneath it.
Sam felt the rage coursing through all of his muscles and he leaned back and roared. It was a horrible sound, filling the entire room, forcing even Samantha to cover her ears. He was in a fury.
Samantha stared at him from across the room, in shock at the monster she had created.
But Sam didn’t even notice. He wanted to kill, and his newfound senses told him where he could go.
He bounded out into the hall and raced down the corridor, covering 20 feet in a single bound.
“Sam!” she cried out behind him.
He didn’t turn.
“Sam, that’s the wrong way! That’s the way back to the coven! We need to get out of here. We need to escape! You have to turn around! You are running right into the hornet’s nest!”
“Perfect!” Sam screeched, never turning back, as he kept running, up an entire flight of stairs in a single bound.
Because Sam didn’t want to run from danger. He wanted to embrace it. With both hands. And tear it limb from limb.
*
Sam tore through the narrow, stone corridors beneath City Hall, racing forward blindly. He could sense exactly where to go, could sense where the nest of vampires was. He wanted bloodshed.
He wanted battle. These people, they were responsible for his being here, were responsible for his captivity. He wanted to make them pay. All of them.
Sam bounded down another corridor, and up another flight of steps, and before him was a huge set of double doors. Without hesitating, he bounded right for it, tore each door off its hinges, threw his head back and roared.
It was a horrific sound, and it shook the entire ground of the chamber.
Every single one of the thousands of vampires turned. Even for these vicious, imperturbable creatures, Sam’s display of strength shook them. This was not just another vampire. The power he had, the sound of his voice—clearly, there was something special about him.
Before any of them could react—even with their lightning-quick skills—Sam had already bounded into the crowd and tore off the heads of ten of them. He spun through the room, every which way, wreaking havoc everywhere he went. His bare hands became weapons. His fingernails extended to claws. His muscles hardened into iron steel—and anyone who tried to attack simply bounced off of him. He was like a rolling ball of destruction, creating panic and mayhem everywhere he went.
Soon the room of vampires was so flustered, they were running into each other, running every which way to try to escape.
Some of the coven made a concerted effort to strike back. Entire groups of them coordinated against Sam, pouncing on him. But he simply leaned back and threw up his arms, and the entire group went flying across the room. He was a one-man destruction machine.
Kyle took notice. He stood on his throne, up high in the center of the chamber, and watched.
This was a vampire unlike any he had ever contended with, and he soon realized that it was Sam.
That bitch. Samantha. She had turned him. And clearly this kid held powers that none of them anticipated. He was destroying half his army single-handedly. He could not allow it.
Kyle leapt off the throne, landing in the midst of the crowd, throwing his own vampires out of the way. Pitiful army. They could not even handle themselves against a boy.
Kyle pushed and shoved his way, and was soon facing Sam.
Sam threw back his arm and raked at Kyle’s face. Kyle, with his incredible speed and power, was able to block it—but not by much. Kyle was shocked at the amount of strength that coursed through Sam’s arm. He had never encountered anything like it.
He tried to shove Sam back, and Kyle was even more shocked to see that Sam didn’t give.
Instead, Sam shoved Kyle, and Kyle went flying backwards several feet.
Kyle, sitting on the floor, was truly stunned. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before.
What was this boy?
Kyle took a running start, leapt into the air, and kicked Sam, planting both feet on the chest.
That sent Sam flying backwards, and clearly shocked Sam, too.
Kyle drew the Sword and held it at the tip of Sam’s throat, ready to kill him offer good.
But something suddenly stopped him. As he was about to stab, Sam disappeared before his eyes.
Instead, what he saw, in his place, was his ex-wife. Keira. He hadn’t seen her for hundreds of years.
He had loved her, dearly, and the sight of her made him wince. How had she gotten here? Where had Sam gone?
Before those questions could be answered, Kyle felt two strong feet planted on his own chest, and felt himself being kicked, going flying backwards into the room. He hit his head hard against his own throne. He sat there on the floor, disoriented.
He saw Keira charging at him, then saw her shape-shift back into Sam. And he realized what had happened.
Shape shifting. Sam had the power.
Kyle was flabbergasted.
Sam dove for Kyle’s face, and Kyle ducked just in time. Good thing he had, because Sam’s blow tore out a chunk of the throne.
Kyle still couldn’t get over the boy’s power. He couldn’t kill him now, that was for sure. Not with this kind of power. He needed to harness him; he needed him as a soldier.
Sam came charging again, and this time, Kyle quickly extracted a secret weapon from his belt: a silver net. As Sam charged, Kyle threw it at him, and got out of the way.
The net expanded instantly, enmeshing Sam in a silver vampire net, completely entangling him.
Sam, completely wrapped up in it, squirmed for his life, but was helpless to get out. Of course he was: the silver immobilized all vampires. It was Kyle’s favorite way of capturing them alive.
As Sam lay there, squirming on the floor, one of his soldiers, bloody, came running up to Kyle.
“Kill him, my master!” he screamed.
“No,” Kyle answered calmly, still breathing hard. “His powers are too rare. We need him.”
Just then, there was another crash at the door, and Samantha raced into the room and grabbed Sergei from behind, holding a silver
tipped dagger to his throat.
The room became tense, as all eyes turned to her.
“If you kill Sam, I’ll kill Sergei!” she yelled to Kyle.
Kyle smiled inwardly at this. He did not care at all about Sergei’s well-being, and the idea that she thought he did amused him. She didn’t realize that he wanted Sam alive, too.
“I’m not going to kill him,” Kyle said. “Let Sergei go, and I won’t kill you, either.”
“How do I know?” Samantha asked warily.
“Shape shifting is a skill I haven’t seen in centuries. I don’t want him dead. I want him as my soldier.”
Samantha could tell that he was telling the truth. She let Sergei go, and he quickly scurried off into the crowd. Samantha took several steps towards Kyle.
“Free him,” she ordered Kyle.
Kyle looked down warily.
“It’s OK,” she said, walking towards the net, standing only feet away from Sam. “Sam, do you hear me?” she asked. “It’s OK. The killing is over. The revenge is over. It’s okay now. They’re going to let you go, but you must not kill. You’re one of us now. You are a soldier. There are others to kill.
But not ours.”
“How can I trust he won’t kill?” Kyle asked.
“I vouch for him,” she said.
After a long pause, Kyle nodded, and several of his men stepped forward and tore off the netting.
Sam jumped back to his feet, ready for more, but Samantha grabbed him from behind, and put a relaxing, cooling hand on his face. She turned his face forcibly, made him face her, look into her eyes.
“Sam, listen to me,” she said. “They are not the enemy.”
Sam looked at her, trying to think, trying to hear her.
“Patience,” she said. “There will be plenty to kill later.”
Plenty more to kill. Sam smiled at the thought. Yes, he could wait.
After all, this was just the beginning.
FOURTEEN
Caleb flew over the Manhattan night sky, his brother Samuel by his side, and dozens of their men close behind. Draped in the robe, Caleb gripped the staff tightly in one hand, while his brother wielded the gauntlet. They were armed with weapons that few vampires would be able to defend against. Still, Caleb knew, these were not nearly as powerful as the Sword, and if they met the Sword in battle, the odds would be stacked against them.
Not to mention that they had but a dozen soldiers, while Kyle had thousands at his disposal. If only Caleb’s coven had not been so narrow-minded; if so, they would all be leading thousands of vampires into battle and could gain the momentum and even win this war. With this small fighting force, though, Caleb knew it would likely be a suicide mission.
Still, he had to try. What choice did he have? He couldn’t simply sit back and wait for New York to be completely overrun, for all the humans to die die helplessly. And he couldn’t allow Kyle to gain strength. The judges were just too closed-minded to see that now. That was their choice. But Caleb, as he’d done throughout the centuries, would not wait for anyone else’s permission. He would fly headlong into battle, leaving all fear behind them, and embracing whatever happened.
Caleb looked over and realized how grateful he was to have a brother like Samuel by his side.
Throughout the years, Samuel had always been there, always ready to fly headlong into battle beside him. There had been some tough ones. But the two of them always seemed to come out of it.
Once again, Caleb’s thoughts turned to Caitlin. He could never go long without thinking of her.
He felt so badly about their misunderstanding, and more than anything, it hurt him to think she believed he had feelings for Sera. He wanted, more than anything, to just clear things up. He thought of the letter he’d sent, and wondered if it would arrive safely, and if she would read it. When this war was over—if it was ever over, and if he survived it—he we go to her again and try to explain. He wanted nothing more than to just them away from all this, to live together somewhere in harmony.
If it wasn’t too late.
Caleb looked down as he flew over the New York City skyline. It was complete mayhem down there. They flew down Central Park West, skirting the edge of the park, and he saw chaos both in and outside the park. Like everywhere else in the city, Central Park West, for dozens of blocks, was completely clogged with cars, smashed into each other. Passengers leaned on their horns, cursed at each other, jumped out and ran.
But before they could get far, they were pounced upon by mercenary vampires. Everywhere was bloodshed. For every human, there was at least one vampire. They were crawling all over the city, like ants. And they were tearing these humans apart.
Caleb and his men kept flying, further south, heading for City Hall. They flew past Columbus Circle and kept going, veering down Broadway. If there was at least one saving grace, it was that, thus far, all of Kyle’s vampires had been so focused on the ground that they never bothered to look up. It seemed that Caleb, Samuel and their men had sole dominion of the skies.
But Caleb thought too soon. Suddenly, as he and his band of warriors flew into Times Square, he looked up to see dozens of Kyle’s vampires flying right towards them. Caleb and his men had been so busy looking down, that they almost had no time to brace for impact.
At the last second, Caleb extracted the staff, while Samuel raised his gauntlet. They swung, and managed to strike down several vampires in midair. But there were too many of them. Before Caleb could swing again, several vampires were on him, grabbing him all over, dragging him down towards the ground. He swung the staff furiously, and managed to knock off a few, but dozens of them, like a swarm, came at him. He was too outnumbered. He found himself plummeting towards the ground, right for the center of Times Square.
Caleb hit the ground hard, ten vampires on top of him. He could see that Samuel and the others hit the ground, too.
But now that they were on the ground, Caleb had the advantage. He managed to jump to his feet and knock off five vampires in one motion, swinging the staff wildly. He then reached it back and used its tip as a spear, plunging it through another vampire’s throat. He jabbed its circular head and bashed another vampire in the head. He then grabbed it by its tip and swung it as widely as he could, knocking down 10 vampires in a single motion, establishing a perimeter around him.
Samuel instinctively joined the perimeter, back to back with Caleb, swinging and jabbing with his gauntlet. The gauntlet was an incredible weapon, and as it impacted other vampires, making a hollow thud, it knocked them off their feet, flying through the air. Its protruding fingers also were put to use, as he jabbed several vampires in the eyes and throats, dropping them to their knees.
Back to back, the two of them fought for all they had, and together, incapacitated dozens of vampires.
Samuel’s men, all brave warriors, finished off the rest.
Within minutes, all of Kyle’s vampires were sprawled out. Caleb surveyed his men and saw that they lost one man in the battle. Several others were banged up, too. But they had survived.
Caleb looked around. They stood in the middle of Times Square, smack in the middle of humanity. It was utter chaos. The square was still lit, billboards flashing, but no other trace of normality remained. Humans screamed and fled in every direction, pursued by bands of vampires.
The cars were so jammed up, that no one even bothered to try to drive anymore, some people jumping out of their vehicles and running, while others slammed closed their doors and rolled up their windows—as if that might help them. Caleb watched as one woman slammed shut the door of her SUV and locked it, while a second later, a vampire tore it off its hinges, reached in, and yanked her out.
Caleb jumped into action. Before the vampire could sink his teeth into her throat, he jabbed him with the staff, sending him flying across a pile of cars. The woman, still screaming, looked at Caleb in shock.
Caleb looked around, and saw humans being chased by vampires everywhere. Without hesitation, he bounded
after the vampires, and Samuel and his men did the same. They rescued human after human.
By the time they were done, dozens more of Kyle’s vampires were either dead or unconscious.
They were no match for Caleb and Samuel’s weapons, for Samuel’s warriors—and they were caught by surprise, vulnerable, in the midst of feeding. Within minutes, the momentum of Times Square had changed, and Kyle’s few remaining vampires began to flee.
Caleb and his men chased after them, until finally they took off in the air, flying away. Time Square was theirs.
The humans that remained realized what had happened, and they erupted into a huge cheer.
Caleb looked over, and saw several of them patting him appreciatively on his back.
“Who are you?” one of them asked.
Caleb looked down and saw a boy, maybe 10, looking up at him in awe. He realized that, from the child’s perspective, with his robe of strength and ivory staff, he must’ve looked like some sort of superhero.
“Just your friendly neighborhood vampire,” Caleb said with a smile.
“Can you save my daddy?” the boy asked.
The boy led Caleb to his car and opened the door.
Sitting in the driver seat was a man who was visibly sick, covered in sores.
Caleb shook his head. He recognized it immediately. The Bubonic Plague.
Caleb was overcome with disgust and grief. Kyle must have unleashed it, he realized. No one else could have been this evil.
Caleb felt a presence beside him, and saw Samuel staring with him.
“Kyle’s work,” Caleb said.
Samuel shook his head, too.
Caleb felt even more resolved, more sure of himself and his actions. Now, more than ever, he knew they had to stop Kyle. And that every moment counted.
He suddenly heard a commotion and looked over and saw, on the other side of Times Square, hundreds of vampires heading towards them. They were walking casually, confidently, right for Caleb and Samuel. Humans screamed and parted ways, and ran in every direction.
But Caleb and Samuel were not afraid. As Caleb look closely, he discerned that these were not Kyle’s men. They were of a different coven, he could tell. And it was one, he sensed, that was benevolent. On their side. They streamed out of the Times Square Church.