Shade's Loss

  She nearly screamed but caught herself. She fired several bullets at the werewolf but it kept coming like a train. Shade pulled the sword from the sheath on her back and just as it reached her she jumped, kicked off the monstrous beast’s chest, twirled and brought the sword down so that it sliced through the wolf’s neck. She cringed as the blade hit the spinal cord with a pop. Blood sprayed her and the floor. The creature’s claw pierced her hip above the waist of her leather pants. She jerked back as it fell before her with a loud thud.

  “Ow, ow, ow, ow…” she cried dancing around.

  She heard more gunfire above her and wished her mate, brother, and Gideon silent luck.

  The vampire was beginning to move. She hated the idea of killing something but it was her or him. She knew the prince would only come after them all of he was allowed to live.

  Shade held the heavy sword in both hands and brought it down on the half-dead vampire as he reached for her. She took his arm off but the sword got snagged halfway through the neck. Her angle was off and she had connected with the collar bone. The vampire looked dead but the guys had been adamant that if she had time she was to take the head.

  She tried to pull the sword out but it seemed stuck. Had she still been human it would have been impossible. At any moment another vampire or guard would come out and she would have to be ready.

  Just as she wrenched the sword free a guard wolf and a vampire stepped out. The wolf was like the other, stocky and deadly looking. It was a reddish black color and looked like it had been spawned from the depths of hell. She wasted no time.

  Shade threw a blinding grenade and then raised the gun. She took aim at the vampire. She managed to get five shots off by the time the wolf reached her. The vampire had gone down after three and the other two bullets had merely wounded the wolf. Shade flicked her wrist and the dagger shot out and right between the wolf’s eyes. It staggered but did not go down.

  It barreled into her and sent her sprawling into a wall. She smacked it and her head spun momentarily. She managed to get her feet under her but not stand before the wolf began moving. There was enough room for her to bring up her gun and get three more shots off before it reached her again.

  Shade speared it on her sword as it jumped for her one last time. Blood sprayed across the room splashing her in the face. It dripped into her eyes blinding her briefly. She wiped her face as she struggled to get out from under the overlords macabre experiments. Where had they gotten the idea to create such inhumane creatures?

  Shade stood and pulled the sword free. She wiped the blood off onto the fur of the creature next to her. Just as she turned a hand wrapped around her head and lifted her off her feet, spinning her around to face whatever held her suspended two feet off the ground.

  The werewolf’s master was not dead. Three special bullets had merely stunned it leaving her to deal with one super angry prince.

  Shade swung her leg up so she could walk up the length of the vampire and kick off of him. Just as she pushed off he let go of her and she fell to the floor flat on her back. She got one hand under her and cart wheeled back out of the way. She had never done that before and was grateful of the training on Shayla’s island.

  Just as she moved the vampire kicked out at where she had been. Shade brought her gun up as she landed on her feet and unloaded the rest of the clip into him. As he slid slowly to the ground with only a whisper Shade spun and brought the blade through the vampire’s neck.

  When the head rolled away into a corner under a table Shade sighed and sank to her knees. This was not what she had imagined while mortal. To be attacking two thousand year old vampires. Without the specially made bullets she would have been dead. As it was she was surprised she had not been more seriously injured.

  She quickly reloaded the gun, pulling ammo from the utility belt at her waist. She was grateful she had thought of it.

  “What do we have here?”

  Shade looked up to find another vampire making its way towards her. She climbed to her feet and lifted the gun.

  “Wait.”

  The vampire stopped walking and stood staring at her. She obliged him only a second.

  “I did not come here to have Damon killed.”

  “How do I know that’s true?” she asked, not stupid enough to believe it.

  “You don’t, other than my word. I was one of two who asked to speak to Damon before he was given a death warrant. Lothos has done nothing in my eyes to earn a death warrant. I understand the others fear that he may be a threat but I have seen him be only honorable.”

  “I have no proof if what you are saying is true,” Shade replied.

  “Then shoot me.”

  Shade aimed carefully and prepared to fire.

  “What if I promised to leave and go into hiding?”

  Shade slid the bolt back to engage the gun.

  “I’m innocent?”

  “No one is innocent, not even me,” Shade told him just before she pulled the trigger and fired at least five more bullets into him.

  Shade felt her heart spasm and it felt like her heart was breaking all over again. She clutched her chest and looked up. She saw a bright light like thousands of stars erupt before her eyes and then blackness. She caught herself before she could fall to the ground.

  Damon!

  Shade picked herself up and jogged back to stairway that would take her to the second floor.

  She opened a door and found a guard dog blocking her way. She pointed the gun at the wolf and shot it in the eye. It dropped immediately to the floor clearing her way. She wasted no time.

  Shade continued down the hall.

  When she came to the end of that hall she turned the corner and looked around finding what appeared to be a massacre.

  She heard Damon curse from the room to her right.

  When she stepped through the doorway she saw a vampire prince holding her mate in a headlock. The vampire was too strong for Damon at this angle. When the vampire saw the girl he took the sword from the sheath on Damon’s back and stabbed him in the chest. He knew he would die and he was taking Damon with him.

  Shade could not chance hitting her mate so she took a running leap over the table and landed next to the demon. She jumped up, spun around, and brought her foot right into the prince’s head. The prince stumbled back and dropped Damon to the floor. Shade took aim and unloaded the rest of the clip into the overlords head. Not satisfied until the vampire stopped moving. She had blood dripping down her face and a feral look in her eyes.

  She dropped to the ground next to her mate. He was breathing awkwardly. She could hear air bubbles in his lungs.

  “Damon talked to me!” Shade cried pulling him into her arms.

  “Hey babe…” he whispered. His words were more broken than usual.

  “Can I fix this?” she asked waving her arm at his chest.

  “Pull it out…”

  “Won’t that make you bleed out?” she asked terrified.

  “Just pull it out and give me your wrist.”

  Shade stood, laying him gently on the floor, tears falling and making her bloody face smeared, and reached for the sword embedded deep within him.

  She knew if she deviated any she could hurt him worse. Hesitating was just as bad though.

  Shade gripped the sword tight, closed her eyes, and pulled straight up. She could hear gunshots, growling, and screaming in the distance. All that mattered was here in front of her.

  Shade dropped the sword to her right and reached for Damon again. He opened his eyes and looked into her face.

  She took the kris from her belt and swiftly slit her wrist. She tossed the deadly dagger to the side and held her wrist directly over his open mouth. He reached blindly for her wrist and she obliged him. When his fangs nicked her she stifled a moan.

  When the wound closed she pulled her wrist free and held him close.

  “Is any of that blood yours?” he asked, coughing.

  “No,” she whispered. At least she
did not think so.

  “Good.”

  Shade watched her tears splash onto his shirt.

  “You need to go help the others Shade, no need for all of us dying.”

  “No, I won’t leave you!” she cried.

  “I need to know that either Gideon or Mikhail survive so that I leave you in good hands. Go before it’s too late. I’ll be here when you get back.”

  “You said you were dying!”

  “Not yet, love.”

  Shade laid his head down on the floor again, reached for his sword and her kris, and stumbled from the room.

  When she saw a vampire or werewolf she didn’t hesitate but filled him with the special ammo and stabbed them through the chest with the sword. She made her way up two levels and found Mikhail in a standoff. He had either ran out of bullets or lost his gun.

  Shade slipped another clip in hers and unloaded it on the wolf guards. Mikhail stood shocked. Shade simply turned and went to find Gideon, her face a mixed mask of pain and anger. She took down three more the same way, with Mikhail on her heels. He beheaded the fallen ones as they passed them by refusing to take the chance they might come after them later.

  He feared to ask her about Damon. He sensed that was the reason for her headstrong attitude.

  Shade made her way through a hallway and up into the stairwell. She heard Gideon above them making his way down. She jogged ahead and took out two vampires by the time they met.

  “Damon is seriously hurt.”

  Gideon howled and followed her back down and to the room he lay dying in.

  Sirens could be heard in the distance growing closer.

  They had less than five minutes to get back to the sewers.

  Gideon and Mikhail each grabbed an unconscious Damon under the arms and carried him as Shade led the way.

  She never hesitated. Her right hand held the gun. She fired once or twice and twisted around avoiding claws or fangs to bring the sword in her left hand across their throats. She never wavered or gave them a chance.

  Halfway she reloaded and continued in the same pattern. She was more thorough with the mutated wolves. She would shoot them dead in the eye twice and gut them before bringing her sword across their necks. Their heads would fall to the side and roll away when her sword made it cleanly through.

  She was covered in blood head to toe.

  When she ran out of clips she threw the empty machine gun down and carried on. When she came across another wolf she flicked her wrist and a dagger sprung out hitting the creature in his face. Shade ran up the wall and kicked off it using the leverage to take the wolf to the ground where she took his head.

  She took a moment to separate the swords so she held one in each hand.

  A guard wolf ventured out of a room at an unlucky moment.

  Shade spun and wind milled around slicing open the wolf’s chest. She crossed the swords in front of her like a pair of shears and pulled them apart so that the wolf’s head fell cleanly to the floor at her feet. She kicked it aside and continued down the last set of stairs and through the basement door.

  Inside they came across a fleeing female. She was the only female over two thousand years old that was a Royal and joined the meetings.

  She did not appear scared by the sight of Shade.

  Her harsh laughter stopped Gideon and Mikhail who was no match for her whatsoever. Gideon had been clawed from shoulder to fingers, stabbed with his own dagger, and his ribs were broken. Together they barely supported Damon. They could not carry him much further.

  Mikhail was a newborn pup and barely fit to fight a human, especially with his own battle wounds. He had a nice cut across one eye.

  Shade smiled cruelly and flicked her other wrist. The female vampire smiled back and caught the flying dagger. She nodded and two werewolves bolted toward them from out of nowhere.

  Shade’s ferocious façade faltered but she stood her ground. Her mate was behind her dying and she refused to lose. She would make it out of there with him.

  “We got the mutts Shade. The vampire is all yours though,” Gideon called as he and Mikhail set Damon against a nearby wall. Gideon pitched the only remaining gun at her. She had the only weapons. They would have to take the mutated werewolves barehanded.

  As the wolves reached her she shot the one on her left twice and the one on her right once before turning it on the female thirty or forty feet before her.

  The wolves never hesitated and launched past her for the guys.

  Shade aimed and fired unloading at least of the bullets into the vampire’s chest. She kept coming with a mask of pure evil on her face.

  Shade stood her unfaltering, waiting for the vampire. When the woman reached her she leaned way back, nearly doubled, to avoid the woman’s claws. Shade finished with a back flip and brought the sword along the Royal’s back slicing it open. As she made contact though the ancient reared back and slammed Shade into a grey mortar wall. The corner of a pipe was digging into her ribs. The air left her body but she blocked the kick aimed at her head. With a grunt she jumped back to her feet and savored the oxygen that finally filled her lungs.

  The other vampire tried to take the sword from Shade but received a large gouge in her arm instead. Shade knew if the vampire managed to get her swords she would be dead.

  The ancient vampire tried once more to take one of the swords, but because of her wounds she was slowing down.

  Shade sliced back and forth with each sword hoping it would give her time to come up with something or the other vampire would tire out.

  Shade found an opportune moment and took it. She aimed upwards at the same time she jumped and managed to get the right sword through a shoulder and neck, the left sword the female managed to block by grabbing her wrist. Shade removed the sword and plunged it through the neck incapacitating the princess.

  Shade pulled the sword lose and then swiftly decapitated the other vampire using the swords like shears again. She turned and found Gideon in control but Mikhail was down barely holding the mutant wolf at bay.

  Shade didn’t stop to think she only flipped back and rammed both swords into the mutant’s back and then pulled them out. She took her right sword and stabbed the mutant through the ear.

  The head exploded and blood went everywhere. Shade looked like she had taken a bath in blood. Mikhail nodded at her and jumped up. He went to help Gideon finish off his own wolf.

  Shade dropped down next to Damon, letting both swords clatter to either side of her. He was barely breathing and his pulse was weak. He needed blood immediately. Shade needed all the help she could get to get them out of there. She used her fangs to bite into her own wrist and when the blood began to trickle down the sides of her wrist she opened Damon’s mouth and let it fall in.

  The guys came over and waited until her wound closed and began to heal then they picked Damon up again.

  Shade heard footfalls and shouts above them.

  She led the way once more down into the sewers back to the SUV.

  When they reached the vehicle the guys climbed into the back and pulled Damon in carefully. Shade jumped in the front and started the SUV.

  She had no destination but she headed back toward the interstate and south. Eventually she knew they needed to hit the border.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  The made a stop once before the border to check on Damon and clean themselves up. They would not be stopped but if they were bloody and noticed the guards might just stop them anyways. Shade used paper towels at the gas pump to wipe the blood from her leather corset and pants. Blood had dried in her cleavage and made it difficult for her to clean. She threw the paper towels down and went to the bathroom to use water. Her mind was on her mate the whole time. She washed her face and hair the best she could.

  Looking in the mirror she realized she looked like death. The carnage she had dealt flashed through her mind. If she had still been human she would have no doubt been sick. Her eyes had dark rings and her skin was ghostly pale. Her meta
llic purple hair contrasted painfully with the red blood turning it black. She did the best she could in rinsing it. The water ran red down the drain.

  She remembered the female vampire in the basement and wondered if she was any different. Would she be so cold, or had she already crossed that line and become icy and dead inside? She refused to answer that and hurried back to the guys.

  When they made it back to Columbia they knew they had to just make a run for it and hope the ship would be ready to go.

  Shade had stopped over and hour ago to let Gideon drive and now sat in the back with her mate who was still unconscious. He was not healing but he was not dead yet either.