Cold fingers dug into my arms. He sniffed me. “Witch blood,” it hissed. The vampire shoved my head to the side and something hot dropped on my neck. It burned like acid.
“Teresa Elizabeth McCaide!” Meredith yelled as another drop fell onto my skin.
Suddenly I was too aware of the pain. Of the stench. Of the cold hands grasping me.
I snapped out of the trance and screamed.
The howls answered my scream, but they were too far away.
I was alone in the courtyard. Vampires surrounded me, hovering in the air. Their long black coats swirled around their feet. Their faces were half-decayed.
His teeth grazed my neck as I struggled to break free.
“Awake now? I love the taste of scared witch.”
I choked on his putrid breath.
The vampire threw me and was on me—pinning my arms and legs—before I could even register hitting the ground. I screamed again as I twisted, trying to break his hold, but couldn’t get free. The fighting I’d been learning all week didn’t help me one bit. Even with my new strength, I was helpless.
A tear rolled down my face as I started to flip out.
I wasn’t proud of it, but I used the only weapon I had. “Dastien!” I yelled louder than I ever had before, hoping my voice would somehow reach him. I knew I’d die right then if he didn’t come. If he was too far away.
A pained howl echoed through the courtyard.
The vampire’s teeth scraped my neck, not yet breaking the skin, like he was teasing me. I whimpered.
Dastien was going to be too late. My skin was ice cold with fear. If I got out of this okay, I was going to start paying attention in martial arts class.
And then I heard him. “Tessa!” He grabbed the vampire and tossed him into the nearest tree. Bark splintered down, and the vampire slid to the ground.
Three more vampires jumped onto Dastien.
I tried to get up to help, but another vampire jumped on me.
I punched him, but it didn’t faze him. He pressing me into the ground, and I shoved my fingers in his eye sockets. Black ooze streamed from the holes where its eyes used to be, and it screamed, rearing back.
A gray wolf leapt—grasping the vampire’s neck in his jaws, and slammed it into the ground beside me.
Holy shit.
I rolled away from them as chaos broke out around me. It was a flurry of movement as wolves and vampires moved almost faster than I could track. I tried to spot a way to get through them and back to the dorm, but every time I tried to get up, a vampire would step toward me. There were too many of them, and I was attracting them when I moved. I crouched down on the ground, trying to make myself the smallest target possible.
Dastien was fighting his way back to me in his human form. He wore only a pair of gray sweatpants.
Only one vampire stood between us. Dastien charged at it, but an auburn wolf jumped in between them, taking the vampire to the ground.
This was my chance. I got up and ran as fast as I could, meeting Dastien halfway. A warm arm wrapped around my waist and lifted me from the ground as he ran back toward the building. He threw open the door to the girl’s dorm. “Stay inside. No matter what.” He gave me a tight smile. “I’ll be back.” He stepped back into the courtyard. “Seniors, outside now. The rest of you, stay in the dorms.”
The sound of cloth ripping filled the night as people raced out of the buildings, shifting mid-sprint.
Now I felt like a total wuss. The rest of my class was outside fighting, and here I was hiding. This was all kinds of lame.
“What is it with you and windows?” Meredith met me at the stairs. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know.” I didn’t have time to wonder why she wasn’t out there with the rest of the seniors. I raced up the stairs, taking two at a time. I had to get back to my window so I could see what was going on outside. The thought that Dastien or one of the others could get hurt—possibly because of me—made me sick.
One of the vampires separated from the group and circled around, trying to surprise-attack Dastien.
“Behind you!” I yelled, leaning out my window.
Dastien shifted instantly into a white and gray wolf. He lunged and tore into its neck. Black sludge spewed from the vampire. Its head rolled off and it crumpled to the ground. Meredith cheered from behind me.
A blond colored wolf jumped into the fight.
“That’s Chris,” Meredith said.
A large brown wolf ran into the courtyard, followed by two more–a black and a white wolf. My hands shook as I watched them fight.
The vampires moved with quick, slashing movements.
A yelp rang in my ears. One of the vampires had torn Chris’ leg. His blond fur stained with red.
The brown wolf ripped into a vampire, ripping off its leg.
“That’s Mr. Dawson,” Meredith said.
I had no idea how she could tell them apart, but I took her word for it.
Before it could rise, wolf-Dawson slashed a paw at the vampire’s neck, severing the head.
My throat was dry as I watched the gore.