September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)

The Dragon Claw felt good in my hand as I plunged it into the guts of one vampire who mistakenly lunged at the wrong time. A second one met the same ending. The victory was short-lived. Half a dozen descended on me using both fists and power. I went down beneath them, holding the dagger above me to protect my head.

‘Arys,’ I cried out in my thoughts, reaching for him in desperate need. Unable to form a coherent thought while fangs slashed at my arms and fists pummeled my head, I let him see and feel what I was experiencing.

‘I’m on my way. Willow’s coming now. Throw everything you have at them. No mercy.’

I would have found his words funny, as they echoed Jenner’s perfectly, if I hadn’t just taken a knee to the stomach. I rolled onto my side, clutching the Dragon Claw uselessly. The blows never stopped coming as both my back and my front received a flurry of hits.

Jenner was fighting hard, doing a far better job than I was. Still, he too fell victim to the sheer number of them. On his knees beside me, he groped for my hand.

The connection sent a surge of strength through me. I envisioned every vampire surrounding us flying backwards as if a bomb of power had gone off amid them, and then it happened. The power followed my intent, sending vampires sailing in several directions.

The simple act gave me a greater appreciation for Arys’s bloodline. Together we rose. Pain shot through my ankle, and I whimpered.

“Give it everything you’ve got,” Jenner ordered. “Don’t hold back.”

I struggled to fill my lungs with air. I ached in places I didn’t know could ache. Our reprieve was brief. For every vampire we killed or beat down, three more took its place.

The air moved unnaturally, and Willow appeared beside us. I breathed a sigh of relief. His silver wings flared wide, and he drove back the opposing vampires. I thought it was over, that he had saved me again. I thought wrong.

No sooner had Willow appeared than the air rippled once again, and Brook stood there smirking with black wings spread like shadows behind him.

“Sorry, Willow,” Brook said, his voice oily and his black eyes gleaming. “Can’t let you interfere this time.”

“That’s not your call to make.” Willow faced off with the demon. “Why concern yourself with the activity of vampires? What’s it to you?”

The remaining vampires still outnumbered us. They all seemed a little too pleased to see Brook, like they’d been expecting him.

“A shared interest.” Brook’s hateful gaze flicked to me and back to Willow. “They seek to keep her from rising to greater power as I seek to keep Shya from the same. Therefore, a partnership.”

Willow scoffed. “You’re all idiots. The only one that can keep Shya from rising to greater power is Alexa. You all need her. You should be backing her, not trying to kill her.”

Only one vampire dared to speak up. “We won’t be ruled by a hybrid. She isn’t worthy of being called one of us.”

“That’s because she’s not,” Willow snapped. “She’s better than every one of you. That’s why none of you will survive this night.”

Slow, even breaths. I had to make a conscious effort to keep breathing. Every intake of air was agony. I suspected that more than one of my ribs was broken.

Brook wasn’t interested in playful banter. He rushed Willow with a war cry. The impact as they collided produced an earth shattering boom.

It was all the vampires needed. Inspired by the demon’s actions, they came at us again. With Willow preoccupied, Jenner and I were left to defend ourselves.

We stuck together. I was careful to keep Jenner at my back so he wouldn’t accidentally come too close to the dagger. As I swung the deadly blade, I drew hard on the power I shared with Arys. It spilled into me like the breaking of a dam. Opening myself up to it, I felt that familiar rush and heard that white noise in my ears. It felt right, like it was me and I was it. I became one with the inhuman metaphysical entity as it thrummed through my mortal form.

The dagger fell from my grip as the force commanded me. With both hands outstretched before me, I unleashed a torrent of power. It cascaded over each vampire in turn, and like dominoes they all fell before me. Blood gushed from their eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. On their knees, some of them clawed desperately at the ground while others attempted to plead for forgiveness of their error. One by one they burst into ash and dust.

As great as my power was, it was only at half-mast without Arys. Drawing on him enabled me greater strength, but it was limited by my weakened mortal frame. Though most of the two dozen or so remaining vampires fell under my assault, not all of them were destroyed.

Jenner fought hard at my side. Many died at his hand, and as crazy as it seemed, he appeared to enjoy the fight. Brook and Willow were still engaged in a battle of wills, throwing one another around with ease. It was nothing more than a distraction meant to keep Willow from coming to my aid. It worked.