By now, all three girls were free, and Ashley pounced on him, taking care of the remainder of the flesh and muscle of his neck before he also poofed into ash. Cadence surveyed the living room, saw they were clear, and headed for the front door.
The Vampires she’d seen on the street were in the yard now. “Head for the car!” she shouted, tossing the keys, and opening fire as her sister and Ashley did as they were told. Cass jumped into the driver’s seat and started the engine, and Cadence didn’t slow her shots long enough to consider the fact that her sister didn’t have her driver’s license. To her knowledge, Cass had no idea how to drive.
Her shots sank into the ten or fifteen Vampires that were headed their direction, slowing but not stopping them. In the distance, she heard heavy gunfire and saw that Job and his people were engaged. It seemed Holland had an endless supply of undead to send their direction.
Ashley flung open the door of the SUV. “Come on, Cadence!”
She took another shot at the closest Vampire before diving for the open door as Cassidy backed up across the poor B and B owner’s prize azaleas and mowed down a small tree. “This is going to be fun!” she shouted in her sister’s direction, pulling the door closed just as a Vampire’s taloned hand reached for it.
“Don’t worry. Brandon’s been giving me lessons,” Cassidy shouted as she took out the neighbor’s mailbox and headed for the street, sideswiping a truck.
“I guess Brandon is a great driver,” Ashley muttered, putting on her seatbelt despite the fact that Cassidy’s driving probably couldn’t kill any of them. The same couldn’t be said for any humans she happened to plow over. Cadence was thankful that she seemed to straighten out once they were on the street.
As planned, the Vampires were following, and fast. Cadence was shocked at how quickly they were able to pick themselves up off of the road and follow the moving vehicle. Cassidy wasn’t going very fast now, since she knew the plan was to draw them out into the open, but Cadence couldn’t remember ever seeing Vampires leap into the air and project themselves so far for so long; it looked as if they were flying. There was going to be a lot of interference to run....
“How’s your arm?” Cadence asked Ashley, not turning to look at the girl in the front passenger seat because she was trying to keep track of how many bloodsuckers were following them.
“It’s okay,” Ashley replied. “I wish Jamie was here to put me back together, though.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Cadence replied. She was also bleeding, but not as badly as Ashley. Cass had gotten through unscathed, thank goodness.
“Turn here?” Cassidy asked, drawing Cadence’s head around.
“Yeah, and then it’s up on the left.”
Cassidy made a sudden, quick turn, and Cadence went flying into the driver’s side door. Ashley didn’t move too much because of the seatbelt. Smart girl.
“Sorry,” Cass mumbled, but it didn’t matter. Cadence recovered, noting that they had eleven Vampires closing in fast. Cassidy tore through the field where the Eidolon Festival had been held like she’d stolen the vehicle she was driving, and Cadence supposed in a way she had since she wasn’t meant to be behind the wheel.
Once they reached the area where the Guardians had disappeared, Cassidy slammed on the brakes, and the three of them jumped out of the car. Cadence was about to open fire on the Vampires closing in on them when she realized the SUV was rolling forward. “Park, Cass!”
“Sorry,” her sister said again, but she was already out, so the vehicle continued to slowly roll forward until it hit a tree. Cadence would worry about that later. For now, she had a battle on her hands.
A large, dark haired man with a handlebar mustache landed in front of her, a conniving look on his face, and she fired twice with her Glock, slowing him down, but not completely. He lurched toward her, and Cadence drew out her ash covered knife, ready to do battle again. “At least none of them have guns,” she said aloud, hoping she hadn’t jinxed herself. But Holland knew that bullets did no good against them since Cass could catch them, and since she hated guns anyway, Cadence was hopeful she wouldn’t bother this time.
Behind her, the trees lit up, and Cadence turned her attention away from the creep in front of her to see the rest of the party had arrived as well. Job and his peeps were instructed to draw the Vampires out here, away from town, and it seemed as if the plan had worked.
She had to return her attention to her current nemesis as he lunged for her throat. “Someone wants to see you,” he snarked. Cadence swiped at his neck with her knife, but he dodged out of the way.
“Someone wants to see you, too,” she replied, not giving up despite the fact that his reflexes seemed to be quicker than most of the undead she’d been dealing with.
“Oh? Who’s that?” he asked as Cadence stepped to the right but brought her left leg around to connect with his midsection, knocking the air out of him. He fell backward, and she took advantage of his loss of balance, jumping on top of him and pinning his hands at his sides with her knees.
Ashley and Cassidy were also engaged in hand to hand combat, and a second layer of Vampires was starting to bear down on them. She didn’t have too much time to waste on this piece of trash. She plunged her knife into his chest, sawing up this time, hoping to severe the arteries between his heart and neck as she cut. “Yeah, the devil, you little bitch,” she replied. “Tell him I said, ‘Hey.’” She smiled at him and then yanked her knife out and plunged it into his face for good measure as he shrieked and disappeared.
