Aaron needed to get rid of this big guy now. That sentiment increased when it occurred to him that his wife was on fire. His urgency intensified, Aaron didn’t wait for the hulk to come at him again. The Vampire was trailing smoke out of his side where the gash from Van’s knife was still visible. Cutting through the sensitive flesh of his underarm was one thing. He was going to have to chop through this sucker’s neck in order for it to make any difference. Eliza seemed to understand what needed to happen, and as Aaron positioned himself to take the monster down, she was on her feet again, knife in hand, aiming for the same spot Aaron had already attacked.
The Vampire’s eyes shifted from one Guardian to the other. Aaron wasn’t playing. He slammed into the brute’s chest with all of his strength, knees making contact with pecs, and the Vampire stumbled backward. Eliza’s knife hit its mark, dragging against his side, cutting through the white material of the Vampire’s shirt, trailing through bones that snapped and popped as he hit the ground hard, his lengthy body spanning the top of two or three of the holes.
Careful not to end up inside of one of those traps, Aaron moved his knees to take up the width of the monster’s shoulders and pressed down as Eliza pulled her knife out and slammed it down again, this time into the Vampire’s lungs. He sputtered but he wasn’t giving up. His shoulders lifted off of the ground as he fought to get up, but Aaron wasn’t having any of it. He brought Van’s knife down into the monster’s jugular and began to slice. Black plumes of smoke obscured his vision, but he didn’t need to see to know how to behead a Vampire. He continued to saw, despite the Vampire’s best efforts to shake the Guardians off. It would take a lot of effort and several minutes to saw through such a wide expanse, but he needed to hurry, because over to his left, he could see Cadence was still struggling. The fire on her leg was out, but she was limping, and even though it didn’t seem to be slowing her down as she launched herself back at Daunator, he didn’t like how close they were to the edge of the mountain.
Extra hands on the monster were helpful. Elliott, still covered in drying blood, took hold of the beast’s head and held it still, and Jamie was behind him, holding his legs. “You end that bitch already?” Eliza asked, continuing to stab the Vampire in the trunk, despite the fact that it was no longer helpful.
“Nope. You’re still in front of me,” Elliott said, and Eliza glared at him. “Oh, you meant that other bitch. Yeah, well, in fairness, she tripped over one of Daunator’s own damn holes and nearly fell in. So that made it easier.”
“Did you behead her?” Aaron asked, his knife passing through the center of the Vampire’s neck now.
“Yes, but her neck wasn’t nearly as thick as this bastard’s,” Jamie said.
“We unscrewed it,” Elliott continued. “I just love a satisfying pop.”
Aaron agreed, but that’s not the sound he would hear in a moment when this bloodsucker’s head was severed. The sound of a Vampire’s last shout as it exited into the afterlife would be a welcome noise.
Instead, the sound of an explosion had his head turning back the way they’d come. “What the hell?” It was hard to see from this angle, and any less pressure on the Vampire’s torso had the monster bucking up, trying to get away, despite the fact that his head was only hanging on by a sliver. Aaron switched to Heather’s IAC so he could have a bird’s eye view of what had happened.
“Oh, shit,” Jamie mumbled, apparently just realizing what had made that noise. “I’ve gotta go.”
“Yep,” Aaron muttered as Eliza shifted slightly so that she was counteracting Jamie’s hasty exit. Aaron couldn’t blame the Healer for taking off back the way he’d just come. Apparently, Shane had attempted to use the crossbow without asking anyone if that was a good idea. The explosion was the sound of the arrow he’d fired blowing up, but rather than heading off toward Daunator, or whatever the Guardian’s intended target had been, the tree to Shane’s right was on fire—as was the Hunter who was handcuffed to it. Aurora was screaming, trying to fight her way free. As soon as Jamie was within reach, he sent a blast of blue light in her direction which put the fire out on her skin, but she was still attached to the trunk, and he couldn’t extinguish that fire. Shane rushed over to help free her, and a moment later, the three of them were clear of the flames, Aurora on the ground, and Jamie assessing her injuries.
“Karma,” Elliott muttered, shaking his head, a smile starting to form at the corner of his lips.
Aaron didn’t say anything. He was aware his best pal knew Aurora hadn’t been the one to decide to shoot him, but it had been her finger to pull the trigger, and Aaron couldn’t blame him for being mad.
None of that mattered right now. He had a Vampire to kill. As Hannah declared to everyone, “Be careful. All three of the Healers are taking care of the injured right now, so everyone do your best to stay safe,” Aaron returned his full concentration to the Vampire beneath him.
Forcing Van’s knife through the last tendons, Aaron pulled the blade until the Vampire’s skin tore, and a loud, ominous groan filled the night air. “That’s the sound I like to hear,” he noted, remembering Elliott’s remark from earlier. They were down to two other Vampires besides Daunator, and Margie and Hannah were making short work of the female while Lex, Paul, and Andor were all over the other one. A glance around told him there were several free Guardians heading toward Daunator’s position now, and it seemed perhaps they might actually have a chance to end this in their favor after all.
He stood, wiping Vampire ash from his hands and stashing Van’s knife back in its sheath. Cadence needed him, and there shouldn’t be any other obstacles in his way now that this Vampire had expired. It should only take a few seconds to cover the ground between himself and where the battle raged on.
“Oh, shit!” Elliott exclaimed, causing Aaron to turn in the direction his friend was facing. He hadn’t quite pulled his eyes off of the mess on the ground around him, but when he did, he wished he hadn’t even looked. A blast of bright light filled the sky, and then his heart froze in his chest as his entire world fell apart.
