Broken Souls (25 page)

One of the males reared back a hand and punched her straight
through the jaw, hard. Her head fell to the side and she blinked as though
stunned. The three dragged her away into the darkness.

“Now where were we?” Horus asked the rhetorical question
only to be responded by silence. The entire desert fell quiet as though waiting
with baited breath like the rest of us. I could see Horus smile over at me, but
would not give him the satisfaction of acknowledging him. Instead, I gazed at
Guy, the only person I had left to live for, borrowing his strength for my own.

“Oh, yes,” Horus said, in mock realization, his voice
echoing through the chill atmosphere. “Lest I forget. Three.” Horus began to
turn the wheel, the rotation causing the trap door beneath me to shiver, creak,
and slowly lower. The strain on my neck had me standing on my toes and my face
bulged with the compression of the rope.

Suddenly, the oxygen around us seemed to leave the air, and
the next series of events which took place happened so fast, I hardly had time
to comprehend them.

Before Horus could fully activate the lever, a gust of wind
blasted through the scene accompanied by a blur of colors. My hair whipped in
front of my face and once it fell away, I saw a face I’d never imagined to see
standing on the platform directly in front of us.

“Wilson,” I went to say, but was unable due to the
restriction of my throat. I stared at my friend who was supposed to be dead,
images of his house exploding quickly flashing to mind. His dark eyes glowered
at Horus, his bolo tie swinging in the breeze.

“De LeBlanc,” Horus breathed with his hands on the wheel,
his face draining of color. I got the sudden feeling that Horus, like me,
assumed he was dead, yet probably for different reasons than my own. “But… but
you’re…”

“Dead?” Wilson smirked, looking nothing like a corpse, but
rather very much alive. Alive and pissed off. “No, Horus, I’m here in the
flesh. And this…” Wilson raised a fist, rearing back his arm. “Is for Nora.”

No sooner had the words left his lips did his fist meet
Horus’ face in a crack that resembled a clap of thunder, his enemy’s body
flying from the platform to the ground below. With Horus’ hands no longer on
the lever, the trap door beneath me began to buckle, my feet sinking another
inch into the square hole. I choked and sputtered, grabbing at the rope around
my neck, my eyes tearing from the strain. Wilson grabbed the wheel and spun it
in the opposite direction, rising me up to relieve the tension. But he quickly
became distracted by Horus bolting to his feet below. My now miraculously-alive
mentor flew from the gallows and landed on the ground in a resounding boom,
squaring off with his opponent.

Wilson stared at Horus, and Horus stared at Wilson, like
they were the only two beings in existence, tension hanging thick in the silent
air. Just when I was sure the staring contest would last as long as an extra
inning baseball game, Wilson’s jaw twitched, indicating his rage.

With that, and almost faster than my eyes could see, the two
vampires rose from the ground and clashed together in mid-air, the crowd around
them quickly backing away to avoid the collision.

Punches were thrown and the sounds of skin cracking against
skin echoed from the fight, the two vampires hanging aloft in the air. Horus
drifted backward and spun, planting a roundhouse kick to Wilson’s middle,
sending him hurling to the ground. But my mentor quickly recovered and Horus
dropped to the dirt facing him in a stand-off position. They circled each other
with fisted hands, their sharp fangs extended, ready to draw blood. I couldn’t
help but worry that Horus might just be stronger than Wilson.

My musings were interrupted when Horus’ eyes flashed,
signaling his attack. He flew at Wilson in a streak of black, but just as he
reached his adversary, Wilson grabbed him by the shirt and flung him overhead
to land on the ground behind him. It was Horus’ turn to shoot to his feet, the
two facing off yet again.

The fight seemed to go on forever in a blur of arms and
legs, attacks and thwarts, until suddenly Wilson slammed Horus to the ground,
pinning him beneath his body. My heart rate quickened as he withdrew a wooden
dagger and with hatred in his eyes, reared back his arm, ready to spear Horus’
heart. With the rope around my neck now relaxed, I panted, glancing between the
two vampires in suspense.

Wilson growled, a primal sound, and was about to strike when
Natalia came from nowhere, knocking him from his predominant position.

Now free, Horus flew to his feet, his maniacal gaze scanning
the surrounding vampires. He screamed out in a hair-raising pitch. “What are
you fools waiting for? Get them!”

That’s when pandemonium struck. With a snap of his fingers,
Horus’ vampires split into two groups, rushing Wilson, and then Guy, who still
held Cloe at gunpoint. A vampire wearing a red coat ripped Cloe away and threw
her against the gates, her body slumping to the ground limply. The humans, who
were now unguarded screamed and ran for the van.

And like a bolt of lightning, Guy averted the vampires’
attacks and flashed to Wilson, joining him in the fight. Despite the chaos and,
what’s more, the damned rope that was still around my neck, my heart warmed at
seeing the odd couple reunited. Guy and Wilson stood back to back, fighting
against the vampires, fangs bared and bullets flying.

Though clearly well-trained fighters and better than most of
Horus’ lackeys, Guy and Wilson were still highly outnumbered, and being pushed
closer together as the group closed in around them. Just when I thought we’d
lost the fight, and it was pointless in even trying, Wilson whistled between
his teeth, the high-pitch of it echoing throughout the desert.

 I scrunched my brows, wondering what or who he was calling
and glanced around to see nothing. But only moments later, dozens of faces
began to emerge from the darkness, and I knew in an instant that Wilson had
lots of friends.

Werewolves, witches, and vampires flew into the fight,
taking up arms against the Tombstone vampires. Sounds of combat erupted all
around and I spun my head not knowing which way to look.

Suddenly, my focus was diverted when I heard a low and feral
hiss, and I knew in an instant Horus was coming for me. I turned to see him
atop the platform, his eyes like pools of black nothingness as he targeted in
on me. His fangs descended and I braced myself for his attack, but Pandora
materialized before him, obviously having gotten away from her captors. He exploded
with fury at the obstacle.

“Get out of my way traitor! Unless you’d like to die first.”

Pandora put her hands on her hips and flipped her red hair.
“I’ve seen death, Horus, and I’m not afraid. I’m especially not afraid of a
pale, self-indulgent ass like yourself.”

Horus flew at her, the two engaging in hand-to-hand combat
just in front of me, and I stumbled backward as much as was possible to avoid
their brawling. I frantically searched the scene for Cloe and saw her lying
slumped to the ground against the wall, knocked senseless. I knew she still had
the suppressant in her system and wasn’t healing fast enough to fight. I
frantically tried to loosen the rope around my neck but was interrupted when
Natalia landed before me, her Victorian dress ripped and hanging off one
shoulder. Her usually perfect hair hung ragged and her gaze flared as she eyed
the lever. Great, just the vampire I wanted to see.

With a flick of her wrists, she spun the wooden wheel, and
flashed me a smile. Not a second later I plummeted through the hole in the
floor, the air leaving my lungs in a gasp.

The noose yanked my head back as I hit the bottom of my
fall, bright-white light flashing before my eyes, and I was sure my neck had
broken and I was dead. But after a moment, my vision cleared and I realized
that I was still alive— albeit, hanging to death and being strangled by the
noose, but currently still alive.

I grasped at the rope, choking and kicking, my legs dangling
at least three feet from the ground. I frantically scanned the myriad of fights
surrounding me, begging someone to cut me down. Horus and Pandora’s bodies
dropped from the platform above, landing to roll across the ground in front of
me. My mind began to grow hazy and I saw spots before my eyes as I watched
them, my lungs burning with the need to breathe. In that moment and, since
being turned into a vampire, I’d never felt so human before, the suppressant
traveling my veins acting as an antibiotic to my supernatural abilities. If I
wasn’t released soon, and I mean in like three seconds, I would surely perish
just as my human body had the first time I died.

As if on cue I heard a gnawing sound, like metal against
fiber, and my body fell to the ground, my knees buckling beneath me. I breathed
in sharply, sucking in huge lungful’s of air, as I felt the rope around my neck
being loosened and pulled free from my head. I glanced up and, like a veil
being lifted from my eyes, saw Guy standing there with a knife in his hand and
relieved expression on his face. He pulled me to my feet and I fell into his
arms, bringing up a hand to rub the sore ring around my neck.

“Hurry to the van,” he said. “And lock yourself inside with
the humans.”

Yet before I could agree and get myself to safety, Guy’s
body was ripped away by a hefty-sized vampire and they toppled away together. My
mind spun in dizzy circles, not knowing which way to look. Werewolves and
witches fought vampires, vampires fought vampires, and Guy and his opponent
fought like a well-oiled fighting machine. I could tell that Guy was right, and
with my blood in his body, he was almost as strong as the vampires, yet more
skilled from his years of training. He slit the throat of his attacker and spun
to meet another one behind him. The second one never knew what hit him; a silver
bullet to the brain. I marveled at the way Guy’s muscles moved with grace, his
body sculpted like that of an Olympian.

And then our eyes met, and for one long moment he and I just
looked at each other, wondering if this would be our last fight together.

By the expression on his face, he was just as confident of
the outcome as I was, and when I say confident, I mean… completely unsure. But
if this was indeed my last night alive, I wanted to go out in a blaze of glory
with Guy by my side.

Simultaneously, we took a step toward each other, but Guy’s
eyes widened, landing just behind me. Through the chaos and screaming I watched
his lips move slowly, his face draining of color. His words took a moment to
catch up to his lips.

“Ruby! Behind you!”

I turned on my heels, only to be slammed by Horus’ body, his
death-breath in my face. Even though I’d fallen to the ground and my world
spun, I found Guy amidst the chaos. Because of his warning to me, he’d lost
focus and was now being mauled by a group of vampires, unable to help me.

Suddenly, my head snapped to the side, a reaction to Horus
punching me straight through the jaw. Stars flashed before my eyes and my face
throbbed, yet I quickly came to and slashed my claws across Horus’ face, his
blood dripping back onto me from the scratches. I struggled beneath him,
against his strength, watching the wounds I’d inflicted on him disappearing
like they’d never even been there. I wasn’t sure what Guy and Wilson had said
about me was true, that I was stronger than Horus, but because of the
suppressant there’d be no way for me to find out now. I was hardly able to hold
my own as it was.

Regardless, my vampire instincts flared and my fangs shot
out, white-hot anger funneling through me like a cyclone. But despite my rage,
I struggled still, unable to move my arms and legs for being pinned beneath
him. Without warning, Horus jammed a knee into my gut, knocking me breathless
yet again.

I needed to channel myself, to hone my strength like Wilson
had taught me, maybe then I could somehow rise above the suppressant’s hold.
Yet I had trouble clearing my mind, for every time I did, another knock would
assault my body. Horus was faster than I’d imagined and his blows struck me
like a steel weapon. His fist met my nose with a resounding snap and I cried
out in pain as he then sank his fangs into my neck. Stinging fire emitted from
our point of contact and I felt the blood leaving my body quickly. Even if I
was able to channel my strength at that point, my body was weakening by the second,
being drained by Horus.

Through foggy vision, I saw a form standing over Horus, and
suddenly knew it was Cloe. She held a plank of wood in her hands, lifting it
above her head. In one swift motion, she swung, cracking the back of Horus’
skull. His head snapped to the side, but only enough to stun him. His grip
loosened on me just enough that I was able to scramble out from beneath him. I
staggered back, feeling the blood trickling down my neck from the bite wound.

Cloe’s eyes widened as another vampire attacked her,
throwing her to the side. Her plank of wood dropped to the ground and
splintered.

Horus got to his feet, shaking off the blow as though merely
annoyed. His inky gaze caught mine and he stalked forward. I stumbled back,
nearly tripping over my own feet. I eyed the wood behind Horus, wishing I could
reach it and stab it through his heart, but he closed in on me, trapping me in
the corner where the watchtower met the gates.

My body trembled and my breath rasped. I could feel the hope
I’d had of escaping draining from me with every passing moment, leaving fear
and despair in its wake. Just when I thought I was done for, Guy called out to
me, his voice rising above the screams.

“Ruby!” I lifted my lashes to see a glittering stream of
beads fly through the air, the wooden cross from the rosary spinning toward me.
I ignored the fact that Horus rushed at me, only mere inches from contact.
Instead, I focused on the necklace as it flew. But it was so high and I wasn’t
sure I could reach it. I stretched my arm up anyway, and by some miracle the
tip of my finger caught the chain, stopping its forward motion.