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CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
ENDER
There’s a hammering on the door that startles Mads, who is clearly caught up in whatever he’s making. As soon as it was done cooling, he was back on task and spared not a second for anything else. Not that I wanted him to stop what he was doing just to stare at me or something.
“FUCK,” Mads hisses before tossing the current thing he’s working on into the sink.
“What was that?” I ask.
“Open the door!” Finn shouts.
“Coming,” I say as I hurry over and swing it open.
Finn looks quite anxious about something as he comes in with the others following him. “Soooo, funny story. You know how you wanted us to figure out who was on our side with the council before calling for a council meeting… guess what? A council meeting was just called. They insist the VRC be present. We tried to hold them back. We told them about the attack, how we couldn’t be there right now… it’s obvious Abel is going to be there.”
“Fuck, fuck, no,” Mads says as he scrambles around. “I need to do this again, and it needs time to cool, and what if it’s still not right?”
“You don’t have the powder ready?” Finn asks.
“I have enough ready for one use. I wanted to make more, but it takes so long and so many resources. I have that and the antidote, but I wanted to make sure you all had more stuff. If Abel is calling this, you know he’s going to be prepared. He’s going to have a lot of people there. What if there are people outside too? I made a couple of bombs for you too, but like… will you even have a chance to use them if innocent council members are mixed in?”
Marcus doesn’t look concerned at all. “Well, if Abel is going to have a lot of people there, it sounds like it’s best to implement our plan now. He’d expect it even less if he’s the one who had them call the meeting. And I’m sure this meeting is to figure out who is on his side and who isn’t. The longer we wait, the more people will die. We have our plan. You tell us how to distribute the powder. We will inject the antidote into every council member to be positive that we don’t miss anyone and… go from there.”
“Go from there?” Mads asks. “That sounds like a horrible idea.”
“This should at least weaken Abel. I understand it won’t kill him, but it’ll weaken him, right?” Finn asks, sounding quite hopeful.
Mads nods, but it’s apparent he’s not on board. “Hopefully, but… just don’t go. He’ll call another one, and then we’ll be more prepared.”
“But that’s just it,” Alexei says. “He’s doing this so we’re not prepared. He wants to get at us while we’re already down, but we won’t let him. And like Marcus said, the more we wait, the more death there will be.”
Mads looks panicked and turns back to his work. “I don’t… what if we just run? Leave it to someone else? Why do we have to be the ones to do this? There are other people.”
I reach out toward Mads, not wanting to disrupt what he’s doing but positive that he needs to be calmed down. “Mads.”
He hesitates before turning to me. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize. The rest of us have been doing shit like this for hundreds of years. I mean, maybe not the baby human over there, but the rest of us have.”
“Baby… human. Excuse me?” Finn asks with a raised brow.
Ignoring him, I continue, “Even if we can’t kill him, we can knock down a significant number of his followers. Okay?”
Mads slowly nods. “Okay… Right… yes. You’re right. I’m sorry. Okay, so antidotes have to be administered before this is released. This shit is the most lethal dose I could possibly make, do you understand? Do not let this canister get damaged before you have taken the antidote or you will die. If a vampire even touches it, it could kill them.”
“I’ll do it,” Finn offers.
“No, I will handle it. Finn, you will stay out of the room. We have no idea what this could do to you,” Marcus says.
“So I’m supposed to just stand outside while you guys do everything?” Finn asks anxiously, obviously not pleased by this.
“Finn, if you are staying outside of the building, you will be in charge of multiple Soup 2.0s,” Mads says, and I think this might be the only thing that would get Finn to agree. “This version might kill the vampires. But in case it doesn’t, you can apprehend them while they’re down. Understood?”
Finn looks even less reassured. “Umm… I guess, but dear god, it sounds terrifying.”
“Find a good spot for it. The radius isn’t huge because I don’t want to kill innocents. You saw the radius with Grady? These are about the same. I believe they’d be best spread out. They just need friction to go off, so shoot them with a bullet and they should detonate.”
“This… is terrifying,” Finn mutters.
Mads turns to face everyone. “Any questions?”
“How long does the antidote last and how long is the powder lethal?” Claude asks.
“The antidote… I don’t know… five minutes, maybe? I haven’t done enough testing on it since it’s a bit… risky. The powder becomes inert and safe to breathe or touch within a minute or less. This canister they got me was perfect. It needs to be placed somewhere central, and once it’s set off, it will be lethal for a short period until it becomes too exposed to oxygen.”
“We’ll try our best,” Finn says. “You’re going to have to stay here, though. We can’t have Abel seeing that you’re alive or he’ll know something is up.”
Mads nods, and I’m surprised he’s willing to agree. The others shuffle out, leaving just the two of us.
“I’ll see you in a while.”
Mads looks worried. “Please be careful. If you’re getting overpowered, draw back. Please.”
“I will,” I assure him.
“I’m begging you.” He steps up to me and his hands slide into my hair. “Please.”
“I promise. I’m going to be very careful. I’m aware that Abel will likely target me, but if I can just keep him preoccupied, Marcus, Claude, or Alexei can drive him down.”
“Yeah,” Mads says quietly as his hands tighten in my hair. He sets his forehead against my own and closes his eyes. “I can’t lose someone again.”
“I’ll be careful. And you promise me you’ll stay here? You won’t get involved? You’ve already done so much and… I mean… let’s just say fighting with your fists isn’t your strong suit.”
Mads grins as he pulls back enough to look at me. “Trust me. No offense taken.” Then he leans in and kisses me. It’s quick, since I can tell he’s anxious about something he has on the table and he’s already left it for quite a while. But hopefully we’ll have plenty of time to kiss after this.
He squeezes my hand before drawing away. “I’ll see you shortly.”
“I’ll be back soon. After this is all over, I’ll help you find the vampires who killed your family.”
“Thank you.”
“Just… if something does happen to me, promise me you’ll find a safe place for Rylee?”
“I would take care of her myself. I promise you that she is the safest of us all.”
I nod, really hoping that’s true. “Thank you.” And with that, I rush out the door. I don’t get far before Finn, who’d been right outside the door, grabs my wrist.
“That favor you promised me?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
“I want to use it.”
“For?”
“Please keep Marcus safe so he can come home to me,” Finn whispers.
“You don’t need to use your favor on that,” I say. “I will do everything I can to make sure he doesn’t get hurt.”
Finn nods, but he still looks quite anxious.
Once we’re in the transport vehicle, it starts toward the council hall. Marcus goes over a few finer details, but my mind is running wild. What if I fuck up? What if we don’t do this right? What if… what if…
When did I begin panicking so much?
“Can I talk to Rylee?” I ask.
“Yeah, River has her. Let me call him,” DeGray says before pulling his phone out and calling River. “Hey. Can you put Rylee on? Thank you. Yep… I will be. I love you so much.”
He passes the phone to me as I realize that I’m surrounded by so many people who could lose so much if I fuck up. I feel uneasy as I reach out and take the phone, but I know I can’t show it to Rylee.
“Hello?” she answers.
“Are you dragging that poor cat around some more?” I ask.
“He loves it. When are you coming back? You keep leaving and I don’t like it.”
“Soon. Very soon. And then we can watch whatever movie you want. Or do you want to play a board game? We can play a board game. Or even a video game.”
“You told me video games aren’t fun.”
“Yeah? Well, that’s because I’ve never played one. So why don’t you show me how to play one? You think about it and tell me what game you want to play.”
“But I don’t have anything to play it on.”
“I’ll buy you something,” I assure her. “You tell me what you want, and when I’m done, we’ll go buy you all of that stuff.”
“But if we’re moving around, you said it’s hard to take a bunch of stuff with us…”
“Maybe we don’t have to.”
Rylee sounds excited. “Yeah? We could live here? Can we have a pool?”
“I don’t know about that.”
“I’ll have a room? And stuff that’s my own?”
“Of course.”
“We can share a room. I don’t care. As long as you’re not leaving. I really don’t need anything as long as you don’t leave.”
I’d love it if she didn’t have to worry about that. When I took her from her abusive mother, she didn’t care about anything. And now she seems to care about me and clearly this cat… but I want her to care about stupid little things too. I want her to be a child, to not have to worry every time I step out that door that her life will go back to how it was before me. It’s like she doesn’t even realize that the life we have isn’t that good. Rylee deserves normalcy. She deserves a chance to go to school and make friends. She deserves so much.
“Okay. Sounds good,” I say, knowing we both have a long way to go, but hell… at least we’re headed in the right direction. “I have to go, but I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“I love you so much.”
“I love you more.”
“Hmm… I don’t know about that,” I say.
“Well I do!”
“Nah, I do,” I tell her, and I end the call before she can say it again, which I know will get her riled up. I hand the phone back to DeGray. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” he says.
We pull up to the council hall, and I look at the others before they can get out of the vehicle. “I really can do this alone. All of you don’t have to risk your lives and your happiness.”
“You’re not going to make us feel sorry for you and forgive you by dying a hero and all of that shit,” Alexei says. “We’re in this together.”
“Let’s go,” Marcus orders.
I don’t know what else to say, so I just trail after them.
We meet Brooks and Orin at the door while Finn joins Chief Burns, who will be staying outside with him.
Callum, seeing us, hurries over. “What the hell is this that I heard about the VRC being attacked? What happened?”
Leona simply walks on by as I watch her, feeling confident that there’s a reason she doesn’t care to hear about it.
“We’re hoping to discuss that with the council,” Claude says as I see Harris hovering nearby, trying to listen in without getting too close and having to face my wrath.
“Where is Mads? You found him, right?” Callum asks.
“Mads was killed in the attack on the VRC,” Marcus says, his eyes on Finn who is walking with Briar and the chief.
“I heard he shot himself,” Ha-Joon says. “Is that true?”
Arrington, who has just walked up, looks at him in disbelief. “Mads… fucking Mads shot himself? Why the fuck would he have shot himself?”
“We’ll discuss it inside,” Marcus says. “Is everyone here?”
“Most are…” Callum responds. “I’m still reeling. Are you sure Mads did that?”
“Come on, we’ll explain what happened in front of everyone,” Marcus says.
We head inside the building, and I feel like I’m willingly crawling into that dark box. It’s quite smothering in here when Mads isn’t with me. When did I get so dependent on him to make me feel less shitty?
The moment I enter the room, everyone stops what they’re doing to stare at me, but none of them demand I leave. Instead, I walk around the table to the far side so that I’m facing the door and will see Abel the second he walks in. Instead of clumping together, the members of the VRC and Orin are situated in different areas so they can inject those around them with the antidote while I, hopefully, distract Abel and his people. It might not be enough, but we have to try.
“I’m hoping you’ll also explain what happened to Vivian?” Arrington asks.
“We will,” Marcus says. “Is this everyone?”
Claude’s phone vibrates, and when he tilts it toward me, I see that it’s a text from Finn that says, “Abel is here. He’s coming inside with over twenty vampires, but he’s left a significant number out here. It’s hard to tell, but Briar believes there are at least forty. Could be more that we don’t see.”
Right on cue, I can hear people entering the building, moving toward the room we’re currently inside as I feel completely boxed in even though the area is quite large. The door swings open and Abel steps inside along with at least twenty-five vampires.
Abel’s eyes are almost immediately on me and the instant they lock on, that irritating smile just blooms across his face. “Fucking hell, Ender, it’s a pleasure to see that you’ve come. Are you here to play nice? Or are you here to disrupt shit? You had to have assumed I’d be here, so were you hoping to see me?”
I say nothing as he smirks at me, looking pleased with himself.
“Abel?” Callum asks, looking surprised. “I thought you were removed from the council.”
“Can you really remove me from something I created?” Abel asks as he reaches out and grabs the back of Callum’s head. “This… all of this… is mine.”
And then he slams Callum’s head down on the table. The sound of bones breaking makes everyone in the room fall still. When he pulls Callum’s head up, Callum looks terrified as blood pours from his broken nose.
“I created the council, and I am taking control of it. And if anyone in this room has a problem with that, I’d love to hear it. The VRC has already seen how little control they have. Would you like to share what happened?”
Marcus remains silent, likely trying to see how many are on Abel’s side.
“I used my resources to draw you all to the US so we could talk. I mean… what better timing than after my dear Ender killed Addison, who was very important to me.”
“Well, you killed the rest, didn’t you?” I ask.
“Addison merely removed those she no longer needed.”
“And I no longer needed her. I found that fair,” I say.
Abel’s grin tells me that he didn’t find it as fair as I did. “Cute. I am here to explain that I will be retaking control of all councils.”
“Y-You can’t do that,” Harris stammers.
“I very much can,” Abel says, cutting the man’s head off as quick as that. It’s so fast that most people don’t even realize what’s happened until his head hits the table. I keep an eye on the ones who draw back, but some, like Leona, do not. “Does anyone else have any issues with this?”
Deafening silence fills the room. A few look at Marcus like they really think the VRC should be doing something about this.
“Why are you even playing with the VRC?” a woman from the council asks Abel.
“Or Ender,” Leona adds. “Ender has killed countless of your children, and you just forgive him for it?”
“I do,” Abel says. “He could kill you right now, and if it meant he’d join my side, I wouldn’t give a shit.”
This is obviously not the answer Leona is looking for, but when she’s willingly working with a psychopath like him, I’m not quite sure how she could possibly be surprised.
“What do you hope to gain out of this?” Callum asks, and I have to hand it to the man. I didn’t think he’d be someone who’d speak up while the blood from Harris’s head runs down the table toward him.
Abel is visibly enjoying the tension that has coated the room. “Honestly, it doesn’t fucking matter. But I’m feeling good today, so I’ll answer your stupid questions. Well… I was feeling better before Mads fucking shot himself. But I’m still feeling good because it’s become evident how insignificant those who stand up against me actually are. There is no one in this room with true power besides me. I have played a long fucking game sliding the pieces into place, removing those who are insignificant to me. Most of you were sent by higher-ups who are already on my side. They sent you, believing you had strengths that could benefit me. So this is your chance. And this is the only chance you’re going to get.”
His eyes shift up to me. “I’m speaking about all of you. This is your last chance.”
I smirk at him.
Of course that irritates him. Everyone in this room could drop to their knees in front of him and offer their throats and still, his eyes would only be on me. “Ender, come on. You really think you can take me down? You really fucking think—surrounded by all of these people—you could kill me? I saw the way you cared for Mads. I saw that you were willing to risk yourself for him and still, death is all that found him. Everyone you care about dies. You try to fight so fucking hard against what is laid out before you when you need to embrace it.”
Still, I say nothing, and this seems to piss him off. With a growl, he throws a woman out of her chair and she hits the ground hard enough I hear bones break as he starts toward me. This is what we needed, to get him away from the door so he can’t quickly leave and we have time to stop him.
The moment he’s fixated on me, Marcus will kick off the plan and the chain of events will fall into place.
The only question is… will they fall right?
Abel rounds the table, and I see Marcus nod. There are many in this room now who might see what we’re up to, so I step forward and slam one of his men into the wall, causing all eyes to immediately focus on me.
“I would rather die than join you.”
“You’ve always said this, Ender. Again and again, you repeat the same shit. Yet you did as I asked. You killed for me.”
“You pushed me out of my control,” I snarl, my attention fully on Abel. Discreetly, I stab myself with the antidote as I throw someone’s phone at him. He smacks it out of the way and one of his vampires goes for me.
I grab him by the throat and Abel does nothing while I crush it. Others try to fill his place but Abel growls at them.
“Do not touch him,” he snaps.
They immediately pull back, well aware that if they don’t listen, they’ll find a fate similar to Harris. I think they’re beginning to realize this sick fascination Abel has with me, and that even after so many years, none of them rank above me.
I hear something hit the table and then combust. That snags Abel’s attention. He’s been so fixated on me that he has absolutely no idea what the others have been doing. They’re so inconsequential to him that he hasn’t even bothered to look up. It’s not until the canister is set off, tossing the poison into the air, that he seems to realize that things are wrong. He’d never fathom that we might risk our lives, so what would he have to fear bringing his own men and women into this place?
The ones closest to the canister just drop. A few turn, like they’re going to run for the door, but none of them ever reach it.
“No… no, no. What the fuck have you done?” Abel yells as he rushes for the door. I slam into him, but he throws me off just as fast. How the fuck is he so strong? It’s like the drug doesn’t even affect him at all.
He pushes through the door, leaving all of his people to their deaths while the council members who have no idea what’s happening panic and flee the room. They get in my way, and I end up having to throw a few back to get through that door. Abel is just going to run, he’s going to flee and find Rylee and Mads, and this will all be for nothing. He’s going to⁠—
I’m slammed to a stop as pain rips into me. I look down at the pipe rammed right through my stomach, staking me to the wall. What the fuck was that? Why was I so wrapped up in my mind that I would let myself get caught like this?
“You’re getting sloppy, Ender,” Abel snarls. “I really think I taught you better than this. How is it that no matter how many chances I give you, you still insist on pissing me off?”
Alexei is on him, trying his hardest to drive a sword through his back and into his heart, but Abel quickly draws back. It only takes seconds before vampires swarm into the building and force Alexei back. Thankfully, Claude isn’t going to let any of them get near Alexei.
I use the moment of reprieve to tear the pipe out of my stomach and hold it tightly in my hand as Abel turns to face me again.
“You were the only creation that I was ever truly proud of, and you’ve thrown it all away,” he says as he shakes his head. “Everything you could have become. Everything⁠—”
Abel jerks back as Marcus attacks. I use the distraction to rush him, hoping that if his attention is on Marcus, I can come up from the back. The problem is that there are just so many of his men and so few of ours that every plan is thrown to shambles.
Even the explosion I hear outside doesn’t seem to cut down on the numbers. He truly has spent years finding those he could manipulate and twist until they followed him unwaveringly.
Marcus is cut off from Abel by at least fifteen vampires, allowing him to come for me again. I dodge his hit and swing the pipe, which he grabs with his hand. He crushes it and throws it so hard it impales Callum who was either fighting or fleeing, I can’t tell. Callum hits the ground hard as Abel’s vampires tear into him.
“They’re just so weak. All of them,” Abel scoffs as he darts to the right. I push into him and when I dodge a strike of his, he doesn’t see my attack until his side is bleeding, but he heals immediately. He’s just on a whole different level, and it doesn’t help when he has so many assisting him. Any time I could possibly get a hit in, I sense someone coming after me and have to move back to protect myself.
Even when I kill one and drop them to the ground, more fill their place. I turn as I see Marcus rush in and I try to use this as an opportunity to reach Abel, but a woman slams into me before I can. I realize she’s a true vampire well before she pushes me back. She has the strength behind her and is an extremely skilled fighter, so I can’t let my attention stray off her.
Another vampire smashes into me, throwing my focus off the woman who uses the opportunity to shove me back, where I crash into a chair that shatters beneath my weight. I roll up and as she presses in, my fingers wrap around the broken chair leg which I drive straight into her heart. She might be able to heal from it, but not anytime soon.
I turn and see that Abel has acquired a blade that he’s using to press against Marcus’s throat where Abel has him cornered. Blood is running down Marcus’s neck, and the only thing stopping it from cutting through the soft tissue is Marcus’s hand on the blade. It’s slicing right into his hand, blood dripping off and onto the ground, as Marcus tries to push it back, but Abel is overpowering him.
I rush forward and just as I see the blade slip on Marcus’s bloody hand, I slam into Abel, driving him back. Abel has so much momentum going with the blade that it cuts right into me, tearing open my chest and side before I can stop it.
Abel is pissed. He wants to kill Marcus and he wants to control me, and currently, he’s not accomplishing either of those things.
My wounds heal, but I know it’s only so long before the blood loss will get to me. There are too many people on his side who keep pushing us back anytime I could do anything to hurt him.
“You are not going to win this. I have hundreds of people, and look around you. You have a couple of council members and a few VRC? The rest are dead. You’re surrounded by death.”
I can’t look away from him to see, but I’m aware he’s not lying. I can feel the slick blood beneath my feet. I can hear someone crying for mercy. I can smell the stench of death. And I want to say that there would’ve been less bloodshed if I’d done this alone, but how the fuck would I have done any of this alone? The monster from my dreams is very much still a monster. Maybe if it was just the two of us or just Marcus and me against Abel, we’d have already won, but not like this. Not when there are so many.
Abel’s vampires close in, wrapping around the spot Marcus and I stand.
“You have a place by my side and that is the only fucking place you belong. Do you understand?” Abel screams. “I’ll let them live if you come to my side.”
I see Claude hit the ground, knocking someone down as another swings a weapon straight for his head. Alexei cuts the man’s head clean off, but a woman quickly fills his place.
“Come to my side and this will end. I’ll let them live.”
How can he still spout such bullshit and expect me to believe any of it? Not that I believed it back then. But he showed me what happened when I didn’t believe him. “You have killed everyone I’ve cared about. You destroyed me. And you really think I’d choose going back to you over death?”
I hear someone coming behind me and I turn, but it only gives Abel an opportunity to tear into me. I fall back, skidding on blood and barely managing to keep from tripping over a body as Abel raises something to cave in my skull. I twist, narrowly avoiding it as I see Alexei try to move in, but he’s not fast enough. The sliver of tension in Abel’s body tells me he notices, but Alexei doesn’t. Abel pivots fast as I shove Alexei to the side, taking a hit to my side that is lessened by the way I’d turned my body. Alexei hits the floor, and I trip over him before scrambling to my feet, but Abel is right on Alexei again. Thankfully, Claude manages to draw Alexei back, aware that fighting isn’t going to end well and he needs to pull him away.
And that is the very moment I see Mads, of all people, sneaking into the fight and bloodshed.
What the fuck is he doing here? He was supposed to stay out of this. He was supposed to be safe. He’s not safe here. The second Abel sees him, he’s going to take him.
An explosion sounds right outside of the building. The noise is deafening and Mads takes that opportunity to rush Abel and stab him with something. Abel doesn’t hear him, but he sure feels it and it causes him to swing back, knocking Mads away from him, not realizing who it is.
“You… fucking…”
“Outside!” Mads yells. “GET OUTSIDE.”
Does he seriously think I’m just going to leave him in here?
I watch as Mads runs and Abel rushes for him, but Mads is almost immediately lost in the crowd. “I’m not going to let you have him.”
“Oh? Then I will simply use your fucking body to get him to come to me, eh? He’s really too nice for his own good.”
Mads’s words strike me again as I realize that this likely means there is some kind of plan outside. Maybe one of the bombs or something, and if I get Abel outside…
But his eyes are on Mads, who is struggling to get through the vampires who’ve realized that this is the very man their maker wants, and if they were to deliver him to Abel, they’d likely get to keep their heads.
I hurry into the crowd and grab Mads, sliding my arms around his body and holding him tightly before jerking him out the door and into the sunlight.
“Oh fuck. Oh fuck,” Mads cries as I see Finn and shove Mads toward him. Quickly, I turn around, prepared to be the barrier between Mads and Abel.
“I will teach you how to fucking listen, Ender,” Abel snarls as he rushes after me. When he sees that we’re not running, he slows down.
“You will not take him.”
Abel merely laughs. “You can say it however much you want, but at the end of the day, words are meaningless. I heard how many times you told yourself that you wouldn’t hurt your brother, and still… you were the one who killed him.”
I’m tired, coated in my own blood, but rage is eating through me… even so, I know I can’t lose control. Maybe that’s what he’s wanting. Maybe he wants to watch me kill those I care for. It sure would make him happy. But I’m in control. I have to be in control. Though if I wasn’t… could I win this? I’m always stronger when I reach that state, but I can’t control who I kill or what I do.
Abel hesitates and looks down at his arm with a confused expression as Mads hurries up behind me and whispers, “Whatever you do, don’t let him go back inside.”
“What?” I ask, but before I can ask more, I see Abel start to back toward the building, almost like Mads predicted he would… but why?
Rushing him, I slam into him, driving him away from the door as he begins clawing at me desperately. His actions have turned from calculating to sporadic. I manage to pull him back as he screams out and turns to attack me. He hits me hard but when Marcus shoves him back, Alexei throws something our way. I snatch up the blade as I see that Abel’s skin is bubbling up, rippling and turning red. He jerks back, aware that we’re not going to let him in the building where the others are blocking the entrance, keeping his people inside. Without hesitation, he turns to run. He finds a tree as I realize that the sun is burning him. The sunlight is eating through his skin like it would a new vampire freshly turned.
Abel doesn’t see me until I slam into him, blade driving into his chest as he’s thrown out of the shade and into the sunlight. He screams and thrashes while his skin burns off him and as he staggers back, I swing the blade, cutting his head clean off.
His blistered head hits the ground as I look up to see where his “children” are. They’ve broken through the barrier created by Alexei, Claude, Brooks, Orin, and DeGray, but I’m ready for them.
When they see their maker’s body on the ground, many stop moving. And when I start toward them, most draw back. They know that without Abel to keep me preoccupied, they’re no match for me. Some think in numbers they still have a chance, but when Alexei kills one who tries to make their way toward me, more pull back. And this time, they flee. The VRC get a few down, but while they’re busy, most take the opportunity to run. I tear a few down in an attempt to help but still, so many get away.
As soon as it’s clear, I hear someone coming up behind me, but I recognize Mads’s footsteps.
“Oh fuck…” Mads whispers as he wraps his arms around me from behind. “Oh fuck. Oh fuck.” His arms tighten. I want to turn to him, but I can’t allow my attention to wander from the vampires we have down and submitting. “Sorry. I don’t mean to distract you, but oh fuck.”
Thankfully, there is little they can do, and most allow the VRC to handcuff them with minimal fighting. It’s this or death and they’re aware of it.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
I reach to where he’s gripping me, and with my free hand, I cup his. My hand is coated in blood, and I’m sure I’m dirtying him, but at this moment, I don’t even care.
“What was that?” I ask. “What did you inject him with?”
“Uh… well… you know how I created something that allows me to walk in the sun? Long story short, instead of using a drug to remove the reason why young vampires can’t walk in the sun but old ones can, I simply reversed it. I injected his body full of that shit and really fucking hoped it’d work. I hoped so desperately that it would work.”
“I would say it worked,” I say as I eye the body.
He lets out a laugh, showing how relieved he is. “Quite well. Thank you for saving so many lives.”