Page 48 of My Master
He raised an eyebrow. “I see,” he said. “I think I’m going to enjoy you very much.”
She took a step back, only to get her back pressed against a wall. The surge of adrenaline tickled her veins, it tickled her brain. Time slowed out before her, everything was perfectly clear and Esmeralda didn’t even scream when the werewolf pounced.
* * *
There wasa nagging at the back of his brain, a voice tickling his mind. It could have been imaginary, for all the attention Antonio paid it. He was too focused on the battle, firing shots at red collared werewolves whenever he saw them.
The effect a silver bullet could have on a wolf was disconcerting. It’s like the bullet came to life in a wolf’s skin, digging itself into the flesh, expanding, filling them with nasty poison that killed them from the inside. The poison in their blood stream would burst their veins and an exudation of black gooey liquid spurted forth from their eyes, as if they were crying black tears.
Antonio didn’t bother with hiding. He went fully out into the battle, charging down the middle of the plaza until he reached the fountain, not bothering with running around it. His boots went into the cold water, seeping through and filling him with an icy feeling. He shot without thinking twice about it, making it a relatively easy task getting around. He didn’t bother protecting citizens, that’s what the FBSI was there for. He had one interest and one interest only: finding Isis.
He stomped through the blood stained water, stepping over overturned bodies until he made it to the other side. He shot an advancing wolf and kept going forward. There was a closed off section in the mall, it looked like a dark alleyway to him; stores made of bricks, metal and glass enclosed from the rest of the place. It seemed like one of those sections that nobody even bothered to visit. He made his way toward it, thinking that if he wanted privacy, he would hide there.
He made it down the alley, next to a store called Rotten Banana and paused for a moment, sniffing the air. He wanted to know what it was he was walking in to. Normally, he would have rushed in without a second thought. But he had to protect himself—for Esmeralda’s sake.
Suddenly, the glass doors to the Rotten Banana opened and Antonio quickly slid deep into the shadows, holding his breath. Out of the doors came two werewolves, behind them a line of humans with shredded clothes and blank expressions. No—not humans—he squinted his eyes closely. Newly Made vampires. Their eyes were red and blank, their fangs nipping their bottom lips and extracting blood. So, it seemed that Caesareon had begun his plan; had begun to create his army.
The last of the newly Made vampires stepped forward and walked out of sight, going back to the opposite direction into the battle, or so it seemed. It looked as though they were being led off into a different store. Antonio didn’t bother to wonder about it. He was about to step out into the light and go into the store when another girl came out.
She looked like a teenager, though he was sure she wasn’t newly Made. Her eyes glowed red, but she was in full red battle gear, walking calmly outside, with her arms swinging at her sides. Her hair was black and cut short in a bob around her face and Antonio recognized her instantly. She was the girl from the surveillance video, the one who had torn the woman’s head off before muttering “Long live Caesareon.” He wanted to lurch forth and kill her, only because he assumed that she was in a high position next to her boss, but he couldn’t afford to do so.
He waited until she was gone, waited a while after that to assure himself that no one would walk out again. During the time he waited, he zeroed his senses in on that store, counting the breaths, the footsteps, the heartbeats. There were two people in there. Only two and he could tell from the scent of one of them that it was Isis.
He took a deep breath, and rushed forward.
* * *
Caesareon had changedthem all and was able to slip into their minds, controlling their every move. He ordered his wolves to take them to the designated store to feed, so that they’d be strong enough for battle. Isis wanted to shudder, only imagining the awful way in which they were going to feed.
He had sent Demetria into battle, claiming he needed her no longer. She started to protest, but with one glare from her master, she had no choice but to obey. She gave him one last long lingering look and kissed him. For once, he kissed her back, leaving her speechless and happy. At least she left in a good mood, without a backwards glance towards Isis.
Once alone, Caesareon pulled Isis next to him and he began trailing circles behind her neck, tossing aside her long hair. “My warrior,” he whispered into her ear, sending shivers of fear down her side. “We are so very close to our goal. Without you, none of this would be possible.”
She felt his hold on her slip and she moved around, sidestepping him, so she was out of his reach. “I’m sure you could have very well accomplished this without me,” she stated matter-of-factly. He only wanted her as a trophy, she knew. She and this world were only prizes to him. She wished he would lose.
“You were my muse, darling.”
Before she had the chance to reply to this, the glass doors beyond slid open. They both snapped their attention upwards and Isis gaped at the familiarity she saw before her. In his dark leather jacket and jeans and boots, an FBSI vest strapped to his chest, a silver gun in hand, curly hair matted wetly around his face, silver scar blazing as bright as his red eyes, stood Antonio Santiago.
* * *
Esmeralda duckedout of the creature’s grasp, her scream caught in her throat. The wolf didn’t think she would dodge him and ran face first into the brick wall that had been behind her. A loud howl pierced her ears and by that point she wasn’t sure if she had or if the wolf had because she was running as fast as she could be carried. Each time her feet touched the ground, it sent electric jolts up her stomach.
A growl sounded behind her and she was aware of the wolf following at her feet. And then she was hauled backwards by the hood of her sweatshirt and flung in the air towards the wall. She twisted in the air, protecting her stomach with her hands. She was slammed against it back first and slid down it.
For a moment she was immobile with fear, fear that she had broken something and couldn’t get up to protect herself. But that wasn’t it. She knew that if she ran he would only catch up to her, enjoying the chase very much like the wolf that he was.
So she sat there, clearing the tears of the blow from her vision, waiting for him to advance on her. The wolf dropped on all fours before her, mouth pulled back in what looked like a maniacal smile. She didn’t shudder, didn’t cringe back. Instead, she tilted her chin up in defiance, already trying to form a plan in her mind.
Then she had it.
The wolf brought his head down, snapping at her. Without hesitation, she brought forth her foot and kicked the wolf in the head, causing his head to snap back. At first she wasn’t sure if she had hit him hard enough, but when he started to shake his head back and forth, as if confused, she knew that she had. And she jumped up and around him, landing on his massive back. She figured it was much like horse riding, except even more dangerous. She grabbed him by the back of the red collar andpulled, cutting off his airway.
Vampires could hold their breath for a few hours, but werewolves were a different story. Her newfound strength was an advantage, being pregnant, however, was a disadvantage. He jumped up, arching his back at the same time in crazy movements much like a bull would.
She held onto his neck for dear life as she tried to choke the life from him. It was flawed, because he was too strong for her and her grip kept slipping. Her head had begun to spin from the bouncing feeling, a snarl escaped her mouth and a surge of electric jolts sizzled through her fingertips. She grabbed the side of his head and in one strong movement she cracked his neck to the side, breaking the bones.
He stopped moving and fell under her. She paused for a moment, to reassure herself that this had just happened. She had just killed a man. Granted, he wanted to eat her, possibly more, and she had no other choice. She had a second life to protect now.
