Page 105 of House of Crimson Kisses
The market seethes like a hornet nest; there are humans and vampires everywhere.
Half the time I’m throwing kicks and punches and the rest of the time I’m ducking and diving and rolling out of the way to evade being captured.
The confusion is fraught because there appears to be no one dying and minimal bloodshed. This isn’t vampire attacking human.
This is vampires and humans trying to kidnap potential dhampirs. I have to get out of here and get Talulla and Keir out too.
“Lincoln!” He’s occupied fending off yet another assault. “LOOK OUT!” I scream as someone slings a lasso-type rope around his torso. My big friend and confidant crashes to the cobbles as both a hunter and a human pile on only to be ripped off by two vampires.
This is fucking madness. Someone grabs hold of my arm. “You’re one of them too,” she shrieks, followed by, “FATHER!”
“I’m so sorry,” I say and pull my fist back. The punch lands square on her jaw, knocking her out cold. She drops like a stone to the ground, releasing me as I leap over a group of people brawling and reach Keir. I aim a kick to one man’s knee from the side knowing full well the kneecap is going to dislocate. I feel bad for about half a second, but he is trying to kidnap Keir, so like... too fucking bad, mate.
It’s enough of a dislodge for Keir to twist himself round and use the body of the man holding him to leap free.
“Talulla next,” I shout and together we fight our way through the crowd to the vampires trying to exit the square with her.
“I don’t have any stakes, this is going to be messy,” I say to Keir.
“I’ve only got one.”
“Keep it, my fists are hungry.” I dodge around two protesters fighting, both of them slamming their placards against each other like swords.
Fucking morons. It’s like the square is possessed.
“You take the one on the right, I’ll go left,” I say. Keir fist bumps me, and we launch an attack.
I leap onto the back of the vampire holding Talulla’s legs. He can’t expect it because he unceremoniously drops Talulla’s legs and her feet slam to the ground. It’s enough of a dead weight that the torso of the vampire holding jerks. His grip slips and she crashes to the cobbles. Before he can re-grab her, she’s rolling out of the way and swinging her legs around, taking him out where he stands.
It goes well. For about three seconds. And then another three vampires appear, and I know we’re completely screwed.
Someone grabs both of my legs, locking their arms around me and tackling me to the ground. I can’t get out because his grip around my feet is like concrete.
I land blow after blow to his head, but he laughs at me as blood splatters the ground and his wounds heal before my eyes.
“Fuck.”
A rich iron scent drifts on the air. My head snaps up, searching for the source. While Talulla is defending herself, she too, is weaponless, and she’s bleeding from her arm and cheek. The blood is making the vampires practically drool. They’re not the only ones. My mouth fills with saliva.
Keir is throwing punches, but he too is injured, the arm holding the stake is hanging limp and one of his legs is unstable.
Shit. We’re not getting out of this alive if something doesn’t shift.
There’s a flash of blonde and a rushing sound and suddenly the vampire pinning me to the ground is flying through the air.
“What the fuck?” I try to catch sight of which vampire is helping. But they’re moving too fast.
It’s not Octavia. The hair is too blonde, the body too small. That’s when the blood drains from my face.
“Amelia?” I shriek.
Oh gods, no. She’s not trained. She’ll get hurt. What if someone stakes her by accident, thinking it’s a vampire against us?
I’m up and on my feet and desperate to intervene and fight and protect her when a strange realisation washes over me. She is fighting to protectme, and she’s arguably faster and stronger than me. I stagger back, momentarily shaken by this truth when Amelia stops long enough to shriek at me, “Get them out of here, Octavia is coming...” There’s a cut and a bruise under her eye, but by the time she’s finished shouting at me, they’re healed and she’s a blur of frenzied fists and harried kicks.
I blink at the space she occupied, trying to compute the fact that my sister, Amelia, the one I spent most of my adult life looking after is here, now, in the middle of a fray and the one protecting me. It doesn’t make sense.
But I’m shoved forwards, and the blow knocks me to my senses. I stumble but correct myself quickly and land a roundhouse kick to the head of the vampire who was lunging for Talulla again.
