Page 49 of To Save a Vampire
The guards keep their guns trained on Asher as they stop before us. I step closer to them, my finger brushing over the trigger of my gun. Asher lies on the ground looking up at them, a smile on his lips.
“Finally something I’ve looked forward to for years,” he says, but his breaths are labored. He’s still in pain. A lot of pain.
The guards exchange confused glances out of the corners of their eyes, their guns rising higher. Asher leaps to his feet in a flash, gripping one guard by his throat before either of them have time to process the movement. The other guard fires his gun, the bullets smoking as they sink into Asher’s back.
Asher stops. The man hanging by his throat chokes for air as his legs kick at Asher’s shins. He pulls the trigger of his rifle without aim and with little hope. The bullets blaze into Asher’s abdomen, but he doesn’t even flinch. His shirt stains red under the bullet holes.
The other armed man raises his gun to shoot again. This time, his aim is higher, pointed at Asher’s head. His finger pulls against the trigger, but I’m faster.
The man falls to the ground with blood trailing out the back of his skull as I lower my weapon.
Asher’s face falls as he realizes what I’ve done. He breaks the man’s neck instantly. The cracking sound is painful to my ears. The guard’s body thumps inertly to the ground.
Searching my face, Asher pauses, seeming unsure of himself. He steps closer and his hand gently settles over mine, pushing my gun farther down. My shoulders are stiff under the forced movement.
He takes my face in his hands. His hair and skin are covered in blood. I feel the stickiness of the blood on my cheek as his fingers brush against my skin.
“Are you okay?” he asks in a whisper.
I nod, knowing there’s no time to discuss my mental stability. I refuse to allow my mind to think any of this through. I’ll think it through when it’s over. When we’re far, far away from here. When we’re old and dying of natural causes. Then I’ll allow myself to think about everything that has happened.
The last guard walks slowly toward us. He’s a broad man. His gait is that of someone with confidence and power. I raise my gun again, knowing I won’t hesitate. I find a calmness with that thought.
The man raises his weapon, as well. I pull the trigger, but, instead of the echo of gunfire, I am met with a quiet clicking noise against my palms.
The clip’s empty.
I stuff the useless gun into its holster and take a deep breath. I’m prepared to fight or die or fight and then die. But I can’t back down. I can’t leave Asher.
Only seconds pass. Asher turns his body toward the guard, seeing him for the first time. The man lowers his handgun and fires the weapon at me. Before I can react, pain burns into my leg and bursts into fire under my skin. I clutch to Asher’s bloody shirt to hold myself up.
Asher’s jaw tics as he braces me in his arms. He seethes a breath through his teeth. He turns his gaze on the guard, rage ripping over his face.
I take quick, short breaths to breathe through the pain. Tears well in my eyes, and it’s all I can do to clench my jaw to stop them from coming.
“I like to play with my prey before I kill it. You know what I mean?” the guard asks Asher with a smile on his smug face.
I wince as I put pressure on my leg, standing and pushing myself off Asher. His body goes rigid from the man’s words.
Asher’s sword still lays a few feet away, in the dirt behind the guard, but he doesn’t even look for it. He stalks up to the man without hesitation. When they’re toe to toe, something unexpected happens.
The guard’s brains are splattered onto Asher’s face. His smug features are wiped away completely. His body slumps into Asher before hitting the ground hard.
My mother stands a few yards behind them. Her blonde hair blows in the wind, and the smoke from her handgun wafts around her.
I can’t help the elation that soars through me. Even in this terrible setting, even with my leg throbbing beneath me, even with the blood and brains that coat Asher’s face, she’s alright and she’s here. Fighting with me, fighting for me.
I wobble closer to Asher. He turns to me, and a tired happiness etches his features, his feelings mirroring my own.
Because, despite the odds, we’re still alive. Together.
My eyes trace over the man who is washed red before me. Everything that we did to get here, everything we survived, all the odds that were against us—like the miles we put behind us—are in our past. We’ll get through this. We’ll track down Shaw and end this once and for all.
Then time slows, almost standing still around us.
Shaw slowly shakes his head at us, his face appearing just behind Asher. His appearance is like an ominous shadow on my thoughts. As if in slow motion, Shaw raises the Crimson Sword high in the air with both hands behind Asher’s back. Asher’s beautiful gray eyes hold affection in them as he looks at me; my own eyes reflect the terror of what’s about to happen.
In the distance, my mother raises her gun to Shaw’s back. My heart hammers in my chest as I wait to hear the gun fire. My ears strain, waiting for her chamber to empty.
