Page 42 of The Haunting
“Jacques,” she cried as Claudias landed a lucky punch.
Jacques flew backwards so hard he put a hole in the plaster, causing it to shatter and fall to the floor. Not even a second later, Jacques was back at Claudias’s throat, yanking his head backwards as Eden punched him in the jugular. Eden was launched into the air, and she hit the wall with her feet and somersaulted back into the fight. Jacques and Claudias were trading blows, neither seeming to get the upper hand.
To my horror, I saw sharp white teeth flash, and Claudias latched onto Eden’s neck. Claudias drank deeply and became solid just as Jacques punched a hole in his chest. Mortally wounded, Claudias dropped Eden and scurried away, trailing foul, blackened blood from his wound.
His gaze spotted Chance, still unconscious in a heap, and pounced.
“Chance! No!” I screamed and moved.
Jacques grabbed Claudias’s head and shoved a finger in his maw. Claudias choked, and he released Chance. Without a second thought, I ran forward and snatched Chance, Nanci by my side, and we dragged him to where we all stood.
The fight continued, Claudias now clearly desperate and struggling against the two supernaturals facing him. Because that was what they were. Supernatural. They had to be.
Eden and Jacques fought with everything they could, and for a while, despite Claudias’s injuries, he kept battling in sheer desperation. Several times, he reached for one of us, and Vladimir stopped him.
I noted that Vladimir’s own strength was beyond human capabilities when he threw Claudias across the entrance hall.
I should have struggled with being faced with supernaturals, but I couldn’t be arsed. Drake was beginning to stir, and we were desperately trying to wake the other men up. A cannonball smashed into the wall just above my head, and I shrieked. In front of us, items whirled around in the air as Claudias sought to protect himself. He was creating a barrier between himself, Eden, and Jacques with anything he could.
Eden darted forward and was slammed backwards by a heavy crystal vase. She skidded along the floor before leaping catlike to her hands and feet in a crouch. Jacques was thrown against a different wall again as a lamp collided with him with force.
Claudias hissed a dark laugh, which echoed off the walls and tore at my nerves. He drifted towards us, a limp slowing him down.
“Mine to kill. My flesh to consume,” Claudias snarled as he reached out with a clawed hand for Sabine. She shrieked andkicked out at him. Emmaline smacked his hand away, and Claudias roared and smashed a meaty fist into her.
Vladimir—shifted. To my disbelieving eyes, he turned into a nightmare creature of his own. Cries arose around me as Vladimir launched himself at Claudias, tearing and scratching at him.
Claudias bellowed with anger and pain and stumbled back.
As Vladimir fought, Emmaline rose to her feet. “Ah, sod it. In for a penny, in for a pound,” she said and shifted herself.
I landed on my ass on the ground as I stared in disbelief. Vladimir resembled Max Schreck’s Nosferatu, as did Emmaline. Shit, I must have hit my head because I had to be imagining this.
A war cry bellowed, and Eden leapt forward, tearing into the fight. The items that Claudias had been spinning through the air began to falter as Jacques crawled across the ceiling and dropped onto Claudias.
Yeah, I said it. Crawled along the ceiling.
Blood flew as sharp claws dug into Claudias and tore him slowly to shreds. Claudias roared and twisted, but I knew the tide had turned. My stunned mind watched as Claudias began shrinking in on himself. Vladimir pulled Emmaline to one side, blood streaking their clothes.
“Jacques deserves the right to finish this,” Vladimir said, and I stared at his fangs. Vampire. The word reverberated through my head as I gaped.
Drake, by my side, was muttering about how hard he had hit his head.
Claudius let out a roar and attacked, but Jacques beat him off. In one desperate move, Claudias became solid and threw Jacques into Eden. Both smashed through a wall, and Claudias grabbed hold of Inglorious, who was still dazed. Before he could bite Inglorious, Jacques flashed back and punched through Claudias’s spine. Claudias howled and arched his spine, tryingto get away from Jacques, but Jacques yanked Claudias’s rotten heart out like plucking a weed.
In a blink, he’d thrown it at Eden, who then tossed it on the sitting room fire. Black smoke rose from it, and a second foul stench permeated the rooms as Claudias twisted in agony. His arms reached up as he clawed the air, and his body contorted into agonising shapes.
A black hole opened in the wooden boards of the floor, and long black arms crept out. They sought Claudias and grabbed hold of him. His form became mist once more, but even so, they held him. Claudias fell to the floor, and his hands scrabbled to find purchase.
As he was dragged backwards, Jacques approached and crouched down. “Rot in hell,” Jacques hissed.
With one final screech, Claudias disappeared into the black hole, which slammed shut after him.
Eden came from the sitting room and leapt at Jacques. He pulled her to his side with one arm as his fangs retreated and then dropped a kiss on her head.
“I love you,” he murmured, and Eden smiled up at him. Jacques saw us all watching and muttered something in Eden’s ear. She hugged him and stepped back as Jacques approached us.
“Stay the hell back!” Nanci cried, brandishing her gun. Jacques reached out and, with one hand, moved it to point downwards.
