Page 101 of Guardians of the Assassins
Without enough blood, they would devolve until they were nothing more than monsters.
“They’re dying.”
And slowly.
In a horrific way that would drive them insane first.
The vampireswhirled at the sound of her voice. They moved fast, almost a blur as they spread out. The one on the left hissed, his fangs extended. They should’ve been only slightly longer than normal incisors, but they lengthened to nearly twice the size, like they were on steroids. His eyes reddened, and the black lines along his face pulsed, spreading up his forehead.
The other two vampires weren’t nearly as far along. The male in front of the others had only minor changes, his eyes clearer, some semblance of sanity remaining. Though he held up his hands and backed away, he unconsciously licked his lips.
Caedmon reacted almost as fast as the vampires. He was halfway between the vampires and her, his sword raised, tracking all three at the same time. While he was good, she doubted he could take three vampires without getting hurt.
But the starved vampires weren’t attacking.
Morgan slowly approached Caedmon, his shoulders stiffening at her approach, clearly pissed she hadn’t kept her distance. She placed a hand on his back, running it up and down his spine, then glanced at the leader of the vampires. “We’re just passing through the forest. We didn’t mean to disturb you.”
The vampire flicked a glance at her, which caused Caedmon to tense.
It was only then she realized that Atlas had vanished.
Fear prickled along her spine, and it was all she could do notto overreact. She sensed he was near and uninjured, so she focused back on the vampires.
The vampire on the right gave a slightly hysterical laugh, looking at them like they were the ones that were insane. “You’ll never leave the forest alive.”
Atlas almost seemed to appear out of thin air as he charged out of the woods and tackled the vampire to the ground. Caedmon moved at the same time, heading for the leader of the group when the rabid vampire on the left leapt forward.
“Stop!” both she and the vampire leader yelled at the same time.
The effects were immediate. The other vampires froze in place like they were held by an invisible force. Beads of sweat that looked like blood lined the vampire’s forehead, his arms shaking under the strain it took to hold the others.
Thankfully, Caedmon had listened to her command as well, his sword pausing just short of decapitating the vampire. The creature had his mouth opened wide, fangs extended to rip out Caedmon’s throat like a vicious dog. His eyes were red with bloodlust, his nails stretched like claws, his fingers practically twitching with the need to dig them into Caedmon’s chest.
With great reluctance, Caedmon retreated to her side, never lowering his weapon.
Same with Atlas.
Her dark fae released his hold on the now prone vampire and strode toward her like he had every intention of spanking her for interfering. Only when they were both back at her side did Morgan allow herself to breathe a sigh of relief.
“It wasn’t a threat,” the vampire in charge said as he slowly released his hold on the others. The effort it took to control them seemed to wipe him out, and she knew there would be no more help from that quarter if it came to a fight. “He just misspoke. No one ever leaves the dark forest—the forest itself doesn’t allow it.”
The vampire looked young as he ran a trembling hand down his face, blowing out a heavy sigh when he glared at the vampirewho was slowly pushing himself up to his feet. The man ducked his head, eyes downcast as he went to the other vampire, dragging the deranged man away from them like he was trying to remove temptation. The starved vampire heaved as he struggled for control, but he willingly stumbled away.
The vampire straightened, his head cocked to the side as he stared at them. Then his brows furrowed, and he took a step toward them.
“You’re…not marked.” He jerked upright at the revelation, his face hardening with determination. “You need to get out of the forest before nightfall. If you can make it without getting marked, you still have a chance.”
“Marked?” Atlas scanned the three vampires, but it was impossible to differentiate between all the marks that littered their bodies. The leader pulled up his pant leg, revealing a deeply infected wound. At the center of the infection was a large pustule that wept an almost fluorescent green puss. Dark green veins were etched under the skin, like they had graphed themselves to his leg. The magic was different from the void magic, different from Faerie, more like a parasite.
She slapped a hand over her mouth as the stench of rot reached her, and she swallowed hard, refusing to lose her lunch.
Atlas didn’t have the same problem, interest turning the green in his umber eyes brighter. “You’ve tried to lance the injury and medication?”
The vampire pulled a blade from his boot and scraped it along his leg, collecting the fluorescent goo. “It’s the same sludge that leaks from the vines when we injure it.”
He flicked the goop toward the ground with a grimace of disgust. Sheathing his blade, he lowered the bottom of his pants and covered the wound. “We’ve tried everything, even magic. It acts like the vines. Anytime we try to dig the infection out, the barbs push deeper. It’s extremely painful. Even if we knock the patient out, the body can’t cope with the pain and blood loss. They die halfway through the extraction process.”
A bird swooped overhead, and the vampire glanced up, hisface turning grim. “We need to move if you want to reach the borders. Darkness will fall in a few hours.”
