The older vampire telepathically said to the other, “Fresh meat.”
“Crichton said he wanted to keep the killing down to a minimum, and only hosts who are willing are acceptable. No turning anyone either. He wants to be the one to control the ones he turns.”
“How many times have you already broken his rules?”
The younger vampire scoffed.
Zachary had confirmation they were vampires working for Crichton. Good deal. Now, if there were only the two of them…
“Who’s come to visit?” another man said.
Three. Zachary hoped there were no more than that, but he worried there might be. He reached over and squeezed Pasha’s hand, telling her they had to do this.
She unleashed her wrist blades and stabbed the older vampire in the heart. Zachary pulled out his sword and beheaded the younger one.
When another vampire came into the room, Pasha threw a throwing star at his chest and it embedded in his heart. He collapsed on the floor. Only the older vampire had been an ancient.
Zachary and Pasha began checking out the rooms, finally discovering Bretta and her husband and their two sons tied up in a back bedroom. Their eyes were wide with fear.
“We’ve come to free you,” Pasha said. “You can leave and stay with your family in Iowa for the time-being.”
Pasha and Zachary quickly cut their bindings and freed them.
“Don’t take anything,” Pasha said. “Just get in your car and go. No cell phones, nothing.”
“You’re taking back the area? We thought all of you had perished,” Bretta said, glancing at Zachary again.
“This is a hunter from Dallas. He and his brother and cousin have come to aid us. And yes, that’s what we intend to do. Do you have any idea about how many vampires there are who attacked my family?”
“There were about twenty going to a party at your parents’ house,” Bretta said. “The three here weren’t invited and they were mad about it. They were supposed to be watching the house.”
“What about the other houses? Have the vampires taken over all of them?”
“Yes. They are staying in your families’ homes and others, and they are also in the ones that have a view of your families’ homes. Like ours. Just in case more of you showed up.”
“Okay, well, we’ll let you get on your way.” She glanced at Zachary and he knew what she needed him to do.
He had to after she said so much. They couldn’t have Crichton learning who all was here and what they were planning to do. Though Zachary also wanted to wipe their minds of some of the ordeal they’d been through. Not all of it though. He didn’t want them returning home, thinking everything was safe.
After he finished with them, they got into their car and drove off.
“I have to admit that’s an amazing gift when we can use it to our advantage instead of the vampires using it on helpless humans,” Pasha said, as they set up to watch out of one of the bedroom windows.
“I wish I had the ability to uninvite the bastards. Any of them can still come into the house. And I want to take out the occupiers of the other homes watching your families’ residences.” He called Rachael to alert her.
“We just discovered a nest of five of them, all newly turned, at one of the houses,” Rachael told him.
“We eliminated three here, one ancient. I’ll let the others know of the problem if they haven’t already discovered it,” Zachary said.
“Okay, sounds good. Adonis learned there are three at his house. We’re waiting before we do anything to make sure all of us are in safe places for the night prior to attacking,” Rachael said.
“I’ll call back as soon as I confirm everyone’s okay.”
“Good.”
Then Zachary called his brother. “Michael, we’re in the house across the street from Pasha’s home. We had to clear out three vampires, Rachael had five at the place they’re using as a lookout, and I’m checking with the rest of you.”
“No one is in the house we checked on. We’re inside, watching the house.”
“Okay, good. Get back with you later.” Zachary tried to get in touch with Jeremy and Laura, but he didn’t have any success.
“I’m going,” Pasha said.
“Together.”
“But we just cleared this house. If we leave it vacant, we could have new vampires here when we return,” Pasha argued.
“We’re going together.” Zachary wasn’t about to let Pasha do this on her own and he called Rachael back. “We can’t get Jeremy or Laura to answer our call. We’re headed in their direction.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“Keep her safe,” Adonis told Zachary telepathically.
“I will.” Then he said to Rachael, “We’re on our way. We’ll pick you up.”
They soon picked up Rachael, Adonis watching them out of the window, but then he moved into the shadows. They drove to Jeremy and Laura’s house and saw their SUV parked there.
They didn’t bother to check out the house across the street but went to the door of their home and knocked.
No one answered, but they heard fighting inside. Zachary tried the door before they broke a window. It was unlocked, and Pasha invited him into the house. Rachael and Pasha rushed inside. Zachary vanished and appeared where he heard the bulk of the fighting, swords clanging, a vampire taunting the hunters.
“You won’t ever survive against this many of us. You should have cowered where you’d run off to and never come back.”
The ladies soon joined him and began fighting the six vampires that were left. Three were already dead.
Zachary was fighting two of them when he telepathically asked the one who appeared to be an ancient, “Will you join me to overthrow Crichton?”
“You fight with the hunters,” the vampire said, pausing, as if he thought better of killing one of his own kind.
“I am using them to help cut down Crichton’s numbers. Join me and we can take over. Eliminate the hunter threat later, but they can keep the focus off us while we plan our next move.”
Pasha stabbed the ancient in the heart, frowned at Zachary, and he quickly dispatched the newly turned vampire.
The hunters’ hearts were beating wildly as they stood, observing the end of the vampires.
“What in the world were you doing?” Pasha asked. “Telepathically talking the ancient to death?”
Zachary smiled. “Yeah, it worked, didn’t it? You stabbed him before he could see it coming. That way I only had one to fight at a time.”
“What were you talking about? I can’t even see how you can have a conversation going with one while you’re fighting another.”
“It does take some talent.” Zachary smiled at her as she cast him a look of disdain.
“What are we going to do with all of these bodies?” Jeremy asked. “I hate leaving them in the house, but if we have the police pick them up, someone’s sure to notice this time.”
“We can move them to the storage shed out back,” Pasha said. “But let’s hurry. If any rogue vampires are watching this house from across the street…”
“One, but we took care of her first,” Laura said.