Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
“The idea is to appear a prisoner, Garald,” Vasilisa reminded him.
Siv felt the earth beneath him shudder and shrink. Something foul had touched the surface. An abomination. He looked up to catch Vasilisa and her brother share a quick signal as they recognized that the loathsome, vile undead was close, contaminating everything it touched. He knew vampires left behind acid, killing trees and bushes, poisoning the ground and twisting wildlife into deadly mutations. They often created puppets out of humans, giving them a half life, promising to make them immortal but leaving them to feed on the blood and flesh of other humans. They took great delight in their agony and the mayhem they caused.
“The master vampire who has come here calls himself Prince Vitus. He has servants with him. Several of them. Two are of great consequence. Very old and experienced fighters. Rufus prefers to come straight at you, then at the last minute vanishes and comes in from behind. He will appear very handsome with few scars or former injuries. He is vain, and stroking his ego can trap him at times. Mars is all business. He is a bull and wants to be feared. His appearance reflects that. He will intimidate and do his best to confuse you with many tricks. Watch him closely. He’ll move constantly, each time coming close and then moving away, using a hypnotic dance to keep you from realizing he is about to attack.”
Afanasiv kept his voice low as he imparted the information to the two siblings. The vampires had excellent hearing. He didn’t want them to realize they were readying for battle. He continued to act as if the head wound had nearly knocked him out. Garald had once again slumped down in the snow, hiding his freed hands with his body.
Siv could feel the earth shrinking away from the steps of the foul undead as they circled around the two wounded men and Vasilisa. She reacted as if she had just became aware of the danger, head up alertly, eyes flashing, one hand moving inside her coat as she tore open the buttons with the other so she could withdraw what looked like a ceremonial sword. She turned in a full circle, the small sword held above her head.
A scurrying of feet told him he had missed another enemy she had not. He dared to glance at Garald to see if he had known something else was with the vampires. He shook his head, eyes restless. Like Siv, he was looking for other enemies, as well.
“Vitus has several pawns he will sacrifice before he sends in Mars and Rufus. They’ll direct the pawns. Vitus will be safe somewhere close by. I’ll try to find him. He’ll be a blight in the trees or a rock, mirrored in the ice somehow. He is very old and has learned ways to prolong his life that few know. At the first hint that the battle is not going his way, he will attempt to run. I must pursue him if I am at all capable. I cannot allow him to get away. He has destroyed entire villages in his petty need for revenge. He enjoys inflicting horrific pain on humans before he allows them to die. I cannot allow his life to continue.”
He knew he was apologizing ahead of time to his lifemate. He didn’t want her to judge him too harshly if he left her when he believed she was safe. Naturally, he would want to be with her now that he had found her, but he was a vampire hunter, and he had his duty to carry out. He would have to follow Vitus should he run.
She inclined her head slightly to acknowledge that she heard and understood him. He was connected to her, but he didn’t have time to evaluate what she was thinking. The pawns had begun to scramble through the rocks to reach them.
“Fighting a lesser vampire is not easy, although I may have made it sound so,” Siv continued. “They are in various stages of development, some barely able to function and some getting very close to emerging into fighting machines. You have to be extremely cautious.”
He shouldn’t have been so dismissive when he spoke of the pawns. Garald and Vasilisa acted so confident in their fighting abilities, it was easy to feel as if he needn’t worry about them, but he wasn’t going to take chances losing his lifemate when he’d just found her.
The pawns drew closer, showing themselves against the white backdrop of pristine snow. Most maintained the facade of the Carpathians they once were—tall, handsome men with long dark hair. Eyes were sunken in on some of them. A few had tiny little parasites crawling around their mouths and noses. One had only patches of hair on his head, the bald spots red and raw with a multitude of white parasites wiggling on his scalp.