Protector (Daray Hall #2)

by Hoffman, Samantha

  The snake rears its head up, allowing me a glimpse of what looks like armor-plated scales along its underbelly. It lunges at me with its fangs exposed, and I dive to the side, rolling along the ground. Just as I get to my feet, the tail comes out of nowhere, slamming into my side, cracking a few ribs and knocking me to the ground.

  The tail pins me down, and I stab uselessly at it with the tip of my sword. The giant basilisk snake lowers its head until the fangs dripping with venom are near my face, and I instinctively close my eyes. I’m not sure if all the legends are true, but I don’t feel like dying when his eyes meet mine.

  “Kylie!”

  Selene’s voice almost tempts me to open my eyes, but I close them harder. There’s a sound of metal slicing through skin, and a shriek that can only belong to the basilisk. Then there’s a loud thump and the ground shakes.

  “Kylie, it’s alright. You can open your eyes now.”

  I open my eyes, and take Selene’s offered hand. In her other hand is a bloody sword, and behind her the dead basilisk. Its neck has been sliced almost entirely open, and it’s taking its final breaths on the ground beside me. As I’m watching it, Selene walks over and beheads the creature. The second the head is detached from the rest of the body, the entire thing curls up and turns to ash.

  Selene looks at me. “Are you alright?”

  I nod. “How many more of these things does she have with her?”

  “I’ve seen four others, and they’re causing a lot of damage. I’m going to see if I can’t stop them. Will you be alright by yourself?”

  “Yeah. Just go.”

  Selene leaves me surrounded by ash and blood, and I clutch my sword tighter. For a second, all I can do is stare at the chaos around me. Everywhere I look I see the bodies of Protectors and creatures, some good and some evil, and it saddens me. Would these creatures have even gotten involved if it weren’t for Achlys and her promises? She’s responsible for all of this fighting, death, and destruction, and I’m gonna make her pay!

  “Hey, dyke.”

  That word. I haven’t heard it since before I ventured out into the graveyard, and even if I didn’t recognize that voice, I would have known it was Travis without looking. Now, I turn around and face him, shifting the sword in my hands. He’s dressed all in black, with an arrogant smile on his face, and he’s holding a sword in his hands.

  “You don’t look surprised to see me.”

  He shakes his head and smiles. “I knew that woman you worship would find a way to save you. She should have realized that the only reason you died in the first place is because you were weak, and unfit to be a Protector. She should have left you dead, because now I’m gonna kill you again.”

  He lunges at me without warning, and I bring my sword up, effectively blocking the strike. He lashes out and his fist connects with the left side of my face, spinning me away and down into the dirt. Before I can even breathe, his foot is slamming into my side, kicking me over onto my stomach and leaving me gasping for air.

  His foot comes down, aiming directly for my forehead, and I grab his boot and twist. He curses and goes down on one knee, and I bring my foot up and around, slamming it into his thigh muscle. It spasms, and I jump to my feet, wrapping my arms around his throat. He chokes, but brings his elbow back, digging into my ribs.

  My grip weakens just enough for him to slip through, and he turns around and punches me in the face. My nose starts to spurt blood, and I stumble away, trying to staunch the flow of blood. Travis rushes forward and tackles me to the ground, and my head hits the ground hard, sending black spots shooting across my vision.

  Travis kneels on my chest, crushing my lungs, and he slams my head down on the ground, trying to crack my skull. I wriggle in his grasp, and I manage to work one of my arms free, and I punch him right in the groin. The color drains from his face and he wheezes harshly, but slides off of me, freeing both of my legs.

  I shatter his nose with the heel of my boot, and plant a second kick to his upper chest. He lands on his back in the dirt, and I immediately pummel him with my hands, raining down blows anywhere I can reach. I split open his eyebrow, and he grabs my wrist and twists. Pain radiates up my arm, and I cry out in pain.

  He punches me squarely in the jaw, before butting his head against mine. Everything goes hazy, and he throws me off his waist and pins my arms to my sides. He pulls a dagger from his belt and taunts me with it, waving it in front of my face. “Ready to die, bitch?”

  “No, she’s not!” Austin shouts.

  Chapter Twenty

  Austin’s holding my sword, but he looks unsure of how to actually use it. He’s gripping it wrong, but he swings it hard, aiming directly for Travis’ head. Travis rolls off of me, and curls his leg around Austin’s. He yanks, and Austin tumbles to the ground and the sword goes flying. I’m so dizzy I can barely see straight, and the blood dripping into my eyes isn’t helping matters.

  I shake my head to clear it, and Travis picks up his dropped sword, slowly advancing on Austin. I run forward, unsteady on my wobbling legs, and I get there too late. Travis swings the sword, and Austin puts up his hands to shield his face. Austin screams, and his left hand drops to the ground, completely unattached from the rest of his arm.

  I scream and tackle Travis, knocking him to the ground. Austin falls down beside us, cradling his injured stump of an arm. Blood spurts from the wound, coating his sweater, and his entire face goes white. I can see him struggling to stay conscious, but I can’t afford to worry about him right now.

  Travis and I get to our feet, and I pick up my sword from beside Austin. “Go find Chloe. Tell her to fix you up. Austin, go!” I shout when he doesn’t respond. He still doesn’t move, and just stares incomprehensively at me with tear-filled eyes.

  Travis lunges forward, and I knock his sword to the side, and the tip slices through the muscle in my left bicep. I grit my teeth against the pain, and slash at Travis’ chest, trying to force him to back up and give me some breathing room. He and I circle each other, looking for the perfect opening, and he lunges again.

  This time I duck under his wild swing and come up and under his defenses. Before he can correct his mistake, I run the tip of my sword through his heart. He makes a startled sound, and his feet give out from under him. He lands on his knees and he looks at me. “It’s not possible.”

  “It is,” I assure him, drawing my blade across his throat. His head completely severs from his body, dropping to the bloodstained ground beside him. For a second, I stare at his lifeless body with pity and disgust, until I remember Austin.

  He’s still in pain, and still rolling around on the ground, clutching his bleeding wrist. I rip off the sleeve of my shirt and make a hasty tourniquet to stem the rapid flow of blood. He moans once, before slipping into unconsciousness. I get my arms around him, and lift him up onto my back, taking a quick second to mentally thank Selene for making me into a full-grown vampire.

  The medical tents are on the other side of the field, but I make it there in mere seconds. Chloe is in the process of bandaging a wounded Protector, and I carefully drop Austin onto a makeshift examination table. “Chloe!”

  Her eyes widen and she gasps when she sees him. She immediately rushes into action. She undoes the makeshift tourniquet and rolls up his sleeve, revealing a bloody mess where his hand used to be. The hand was cleanly severed at the wrist, leaving his forearm intact. “Can you fix him?”

  She looks scared and uncertain, but squares her shoulders. “I’m gonna try.”

  Her hands begin to glow a faint silver color, and she gets a faraway look in her eyes. When she touches his hand, he moans, but doesn’t open his eyes. For a minute, I watch as nothing happens, and I begin to worry it won’t work. Slowly but surely the bleeding begins to stop. It takes only seconds for the wound to seal up and for new skin to grow over the stump, and when Chloe pulls away from him, her face has taken on a gray look to it, and she sways gently.

  I help steady her, and force her to sit dow
n in a chair. Her head rolls back, and she takes a few deep breaths. “That took a lot out of me,” she whispers. Her eyes are half closed, and she looks ready to fall asleep at any second. “But he’ll be alright.”

  Her eyes close all the way, and she drifts off. Turning around, I notice that Austin is breathing as deeply as she is, and his face is already regaining some of its color. However, he still looks like death, and I can’t help but notice the fact that he has no left hand anymore.

  How will he feel about that when he wakes up? I don’t know what I’d do if I lost my hand…

  I can’t sit around here and watch over the two of them. Margaret is already taking charge of the medical tent, and I can be of more service out on the battlefield than in here. So I draw my sword and rush out of the tent, praying that my other friends are still alright.

  I survey the battlefield, trying to remain as cold and impassive to all this death as possible. It’s horrible, but I don’t want to think about it and risk having a breakdown. War is already hard enough without worrying about your mental health.

  Selene is battling Achlys, and Hecate is helping Pandia take on Artemis and Bendis. I’m not sure where Achelois is, but she’s probably destroying some poor creature that can’t possibly defend itself against her power. Just thinking about her makes my skin crawl and anger surge through my veins.

  Clenching my sword tighter, I throw myself at the nearest opponent, hacking away and chopping at every evil creature in sight. Fueled by rage and the hope for revenge against Achlys, I’m unstoppable. Every creature that challenges me goes down without much of a fight, but I don’t see any stop to the flow of creatures attacking me and my fellow vampires.

  I work my way to the middle of the battlefield, and find myself facing Pandia. Her clothes are stained in blood and she’s carrying a sword, just like everyone else, but she’d be impossible to mistake for any vampire. There’s a faint silver glow around her entire body that marks her as a goddess here on Earth.

  “How are you doing?” she asks, chopping at a chimera’s head.

  “Fine,” I gasp, slashing at another one. “I just killed Travis, but Austin lost his hand in the process. He’s unconscious back at the tents.”

  I slice the final head from the chimera’s body, and it drops to the ground, twitching. Pandia pants silently to herself. “We have got to find a way to end this bloodshed. Look around. There are hundreds of bodies everywhere and no end in sight!”

  “I know.” One look at the soldiers around me tells me that they won’t be able to keep this up for much longer. “Pretty soon our Protectors are going to collapse from exhaustion, and they’ll be sitting ducks out here.”

  “Not necessarily,” Pandia says. “Achlys’ forces are just as tired. I hope she’s stupid enough to refuse her troops to retreat. They might just rebel and all go home.” She laughs lightly, as if she thinks that’s absurd. “Oh, like that’ll ever happen. Achlys got to where she is today because she’s smart and she knows when to quit.”

  A dark, shadowy man begins to appear beside her, and her eyes widen. She lifts her free hand palm out, and a silvery light begins to gather at her fingertips. When the shadowy figure fully forms, she shoves her hand forward, disintegrated the man into a million little pieces of dust.

  “What was that?”

  “A wraith. Nasty things. They’re evil spirits of the dead who are trapped on Earth. Hecate tried to get them to fight for us, but I guess Achlys made them a better offer. It sucks too, because wraiths are very hard to kill. Only a goddess can usually do the trick.”

  Pandia dashes off to help someone else in need, and I set my sights on the nearest ogre. It’s small head swivels around and he spots me, before letting out a loud roar. He swings his arms around and charges at me, hoping to take my head off. I slide under his first wild swing, and bring my sword up, biting deep into his shoulder.

  His arm hangs uselessly at his side, but he’s nowhere near done. He puts his head down and charges at me, intent on finishing me off.

  Two hours later, Achlys calls for a retreat, and her forces fall back to the far side of the field, nearly a half a mile away from our camp. I don’t like having the enemy so close to us, but I can’t get farther away unless I leave the fight altogether, and I won’t abandon my goddess when she needs me.

  Chloe helps Austin to his seat, and she sits down beside him. He looks pale and shaky, but mostly just sad. When Chloe takes his remaining hand in hers, he pulls away, refusing to look at her. She forces him to look at her and says, “This doesn’t change anything.” Ignoring the rest of us, she kisses him gently on the lips.

  I feel incredibly awkward sitting here watching two friends kiss, and I wonder if this is how people felt about me and Kaven. I look at Selene, hoping to escape this public display of intimacy. “Where’s Kaven?”

  She shrugs gracefully. “I’m not sure.”

  Pandia enters the tent. “Kylie, I’ve been sent to tell you that Kaven was injured during the fighting. He’s recuperating in one of the tents farther down, and he’s asking for you.”

  I follow Pandia through the row of tents, and she brings me to the second to last one in the line. Inside, I find Kaven sprawled out on a makeshift bed. He’s shirtless, and there’s a gaping wound from his left shoulder all the way down to his left hip. It’s long and deep, but really thin, and I recognize the wound instantly.

  “Minotaur,” he says, wincing with the effort. “It got me while I was busy with a harpy. Don’t worry, I get him though.”

  I rush forward and throw my arms around Kaven’s shoulders, careful to avoid pressing against his wound. When I pull away, I give him one quick kiss, before taking a deep breath. “Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine,” he says breathlessly. “I’m in a little pain, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. How are you doing? Pandia told me that you killed Travis, and that Austin got hurt. Is he alright?”

  I nod. “Yeah, but he’s missing his left hand. Chloe managed to stop the bleeding, but she can’t just magically make his hand grow back. I wonder how long it’ll take for him to get used to it.”

  “I can’t imagine losing my hand.”

  “You almost lost your life,” I say, ducking my head in embarrassment when my voice cracks.

  He puts his firm hand under my chin and forces me to look at him. “I’m fine, Kylie. It’s already healing, and I’ll be alright to fight by tomorrow.”

  “You won’t be fighting tomorrow!” I nearly yell. “You’re in no shape.”

  “I will be in a few hours.” Kaven takes my hand and rubs soothing patterns over it with his calloused fingers. “I’ll be fine. Really. I just need a few hours of rest.”

  “That’s not all you need,” I whisper.

  Pandia clears her throat. “I’ll leave the two of you alone.” She slips out of the tent, making sure to close the flaps behind her, leaving us alone in semi-darkness.

  I lean over his chest, baring my neck to him. “You need blood, Kaven. It’ll help you heal faster.” I can feel him hesitate. “Please, Kaven. I want you to do this. Let me help you.”

  He shifts into an upright sitting position, and he gently places his hands on my forearms, pulling me closer. One rough hand caresses my cheek, and he tilts my head away slightly, and he places a light kiss on the side of my neck. Then his lips open, and his fangs dig into my neck, piercing the skin.

  I can’t help the small gasp that escapes my lips. Quickly, the pain turns to pleasure, and Kaven’s hand shifts down to my waist, warming the area there. I wrap one arm around his shoulder and the other around the uninjured side of his waist, and I press myself against him as hard and close as possible.

  The feeling of having my blood drawn is the most sensual, amazing feeling I’ve ever experienced. It elicits strong emotions from me that I can’t even begin to examine. All I know right now is that this is the most pleasurable moment of my life, and nothing can ever compare to it.

  Kaven moans against my neck and
I can tell he doesn’t want to stop, but he forces himself to pull away with a gasp. A couple drops of my blood still hang from his lips, and he licks them in a sensual way. His eyes connect with mine, and he takes a few minutes to slow his breathing and gather himself.

  “Was that alright?” What if after everything we’ve been through, he didn’t like the taste of my blood? What if he suddenly realized that he wanted someone more feminine?

  “It was amazing,” Kaven assures me, erasing my fears. “Don’t ever doubt that. Kylie, being with you in any way is amazing. Whether we’re just sitting next to one another, or holding hands, or making love, or even feeding from one another, nothing will ever compare to what I feel with you.”

  I can feel tears gathering in my eyes, and I try and blink them away before he notices. His hand cups my face again and he wipes away a tear with his thumb. “Kylie, please don’t cry,” he begs.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t help it.” Throwing my arms around his shoulders, I bury my face in his chest and sob. “I’ve never felt like this before, and I never once thought I would. I figured I’d be doomed to be like my mom–stuck with an abusive man because I thought I didn’t deserve better.”

  He kisses my temple. “You deserve the best, Kylie. You always will.”

  “Kaven–”

  “Kylie, you are the most amazing girl I have ever met, and you’ve proven that over and over again. I’ve waited all my life for a girl like you.” I snort, and he smiles. “Maybe not in the physical sense, but I’ve never really had a solid relationship before. It seemed like girls and I never fit together like that. They just couldn’t capture my attention because they were so fake, and I’ve never liked that in a woman.”

  “So you like me because I’m real?”

  He nods. “Yes! Kylie, you’re brave, intelligent, honest, caring, and so real that it’s amazing. Hands down, you’re the greatest woman I’ve ever met.”