Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
I hate to destroy them.
They are suffering, sívamet. You must put them out of their misery.
I know they wish it, but there is so much death. I see what’s been done to them, and there is no way to fix it. After they helped us, I feel as if I’m betraying them.
He wanted to gather her into his arms and hold her close, shelter her against his heart, but the lesser vampires swayed and danced, creeping closer despite Eduardo’s orders to stay still. The smell of the ancient blood drove them mad. Any moment, they would attack, and Eduardo would be forced to do the same.
The Carpathians were gathering their strength, pooling energy to strike at Lilith. They had to be precise in their attack to end her raids on the Imazighen, at least for another two thousand years. She needed to turn her attention elsewhere.
There is no betrayal when you are being merciful. They suffer, sívamet.
Safia struck at the hellhounds fast, making their deaths as quick and painless as possible. The hounds dropped to the ground, shocking the vampires. They turned their attention to the valley floor long enough for the brethren to combine their power with Petru’s. He gathered the energy, and once again, as Benedek opened the ground above Lilith, Petru slammed the lightning bolt directly on her.
All the Carpathians contributing their power and energy were ancients, and the combination was lethal. The ground shook so hard it buckled, and large cracks appeared in several places. Everywhere a crack opened, black-and-orange smoke poured out of the ground, rising toward the clouds in a high column. The gas was foul-smelling and toxic. The moment it touched the blue crystalline light, the odor neutralized, and the noxious gas dissipated as if it had never been. It had to have been a direct hit. Lilith hadn’t made a sound. The bolt had struck her with enough force to damage her, most likely knock her out completely.
Even as the ground rolled and buckled, and smoke poured from it, blue flames burst from the demon bodies on the valley floor. The flames leapt high, burning bright over the hellhounds. The massive bodies appeared like blue sparkling diamonds dotting the landscape.
Eduardo’s six lesser vampires teetered on the pitching ground. From behind them, Aura, Tomas, Lojos, Benedek, Nicu and Mataias materialized out of the sky, not even slowing down as they rocketed toward the undead circling Petru. They were on them before the vampires could warn one another.
Simultaneously, Petru rushed Eduardo, breaking through the line of his guardian vampires, now occupied with fighting for their own survival. Eduardo heard a soft voice as he tried to keep his feet.
It’s impossible to defeat him. He is Amnay icheqquan n wayur. He is the fierce knight of the moon. He is Aghzen n wayur. Moon monster. Even now, you are too slow. Look how fast he is. A blur. You are wading through sand. The moon sent this monster to fight with the Imazighen. You cannot defeat him.
Eduardo felt heaviness invading his arms and legs. He screamed his protest against that insidious voice, but it was relentless. Sweet, like an angel. Pure. A perfect pitch. The sound hurt and scraped at the insides of his head, throwing him off-balance.
Petru hit him, strike after strike. Each blow rocked him. Petru shared that voice, heard the song start as a whisper of tribute, but it swelled in volume, so no matter what Eduardo did, he heard the lyrics coming at him from every direction, even from inside his mind. The vampire slammed his hands over his ears to drown out the sound, an impossibility, but it left his torso wide open to attack.
Petru tore his heart from his body, ignoring the acid blood burning through his flesh as he tossed the heart into the sky to meet the lightning. He stood for a moment, bowing his head as the last body fell, and he allowed it to burn to ash before he bathed away the burns on his own body from the vampire acid.
Safia materialized beside him, swaying with weariness but inspecting his wounds. “Petru. These look bad.”
“Easy enough to take care of,” he assured. “I know you’re exhausted, Ku Tappa Kulyak, but we must finish this before we can rest and heal our wounds. There are demons at the gates of your farm. The members of your family must also be fatigued holding their positions.”
Safia looked him over, her expressive eyes sad as she lifted her gaze to take in her brothers and grandfather. “This war cost us much, but without you and your friends, we wouldn’t have survived. Thank you. Perhaps you should go to ground, and I can deal with the demons.”
“Sívamet, we do this together, and then we both will go to ground and heal—body and spirit. The brethren will aid your family and then us should we have need before they seek the healing earth. Benedek must go now. He is at his limit.”