Standing Before Monsters (Vorans and Vampires) (48 page)

Even Alad had to smile at the logic. While the tiger kasha enjoyed killing vampires and setting their spirits free, there was definitely something enjoyable about letting one’s enemies do the dirty work for them.

Once the reapers were in position, it didn’t take long for them to move in and they were fast. With a building with so many floors and a vampire’s ability to leap from as high as even the hundred foot tall roof, the reapers didn’t send everyone at once. Leaving one to cover each point of the compass, the remaining six attacked on command and as one.

The two reapers on the north side had no advantage of a building to leap from for the higher floors and they took the first two floors. It showed confidence since there was a likelihood of more enemies staying closer to the ground, if their former human nature held anyway. From the west, two more reapers took the third and fourth floors, while east jumped high catching the fourth floor before jumping up the exterior in a couple bounds to check the sixth floor leaving the fifth for the one to the south.

It didn’t take long to hear the first scream on the air. Inside the building, the nest was ready to fight, but they weren’t ready for what they fought. Speed and strength were a vampire’s assets, but the reapers were stronger and faster. The upper floors were lightly populated. The top had been their scouts watching for trouble and, even alerted, the fifth and sixth floor were cleared of the few holding their ground. Cowards occupied the upper levels and they were cowards because they could hardly fight. These were the ones who had joined the nest or been co-opted into it by the strength of numbers.

When the two reapers on the fifth and sixth ran into a mere handful between the two floors, they were mowed down as the expendable creatures they were to the nest. The reapers killed and drained the cowards taking more time. Whether they were cowards or brave fighters, they tasted the same. Since reapers didn’t care over how strong an opponent was but just the taste of their blood and heart, these would be the beginnings of a larger feast.

Those observing from the south watched as minutes after the beginning of the attack, those two were either using the outside stair on the west side of the building or just leaping up to the next floor looking for their next kills. The fourth floor had been sparse and that reaper joined his comrade on the third floor. That was where the first real resistance began. Gunshots could be heard coming from the lower floors and more screams.

The lower floors had the brave vampires and the fighters. With weapons, both ranged and those for close fighting in hand, these vampires fought the predators like the gangs of the city. Some had even been smart enough to spray their weapons with silver nitrate. Others had beaten silver trinkets flat and wrapped the thin sheets around clubs. These weapons helped even out the fights and even managed to take a toll on the reapers.

A flash of fire from the second floor brought two delayed bursts as a reaper met his fate through silver to the heart, but these weren’t knowledgeable vampires wise in the way of their kind. No one had been warned that a powerful vampire’s death by silver and his dying created flames. Two of the lesser vampires were consumed in fire by remaining too close as they thought to celebrate the reaper’s death. They burned up as smaller pyres with the first blast.

The third floor was a mass of activity as the first reaper on the floor was held at bay by a handful of men and women. The one from the fourth in his haste missed a single vampire hidden there. While perhaps a coward being too afraid to take the reaper on by herself, the vampire followed the reaper down the stairs. With its back to her, the girl proved to at least be a good shot as her bullet, tipped with silver nitrate, passed through his head. The fire started at the top burning down through the reaper’s body like a match burning down to the ground.

With surprise at his comrade’s sudden death behind him, the first reaper on the floor made a hasty retreat to a safer place. Back up was soon there as the reaper coming from the fifth floor took out the assassin in a way she had used first. Leaping down onto the stairway crashing into the girl causing her to fire the gun in reaction, knocked her to the ground as the reaper tore her gun from her hand breaking her fingers and hand in the process. The pain from her broken hand was like nothing as the reaper tore into her flesh draining her blood into him like a glutton.

Those who had waited for the initial push now moved to reinforce their attack. North and south converged on the second floor before the vampires could cheer their success despite the loss of those caught in the fire. Caught from both sides, the firearms weren’t enough to make up for the surprise. They had let their guard down and the remaining five were dead before they knew it.

Defense of the first floor had been the strongest and the first reaper there had been able to do little more than try to stay out of the line of fire of their guns. East and west converged to help. A battle commenced as some of the best fighters did their best against the predatory reapers.

Nick came in from behind those watching the assault. Pushing his senses, the voran felt each death as the phantom auras simply winked from his mind.

“Welcome, Nick,” Marek greeted first.

The voran nodded concentrating on the battle taking place in the massive building. He had arrived on the roof just as the second wave of reapers attacked the building. They had apparently never caught a whiff of those watching the defense of the fortress the vampires had picked out for themselves.

Extending his senses out as far as he could, Nick could only pick up those here and in the building. Across the street to the west, five more of Marek’s vampires, including Nicola, added to the numbers; but there were no more within a quarter mile of him, perhaps even a little farther. As he had driven close and run across the rooftops for the remainder of the trip, the voran had kept his mind open. The only vampire activity was centered on the massive building.

“We thought letting them wear each other down was the best idea. How many do you still sense in the nest?” Marek asked hoping the voran’s strange ability could tell more than they could see from five hundred feet away.

“The number keeps changing and getting smaller. I sense eight reapers and maybe thirty normal vampires left,” he said.

Whistles of surprise at the number of vampires who had managed to hide in one building, even one so large amazed them. They were also very glad that they hadn’t walked into such a large hornet’s nest.

Marek looked to his friend and asked, “Do we charge in and try to help kill the reapers?”

“Not yet,” Nick quickly stated and included the kasha in his look. With a smile he added, “Whoever decided to let them do the dirty work was probably right. How many reapers did you see go inside?”

“Ten,” Shedu replied even as he felt Alad taking offence at the others taking charge of the operation that they only knew about because of his team. “We followed three reapers chasing a single vampire into this. Even Alad isn’t crazy enough to dive into this mess,” he added gaining a grunt of annoyance from the man mentioned.

“If we move closer to the building, I can signal the best time for us to move in; if that is agreeable to everyone,” the voran said trying to make sure the kasha weren’t feeling stepped on in the situation. They had called for help, but it was still their show technically.

Shedu nodded and added, “If you can tell their numbers from afar, then I would defer to your senses and judgment.”

“I’ll gather Nicola and Derek’s groups to move them to the west roof. You all can move in to the closest south,” the voran suggested. “I can signal with the light of an aura blade when its time.”

Alad frowned and asked, “What about the east and north?”

Reading the numbers of vampires dwindling in the building on all floors, Nick shook his head and replied, “If these reapers can kill this many vampires and lose so few, then we had better keep our strength concentrated. We don’t want teams of two or three if they rush in force.”

Even Alad had to concede that point and they all began to move to their positions.
 

Chapter 27- Fall of a Fortress

As Nick joined the other vampires, Nicola met him with a kiss. She could taste Charlotte on his lips and smell her on his body, but she tried not to be jealous. After all, the vampire was the one who had said she would share her love for him with Charlotte. The woman had practically pushed him into bed with the pretty werewolf in the first place. It was he who had resisted, so as Nicola pulled back she tried not to be envious, though she wished that there was more time for her to be with Nick alone.

Returning her kiss warmly and hugging her close, the voran had to separate and tell the others of the plan even as his mind tried to monitor the situation in the monstrous building.

The lookouts on the top floor had nearly been overrun because of their placement as the reaper had leaped up from the outside of the building. They saw the reaper reinforcements join the attack and warned those who were still listening using walkie talkies. The scout to the south spotted the reaper coming up the building and only managed to shout, “One on my side!” before firing his rifle at the reaper.

With such a large building to cover, even vampire speed barely brought the other three on the source of the call before the reaper was maneuvering to kill him. Three remained firing their weapons hoping to catch the predator before he got to them.

Nick felt the three die one by one, but the reaper’s aura felt weaker too. He was wounded gravely and might die of his own accord, but vampires could heal from very grievous wounds so hoping wasn’t a guarantee.

A flash of fire as another reaper died on the second floor could only be celebrated a moment before the reaper from the south tore through the four remaining men on that floor. Nick felt as their auras felt weaker before one by one they were drained of life and killed. The third floor was dealt the same cleansing and the two reapers descended meeting up with the one on the second floor before moving to the base of the building.

“Derek, you and Sophia head to the top floor. There is a wounded reaper there, but be very careful. He just killed four vampires with guns. The rest of the action is on the first floor, but there may be a basement beneath, since I sense more below the ground.”

Receiving nods, Nick raised his hand and created an aura blade. The light wasn’t likely to attract attention from those fighting, but for those watching for it, it was obvious enough. The south roof could hear and see enough to know that the fighting had moved to the first floor. Marek’s vampires leaped straight to the ground, while Shedu and Lam jumped to the second floor to make sure there were no vampires straggling behind. Only Alad joined the vampires on the ground in the first moments of the attack.

Nick wished that he could tell Nicola to remain behind where he hoped that it was safe, but she was a veteran of many fights with other vampires. The girl was also too brave and strong willed to be told to stay behind like some delicate flower. He could only hope that he would be near if she were to get into trouble.

Leaping over the outer wall of plywood and chain link fencing, his part of the team separated as Derek and Sophia leaped high onto the southern stairs. A fire stair, as a sign proclaimed under a building management sign that looked weathered, led the two upward, though they made their way unconventionally using handholds to propel their bodies up the face of the building faster than they could run the stairs.

Once out of sight, Nick could only monitor them in his brain and his immediate attention was dedicated to avoiding getting shot by the vampires or killed by a reaper. The resistance of the vampire nest was faltering, though he could feel more of them below ground. They weren’t numerous down there, maybe ten at most, but those remaining topside were getting slaughtered. With no more willing to come fight off the reapers, the handful of vampires were only evenly matched in numbers; which meant they were overmatched in power.

Before his team could reach the reapers, the westernmost creature spotted his team of four. Ignoring the faltering vampires as his comrades finished destroying them and their weapons, the reaper attacked them undeterred.

He was on the voran in a blink as Lena had warned. Nicola was knocked aside as it slashed at the only woman thinking she might be the weakest among them. Nick was ignored at first as if it believed he was just another human. It was the creature’s second major mistake.

Two aura blades lashed out at the reaper as he tried to pass on the way to Will and Tony. The two soldiers held their swords ready even with his speed. As one of the aura blades caught the creature shocking it, the silver swords of the two soldiers attacked. The reaper managed to squirm in the power of the aura blade, but Will’s sword cut into its shoulder.
Tony’s blade was brushed aside and the claws of the reaper’s left hand cut across his stomach.

A return swipe from Tony caught the reaper across the neck. While it wouldn’t behead him or a human, the silver on the blade started to burn making the reaper scream a moment before the fire silenced his vocal chords. Will adjusted and shoved his sword’s blade into the black heart.

“Back!” Nick warned the men who took orders like the soldiers they were trained to be and leaped back even as Nick lengthened his aura blade to step back as the flames of the vampire’s reaction to the silver made him explode.