THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS - BWS

eighteen

Unlike with William, the contact of Caelan's skin on mine didn't provoke a wave of tingles, or my body temperature to rise. If my heart started to pound in my chest it wasn't because of his body pressed against mine. It was because something caught his attention, something scary enough to make a vampire stand still.

Dee was growling next to us, her eyes also pointed at the door and I was starting to long for the group of vampires that was here less than an hour ago. My hands reached for his on my lips, and he slowly let go.

"What's going on?" I whispered although it probably didn't sound like it to a vampire's ear.

"Someone's here," he answered, his attention still focused on the door.

"Someone— or something?"

"How confident are you that Dee can protect you if you're left on your own?"

The fact that he asked that question was scary enough to make goosebumps break across my skin. What was downstairs?

"I can protect myself," I answered, although I wasn't so sure anymore.

He growled.

"Will's gonna kill me," he said as he pulled something from the waistband of his jeans— my blade. My eyes widened as I looked at the weapon my dad gave me when I was a little girl. Did he have it this whole time? "I believe this is yours," he added while he handed me the blade. It was clear from the look on his face that he wasn't supposed to do that. "You kill anything that comes through the door, understood?"

I wanted to clap back at his patronizing tone. I wasn't a child, I knew how to defend myself— and probably better than most. But I knew now was not the time, so I nodded obediently.

"Don't let me down, White Fang," he then told Dee, who was listening to him carefully. "If she dies, Will'll kill me, and I'll make sure to kill you before that happens."

"Don't threaten her—" I began to shout back but he cut me off.

"Don't leave this room unless I tell you to," he ordered, wrapping his hands around mine so that I held my blade tighter.

He was gone before I could answer. My heart was racing as I made my way to the door. I couldn't possibly stay put in here while something was downstairs, and let Caelan fight it by himself. While the vampire looked like he could defend himself, I had no idea what was downstairs or how many of them were there. The moment my hand made contact with the door handle, loud sounds echoed from downstairs— sounds of fighting. I didn't hesitate and left the room, rushing downstairs with Dee ahead of me. As soon as I reached the main floor, I saw them. Creatures like the one from the tunnels. Only it wasn't just one, there were three of them, and they looked deadlier and scarier than ever. Their raw and slimy skin was covered in blood and gross black goo, and when I saw Caelan, I realized where the blood was coming from. Their long claws had pierced his skin at more than one spot. There was a deep wound in his shoulder, and his shirt was stained red underneath his ribcage. I gasped at the view, and all four of them turned their heads to me. Caelan's eyes widened with surprise for a second before turning angry. He took advantage of the distraction I was for the creature and ripped off the head of the one closest to him with his bare hands. I drew in a sharp breath again, horrified yet impressed by Caelan's strength. The two creatures dropped all interest in the vampire and lunged at me, still standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Upstairs! NOW!" Caelan screamed at me while he jumped on one of the creatures. But it anticipated his move and knocked him over with a jerk of his arm. Caelan flew against the wall.

Oh shit. That wasn't the type of creature I usually hunted. These were far too strong. Dee didn't wait for me to move and attacked the creature that was coming towards me, digging her teeth in his long and slimy leg. The creature hissed, displaying all four rows of sharp teeth in his mouth, and kicked Dee away. My heart jumped in my chest, and this time I didn't hesitate. I lunged and drove my blade straight into its eyeball. It screamed, throwing its arms at me, but I dodged the hit. My blade was still in his eye pocket— I had to get it back. I reached for it while Dee was busy tearing its leg apart, leaving the bones on display, but this time it didn't seem to care, too busy trying to kill me. Its large claws swooped in my direction and I barely avoided the hit by crouching over. I missed a step in the process and fell on my arse, the creature reaching for my arm before I could do anything about it. Its claws pierced through the skin and muscle of my bicep, stealing my breath away. It took all of me not to scream at the agonizing pain. Before I could jump to my feet, the creature had its claws around my hurt arm and lifted me up. My heart skipped a beat. It wasn't trying to kill me— it was trying to take me. It threw me in the air and onto its slimy and wet shoulder. I squirmed and took the opportunity to snatch my blade from its eye and stabbed it in the back again and again until it finally dropped me. The sounds that came out of its mouth made me wish I was dead. It was so high pitched, and inhuman that I wouldn't have been surprised if it damaged my eardrums. I heard Caelan growl somewhere in the living room, but didn't have time to look. The creature was already back on its feet and about to lunge at me again. I held onto my blade and sprinted for the staircase. It followed me faster than I expected, and grabbed my ankle while I was rushing up the stairs. Its claws dug deep into my flesh again, and this time I couldn't help the scream that escaped my lips as I fell on my chest on the stairs. I didn't need to see my ankle to know all the bones had been shattered. I breathed through the pain and quickly turned around, ready to attack, but just as the creature was about to reach for me, an arm snaked around its throat and pulled it away from me— Caelan.