Secrets In The Bones: The Curse of Blood Bay

Twenty seven

The two '' weren't going anywhere. I'd covered a decent distance from the house, about four hundred yards deep into town. Despite my efforts, I knew they'd nab me at the first chance they got. Not dead, mind you, but probably chained up in a cave somewhere. And I wasn't anyone's pet. The vampires were acting lost, heads craned upwards.

They didn't have a bead on me. I had landed on a flame-grilled flat above some nameless shop. It stank—a nasty reminder of the burnt silhouette at the house. Burnt wood, plastics, and foam—everyday life's basics mingled in the air. My situation was dicey, so I had to seize any advantage.

Hidden away, I dared not poke my head above the parapet; bloodsuckers had a knack for detecting unwanted guests. So, I held my breath, a heartbeat away from being the catch of the day. Slouched beneath the window, covered in layers of grey and black dust, I sifted through charcoal flakes when a mangy rat startled me, nearly prompting an embarrassing accident. The little devil scurried past my hand along the skirting board. My impulse to shout 'What the hell!' was stifled; I couldn't risk being heard. Seconds crept by, and paranoia crept in. Every swallow, blink, or twitch made me paranoid; those bloodsuckers had ears sharper than a bat. The trouble was, I had no moves left, no thoughts coming to the rescue.

"May as well give up; there's nowhere to run. The end is inevitable," one vampire taunted. I remained silent. This wasn't the situation we should've been in.

We had created a safe space, or so we thought. How wrong we were. The end loomed like night following day. It was time to embrace my inner wolf and quit second-guessing myself. Listening to the outside world, I located the nearest gunman three buildings down Oxley High Street. Another two hundred yards to their right, in an abandoned maroon Sierra.

The muzzle on their rifle tapped against the glass, unwavering. Another lingered closer to the town entrance. Then, almost unintentionally, I picked up on the faintest sign of life—an emitter. It was weirdly out-of-body; my sight followed the noise. I was like a phantom, moving past the vampires, then to the car and beyond. The emitter noise intensified as I moved forward, leading me to the church outside the looming burnt front.

A strange new ability, perhaps, or just another unexpected evolutionary twist. Two questions nagged at me. Where was the smell coming from, and how did I pull off that ghostly exploration? These newfound abilities had a knack for springing up when trouble brewed. I knew where to go; the challenge was getting there unscathed.

"Och, ya nae fun. Look, we promise not to harm a hair on the fair lady's head if you surrender. She was always destined for someone else. Ya, wee dogs dinnae hold a match for us. Vampires always have and always will be the apex of predators."

That voice is annoyingly confident. Apex predators? Really? All skin, bone, and weird pointy teeth. Their dependence on blood-sucking was a joke. The only hiccup was Ellena being destined for somebody else, hearing voices, and sketching a tall, intimidating bloke. Do I surrender without a fight, or do I go down swinging? Ellena was my shot at happiness, unexpected and too precious to let slip away. Worse, this standoff felt like the calm before a storm. Surviving this would only lead to something bigger, scarier, and far more dangerous for the rest of the country. I had to quit overthinking and start trusting my instincts.

I had to learn fast if I stood a chance of reaching Ellena and Michael. First, I thought about throwing the vampires off balance. I toyed with modulating a roar or a howl, but I spoke, making them guess. All I needed was for them to turn their backs and for me to get my arse in gear. The longer I sat in the crappy burnt flat, nothing was getting achieved, and for a while now, there had been a sickening feeling. The bullet to my shoulder confirmed it.

Blood would have to be spilt, and I had to do it. Vampires were already dead anyway; they just needed reminding. So, it wouldn't be taking a life. The bloodsuckers had taken so many already. Their decimation of Oxley Town was a testament to that. I wasn't sure about McNalley's crew and any other humans that got involved. After all, I was bringing claws to a gunfight—no time like the present to check out Ellena's kit.