101 - A Perfect Sky; A Storm

11

My vision dims as I let the Slayer out; it seems as if not a single vampire can land a blow—or perhaps I can't feel it if they do—as I dance amongst them, never trading blows with one for too long before I hop to the next. Only spontaneously do I return to the original target and stake them when they least expect it. Male, female—I can't tell who is at the pointy end of my weapon, nor do I care.

I move as if untouchable, invincible, riding the high of slayer-adrenaline until one finally lands a solid backhand to my cheek. She knocks me out of my frenzy, her nails leaving four horizontal red lines along my temple.

I shake it off, the consequences of the hits I've endured slowly seeping into my bones. My ribs sing, my arms are tight, and even my teeth ache—but no major damage.

In the second it takes me to regain my footing, the female lunges again, and a male jumps in on the next beat. I spin out of both paths, kicking the female behind the knee to get her out of the way and then planting my boot in her back to hoist myself up, sweeping my non-dominant leg at the other vampire's head before my weight collapses the female beneath me. He stumbles back into formation, where I can easily count the remaining vampires as the female struggles under my boots.

Four left, plus the Doctor, which means...

I've dusted seven.

It isn't the overwhelming victory I've envisioned; my split knuckles beneath my gloves and now-blunted stake leave me a bit disappointed. Still, the rest can be dealt with in another swift and calculated sweep...

...Once I catch my breath.

A weak whistle cuts over the angry growls, the snarls, my heavy breath, and the muscle in my neck tenses with the urge to glance over my shoulder at Kai—but if I take my eyes off the vampires, they'll pounce.

I do it anyway, catching a glimpse of the slayer hunched against the door leading upward—now slightly ajar and her hand on the knob—before the female vampire beneath me pushes free, and I have to regain footing on the floorboards. But I only need that quick look to know exactly what Kai is thinking.

I bring my heel down on her cheek and make for the door, one arm hooking around Kai without breaking stride and the other hand catching the door, slamming it shut behind us. I don't stop moving, don't stop hauling her up the stairs.

But as soon as we reach the top step, she stumbles. Her weight pulls both of us down, and we collapse into the pool of dawn light that pours through the loggia's open arches.

We scramble to our feet, Kai groaning and rising slower than me, all the while hearing the vampires tear at the door at the bottom of the stairs. With an arm around Kai, I urge her farther into the room, into the safety of the slowly growing daylight.

Feral growls rumble through the floorboards as the vampires halt just shy of the top step—not daring to join us, because even if the sun has long to go before reaching its zenith, they can smell that it is only a matter of time before it does.

Unless, of course, it's another cloudy day in London, and the sun doesn't reach in here.

My gaze darts to either side of the loggia, taking in the gradually lightening exteriors of the surrounding buildings visible through the arches. They are cast in grey, not yellow, which usually indicates an overcast sky.

It doesn't matter—I don't need the sun to help me; I just need to dust these last few vampires. The path down will be easy now that Kai is conscious.

But as soon as the thought crosses my mind, all four lunge.

Four.

Where is the Doctor?

I can't think about it as I bat away fists from every direction, some blows making my bones rattle. I find the heart of the smaller one, a thin, gaunt female, and then kick a bigger female down the stairs. Kai, still unsteady on her feet, is doing the most she can against the other two, sticking to defensive maneuvers like spinning and then kicking them away.