101 - A Perfect Sky; A Storm

14

My vision narrows as I let the Slayer out - a wolf on the hunt; it seems as if not a single vampire can land a blow (I'll actually feel them all later) as I dance amongst them, never trading blows with one for too long before I hop to the next. Never letting them know my next move and staking them when they least expect it. Male, female - I can't tell who is at the pointy end of my stick, 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. They burn like fresh wire.

I shake it off, the consequences of the hits I've endured slowly seeping into my bones. My ribs sing, my arms are heavy, and even my teeth ache.

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 quite 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 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 the vampire's cheek and make for the door, barely feeling the crunch of bone upon impact. Without breaking stride and one arm hooked around Kai, I catch the door with my other hand, 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.

Kai groans and rises slower than I do. With an arm around her, I urge her farther into the room, into the safety of the slowly growing daylight.

Feral growls rumble through the floorboards beneath my feet as the vampires tear down the door, but they 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 may not even show.

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, indicating 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?

... Fuck.