Come In

Chapter Twenty-Six

I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't blink. I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything but stare.

I could've fought Elios and the other two- they were just Pardos; easily dealt with. But Martin, who had arrived with three others- they were vampires. Stronger, faster, and much harder to kill. We were severely outnumbered.

I stared at Libby's face- her tears, stained by mascara, had formed rivers of black down her cheek. She was sobbing, and couldn't seem to catch her breath.

Kim, however, looked like emotion had abandoned her. Her face looked empty. I did notice tears glistening in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall.

Guilt washed over me- this wasn't about them. This was about me and Cam. They were just dragged into it. If only I had let Kim go her own way after her attack. I knew that she couldn't be alone; that she was too scared. But I also knew that she would have been fine.

It felt like an hour had passed before anyone spoke.

"Let them go." Cam growled. I immediately snapped out of my catatonic state. I then did something that was probably very stupid.

I lunged.

Cam had no time to stop me- I don't know whether he would've been able to. I was running purely on instinct and rage. I landed on Elios first, and began to deliver punch after punch until blood poured from his nose.

I felt hands wrap around my waist, and I was suddenly on the other end of the room, with Cam's arms wrapped around me.

"Annabeth. Calm down." He whispered urgently. But I couldn't. I could feel my heartbeat quicken. I felt my breath coming out in gravelly snarls. I could taste blood on my tongue and everything I could see was covered in red.

"Anna!" Cam shouted. It snapped me out of it immediately. I felt my pulse slow down to its usual rate, and my breathing became more controlled. I stared up at Cam's angelic face, and let a tear fall.

"Be calm, Anna. You need to be. Calm." He said, enunciating his words carefully. He gazed at me for a moment before letting out a breath. Turning back to Elios, who had managed to prop himself up on the wall beside him, Cam cleared his throat.

"What do you want." He inquire in a monotone.

"Right now, I want your bitch's head on a stake." Elios sneered. I grabbed Cam's hand, and felt anger tremor inside him. He seemed calm enough with my hand around his.

"For Kim and Libby. What do you want?" Cam said, and I could hear his voice trembling. I didn't know if it was from anger or terror. I hoped it was anger- anger meant that he had some hope of winning this.

"Why, Mr Michaels. We want you." Elios laughed. I barely had time to register the fact that I hadn't even known Cam's last name, because suddenly, I felt the ground shift. Frowning, I peered up, and saw that everything was shaking. Was this an earthquake?

I had my answer when I looked into Kim's eyes, which were completely white.

This definitely wasn't an earthquake.

Libby screamed, falling to the floor. Hysteria was bubbling out of her as the vampires who had been holding her, fell to the floor, shaking uncontrollably. I peered up at Cam, who was glancing from Kim to the vampires, his face showing his utter confusion.

Elios glared at me, even as seizures rocked through him. He seemed determined to fight whatever Kim was doing. Suddenly, he was gone. He'd ran out if the building in a blur. I hoped that Kim's magic would follow him and kill him, because it seemed to be doing just that to the others.

Cracks began to form on their skin, as if they were actually made of some sort of stone. A high pitched scraping sound pierced through the air, drowning out Libby's cries. I was shocked into stillness as the vampires exploded, sending dust out into the air.

I had to admit, I was incredibly surprised at Kim's power. She had killed a dozen vampires by herself, all through the power of her magic.

I watched as her iris' and pupils returned to her eyes, fading back into view slowly. I also noticed blood pouring unendingly from her nose. I broke out of my shocked state in time to run up and catch her as she collapsed.

I turned to ask Cam for help, but he wasn't behind me. He was by Libby, consoling her as sobs shook through her. Cam lifted Libby to her feet, and turned to me and Kim. He took Kin into her arms, and flitted outside with her. He knew that I needed time alone with Libby.

"Libby?" I said, making every move slow and deliberate as I walked up to her. My voice sounded so small to my own ears. I wondered whether Libby had even heard me.

But she had. She gasped at the sound of my voice, and her eyes flew to me. Suddenly, she was crushing me in a hug so tight, I could barely breathe. I could tell that she needed me- I was the only one that made sense in this entire situation.

"Libby, honey. You need to listen to me; this is very important." I said, stroking her hair rhythmically. She seemed to calm down as she released me from her bone-crushing bear hug.

"Do you know what those people were?" I asked, enunciating every word carefully. She nodded.

"Th-they told me they were... vampires." The words tumbled clumsily out of her mouth, and I noticed that her voice sounded so hoarse and raspy. What had they done to her?

I nodded in reply, and offered her my hand.

"C'mon. We're going back to my place. I can explain everything there." I stated. She nodded, taking my hand.