Fade Into Black - Shadows of the Night 5

Chapter 56

Hi!

So, this is real: Anna does remember what happened, but getting her memories back will come at a high price and might be too much to handle. Why? Find out in this chapter.... :-)

Lara

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Chapter 56

The memory burst out of the depths of my mind like a violent tremor. I was back in that street again, caught up in that moment of ill foreboding. And...

I stilled, turned my head in time to see dark shadows stretching and elongating.

Dark. Ancient. Vampire.

The sound of sharp knifes scraping along the surface of ridged metal tore through the street, clawing, hacking into my mind. I turned, saw a smudge of motion, screamed when it tore into me. Darkness rippled in front of my eyes and expanded until I couldn't hear, couldn't speak.

I blinked up, pain like starlight flashing behind my eyes, and pushed myself from the ground, then straightened. My shields were completely shattered. The rotten taste of bile coated my throat, breath coming in short, painful gasps.

I scanned the night.

How? Who-

I felt it coming from behind, turned and enforced another wall of air, fortifying it with power. It moved in a too-fast-to-see motion. My instincts screamed vampire as I turned with it, perceiving the motion as the fast stalk of a hunter circling his prey.

I kept spinning, opening my senses to the planes around us. Suddenly it stopped a few feet in front of me and I got my first good look at my opponent. Blood-red hair bound in a high ponytail, a china-white complexion. His eyes were dark brown, almost black. Delicate bones that betrayed his heritage. This vampire was Asian.

His lips curled into a smile.

I concentrated my power on my front, keeping the walls pumped with magic wherever I felt the power of the grave attack my circle. Magical planes rearranged in a liquid heartbeat.

Time got lost like grains of sand scattered by a gust of wind and the vampire was gone.

I turned, stretching out my senses, watching, waiting.

It came from out of nowhere. Liquid fast. Unrelenting. Something crashed into my walls from behind. They shattered. Again.

He had one arm across my neck, one across my stomach, squeezing, cutting off air. The scent of the grave engulfed me, suffocating.

"What do you want?" I ground out, then stilled. Something wasn't right here. I felt the vampire behind me, but there was ... more. Much more.

The Asian vampire hadn't come alone.

I could feel another wave of power approaching. Familiar and yet not. It was more than just one dark aura. It was a destructive avalanche rolling through the city, burying it with the scent of the grave. No, this definitely didn't feel like just one vampire. There had to be at least one more. No matter who, no matter how many – whoever was coming had shitloads of power. Hell, it could have been an army of powerful vamps approaching.

The blood in my veins stagnated. No, not just approaching. It was more than flesh that held me in a deathly grip. It was as if the unknown power was trying to hold my mind. I pushed against tides pressing against my consciousness, dulling my senses. Opened my eyes. I blinked and strained, trying to see past the hazy fog in my mind but all I could see were shadows and darkness. It was close, coming closer and –