Nasferas: The Begotten

35

Trees and shrubs fell back in streaks dark of woodland colors. From the moment they leapt from the truck and began their pursuit of Brett's killer, a powerful force surged through Davidar. His brother had a couple of steps on him and seemed to be gaining ground on the silent assassin.

The man they chased moved with the grace of a black leopard. He stepped between two trees and shimmied up them, one foot at a time. When he reached the top, he soared to an outcropping of rocks.

Davidar stopped.

Dram followed the man up the trees, climbing like an expert. Davidar sensed danger as the stalker stood on the rocky ledge, his sword drawn, ready to strike.

"Dram! Don't!"

The warning came too late. Dram had already reached the ledge. The sword moved so fast, that Davidar could barely discern its whereabouts. Luckily Dram did, because he ducked, dodged, and outmaneuvered several slices, jabs, and chops. None of the blows landed.

Energy built in Davidar's legs. He crouched and pushed his will into the ground. A hole imploded in the earth below him. He launched into the air. The man, still busy taking swipes at Dram, didn't notice.

Davidar landed beside the scrappers. Ribs crunched below the man's right arm as he raised his sword. The shock of the blow made him lose his grip. His sword clinked against the rocks. The dark soldier toppled back down the cliff and landed with a solid thud.

"Wow," Dram said. "I can't believe he didn't hit me."

A low roar came from the thicket below. The man stood. His clothes ripped. Muscles burst through torn seams. Coarse gray hairs emerged through the dark skin. Several loud grunts came from him. If he had been a man, he wasn't anymore.

Davidar took Dram by the shoulder. "I don't think we're finished."

Claws burst through the creature's gloves. It dug into the side of the cliff and crawled up like a spider.

Dram shoved Davidar. While in the air, he adjusted and did a backflip. It didn't work. He landed on his stomach, ten feet away . . . in a patch of green shrubbery. When he looked up at the two tussling on the rocks, he saw streaks of blood blossoming across Dram's chest. With each additional swipe of its razor-sharp talons, more lines of crimson appeared.

Dram dropped to his knees and spit blood.

This time, Davidar ran at full speed and tackled the creature. The two slid over the side of the mountain and busted through branches until they landed on the hard dirt below. Once again Davidar found himself on his back, the creature above him poised to make a killing blow.

Move to the right!

He obeyed the internal command and quickly turned onto his side. In his periphery, he noticed a large figure fall from the top of the cliff. The creature's sword sank through the top of its head, exited through the jawline, and stuck in the ground. Its blade missed Davidar's back by centimeters. Its body flopped around in defeat.

Davidar scurried out from under the beast. A large black hand reached down and picked him off the ground. Treylor stood in triumph over the body.

Dram dropped to the ground in front of them. "How'd you know where we were?"

Their soon-to-be brother, pulled the sword from the creature and let the husk slump to the forest floor. "Your mother seems to know everything that's going on with her family members. And we could all smell the blood. Are you okay, Dram?"

"Yeah. A bit worse for wear, but damn, that was cool."

Treylor looked Davidar over. "You're good." He crouched on one knee and unsnapped the creature's helmet. "By all the gods." His eyes went wide as he slowly revealed the monster's face.