Everything Anew

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Twenty-Nine

Lila

I couldn't move.

There was so much blood. I could smell it in the air, watched as the vampire drank so much of it that the hunter -Ali- dropped to the floor with horror stricken, glazed eyes.

I pressed against the car further, seeing some of the Frosted Fangs appear around us but halt when they noticed what we were up against. Vampires are one of the strongest of any supernatural being, they killed hundreds of us, and I heard stories of the nightmares of what they did, some of their victims fates being worse than death itself.

"Get in the car." Nathan whispered while taking a step in front of me.

That only caught the vampire's attention. Blue eyes that were so pale they were almost white, found me. His pale eyebrows lifted, and his interest piqued. "My my, is that a female?" He took a deep breath in, lips and teeth stained red with blood as he smiled. "I've never tasted one of you before."

"Get inside!" Nathan said to me, louder this time.

I threw myself into the drivers seat and slammed the door, locking it when I saw the vampire stride over. It was stupid to think that a flimsy car door and a thin layer of glass could protect me from that creature, and then the knowledge of Ali being dead hit me.

I hated myself for not feeling remorse toward him. I had seen death many times while living with the Rebel's, but what I did mourn was the possibility of my own freedom slipping through my fingers.

Even with the car door between us, I could still hear Nathan's muffled voice. "What are you doing here?"

The vampire's head tilted up, showing red smeared down his throat. "You took my snack. I just came to retrieve it."

Ghostly eyes returned to me, making me slump further into my seat. Just when I thought I couldn't handle his gaze for much longer, Nathan stepped between us, obscuring our view from one another. Everyone around us was unmoving; the Frosted Fangs didn't come here to protect us from a vampire. It would be a possible suicide mission to even attempt to attack him. They were told to protect us, but they also weren't stupid enough to jump into the middle of something that hadn't even started.

"Who are you?" Nathan asked, surprised to hear his tone of voice barely wavered.

Unable to see him, I listened as best I could while he answered. "Orion."

My heart leapt out of my chest when he appeared beside me, only a window separating us. My heartbeat was so loud, I wondered if he could hear my blood pumping through my veins. He smiled at my fear, basking in it for a short second and then suddenly, he disappeared.

Nathan had already swung around, but stalled when he noticed Orion was gone. I watched his hands ball into fists at his sides, watching them tremble as he slammed his fist on the hood of the car and swore loudly. When he began to pace, I unlocked the door and slowly stepped out. Nathan was breathing hard, his hand fisting in his hair while Evan rushed over to Ali's body and checked for a pulse.

I knew before he even told us that he was dead.

"What else can we take? What the fuck else can be thrown at us?" Nathan called out, as if waiting for a reply.

The only thing that answered him was silence.

I was still shaking when Markus came running towards us. He walked past Nathan and put his hands on my shoulders, leaning forward to look down at me. "You need to get you inside."