Breathing Fire (Heretic Daughters 1)

I swung my axe in a large circle, using it’s weight as momentum to increase my speed. They scattered dizzyingly fast. Newborns were much weaker than the older ones, but unfortunately, they were just as fast. I only caught one on my first attack, clipping the hairless thing in the chin, then pushing forward to cut it’s head in half. Regrettably, it was the wrong half to cut, and I had to move into another broad swing to sever it’s head from it’s neck. All of this gave at least some of the vampires enough time to swarm me, pushing me onto my back.

I felt fangs sink into my wrist at the same time a pair ripped into my thigh, going right through my heavy cargo pants. I screamed, equal parts rage and pain. I was pissed.

My hand still gripped my axe even as another bloodsucker attacked that wrist with gusto. Hmm, hands useless. I tried to kick, but both legs were pinned, as yet another ugly bastard latched onto my other leg. Legs out, too. That effectively eliminated my options for both hand-to-hand and weapons. I was pissed enough not to even care. When all else failed, I always had fire. I took a deep breath.

Vampires, fortunately, had no immunity to fire. One latched onto my neck even as I breathed out, reigning blue fire onto all of the beasties directly in front of me. My hand let go of the axe even as I reached out, feeling for a grip of anything slimy. I gripped a slimy head in one hand, a cheek in the other. It wasn’t even a thought so much as an instinct to burn everything I touched. All of the creatures near me began to scream in agony, and I knew that every part of the skin that they touched burned them. I was fire.

I only saw how many of them had had me pinned as they scattered back, rolling, slapping, beating, to try to stifle the flames. I smiled. Blue fire was harder to douse than normal fire. It was like fire on crack. They would burn in agony until Corbin came and put them out of their misery. Six of them were out of commission, for the moment. I turned my attention to the others. They had scattered to the corners, cowering rather than fighting, and I almost felt sorry for them.

I bent down and grabbed my axe. “I’ll let you pick. Axe or fire. As you can see, fire hurts a lot more. But if you bite me, you get fire.”

One vampire broke for the window, making a dive at the glass. My axe caught it in the back, pinning it to the wall near the window. I pulled back, and swung again, taking it’s head. Before the head had hit the floor, another one was on me, straddling my back, it’s teeth sinking into my neck from behind. I screamed, shifting my axe to one hand and reaching back. I felt it’s disgusting head, and pushed the fire out. It fell off, screaming in agony.

Six vamps remained, darkening the corners. They hissed at me. I pointed to the headless vamp, and then to the one ones on fire, their tormented screams filling the room. They were writhing in pain, no longer a threat. “You pick. The easy way, or the hard way.”

One scuttled forward awkwardly, it’s eyes sad and anguished. There was no way to tell if it had been a male or a female when it was human. It’s slimy white body was smooth and sexless. “Please,” it said around a mouth full of teeth. “End my suffering. I did not choose this.” It bent until it’s head nearly touched the ground. I swung before it saw it coming, feeling like a real bastard, something I’d never felt for killing a vamp before. This was one weird f**king Kiss. Most newborns couldn’t speak, let alone communicate clearly. I had been doubtful that they would even understand me when I spoke. I made a note to ask Corbin about talking newborns, first chance I got.

I waved my axe. “Anybody else wanna go the easy way?” I asked, almost wanting them to fight now. That last one had seemed too pathetic to be a threat, even though logically I knew better than to doubt that it was.

Another one scuttled forward. It’s forehead tilted to the ground, and it let out what sounded suspiciously like a sob right before I took it’s head. I felt one rush me from behind and I used the momentum of the swing to turn, catching it on the side of the jaw, then following through for a clean beheading. At least it hadn’t bitten me.

Three more remained. One scuttled forward, bending it’s head. I was swinging when it struck, going for my ankle, of all things. I chopped it’s head off right as it’s teeth made contact, before they had time to sink in. I decided to be nice, and let my axe take it, since it hadn’t technically bitten me.

Predictably, one jumped on my back as I dealt with that one, and I used blue fire as it tore into my shoulder. Bastard took the hard way.

The last one never moved, just cowering in the corner, making me go to it. I felt oddly reluctant to strike. These were like no other vampires I’d ever seen, and I felt pity as I looked at the slimy thing. “I’m sorry,” I told it, raising my axe.

It hid it’s face, but I heard it’s muffled words just before I struck. “Don’t be sorry. I want death. Death is much better than this.” I took it’s head.

I shook myself, moving to the doorway, sure there were more rooms to clear, though if Christian had faired as well as I, the two main nests had been eliminated.

Corbin Helsing met me in the doorway. His eyes widened as he saw the room’s carnage, blue fire rampant. “The master is dead, the Kiss weakened, though it looks like you hardly needed the advantage, since I just barely killed him. What the f**k is that blue stuff?”

I blinked at him, shocked at myself for a moment. I usually avoided using the blue, particularly if Christian was near, and here I had almost just left it burning. “Don’t speak of the blue flame. Just stake them, so I can get rid of it,” I told him, sore, and pissed, and depressed about those pathetic creatures. I couldn’t scrounge up an ounce of good manners just then, so I sounded as mean as I felt.

Corbin didn’t even seem to notice, just nodding and setting to work, staking all fourteen of the creatures quickly and quietly, chanting softly over every crumpled vampire.

He stood as he finished, his chanting increasing in volume. All at once, every still body in the room turned to ash. Corbin nodded grimly.

I called off the flames, closing my eyes as it rushed back into my body, causing me to shiver. Corbin was giving me wide eyes. I shook my head at him. “Don’t ask. Just lead.”

We searched the rest of the floor, finding one, smaller pocket of vampires. They all fought hard, but they were weakened, and no teeth reached us as we dispatched the ugly creatures, one by one.

“Some of them begged me for death, back in the other room. I never knew the new ones could even speak,” I told Corbin, as we made our way down the hallway.