Dark, fierce energy rushed at Benedek, pushing into the space around the trees and even to the root system below. Rage, stark and terrible, choked the very air, beat at the vampires emerging from the cracked and blackened trunks. It was too late for the master vampire to gain control of his minions. They were too far gone, drooling, long tongues darting around them, flicking in the air to try to catch the lingering drops of blood.
Ah, an old one,Benedek told the others.He travels extensively, always one step ahead of the hunters. He calls himself Frisi. He runs with another called Balan. Balan is a very experienced fighter.
Benedek held himself very still, every cell in his body aware of the lesser vampires ripping the last of the bark away so they could fully emerge. Long talons clacked together as they stepped onto the floor of the grove. Instantly, beetles swarmed up their legs, biting and boring into the rotting flesh.
I have the stench of this Frisi,Nicu said.He is close to you, Benedek. He sits in the tallest tree, a lizard about to get a visit from an owl.
Nicu might not feel humor, but he had it in abundance. Balan, the vampire who had taken over the body of the owl, suddenly dove from the branch where he had been observing the scene below, made a wide circle, seemed to waver midflight as if in a struggle, and then flew at the lizard, determined to eat it.
Benedek took a moment to admire the way the owl streaked through the night sky, avoiding the massive branches to home in on its target—the lizard. At the last moment, the lizard dodged the talons, lashing back with a whirling spear of fiery lightning that pierced the breast of the owl, knocking Balan from the sky. Black acid rained down on the floor of the grove, hissing and steaming as it splattered across the dried leaves and sticks.
Balan separated himself from the owl, clutching his chest, where acid poured from him, along with maggots. Mataias seemingly steppedout of the very air, driving his fist into Balan’s chest as the undead staggered forward. Mataias whirled around as he extracted the heart, using a front snap kick to drive the vampire away as he pulled the heart free of the body. Balan howled in horror as Mataias tossed the heart skyward and a bolt of lightning shot through it and then jumped to Balan’s crumpling form before Mataias bathed his arms in the white-hot heat to rid himself of any acid.
Odon and Elek were called to the rocks to the left of the grove,Nicu reported.Their master doesn’t like the way the battle is going.
As the grove lit up from the fiery heat of jagged bolts sizzling across the sky, Benedek moved with the blurring speed he was legendary for as he stepped into the attack from the vampire in front of him. He drove his left fist deep through the wall of the vampire’s chest, his fingers finding the withered heart. Even as he withdrew it, he impaled the second vampire with his right fist, using the momentum from the advancing abomination to go through the chest wall to the heart. He swung the vampire around, so the third attacker slashed with wicked talons down the face and neck of his companion.
Benedek extracted both hearts and sent them skyward, where Lojos directed the whip of lightning to incinerate them. Only seconds had gone by, but when Benedek was in a battle, time slowed. He saw everything clearly. Smelled everything. Battle was the one time hefelt. A rush when he entered actual combat. There was no thought of life or death. No thought of pain or wounds. Only defeating the enemy.
He shoved the bodies of the two dead vampires to the ground, right over the bubbling acid. Larger cracks appeared, and tree roots shot out of the ground like spears dipped in poisonous sludge, seeking to wrap around Benedek’s legs. Benedek shifted before he could be touched, allowing Mataias to slam lightning into the ground, bolt after bolt, incinerating the bodies of the two dead vampires and forcing the vampire beneath, hidden in the tree roots, to arise.
Benedek materialized behind the third vampire, who had emerged from a tree, driving his fist through bone and sinew, reachingunerringly for the heart. The vampire coming out of the ground tried to work his way around the undead Benedek was killing.
The one emerging is called Dacso,Benedek announced to the others.
The vampire Benedek was extracting the heart from shrieked and screamed, looking for aid from the sky. He couldn’t shift or use his claws to get at his attacker. He tried to bend forward so he could reach behind him to rake at Benedek’s thighs. Benedek spun him around, which gave his back to Dacso, who had emerged fully from the ground.
The last I heard of him was two centuries ago. He was close to being a master vampire then. I have no idea why he is running with Frisi, but watch yourselves,he cautioned.
Giving Dacso an opportunity to attack him enticed the vampire to rush at Benedek. He ran right into Tomas’ fist, allowing his own momentum to impale him on the hunter’s arm. He screamed, spitting curses and maggots, tearing at Tomas with razor-sharp claws as he tried to hack off Tomas’ arm.
Behind him, Lojos materialized. The lesser vampire Benedek fought faced them and tried to warn Dacso there was a second hunter. Right at that moment, as he opened his mouth to shriek a warning, Benedek fully extracted the heart through his back. The vampire forgot about helping his companion. It was all about survival. Benedek tossed the heart high into the air.
Two bats broke from the rest of those in the distance and raced toward them even as lightning veined across the sky. Mataias was very accurate, hitting the heart with his first lash, following it up by incinerating the body.
Benedek left Dacso to Lojos and Tomas. Shifting again, he took to the sky, ignoring the bats coming to try to aid Dacso. They weren’t his concern. He had to take out the master vampire, Odon and Elek with Nicu.
As the bats neared the forest, a great horned owl swooped down and bit the head off one in midflight. The owl spat it out, and as the lesser vampire struggled to shift back to his own form, Mataias waitedin the air, unseen, as was usual with the triplets. The owl plunged after the second bat while the first vampire ripped himself free of his miniature disguise.
Mataias exploded out of the air, tearing through the vampire’s chest wall as the undead plummeted toward the grove. He was fast, ripping the heart free, tossing it far from the vampire, who, without his head, had no way to know which direction his heart had been thrown. A jagged bolt of lightning destroyed the heart and jumped to the body before it could hit the ground. A second white-hot fork sizzled to the grove, finding the head the owl had spit out.
The great horned owl caught up with the bat before it managed to reach Dacso to aid him. Talons tore into the back, ripping away skin to expose bone. The vampire shrieked as it was forced to shift, black acid dripping to the branches and ground below. Everywhere the drops of oily sludge hit they burned holes through the wood and brush. Relentless, Mataias followed the undead to the floor of the grove, attacking without hesitation.
Benedek had easily picked up the stench of the master vampire. He tracked him to a large boulder with several crevices in it. Emerging from the shadows, he strode straight toward the vampire, letting him know battle was inevitable.
The master vampire had seen his ranks decimated in a matter of minutes. He was no fool, or he wouldn’t have survived as long as he had. He signaled to the two lesser vampires, Elek and Odon, who were nearest to him. They were there to serve him. To fight his battles. Normally, with so many vampires traveling together, Frisi participated only when the tides had turned on the hunter and he was certain of a victory. Access to Carpathian blood was rare. The craving for it was always overwhelming, a very powerful temptation, especially for a master vampire who had managed to stay alive for centuries. He would always claim the prize after his pawns weakened or mortally wounded the hunter.
In the old days, vampires were always solitary. Over the lastcenturies, they had begun the practice of using newly made vampires or freshly turned ones to guard the older ones. The newer vampires believed they would be protected and better learn how to survive. They didn’t understand that the master vampire used them to keep himself safe from the hunters.
Benedek was aware of Lojos and Tomas battling with Dacso. The vampire was very close to being a master himself. He had no doubt Dacso would be defeated. The triplets had a way of fighting together that was smooth, every move well orchestrated. Mataias was busy with the lesser vampire and doing mop-up with the lightning bolts.
In position. Will remove Odon first,Nicu informed him.
Nicu was Benedek’s backup. He had already stalked Odon and Elek and was waiting for them to make their move. Odon would be the first target because Nicu would strike fast and kill him immediately. Of the two pawns, he was the biggest threat. That would leave only Elek and Frisi to fight. Frisi was an experienced fighter, or he wouldn’t hold the position he was in, but he couldn’t count on Elek, who was reputed to run from a fight every time.
Frisi came wholly out of the crack he’d been partially hiding in. He held up one hand and then indicated for his two defenders to come up behind Benedek.
Benedek didn’t so much as glance behind him. That wasn’t his way. He continued forward, not fast or slow, just a steady, fluid pace.
