Thalia’s heart beat so hard she feared her chest would cleave open.
The Vampyr smiled through the mangled mess of his mouth, revealing sharp fangs—
Thalia bolted.
The Vampyr let out an eerie screech, his scream rattling the room.
Thalia flew up the stairs two at a time, ignoring the way her shins barked as they slammed against stone.
Her palms slickened as she dragged herself to the top, whirling to grab the trapdoor. She slammed it down just as the Vampyr’s upper body broke the surface.
It screamed as it scrambled to pull itself out from the wooden planks.
The Vampyr’s hand wrapped around her boot, fingernails biting even through the thickness of the leather. The creature snarled, foaming blood flying from its mouth.
Thalia placed all her weight on the planks, trying to get the thing back into the hidden room. The wood groaned under her weight, splinters biting into her palms.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Thalia kicked the leg the Vampyr gripped, hoping to dislodge the creature. Its teeth gnashed, bringing her leg ever closer to its mouth.
Thalia screamed, picking up the trapdoor and slamming it as hard as she could on the Vampyr’s back.
The wood splintered, but the Vampyr didn’t let go.
Thalia sobbed, slamming the wood down again and again on the creature’s spine. The Vampyr didn’t even seem to feel the blows.
It yanked on her leg—hard.
The world slipped out from under her feet. Thalia’s head slammed against the hard floor. The weight on her leg sent pure panic racing through her bloodstream. She used her free leg to kick the Vampyr in its face.
It wailed, blood spurting from its broken nose and its mashed-in mouth. Then it pulled Thalia, yanking her across the ground.
Thalia tried to twist, but its grip was iron. It latched on to her boot with both hands. Thalia watched in horror as the Vampyr brought its mouth to her leathered sole.
Thalia kicked it again, and her foot slipped out of its boot. The Vampyr reeled back at the lack of weight in its hands, and Thalia scrambled backward.
The Vampyr discarded her boot, staring at her as it crawled on all fours out of the stairwell.
Thalia’s heart jumped like a hare, nausea mixing with the growing panic in her veins.
She didn’t know where her knife was, what had happened to it in the scuffle—
The Vampyr’s broken face smiled again as it scuttled ever closer.
Thalia whimpered, frozen in terror, as the Vampyr inched over her cowering body.
Its smile was a thing of grotesque beauty. Its red-tipped fingers trailed over her face, leaving a path of blood in its place.
“Hunger,” the Vampyr rasped. Thalia trembled as its fingers gripped her throat. “Hunger!” it roared. Then it reared back, clutching its head. “Hunger!” the Vampyr screamed, ripping at its hair. It scrabbled at its flesh, tearing more holes into its skin, as if its very bones were liquifying.
“Hunger—”
Blood sprayed over Thalia as a dagger embedded in the Vampyr’s open mouth.
Thalia jerked back as Cassius appeared, his sword drawn and an iron stake in hand—her iron stake.
The Vampyr touched the dagger in its mouth, its hazy eyes wide. Then Cassius shoved the stake right through the Vampyr’s skull. The creature crumbled to the ground like a broken marionette, its skin turning to ash.
