He rasps some sort of response, stomping into the darkness.
The hallway opens into a room that makes my blood run cold. My instincts no longer tell me I’m safe. I get a horrifying sense of dread, and that’s before my meager flashlight illuminates enough for me to actually make anything out.
The room is massive. A burial vault, maybe, or some sort of ceremonial chamber from when this cathedral was still holy ground. The ceiling arches high overhead, supported by thick stone columns carved with sants and angels whose faces have been chipped away or defaced. The floor is made up of the same stone as the cathedral, but it’s stained dark in places. By what, I don’t want to think about.
Unlit candles are everywhere. Hundreds of them, maybe thousands, cover every surface. They sit in clusters on the floor, line the alcoves carved into the walls, wax frozen from the last time they provided light.
But it’s what’s in the center of the room that makes me gasp. It makes my hand tremble until I can barely hold my phone. Hayden lets out a low growl when I illuminate the sight.
Chains. Dozens of them, hanging from iron hooks embedded in the ceiling beams. They don’t look like they belong here. They’re not rusty or ancient. But more concerning than the chains is what is suspended from them.
People. They hang by the wrists, arms stretched overhead, toes barely touching the ground. Some are unconscious, heads hanging limp, hair a mess on their faces. Others are awake but the look in their eyes is vacant like they’re staring at nothing. Their clothes are torn and filthy, soaked in blood, and I can see bite marks everywhere the fabric is torn.
Then I see my best friend. She’s hanging near the back of the room, her blonde hair matted and dark with dried blood. Her head is tilted to the side, eyes closed. There are bite marks on her neck, arms, and along her stomach. Her skin is pale, but she doesn’t look dead.
“Daisy!” I scream, running towards her, but Hayden’s massive hand lands on my shoulder, pinning my feet to the floor.
“Wait!” Hayden commands, panic in his voice. Panic inhisvoice is enough to freeze me in my tracks, even without the hand holding me in place.
Then I realize why he stopped me. There’s someone else in this room. I hear a noise, shine my flashlight in that direction, and see a coffin lid moving not far from where Daisy is hanging.
The lid hits the ground with a thud and a figure emerges from it. I recognize him immediately. It’s Xander, the guy Daisy went on a date with.
He’s tall and lean as he stands. He doesn’t look concerned or worried, but the hair on the back of my neck prickles like it did when I saw him at Fletcher’s Bar. He adjusts his coat as he steps out of the coffin, his eyes glowing with a red hue as he focuses on us.
“I thought it was starting to stink around here,” he snarls, sharp fangs glimmering in his mouth as he glares at Hayden. “My maker told me about your kind. Said you’re… delicious.”
“You’ll never find out,” Hayden growls, stepping in front of me.
Hayden advances on the vampire, but then he begins to transform again.
This time it’s different. More violent. Hastier.
His body drops forward, hands slamming into the stone floor with enough force to add more cracks. His spine arches, bone snapping and reforming with sounds that make my stomach turn. The amber glow in his eyes intensifies, burning brighter until they look almost molten.
“What the hell is happening?” I am pretty sure I squealed as I took several steps back.
His face elongates, jaw pushing forward, becoming a muzzle lined with ivory daggers, the canines lengthening into fangs that put the vampire’s to shame. His ears shift upward, pointed and alert.
Just when I think it can’t get any stranger, fur erupts across his skin. Thick, dense, charcoal gray that darkens to black along his spine. It spreads so fast it covers every inch of his flesh in a matter of seconds. His hands and feet twist, fingers and toes fusing until they are massive paws tipped with claws as long as my fingers. Claws that dig into the stone floor like it’s soft earth.
“You’re… a wolf,” I whisper, but despite what I see, I still don’t sense danger. Not from him, at least. The vampire is another story.
“Yes, yes, soon to be a dead wolf,” Xander cackles, advancing on us.
The muscles beneath Hayden’s fur ripple and swell, growing denser, more powerful and his shoulders broaden. His height doesn’t diminish. Not really. If anything, he seems larger. Even on four legs, his head is almost level with my head.
He is enormous and looks like a predator who could tear me to shreds, but I’m still not afraid of him. I should be. I should berunning for my life. A low growl rumbles from his massive chest, and I feel it vibrate through my body.
“Stay behind me,” he growls, but his voice doesn’t echo in the room. I only hear it in my head.
“You don’t have to keep telling me that,” I whisper, my head buzzing a little from the way he spoke to me, like he was speaking directly with my mind. “No intention of being anywhere else right now.”
One moment, Xander is beside his coffin, the next he’s airborne, launching himself towards Hayden with claws extended and fangs bared. Hayden watches, not moving at all until the vampire is almost on top of him. Then he leaps.
The collision sounds like a car crash. Their bodies slam together with bone-crushing force, and they tumble across the crumbling stone floor in a tangle of fur and fangs. Candles get knocked over. A column shatters and part of the roof collapses. A fragment of stone lands on the floor beside them. If it had been any closer, it might have crushed them. Cracks form in the ceiling and dust rains down, along with a few pieces of debris.
“Daisy!” I scream, suddenly concerned about her safety more than my own.
