I can dodge the debris. She can’t. Neither can the other people chained up here, but I have to rescue Daisy first.
I glance over my shoulder, watching as the vampire twists and sinks his fangs into Hayden’s shoulder. The sight makes my stomach clench. Dark blood wells around the bite, matting the gray fur. Hayden’s snarl turns into a roar of pain and rage. He whips his massive head around and catches the vampire’s armin his jaws, clamping down with enough force that blood squirts out, bones shatter and the vampire shrieks with pain.
There are no locks on the chains, just leather cuffs around her wrists. I shake her a few times, but she’s unconscious, and her eyes don’t open, so I start freeing her from the restraints, turning so I can watch the fight while I do.
“I’m going to get you out here, Daisy. I promise,” I hiss words I hope are reaching her.
The vampire shrieks again and tears himself free, leaving strips of flesh behind. Hayden spits them out, but the vampire doesn’t slow down. He lands on his feet and darts again, moving like a shadow. His claws rake across Hayden’s flank. Four deep gouges open up, and blood streams down his fur.
I get Daisy free from the cuffs, but she slumps into my arms. She’s dead weight, and I’m barely strong enough to keep her from falling to the floor. But I need to do more than keep her from falling; I need to get her out of here.
Hayden spins, faster than something his size should be able to move, and his paws hit the vampire’s chest, the blow sending the vampire flying backward into another stone column. The impact cracks the stone and ripples up to the ceiling. More debris falls, and I can see the cathedral above us through the hole that opens.
“Daisy, can you hear me? Please wake up!” I beg desperately, hoping she’ll be able to support her own weight or at least make it a little easier for me to get her out. “Daisy!”
Her eyelids flutter but don’t open. Up close, she looks even worse. The bite marks cover her arms and neck. There are some on her stomach, and a few on her breasts. Her shirt is torn open,hanging from her shoulders. She’s lost a lot of blood. Her skin is too pale and when I try to balance her, I notice how cold it is.
The fight continues. I hear the vampire’s hiss of pain and Hayden’s answering snarl. Something heavy crashes into the wall hard enough to make the floor shake. Daisy groans and I turn my attention back to her, hoping that she’s going to wake up.
“Come on, Daisy. Come on,” I plead. “We have to get out of here.”
A screech of agony makes me jump. I spin around, still holding Daisy, and see Hayden with his jaws clamped around the vampire’s throat. Blood, so dark that it’s almost black, pours from the wound. Hayden shakes his head violently, the way a dog shakes a toy, and I hear something tear.
The vampire thrashes, clawing at Hayden’s face, his chest, anywhere he can reach. His fingers leave bloody marks across Hayden’s muzzles, just missing his amber eyes.
Hayden releases Xander and the vampire stumbles backward, one hand clutching his torn throat. Black blood oozes between his fingers, his red eyes wide, wild, and for the first time, he looks afraid.
Then he opens his mouth and lets out a screech that makes my bones vibrate.
It’s not like the screeches from the fledglings. This is longer, deeper, and resonates through the entire crypt. The sound is so piercing I almost have to let go of Daisy to cover my ears. Some of the people suspended by chains start screaming too, like they’re answering the bloody fiend.
Hayden doesn’t hesitate. He launches himself forward, what looks like about eight hundred pounds of muscle and fury slamming into the vampire like a battering ram. The vampire flies backwards, arms flailing as he crashes into the far wall with devastating force. The wall cracks, mortar collapses, along with an avalanche of stone that bury the vampire’s bloody body.
“He’s not dead, but we need to get the fuck out of here. Now,” Hayden’s voice echoes in my head, rough with pain and frustration.
“I can’t carry her. Not if I’m going to move fast,” I whimper, still trying to balance Daisy.
Hayden walks over. He sniffs Daisy, then his lip twitches. “She hasn’t been turned. We can still save her.” Without warning, Hayden lowers himself to his belly. “Think you can keep her and yourself from falling off?”
“Um, I don’t know,” I admit. “You want me to… ride you?”
“We don’t have a choice,” Hayden replies. He turns to look at me, those burning amber eyes finding mine. Even covered in blood, I still feel that warmth. Still feel like I can trust him. “That sound? He wasn’t just trying to make our ears bleed. He was calling for help. I thought this was a nest. It’s not. It’s a fucking blood bank, and there are enough people here to feed more than him and his brood.”
“Oh god,” I squeak, noticing some stone moving where the vampire is buried.
I carefully drape Daisy across Hayden’s back, then get a grip of his fur as I pull myself up. My grandfather taught me to ride horses when I was younger, but there is no saddle to climb on. Just a big, huge, massive, telepathically talking wolf.
“Hurry,” Hayden urges. “If more of them show up, I will not be able to fight them on my own.”
“What about…” I look around the room. “All these people?”
“I can’t carry them all,” Hayden almost yells inside my head, and as I look around, I realize he’s right. I want to help, but if there are more vampires on the way, we have to go.
I balance myself carefully on his back, turning Daisy so that I can keep her between my arms while I hold onto the wolf. The debris begins to move again and then I hear other sounds. Screeches, similar to the one Xander made.
“Ready?” Hayden asks.
“Yes,” I whisper.
