Takashi surged forward, going for the low right side. Either the shield wasn’t there, or Anton couldn’t keep him out.
For all Takashi’s hope that Anton might flourish into a better man without Seamus in his life, there was none now. He rose to his feet behind Anton.
Anton half turned, calling on more shadows, but that divided his attention, and his shield cracked. Takashi struck at him, and though Anton countered, each move took a bit more focus. Pulling as much speed as he could, Takashi attempted to land his blows over and over. Anton continued to slide away, continued to counter, and began to slip.
But Takashi’s energy was also fading.
With a last, desperate scream, Takashi shoved his hand toward Anton’s chest with every ounce of his fury. His hand punctured his flesh, going through his ribs, and closed around his heart. He ripped it clean from Anton’s body.
Anton dropped, his shield dissipating as he fell. The lightning bolt knocked Takashi back against the far wall beside the window, Anton’s heart falling to the floor beside him as he did.
“Holy shit, I’m sorry!” Katie ran to Takashi’s side. She glanced at Anton. “Is he … is he dead?”
“Do you have a fire spell?” Takashi groaned.
“Yeah.”
Takashi nodded at the heart.
Katie pointed her wand at it. “Ignis!”
An orange flame lit the heart and quickly turned blue, then green. The blaze caught the wall on fire. Katie aimed her wand at the stray flame.
Takashi pushed himself off the floor. Every fiber of his being ached, and they had yet to make their escape. “Let it burn.”
“Are you sure? Zack is still?—”
“Zack will make it out,” Takashi replied.I pray he is himself when he does. He threw the window open. “We have to leave.”
Katie nodded and hurried out the window. As Takashi waited for her, his gaze lingered on Anton’s body. No red mist emerged, even as the heart on the floor beside Takashi’s foot crumpled into itself, and he remained handsome. He should have turned gray and lifeless; a flood of red mist should have escaped someone so old.
Had Anton managed to find true immortality? Would he hunt down Takashi if he survived?
Guilt swept over Takashi as he dropped out of the window and to the dark garden below.If we’re lucky, the fire will finish him off. Takashi took Katie’s hand, and they ran toward the western fence. Flames flickered in the window they’d left open, and the sounds of clashing enemies echoed out into the night.
CHAPTER 57
Kill, his mind demanded.Kill, kill, kill. He trod down the stairs, his feet heavy and fighting him, and spun the dagger in his hand. The silver glinted in the dim light of the halls, and the runes provided extra illumination. They were the shade of blood, the shade he was hoping to coat it in.
He tracked heartbeats and the noises of weapons meeting flesh until he found a group fighting in one of the parlors. A few combatants had spilled out into the hall. Some had familiar black uniforms; the others were dressed in black as well. They were living—or unliving in the case of the vampires—creatures. Targets ripe for destruction.
Blurring between the ones in the hall, slashing throats, and burning out hearts with his blade was laughably easy. In a few seconds, there were three dead bodies. The blood on his blade seeped into the runes, and a rush of warmth spread up his arm and into his chest. He strode into the room.
There were a dozen or so struggling in here. He danced through them, carving through veins as he went. Several fell down with a cry, though none of his blows had been killing ones this time. The vampires were healing. The humans were holdingtheir wounds. They smelled delicious, and he bared his fangs in a wide smile.
A young black girl swung a baseball bat covered in silver nails at his head. He leaned out of the way. She redirected, swung again, and he dodged the other way. She wasn’t fast like him, but she didn’t hesitate between her strikes either. Another vampire came at him, and he reached out and broke the attacker’s neck. She continued, nearly hit him that time.
How many could he kill while evading her? He blurred, stabbing one of the uniform-clad vampires, and destroyed the creature’s heart. She chased him down.
The others were beginning to run. When he went to chase after one mortal, the black girl zoomed in front of him, actually catching him off guard with her movement. Laughing, he let her take more swings at him. She was spending energy; he was barely using any.
Or, at least, he thought he was hardly tapping into his strength. The longer he looked upon her face, the slower he seemed to get.
Enough games! Kill her and come to me!the voice in his head declared.
He ducked a wilder swing from her and grabbed the bat closer to her hands. Growling, he ripped it from her. She struck him in the solar plexus with her fist. Ribs crunched, and he coughed. He tossed the bat off to the side and dodged her fist again. This one grazed his nose. He was … slowing down … because … because something was wrong. With him.
Kill.
