Vampire Mine - Kerrelyn Sparks [95]
She looked around frantically. Emma and Brynley were busy killing vampires by the warehouse door. And Sean’s attacker was lying on top of him, draining him dry.
She had to do it. Tears filled her eyes as she pulled the dagger from her belt. God forgive me. She estimated where the vampire’s heart would be, then plunged the dagger into his back. He turned to dust.
She stepped back, and a wave of nausea hit her. The dagger tumbled onto the street with a clatter.
“What are you doing here, Marielle?”
She spun around and saw Zackriel walking toward her. “Is Buniel here? Can he heal this man?” She motioned toward Shanna’s father.
Zackriel looked at Sean Whelan, then at the small battle that Emma and Brynley waged, and shook his head. “There will be no Healers here tonight. Only Deliverers.”
She swallowed hard at the bile in her throat. “What about the humans inside?”
“All thirty are dead.” Zackriel gave her an annoyed look. “Do you really think this is the way back to heaven?”
She stepped back and stumbled over the dagger she’d dropped. Oh God, what had she done? “Zack—” She turned toward him.
He was gone.
“Help me,” Sean wheezed. Blood oozed from his stomach wound and the open gash on his neck. He reached out a trembling hand.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. She couldn’t even hold his hand without killing him.
His hand fell limp onto the hard pavement.
Their strategy had worked, Connor noted with satisfaction as he skewered another Malcontent through the heart. Casimir’s followers were falling like flies, caught completely by surprise. Corky Courrant and her cameraman were running about, shrieking, and trying to hide behind stacks of lumber.
He glanced over at Roman to make sure the former monk was doing all right. Roman was holding his own. Jean-Luc Echarpe was watching Roman’s back just as he had done during the Great Vampire War.
Angus and Robby were both attacking the ring of Malcontents that surrounded Casimir. Connor wanted to join them, but twice he had to engage Malcontents who came close to killing Sean Whelan. Shanna’s father was fighting like a madman, taking such foolish risks that Connor wondered if the man had come to commit suicide.
He knew the battle was over after the shifters charged in, and most of the surviving fledglings ran screaming for the front door, trying to escape. The poor fools had thought they were gaining immortality by becoming Casimir’s vampire minions. No doubt they were shocked to find themselves dying the very next night.
With the number of Malcontents dwindling fast, Sean Whelan was having an easier time of it. He was fighting a fledgling with dismal fencing skills. Connor turned to help Angus and Robby as they fought to destroy some of Casimir’s most experienced swordsmen.
Robby broke through the ring and made a swipe at Casimir, slicing his shoulder.
Casimir teleported away, then yelled at them from the top of a stack of wood. “I am sick of evading you! You’re like a pack of rats, always scurrying about and keeping me from fulfilling my destiny! I want this ended, once and for all. Tomorrow after sunset. Mount Rushmore.”
He vanished, and his followers who knew how to teleport followed him. All that was left was a few fledglings trying to escape.
Connor glanced over to where he’d last seen Sean Whelan, but he was gone. The fool must have gone outside to fight more fledglings.
“A final battle?” Robby turned to his great-grandfather. “Tomorrow night?”
Angus sighed. “Most likely a trap.”
Connor had to agree, but with the current battle moving out onto the street, his thoughts returned to Marielle. He charged outside, slashing at any Malcontents in his way.
He reached the street and spotted Marielle kneeling beside a body. She was alive! “Marielle!”
When she looked up, he saw the tears on her face.
He ran toward her. “Marielle, are ye all right?”
She shook her head. “I’ve been praying, but none of the Healers will come.”
Connor jerked to a stop