Thank you, Bastien, for putting the idea of such uprisings into their heads. ) Perhaps, like Dennis, this one intended to make lowlives like these his whipping boys.
While Bastien had ruled his vampire army with an iron thumb, he had only used violence to keep the maddest of them in line when theyâd strayed and had earned the devotion of his followers by giving them hope. Dennis, Bastienâs successor of sorts, had used violence . . . just because. The vampires who had followed him had done so not because they thought he could help them and cure them, but because they had feared he would rip them to shreds if they didnât.
Again Lisetteâs gaze went to the fifth vampire.
Yes, this one reminded her strongly of Dennis. Already, he imagined tearing his companions apart.
She nodded to her brother.
Richart vanished and reappeared directly behind the first two vamps.
How she envied him his ability to teleport.
With a flash of his long daggers, he decapitated the vamps in front before those behind him could even utter yelps of surprise.
Lisette darted forward at preternatural speed, arriving just as Richart spun around and severed the carotid arteries of the next two.
They stumbled back, grasping their throats as blood spurted and they began to bleed out faster than the virus could save them.
Only the fifth remained.
Just as Lisette arrived, that one delivered a roundhouse kick to her brotherâs chest. Richart flew backward, hitting the side of a nearby building hard enough to crack the bricks. Dust and mortar exploded around him as he fell to the ground.
Merde! Lisette ducked the right hook the vamp aimed at her, dodged the upper cut that followed half a second later, and swung her shoto swords. He was so fast!
The lumberjack vamp spun out of reach of her weapons and drew his own: two sais, as long and sleek and well cared for as those Roland carried. And, unlike most vampires, the lumberjack vamp knew how to wield them.
He swung the sais.
Shock rippled through Lisette as she met his every strike. This vampire had been trained. And the bastard was tall, with arms that seemed as long as a gorillaâs. But her longer shoto swords made up for her shorter reach.
She swore as one of his blades caught her across the cheek.
Richart? she called mentally, unable to take her gaze from her opponent long enough to check on him. Are you all right?
A slew of French expletives filled her mind, grumbled in her brotherâs familiar voice.
Relief made her smile. So did scoring a deep cut across the vampâs right arm.
Fury mottled his rough-hewn features. His moves grew more careless. His thoughts filled with such hate and violence that it was hard to read any one thought in particular, but she did manage to discern that he had believed he would easily overpower her because she was a girl.
Dumb ass .
She swept the sai from his right hand.
He curled his empty fingers into a fist and slammed it into her jaw.
Pain exploded through her head as bone cracked. Her fingers tightened around the grips of her swords as her feet left the ground and she flew backward the way her brother had. She didnât know what she hit, but stars burst into being around her, lighting up her vision and muddying it at the same time.
Richart roared over the ringing in her ears. Lisette! he shouted mentally as the sounds of fighting resumed.
Iâm fine.
Dragging herself to her feet, she staggered a couple of steps until she could regain her balance. Bastard had punched her! When was the last time a vampire had caught her off guard or gotten close enough to strike her with his bare hands?
She didnât wait for her fuzzy vision to clear, just dove back into the battle. Racing to her brotherâs side, she added her blades to his. This vampire might be far more skilled with weapons than those they normally fought, but he couldnât best two of them at once.
They defeated him in short order, cutting his carotid,
Benjamin Blech, Roy Doliner