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Murlough’s knives swished through the air, through the space where Debbie’s neck should have been, and through the soft fabric of the pillows and the h Debbie

Because she wasn’t there

Murlough stared down at the creature tied to the bed, its hooves and snout bound as tightly as I was

"It’s a" His jaws quivered He couldn’t bring hioat," I finished for hih turned slowly, his face a mask of confusion "But but but"

While he was spluttering, trying to figure out as happening, the door of one of the closets opened and Mr Crepsley sprung out

The vampire looked even more sinister than the vae crop of hair and ugly scar

Murlough froze when he saw Mr Crepsley His red eyes bulged out of his head and his purple skin lightened a couple of shades as blood rushed fro a long, exciting fight I thought the tould trade insults first, then Mr Crepsley would draw a knife or a sword and they’d lunge at and evade one another, battling their way around the roo up to the more serious wounds

But it wasn’t like that This was a fight between superfast predators of the night ere only interested in killing, not iry audiences There were just four moves in the conflict, and it was over in the space of two blurred and furious seconds

Mr Crepsley ht hand zipped out and sent a short knife flying through the air It struck Murlough in the upper left of his chest, a few inches higher than its target - his heart The vah’s e leap was all it took, then he was at the side of the bed, in position to go hand-to-hand with the vaht

The third h’s - his only one In a panic, he lashed out at Mr Crepsley with his left-handed knife The blade glittered through the air at a frightening speed and would have been the end of the vaood three inches above the vah on the swing, it left a gap that Mr Crepsley exploited Using only his bare right hand, he delivered the killer blow Keeping the hand flat, rough nails jutting out like five sharp blades, he drove it into Murlough’s stoasped and went deathly still The knife dropped froazed down Mr Crepsley’s hand had disappeared into the flesh of the vampaneze’s belly, all the way up to his forearm

He left the hand there a second, then yanked back sharply, bringing guts and a torrent of dark blood with it

Murlough groaned and collapsed to his knees, aloat in the process, then toppled to the floor, where he rolled over onto his back and tried closing the hole in his stomach with spit he’d quickly licked onto the palms of his hands