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I was in thethat ca s-every part of me had been chewed on I wasn't even sure if I was still clothed; all I saas red froe and the blood in hts from my comrades was so helpful At least when I saw the butinto a continuous white noise, and the ceaseless cleaving ofdead

Vlad had an advantage With enough tirab hold of a zombie and burn them to pieces They ran around like macabre torches, as left of them, anyway Still, it see them to burn them into a less harmful state, whichwith them

Every now and then, though, I'd catch an orange glow from the corner of my eye, hear indescribable screams, and know Vlad was still alive Even lish accent cresting over the sounds of death and pain, urging everyone on, taunting the creatures with gleeful scorn Bones was still alive, too Aside from that, I had no idea as around me

"Fall back, fall back!" the shout caht down the center into two halves Between the falling fornizable in appearance, and I stoppedhis head off

"Coed on e curse

"Bloody fking hell, why didn't you call for help?"

I didn't knohat hewasn't an option, since he yankedat anything near us with the other My feet barely brushed the ground, swinging with his gait while I began to feel nauseous Some of the haze lifted from my vision and e entered the house and went at once down the stairs, I could see with clarity again

Every item in the house had been sht was outside, but then itwhat the mysterious object was, Annette, Tick Tock and Zero had been obliterating anything they could There wasn't even a solid stick of furniture left, and the ree while holding off the hideous intruders that kept coround levels and just two entrances to theative column, it also meant we had no way out

Bones deposited me into the arms of Tate, who appeared out of the spattered forms "Take her to the lowest level," he barked and turned away "I have to cover our retreat"

"Bones, no!" I protested, ignored by both of them as Tate whirled and ran down the stairs He shoved past people,that sounded like, "Your arm, your arm," as he went

We went through a door where inside, several frightened faces stared at usThe kids, I realizedThey're scared Maybe this wasn't outlined in the Be a Vampire Snack brochure

"Clear some space," he snapped to them, and fear from either his appearance or his tone ether as Tate lowered me to the floor and withdrew a knife

"Get off et back out there-" I started, and then shut upOh No wonder the two of theiven me such a look

"Give me a little blood by mouth, if you can spare it," hat I said instead as I considered my arm Well, as left of itAlways the left arm, the dispassionate part of me mused darklyFirst burned by Max, now this If it could talk, it would never stop bitching at me

It was hanging by a few stubborn ligaments, but most of it was chewed off to the boneNow I resemble the zoer for this one

"It'll hurt when it heals," Tate rasped, pressing a knife and my mouth to his throat "Drink deep I'll refill"

Normally I wouldn't have drunk from him, deeply or not, but these weren't norhting condition and fast, because the things outside weren't calling a time-out With that in mind, I clamped my teeth over the puncture Tateto keep the wound open

He nose, because I knew better Cool blood filledshards of shooting pain erupt in lued to hier suction By the fourth pull ony, but by the sixth, it had settled into a harsh tingling At the ninth I was able to shove his for more awoke in me

Tate's eyes were green when I looked at him, and it made me scramble back further, because his expression said they weren't lit up from battle

I jurew on ether like a scene from a science fiction movie

The new blood coursing inthe a on a sixty-fortythe undead cells

"Cos to kill"

Without a backward glance I ran up the stairs and back toward the fierce sounds of battle

The va like an undead gauntlet Every shrieking, unholy thing that tried to gnaw their way through the so far, but one look told h More and

I sprinted forward to join the fray when I collided with Annette She ide-eyed and frantic, alainst the wall When nothing happened but broken glass, she gave a raw cry of despair and turned to seek out more objects

"Annette!" I had to shake her to get her to focus on me "Where are Tick Tock and Zero?"

She gestured in no general direction "Tick Tock is on the other side of the house, Zero went to Anubus to attempt to beat the answer out of his follow after him, they've broken in! I heard Zero scream, and then I went this way Oh, Cat, I can't find it, I can't find it!"

Whatit was didn't require asking This place was co apart at the seams

"Just keep at it, Annette, we'll find whatever it is We'll hold them off-"

She shoved , ru from themall headed in this direction We're in an isolated area, but not that isolated Don't you see? Patra doesn't need all of them to kill us; very soon she'll know exactly where we are, because all the zo the way!"

Shit! Didn't it ever stop? So our situation had upgraded frory than anything else That bitch didn't deserve to win We ht not be innocents, but she was far worse on many levels

There was noise behindfrom the base structureThis is it, the realization came to meThe end No, I couldn't stop it, but I could choose how to meet it

With renewed deter, Annette, noIf that bitch wants us, she can coet us"

"To the lower rooms, mates, move!" a shout ordered Two dozen an to fall back I foughtBones and Mencheres at the end of the retreating line covering the exit Both of the display of violence that made them seeuessed that Mencheres, once stripped of his politeHe looked like a living nightmare

Vlad grabbedme backward His hands felt hot, not cold like they should have fro outside temperatures