Carpathian 05 - Dark Challenge

howling and off balance, unable to use his power and ancient skills.

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    Desari dropped to the ground and covered her head, but not one of the birds even scratched her. Julian had orchestrated the battle perfectly, giving the undead no time to harm her. She lay perfectly still, forgetting for the moment that she, too, could disappear. The sound of ripping flesh was terrible, the screams of the vampire unearthly. It wasn't until his foot touched her that Desari remembered to dissolve into droplets of mist and streak quickly into the safety of the trees. Perched in the top of one tall tree, she turned around and reappeared, biting her lower lip nervously as she watched.
    The scene was like something out of a horror film. Darius had always sheltered her from his hunts, as had Julian when he put her into a deep sleep. This was brutal and terrifying. The vampire's stink of evil intensified; he was deliberately attempting to foul the air, making it impossible for beast or man to breathe. But as hard as the vampire tried, Julian countered every poisonous hiss, bringing forth a cooling wind of fresh air.
    The undead was nearly blinded by the owls raking at his eyes. His chest cavity was cracked open and spewing a geyser of tainted blood that seemed to purposefully spray every creature in its path, burning like acid, even killing some of the birds. The animals were closing in tighter and tighter, a ring of restless, hungry beasts aroused to a fever pitch by the spectacle of violence and the smell of fresh blood.
    Her gaze was drawn to the huge owl she knew to be Julian, her lifemate, terrible to see in his role as destroyer. Touching his mind tentatively, she discovered he had pushed out all thought of her, was as ruthless and merciless as the most efficient predator. He attacked from every angle, again and again, swift, deadly, wearing down the evil one with every razor-sharp slash, every deep laceration, always driving for the heart.
    The vampire had no chance to dissolve and escape, but his claws and tainted blood were doing immeasurable damage. Even in the shape of the owl, Julian was still severely injured by the first vampire's surprise blow. She could see the feathered creature protecting one side, its wing never spreading its complete span. Desari realized he would have escaped even that blow if his only thought had not been of her. He was incredibly fast, moving like lightning, striking and moving, striking and moving, giving the ancient undead little chance to gather his energy and wield his considerable evil power.
    Its howling was terrible to hear. The ugliness of it hurt her ears. She wanted to close her eyes, not see the dead and dying birds, the spray of blood shining black in the moonlight, hissing and sizzling as if it were alive.
    She didn't want to see the grotesque vampire, covered in blood, his straggly wisps of hair greasy with it, his eyes pits of it. The deep gouges on his face added to the horror of his hideous features. He was ragged and torn with a multitude of wounds, yet he refused to go down, refused to acknowledge he had no chance of survival.
    On the ground the tainted blood was moving, stretching out across the vegetation to seek a victim.
    Everywhere it touched, plants withered and blackened in the moonlight. Then Desari realized the blood was following the large owl's movements, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
    The tiny spot where the vampire's talon had pierced her neck was throbbing and swollen, as if his claw had been dipped in poison. If that tiny wound hurt her, what did Julian feel from his bone-deep slash?
    She could not imagine it and again she touched his mind, but she found he had blocked all pain so that his entire focus was on destroying the evil one.
    Desari wanted to rush forward and gather up all the fallen birds that had aided Julian in the fight with the Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    ancient undead. Wounded as he was, he had no choice but to accept their help, yet she knew instinctively that he would feel sorrow over the destruction of such beautiful creatures.
    Her heart ached for Julian, for her brother, for all those who had to fight and destroy a living entity. She knew the undead were wholly evil, that the only thing to do was rid the planet of them, yet those forced to do so risked their lives and, worse, their very souls, while they did