Carpathian 21 - Dark Peril

moving in a pattern much like the drumbeat in a ceremonial ritual.
    Power crackled in the air. Thunder rolled in the distance. A whip of lightning cracked overhead.

    “I see you grow impatient, Demyan,” Dominic said.

    “I am not used to interference,” he snapped. He knew as well as Dominic that the delay only made him look weak in the eyes of his followers, but he was reluctant to attack a Dragonseeker.

    “I have never had anyone stupid enough to come between me and what is clearly mine.”

    “You think to stop us from taking this traitor to the masters ?” Demyan snarled. Once again his lips drew back and the blackened, needlelike teeth were a mockery against his handsome image.

    Hideous growls and murmurs of protest came from the four lesser vampires. They separated, taking up positions in a loose semicircle around Dominic. Insects swarmed up the tree trunks and over fallen logs.
    Bats dipped and wheeled in the air above them. A snake slithered along the nearest tree branch and tiny bright frogs stared with round dark eyes. Demyan had marshaled his army.

    Dominic paced a little away from Zacarias to give the Carpathian room to fight. Dominic would go for Demyan, the biggest threat. He would have to trust Zacarias to keep the others off him. It wouldn’t be easy, but it could be done.

    “Perhaps you will call another master , Demyan, but I will not.”

    Drago let out a shriek of outrage. “He is sworn. His blood calls.”

    “I do what suits me. It does not suit me to hand my prize over to all of you and then see the three feed off blood that belongs to me.” Deliberately Demyan reminded them that five Malinov brothers had begun the campaign to destroy the Carpathian people, but now only three remained alive. Zacarias’s brothers had been a large part of destroying the master vampires.

    “The sun is near rising and I tire of this little game. Who will start this dance then, Dominic?” Demyan asked quietly.

    Silence fell. The forest held its breath. The vampires swayed back and forth.

    Solange emerged from the shadows, her weapon held down low, already aimed at the vampire dressed in fashionable clothes. She’d marked him as an easy kill, and God knew she needed an easy one.

    Dominic didn’t turn or look at her. Zacarias’s gaze was cool, without recognition. The vampires swaying stopped for a moment, murmuring and showing black teeth. Demyan’s elegant eyebrow shot up and then he smiled, a slow, evil smirk.

    “I like to dance,” she announced and shot the arrow straight toward Jason, the colorfully dressed vampire, aiming for the perfect spot on his silk-covered chest. The arrow ignited just before it tore through flesh to find the wizened heart, incinerating it with the white-hot flame.

    Jason had no time to react, no time to scream or retaliate. He imploded, fire bursting through skin and bone, spraying fiery blood and blackened worms onto the ground.

    Zacarias whirled around to slam his fist deep into the chest of the nearest vampire, driving straight to the heart. He ripped it away, the action happening so fast, the well-dressed undead hadn’t yet managed to fall to the ground. Zacarias called the lightning down to incinerate the heart even as he turned to face his next opponent. Drago was Demyan’s disciple, the lesser vampire a pawn for the master , but as long as Drago lived, Demyan would stand and fight, believing he had a better chance of survival against one hunter. It was imperative to keep Drago occupied and stall killing him until Dominic maneuvered Demyan into a kill position.

    Dominic was on Demyan before the master vampire could react, leaping across the distance in an effort to end the battle before it actually started. Such a vampire had been centuries in the making, perfecting skills and acquiring knowledge, growing more powerful each century until he could appear beautiful and clean, holding other vampires in his thrall. Carpathians aged in the same way, but the cunning guile came only when they were close to turning themselves. Dominic wanted to stop the fight before it got started.

    Demyan’s eyes went wide in shock. It was clear he had believed the parasites in Dominic’s blood would control him, prevent him from attacking one of their own, as they should have. He whirled out of reach just before Dominic’s fist penetrated his chest, seeking his heart. His eyes went feral and Dominic managed to snatch his hand back as knives spun around Demyan,