Vampires Realm Prophecy 01 - Child of Light

scanning their surroundings.
    “That wasn’t your stomach then?” She tried to make light of the situation but he grimly shook his head.
    When his head shot around and he frowned, she followed his gaze. Slinking out of the shadows of a nearby staircase was the largest werewolf she’d ever seen.
    “Old,” she whispered in fascination, her eyes roaming over its tattered fur that was intersected with thick scars.
    “Damn near ancient,” Valentine corrected her.
    “Is that bad?” she asked out of the corner of her mouth, afraid to make a move in case she made it attack.
    “Only for us.” He smiled but it looked forced to her. She could see the worry in his eyes. “I think we should forget the weapons.”
    “I would tend to agree.” She backed away a step but the werewolf moved forwards, keeping the distance between them steady.
    She stared into its yellow eyes. Everything slowed. For a brief second, she wondered whose family it belonged to, and then Valentine grabbed her hand.
    The world sped up to a dizzying pace.
    “Move!” Valentine tugged on her hand and started sprinting in the direction they’d just come. She found herself lagging behind, her concentration on the werewolf rather than running.
    She tried to look over her shoulder at it as they pounded the cobbled roadway back over the bridge towards the old town square. Valentine pulled on her arm again and growled at her when she stumbled, losing her footing and slowing them down even further.
    The dark look he shot in her direction told her just how serious the situation they’d found themselves in was. There was no time for making mistakes. If they didn’t do everything flawlessly, then they weren’t going to make it out.
    She sharpened her senses, her pace increasing until she was keeping up with him. When she fell in beside him, he let go of her hand. She focused on the werewolf, trying to pinpoint its location behind them.
    She looked at the buildings ahead of them, the wide flat-topped spires of the church and the town hall giving her somewhere to aim for and the wet cobblestones of the bridge reflecting the pale lights of the streetlamps lining it.
    “Gaining,” she said and saw Valentine’s brows knit tight, his concentration wholly with the werewolf. She tried to run faster but her muscles protested, aching under the pressure of being forced to go past their limit.
    A loud crash off to her right signalled that the werewolf wasn’t running a straight course any more. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw it use one of the statues of saints as a springboard, shattering the fragile stone under the pressure of its hind legs.
    “Faster,” Valentine growled at her.
    She struggled to keep her footing on the wet stone floor. She’d never had to run this fast for this long before and it was taking its toll on her. She squealed when Valentine’s fingers wrapped tightly around her wrist and he forced her to push through the pain barrier to keep up with him. Resisting a look at him, she kept her focus on the gate ahead of them. She knew that Valentine was tiring too, but they couldn’t stop and fight. The long bridge didn’t offer them the room they would need to manoeuvre and there was no cover of any kind.
    She heard Valentine suck in a sharp breath and expel it slowly when she almost lost her footing again. The gate wasn’t far off now. They were no more than thirty metres from it and were closing in fast. Unfortunately, so was the werewolf. She could practically feel its breath on her neck, its signature growing stronger on her senses.
    It was closing in on them faster than they were closing in on the gate.
    “Move!” Valentine said and she looked over at him.
    His claws were extending, the bones of his face shifting as his teeth descended. His eyes flashed like mother of pearl as they caught a streetlight.
    She shook her head violently in opposition of what he was asking her to do. She wasn’t going to let him fight alone this time.
    “I am not asking you, Prophecy. I am telling you.” He grabbed her wrist tightly and propelled her forwards, letting go of her just before they reached the gate. She stumbled on, unable to slow down immediately without falling over.
    She turned in time to see him whip around and grab the werewolf’s forearms just as it leapt towards him.
    He clenched his jaw and struggled to contain the beast. It snarled and lurched forwards, trying to bite him and growling when he skilfully dodged its