Vampires Realm Prophecy 01 - Child of Light

to get dimmer and dimmer. He knew she was still in the room with him, but she felt distant now. A quick look over his shoulder showed she was there. Two vampires flew backwards and took down at least a dozen when they fell back to earth. Turning back to his own fight, he tried to battle his way towards the empty throne at the back of the room.
    Instinct told him that that was where he had to go and he was never one to ignore instinct.
    Slicing into the vampire nearest him, he took down the one beside him with a swift kick in the knee and then chopped the head off the one behind him without even looking. He knew how wrong it was to take pleasure in killing his own kind, but he couldn’t help himself. It had been so long since he’d been in a battle of this magnitude. He realised that this would be another mark against them both in the eyes of the Law Keepers.
    Growling with effort, he clawed a nearby vampire across the face and then punched him hard, knocking him to the floor. It didn’t matter if there was the odd survivor. Once they had defeated the lord of Tenebrae, command of the bloodline would disappear until the Chosen Son or Daughter came forwards to claim the role of master. In those brief moments, it would be easy to get the other vampires to throw down their arms.
    Another glance in Prophecy’s direction showed that the vampires seemed to be more interested in fighting her than him. He cut the heads off two men and then stepped up onto the stone platform where the throne was.
    Turning his head to one side, he listened to the vampires behind him. He could hear them jostling for position but not one of them made a move to attack him. He wondered if setting foot on the platform was forbidden, no matter what.
    He looked down at them and arched a brow.
    They were pushing against each other, the ones at the front having to lean backwards in order to avoid touching the steps that led up to the platform where he was standing.
    “What are you afraid of?” he asked with a sly smile. “Me?”
    “No, child, it is me they fear.”

Chapter 38
    Valentine turned slowly to face the owner of the voice. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the lord of Tenebrae. He was dressed in heavy armour that protected his neck and chest. When he stepped forwards, Valentine could see that the metal plates were thick, heavy enough to withstand the blow of an axe even when it was coupled with preternatural strength. Even the ornate helmet the vampire lord wore looked as though it could take any strike of a weapon and have only a dent or scratch to show for it. It was Norse-like, the eyeholes split with a long strip that covered the nose. The top was crowned with a plume of black feathers and the sides were decorated with brass or gold. The chest and neck plates were decorated in a similar manner. They were edged with the yellow metal and it crept in swirling patterns across the silver.
    “I believe they are the only ones,” Valentine said in a measured tone, not letting the lord of Tenebrae see the nerves that flickered in his stomach.
    This wasn’t going to be an easy fight. Their only hope was that Prophecy’s magic could slice through the armour.
    The lord of Tenebrae divested himself of his long black cloak, giving him an amused smile while he did so. Valentine kept his eyes locked on his opponent’s face, not letting him distract him at all. He couldn’t tell how old the lord looked with his helmet on, it hid most of his face from view, but he knew that in vampire years he rivalled Mathias. He could sense the strength that living to that age had bestowed on him.
    This wasn’t going to be an easy fight at all. He just hoped that Prophecy wasn’t too far behind him. If they were going to win this, they were going to need her power.
    “You seem ready... willing... yet you do not make a move. Why is it you have come all this way to fight me? Can you not see what we are trying to do here?” The lord frowned behind his helmet.
    Valentine let his demon guise come to the forefront at the same time as the lord of Tenebrae did. He stared into the twin pools of black that were looking back at him and growled.
    He sensed the lord’s move a moment before he made it and ducked easily under his arm, avoiding the punch that had been thrown at him. Sweeping around, he took the lord’s legs out, causing him to fall to the floor with a harsh thud and clatter of metal. He straightened up, readying himself while his opponent