Vampires Realm Prophecy 01 - Child of Light

got to his feet.
    Just as the elder vampire stood, Valentine caught him around the jaw with a swift left hook and at the same time kicked him hard in the kneecap. All he could do was go for the weak spots, the parts of the lord that weren’t so well protected. While the vampire was struggling to his feet again, Valentine used the time to his advantage, scanning the armour. He realised that while the lord’s chest, back and neck were protected, his sides were exposed where the armour met.
    He barely had time to react as the vampire rushed at him, hitting him hard in the chest with both fists before gripping his arm tightly. Valentine brought his knee up hard into the vampire’s stomach, causing him to growl as the metal plate pushed into his body. Bringing his foot down, he stamped on the lord’s knee and then punched him twice in quick succession before following through with his elbow across the vampire’s cheek. As the lord stumbled backwards from the force of the blow, Valentine hit him as hard as he could across the side of his head with the blunt face of the axe.
    The lord kicked him in the stomach and Valentine growled when all of the other vampires that were gathered around the platform jeered in support of their master’s move. He tried to avoid the lord’s hand as he lashed out at him, but found himself backed into a corner with nowhere to go. The elder vampire grabbed a fistful of his hair and he struggled but didn’t have the strength to stop him from bringing his head down roughly on his armoured knee. His head spun and he tried to lash out at the elder vampire, but his opponent batted his hand away and grabbed hold of his jacket. Valentine flinched in pain when the lord punched him repeatedly in the face, a malicious glint in his eyes. The lord of Tenebrae threw him backwards and he stumbled and fell.
    Lying staring at the ceiling, he wondered if he’d finally met his match. With so many vampires around, it seemed impossible to win this fight. He could taste blood in his mouth and his whole face hurt. Not even the sound of wolf growls in the hall around him was any comfort. They couldn’t win this battle with werewolves and vampires. While they could easily defeat the lower ranked vampires, they were no match for the lord of Tenebrae. Elena and Prophecy were right. It was magic that had to stop this war and fulfil the prophecy.
    Getting to his feet, he spat blood out onto the clean stone slab below him and then swallowed hard, trying to shut down the pain. His whole body ached, everything dulled by the pain rocketing through his system.
    He was no match for the lord of Tenebrae in hand to hand combat. The elder vampire was far stronger than himself. Even if he did win, the two high guards that he could now see standing at the back of the platform would kill him.
    “Why have you led your army of half breed scum to our castle? You will not succeed in altering this prophecy or stopping us in our path to our true destiny. What you have been told about this prophecy is a lie. There will be a new day.” The lord of Tenebrae scowled at him and then shook his head. “All you have done today is spill your own blood. We shall prevail. This prophecy shall be fulfilled as fate intended it.”
    Valentine frowned and wiped his nose on the back of his hand. There was no way he was going to let this man beat them. He had to go on fighting, if only to give Prophecy the chance she would need to defeat him.
    His chest warmed at that thought. He’d do his best to slow the elder vampire down, to give her the opportunity she needed to save the world and herself, even if he didn’t make it. He had to do it for her, to show her how much he loved her and to prove that he’d changed since they first met. He had to give her a chance to survive, even if it meant sacrificing himself.
    He ignored the tear that slipped down his cheek when he realised that in the process of giving her that chance to live, he’d be hurting her more than anyone ever had. He’d be leaving her.
    He couldn’t do that.
    He’d told her that they would make it through this together.
    Closing his eyes, he realised that he had to survive. He had to keep going if only for her sake but he couldn’t stop the fight. The lord of Tenebrae was waiting and there was no way he was going to let him go now. He listened hard to the sounds echoing around the room while he readied himself. He could hear his own ragged breathing, the impatient tap of the