Vampires Realm Prophecy 01 - Child of Light

be quite the ambassador for peace. She’d said she would die if it brought peace between their families, that she would die for peace in general. Now she was giving him a lesson on only fighting necessary battles. Something told him that her answer to most fights would be the pragmatic option.
    Talking wasn’t going to stop this fight.
    He turned away from her and focused on Caden, shutting out the feeling of her nearby and silencing the voice in his head that was telling him that she was right—this was unnecessary.
    But he couldn’t let the hunter do that to her and get away with it. Caden’s actions deserved retribution and this was the most satisfying form Valentine could find.
    He quelled his desire to change into his vampire guise. Caden wouldn’t get the pleasure of provoking him into using the heightened strength it gave him. He would make sure that the hunter suffered at the hands of his weaker side so he would know never to touch Prophecy again or he would unleash his full strength upon him and end the merry dance they’d shared these past two decades.
    It would be a shame to have to do it, but he could if he wanted to.
    The hunter’s eyes narrowed, his feet shifted and his hand came up to reveal a slim shaft of wood.
    Valentine shook his head. “Been grave robbing again?”
    The hunter spun the piece of wood around to reveal the other end of it. “Found it in a church. At least I know it’s definitely blessed, not like that time in Budapest.”
    Valentine raised a brow at the crucifix and heard Prophecy hiss behind him when she noticed it. He wanted to turn to look at her but taking his eyes off the hunter would be a childish mistake. The battle was close to starting. He could feel the anticipation building inside of him and it was reaching a crescendo. Soon, one of them would make a move and then everything would become a blur as the fight began.
    He extended his senses to see how far from him Prophecy was. She was close.
    Reaching his hand out behind him, he pushed her out of the way at the same time that he sprang forwards towards the hunter. He slammed his fist into Caden’s face, catching him hard across the jaw and smirking as the hunter stumbled backwards a few feet and tightened his grip on the makeshift stake. He was ready for the hunter’s retaliation and easily blocked the punch he threw and the kick that followed it.
    Ducking down, he swept a leg out towards Caden’s feet and growled when his foe leapt over it. For a middle-aged man, the hunter certainly had a lot of energy. There had to be something driving him. Valentine just hadn’t figured out what yet.
    He kicked Caden in the shin and then flipped backwards onto his feet, instinctively blocking the hand holding the stake as Caden thrust it towards him.
    “Getting slow in your old age,” Valentine said and launched into a barrage of punches, each one hitting their target and knocking the hunter backwards. He growled and caught him hard in the stomach, smiling with satisfaction when Caden doubled over. Grabbing hold of the long dark locks of his hair, he slammed the hunter’s head down into his knee and let go of him.
    Caden fell to the floor and pressed his hand to his head, his teeth gritted in obvious pain and his eyes screwed shut.
    “Valentine!” Prophecy called to him and he turned to look at her. She pointed at something.
    His eyes quickly moved to follow her finger and he frowned when he saw two dark, dangerous shapes coming towards them on the opposite side of the river.
    “Werewolves,” he whispered and tried to calculate how much time he had before they reached them.
    “Getting weak in your old age,” the hunter said and pushed himself up onto his feet.
    “No. I could kill you in a heartbeat, but that is not the purpose of our tryst. This is merely a warning. If you go near her again, I will end this.”
    Valentine responded fast as the hunter launched a fist at him. Catching hold of it, he twisted Caden’s arm around and punched him hard in the chest, launching the man into the air. The hunter landed heavily on the ground and lay still. Valentine stared at him for a moment and extended his senses. He hadn’t killed him. He could hear the man’s heartbeat coming quiet and steady. It took a lot more than idle play fighting like this to hurt the hunter. He knew that from experience.
    He could feel the werewolves coming now. They were there on the edge of his senses and closing in. He watched Caden get to