"Would anyone like something to drink?" she inquired.
William and Daniel were too busy chewing to speak but they both raised their hands. "I'd love a drink," Timber said.
Hannah grabbed three mugs and began to fill them from the beer tap as she listened to Ellen's tambourine. "I'll take those for you." Hannah turned as Ellen appeared at her side and reached out for Timber's mug. Hannah froze, her hand clenched on the mug so violently that it shattered within her grasp. Ellen released a startled cry and jumped back as beer exploded all over her. "Hannah!"
"Bells," Hannah whispered.
Ellen frowned as her gaze drifted up to her face. "I don't hear anything..."
Her hearing was better, Jack had said it would be. "I hear them," Aria said. "But what do bells have to do with anything?"
Hannah turned away from Ellen and raced into the front room, she froze a few feet away from the door. No matter how badly she wanted to go out there, she couldn't. "Stay here," William said as he brushed by her. Though she hadn't seen him before this moment, Xavier materialized from the shadows and followed William out the door.
"What do bells mean?" Aria demanded as she appeared beside Hannah.
"Calvin's horse always has bells on it," Hannah answered.
"He would have left his horse behind when he ran though," Ellen said.
Hannah had to force herself to swallow as her throat felt like it had become the size of a pinhole. "Calvin has always liked to make an entrance," she managed to get out. "If he's come back, he would do so on a horse."
Aria shot her a look before becoming nearly a blur as she raced out the door. Hannah took an instinctive step back as sun flooded through the doorway. The handful of patrons within the tavern rose to their feet, some approached the door while others moved further away. William reappeared in the door followed by Aria and Xavier.
William charged across the room and grasped hold of her elbow. "We have to get you out of here."
"I can't," she whispered as her gaze drifted toward the doorway. "I can't."
William looked about to argue with her, but his eyes widened and his mouth dropped as realization set in. "Shit!" he hissed and spun toward the door.
"I'll get your bow William!" Aria shouted as she raced past them to the kitchen. "Daniel go out the backdoor and find the soldiers, Timber and Abe go with him and take the boy."
William thrust something into Hannah's hand. Instinct almost caused her to drop the stake but she curled her hand around it before that could happen. "How many of them are there?" she asked nervously.
"Thirty to forty, it was difficult to get a good look though. Timber, Daniel, have some of the soldiers go across the street. I have a feeling Calvin's central focus is going to be on this building. If we can surround his men we'll have a better chance," William ordered.
Timber nodded and turned quickly to leave with Daniel leading the way. They passed Aria as she reemerged from the kitchen with her and William's weapons. A growing sense of dread filled Hannah as more of the patrons moved away from the entry. Xavier stepped inside the building and closed the door. Xavier's eyes landed upon Hannah and the stake clutched awkwardly in her hand before moving on to Lucas and Ellen beside her. Though she knew that she and Lucas were inadequately prepared for what was about to come through that door, Ellen's lack of strength and speed made her far more vulnerable.
"You should go," Hannah said as she turned toward her friend. "You can slip out the back Ellen; you don't have to be here for this."
Ellen frowned fiercely at her as she shook her head. "I'm not leaving you guys here."
"Ellen..."
"I'm staying Hannah and that is final."
That wasn't what she had hoped to hear but there was little time to argue with her friend as the ringing of the bells came to a stop. Hannah listened to the footsteps that sounded over the porch. Adrenaline coursed through her body as she braced herself for men to come rushing in at them, but no one appeared in the doorway. Aria and William raised their bows as the footsteps moved past the door again.
"After what we saw in that dungeon you can shoot first and ask questions later," Aria grated from between her clenched teeth.
"I have no problem with that," William replied with a wild grin that Aria returned.
They were all crazy, Hannah decided.
The boots stopped outside the front door again, Hannah's fingers curled more firmly around the stake as she became certain that Calvin was about to enter the building. She was so focused on the front door that when three of the shutters burst inward simultaneously and a loud bang sounded from the kitchen, she released a startled cry. She was still trying to process what was going on when something was tossed through the windows.
Smoke was just beginning to stream in from the kitchen when the horrifying realization of what was going on dawned on her. Calvin wouldn't be coming inside; he would be forcing them to go outside. Even though she didn't require air, she could already feel the acrid smoke burning her throat and eyes as two of the three torches thrown through the broken windows had set fire to the scarred wood floor.
Most of the patrons fled out the front door. Daniel leapt forward and stomped on the third torch before its flames could cause any more damage. Hannah ripped her apron off and wrapped it around her hand; she began to beat at the flames licking up the walls. The heat of the flames blistered her skin and burnt her face but she refused to back away from the growing inferno. The fire roared around her, she could barely hear anything over the crackle of the spreading flames. It singed her hair but she was determined to save her home.
"It's useless!" Lucas shouted over the fire surrounding them. He grabbed hold of her shoulder and tried to pull her from the crumbling wall but she jerked away from him.
"We can save it!" she yelled at him.
"Hannah we have to get out of here!"
The charred remains of her apron slipped from her lose fingers. "It's no safer for us out there!" the words sounded like a frog's croak as they issued from her scorched throat.
"There's no other choice Hannah, not anymore. Staying here is certain death; we may have a chance if we can stay in the shadows but there is no escaping this fire."
She nodded but even as she was turning away from him, William was seizing hold of her arm. "Second floor!" he shouted as he pointed above them.
Hannah caught a brief glimpse of the fully engulfed kitchen as she ran past the burning door. Aria was already waiting for them on the stairway with Xavier and Ellen. Xavier was trying to pull Aria onward but she remained unmoving on the stairs. "Hurry!" she called over the growing chaos raging around them.
Hannah could feel her eyelashes singing as her hair curled around her face. Sparks and flames shot into the air around them. A beam above them released a loud groaning noise seconds before it crashed onto the floor with enough force to shake the entire building. She had to grab hold of the stair rail in order to keep her balance as another beam swung down and crashed against the side of the stairs with a resounding bang that made her ears ring.
Hannah began to tremble as she was seized with the certainty that she was going to be devoured by flames like her parents had been. An ember landed on her cheek, she slapped it away as it seared her skin. She placed her hand in Ellen's back as she pushed her friend faster up the stairs. Even with Ellen right in front of her, she could barely make out her friend through the thick smoke choking the building.
"Hurry!" Lucas croaked from somewhere behind her.
Coughs sounded continuously around her as William choked and gagged, she didn't know how much longer any of them would be able to hold up if they didn't get to some fresh air soon. She stretched her hand back and took hold of William's arm as he had a harsh coughing fit that she worried might break one of his ribs. He stumbled behind her but she was able to keep him upright as she dragged him into the upper hallway.
Hannah stumbled into the room that Jack had originally been given. She stood to the side of the window to
peer down on the street below. A massive group of men and women were fighting below, shouts of pain and enthusiasm echoed through the alleys of the buildings surrounding them. Their weapons clashed with the loud clacking of wooden stakes and the soft whistle of flying arrows. She spotted Timber, Uncle Abe, and Daniel amongst the crush of people, along with men and women that she'd come to know as Braith's soldiers. Dirt and sweat coated them, she'd never seen so much blood as bodies crumpled and fell to the ground. There were far more of Calvin's men amongst the fray than she had expected to see.
"There's so many of them," she whispered in dismay.
"Close the door!" William slammed the door closed at Xavier's barked command seconds before the vampire threw the window open.
Rage tore through her as Calvin appeared amongst the battle. She didn't care if she knew how to use a weapon; she was going to do whatever she could to destroy that man. Lucas thrust a dark gray blanket into her arms. She stared down at it, uncertain of how well the thin material would work to keep them safe from the sun as Lucas began to wrap another blanket around himself. Hannah draped it over her head before wrapping it around her shoulders. She kept her hands within the blanket but it was difficult to cover all of her face.
The exposure to the sun was going to hurt like hell, but it was better than burning alive she decided as the building gave a heaving shudder. She took a staggering step back as the floor beneath them began to sag in the middle. Smoke billowed heavily through the cracks in the floor as the snapping flames of the fire below ate hungrily at the wood.
"Go!" Xavier commanded Aria.
"The others..."
He lifted Aria up and dropped her on the other side of the window. "Go!" he bellowed at her before turning to Hannah. "Now you," She also tried to protest but the vampire was hearing none of it as he lifted her into his arms and placed her on the porch roof.
The cool air rushed in around the blanket and calmed some of the burns she'd sustained. She kept her face bowed away from the sun as the others scrambled onto the roof behind her and Aria. With her feet braced against the roof, she was able to keep her balance as they made their way to the back of the building.
A loud crash behind her brought her head around as part of the tavern roof started to collapse. "We have to get off of this roof," William croaked.
"We're going to have to jump," Hannah said. "There's no way to climb down from here."
"Jumping it is then," Xavier said.
Hannah crept forward and crouched at the edge of the roof. They were almost completely at the back of the building; from here she could smell the lake hidden within the trees. She would have given anything to be able to plunge into its cool depths and ease some of the heat licking at her skin. She didn't know if it was the lingering effects of the fire, or the rays of the sun beating against the blanket but her skin felt as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper. Grasping hold of the edge of the roof, she jumped off the side of it.
CHAPTER 23
"This way," William said as he grabbed hold of her arm. "Stay by my side." He hurried her toward the back of the crumpling building but they hadn't made it more than ten feet before men began to spill from the woods toward them.
"Fall back!" Xavier bellowed in a voice made thick with ash.
Hannah's hand squeezed around the stake William had given her as she tugged it out of her waistband. William released her arm as he stepped beside his sister and pulled the bow from his back. Aria and William opened fire on the vampires charging at them, but they were steadily pushed back toward the front of the building by the onslaught. Hannah searched for something to help fight with as the tavern started to crumble beside them. Her ears were ringing from the screams erupting around her as vampires and humans alike fell to the ground.
It was only a matter of time before they were overrun. The twins didn't have enough arrows to deter the mass closing in on them. William was tough but he was still human and not as fast as Aria at releasing the arrows. Aria snagged more arrows from William's quiver when hers completely emptied out. Panic began to fill Hannah as she glanced around helplessly at the crush of bodies pressing against them. There had to be something she could do to help.
A smoldering board fell at Hannah's feet as more of the tavern collapsed. Grabbing hold of the board, she rose to her full height as someone snatched hold of her arm. There was only one man that could make her skin crawl like hers now did with the connection of flesh on flesh. A vicious snarl escaped her as she swung violently upward and smashed the board across Calvin's perfect, golden boy face. The force of the blow knocked his head to the side and caused blood to explode from his mouth. A solid two by four soot stain marred his cheek as his ruby colored eyes came back to hers.
She'd only succeeded in pissing him off, but she found she didn't care as her hands clenched around the stake and she leapt at him with the determination of a lion leaping on a gazelle. Fury drove her as she swung the stake in a downward arc at his putrid heart. He fell back from her unexpected attack, because of this she was almost able to drive the stake in. Instinct caused him to rebound faster than she had expected though as he swung his arm up and knocked her hand aside.
She barely had time to react before his other hand came up and he backhanded her across the cheek with enough force to make her stagger sideways. Stars exploded in front of her eyes, pain exploded through her jaw and for a moment she feared it had been broken. A startled cry escaped her; her hand flew to her mouth as blood from her split inner cheek pooled into her mouth. His fingers clutched in her hair, he ripped her head back at the same time that he reached forward with his other hand and tore the blanket from her. Hannah threw her arms up as she instinctively recoiled from the rays of the sun that washed over her body.
It took her a few seconds to realize that her skin wasn't blistering, she wasn't burning, and agony wasn't exploding throughout her body. The sun was shining down on her, she could feel it on her skin, but there was no smoke coming from her exposed arms or face.
She met Calvin's gaze again and a new kind of horror and dread began to take hold of her as his reddened, hate filled eyes latched onto hers. Whatever he had been planning to do to her beforehand was nothing compared to what he was going to do to her now. She could see that fact clearly in the cruel smile that twisted his mouth and the malicious gleam that filled his eyes.
***
William pulled another arrow from his quiver and fired it at the group trying to overrun them. There were too many of them though as they were relentlessly pushed toward the main road and the battle being waged there. Xavier was fighting off two vampires with a staff, he was bleeding from a gash in his head but that didn't slow him down as he twisted the staff and drove it through the chest of one of the vampires.
Lucas tried to beat back the vampires coming at him but he was having a difficult time defending himself while keeping the blanket around him. Ellen was pressed against his back; he tried to keep her behind him as he moved her further into the shadows. He spotted Hannah out of the corner of his eyes as she stopped to grab a board that had fallen from the tavern.
Aria cursed and grabbed an arrow from the quiver on his back. "We're running out!"
He shrugged out of the quiver, pulled three arrows from it and shoved the rest at Aria. She had better accuracy and was faster than he was with a bow anyway. Shoving the arrows into his waistband, he grabbed a staff from a body lying on the ground. He spun it in his hands and slashed it across the face of an approaching vampire. He lifted the crossbow tied to his waist up and fired the bolt locked into it. The arrow slammed into the man's chest, pierced him through the heart and knocked him onto his ass.
Tucking the staff under his arm, he deftly locked another arrow into the crossbow. He spotted Timber and Daniel amongst the fray with Abe at their side. The frail looking vampire was surprisingly agile as he zipped in and out to avoid the vampire pursuing him. Abe kept the small human boy behind him as he maneuvered him toward the safety of a nearby house. r />
William turned and pulled Ellen back as one of Calvin's men grabbed for her. He was just getting her out of the way when Calvin emerged from the chaos and smoke. "Watch out!" he shouted as he lurched toward Hannah.
He was knocked back as a vampire launched at him. Wrapping his arms around William's waist the vampire pulled William down beneath him. The air rushed out of his lungs as he was thrust forcefully onto the unforgiving ground. William's heart leapt into his throat, he didn't have time to get his breath back as he pulled his stake free and twisted to the side.
"William!" Aria cried.
The vampire's teeth snapped at his throat but William managed to keep his forearm planted firmly in his chest to hold the heavy creature off of him. He could smell the fetid blood on the man's breath as he managed to drive the stake into him. The only problem was he was nowhere near the heart as it pierced into the vampire's stomach. The man's face twisted in agony but the wound didn't slow him as he lurched at William's neck again.
Gathering his strength, William managed to curl his feet up under the heavy vamp and thrust him upward as Aria lifted her bow. Knowing what his twin intended, William shoved the vamp straight into the path of the arrow she fired. The arrow pierced through the vamp's heart and exploded out the other side of his chest. William heaved the writhing body of the dying vampire the rest of the way off of him. Rolling to the side, he placed his hands underneath him and shoved himself to his feet.
He looked toward where he had last seen Hannah but she had disappeared with Calvin amongst the fray. Terror hit him as he reclaimed his lost staff and frantically searched the crowd. Nothing could happen to her, if anything did it would destroy Jack. He'd already lost his father, there was no way he was going to lose his best friend too. He couldn't leave his sister and friend's either though.
"Aria!" he shouted.