The moon glowed in the inky black sky. Clouds slightly shrouded the moon, creating an aura of darkness above the city buildings. Crows cawed in the darkness. Branches snapped on the ground as I strode forward through the trees. Mud and dirt caked my nails as I prowled close to the ground, slithering like a snake stalking my prey. The others surrounded me in the bushes. The telltale sounds of the motorcars travelled along the road next to the woods we inhabited. They travelled slowly, probably loaded down with artillery and weapons from the warehouse. Anti-vampire weapons.
A car in the distance made a left turn down a dirt driveway leading toward a large estate. I signaled to the others in the bushes and changed direction, diverting us to surround the grounds of the manor. Stilling on my prowl, I listened. Silence greeted me; the cars had cut the engines. We had arrived. Taking a deep breath, I could smell the sweat, gunpowder, silver, and wolfsbane root. I could hear the rapid heartbeats of the hunters as they exited the vehicles and began unloading. The surrounding soldiers waited for my orders. I let out a breath of relief. I had slipped out past Alec, dodging his overprotective gaze.
"I can hear the blood singing in their veins." A melodic voice breathed next to me. I turned my gaze to see Kallista—Kali—leaning against the tree next to me. She holstered her daggers at her waist. She tied her long hair back in a ribbon. Her black clothes blended in with the darkness. Her fangs protruded over her blood-red lips. She smiled down at me. A predator waiting to strike. She was my second in command. I smiled and shook my head.
"There are too many of them, loaded up with weapons as they are, we can't risk charging in with a straight on assault." I chided. She groaned and looked at her nails.
"Let me at them, we won't have a problem." She retorted, but lowered herself into a crouch next to me. I saw her analyzing the scene before us. We could hear the other vampires in the bushes, slowly surrounding the manor. We focused our sights in on the manor. It looked like fifteen men were outside unloading the cars. They armed all of them with wooden stakes, wolfsbane root, and silver bullets. There was a man stationed at each of the four entrances, armed with guns that were for sure loaded with silver bullets. There were two sentry towers, one on the North side of the building, and one on the Southern side. Each had three men manning lights and guns.
"If we take out the men at the entrances, we can sneak into the loading bay where they are unloading the gear." Kali assessed. I nodded.
"We'll have a limited amount of time before the alarm is sounded. The goal is to gain intel on their layout, not take down the base ourselves. If we give ourselves away, they will move locations within the week." I reminded her. She nodded.
"So, us two, maybe one other, take out a couple by the door and make our way inside? Gather intel, rendezvous back outside after exploring?" She changed tactics. I winked.
"Only ten minutes, in and out." I emphasized. "Don't cause a scene." She rolled her eyes, but giggled playfully. She turned and signaled into the bush. A tall man came forth, with cropped brown hair and metallic red eyes. One of them awakened. He held his daggers in his grip. His build was stocky and radiated strength from his corded muscles.
"You called?" He said in a low, gruff tone. Kali nodded. She pushed herself off from the tree and stalked him in a circle.
"Caius, we're going in stealth. Intel mission. You think you can handle it?" She playfully stroked a finger down his cheek. He sighed and stepped away from her. He turned to me.
"I'm ready when you are." He said in a clipped tone. Kali mock pouted. I nodded and snapped my fingers. I raised my hand high in a signal for all to stay in place.
Kali, Caius, and I began our descent from the bluff I perched us upon above the manor. I moved my daggers into my grip. Turning my head to them, I raised a single finger, showing we were about to split up. They nodded, and we split three different directions. I headed toward the entrance near the South of the building, keeping low to the ground to avoid the lights from the watch towers; I moved quicker than the human eye could capture, so I was waiting right around the corner from the guarded door.
I blended with the shadows, cloaking myself in the night. I slipped into the doorway behind the guard with the gun. With a lightning strike my hand was on his throat, covering his mouth. I jerked my head forward and sank my fangs into his throat. He struggled and jerked against me; his cries muffled by my palm. I moved quickly, so I was in front of him. I stared deep into his eyes and layered my voice with suggestion.
"You saw nothing, you will go around front and cause a distraction." I said clearly. His eyes were bleary, and he nodded. He shambled off around the corner of the building. I slipped through the open doorway. The lights were off in the room as I entered. My eyes took a moment to adjust to their night vision. Boxes lined the room; They stacked wooden crates to the ceiling. As I approached one crate, I pried the lid off the top and gazed inside. They filled it to the brim with wooden and silver stakes. I saw more boxes in a loft raised on a staircase in the corner. I made my way to the creaky wooden staircase, and with light steps ran to the top.
I peeked inside one box, which held mixed chemicals and silver dust. Gasping, I realized these were bombs that, when thrown, would explode around vampires. I stepped backwards. They filled all the boxes lining the walls with these bombs. As I stepped backward, and hand snaked around my waist, pulling me tight against a hard chest. A hand covered my mouth, and with the hand that originally gripped me, they pointed a silver stake at my heart.
"Don't move, or you're dust." The deep velvet voice growled in my ear. I held perfectly still, the tip of the stake pressed against the exposed skin of my chest through the deep V of my shirt. My skin sizzled where the silver touched. Black blood flowed from the wound and trickled slowly down my chest. I hissed and arched my back, aiming to move my chest away from the pointed tip. I reared my head back and slammed the back of my skull against his nose. He gasped and released me. I spun around and held my hands up in a fighting stance. My daggers descended from my grip. I spun them in my palms.
"Let's dance, hunter." I quipped. He lunged toward me. I dodged his slash and slammed his arm upward. With my other arm, I slashed across his chest. A thin line of blood formed; I could smell it blossoming in the air. I inhaled deeply. He reared back; his stake raised in one arm, he brought it down toward my head. I spun out of his way and slide behind him. I gripped both sides of his head in my hands, ready to twist and snap his neck.
Before I could make the last move, a hand flashed into my vision, and they threw a powder in my face. I hissed and felt it burning. My eyes stung and watered. I fell to my knees. I felt a blow to the side of my head. My consciousness became foggy.
"We got one!" A voice called. Then nothing.