"What the?" Ezra looked around in the sudden darkness. Fortunately, his vampire vision was sharp enough for him to see in the complete dark.
Beside him, the red eyes of both ladies glowed in the dark. He could only assume his eyes were also glowing.
He looked out the floor to ceiling window to see that the beautiful sight of First City's skyscrapers and greenhouse towers had been replaced by a dark canvas that swallowed up any light in the vicinity.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"It's a black zone." Olivia said as the ladies stood to face the door. "We're trapped."
"You've got it wrong." Genesis stretched her hand and a wicked looking battle axe appeared in her hands. The dark metal of the weapon glowed softly in the darkness like a moon ready to drink blood. "We're not trapped." It's wielder said. "She's trapped."
"Don't be an idiot. It's Sarah!" Olivia hissed. "She's a Third ring vampire. She'll kill you before you can blink."
"You're third ring too, aren't you?" Genesis yawned.
"Not right now, no. My third ring is… occupied."
"Wait, what?" Genesis turned sharply to stare at her.
Boom!
The door to the apartment blew off its hinges, sending smoke billowing into the apartment.
Click! Clack!
Click! Clack!
Sarah walked slowly into the room. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? Two outcasts and… a man? It seems like one of you got lucky."
With her glowing red eyes, flowing red hair and prominent fangs on display, she looked like a monster bathed in blood. The image was reinforced by the dark red and beautiful suit of gleaming armor she wore that somehow managed to complement her bright red hair.
Olivia held out a hand. "Stop where you are Sarah. You don't have to do this."
"Of course, I have to." Sarah scoffed. "When someone kills my friend, I'll stop at nothing to have my revenge. Step aside Olivia. This doesn't concern you."
Olivia sighed. "Unfortunately, I can't. I already signed a contract." What looked like white, giant and metallic feathers slowly materialized, one in each hand. She held it out like twin blades.
"So be it." Sarah whispered.
Whoomph!
A flaming sword appeared in her hand. The blade was filled with a blue flame so hot, the concrete beneath her feet was starting to melt. Fortunately, the heat didn't seem to extend for more than a foot around her.
Ezra took a few steps back. He wouldn't interfere. Not yet. He'll use this opportunity to study vampire conflict. This was the time to gauge how powerful a third ring vampire was.
With surprising speed, Sarah charged at Genesis.
Clang!
Their weapons met each other and with a crack, Genesis' axe crumbled to dust. Before Sarah could capitalize, Olivia was there with her feathers. Instead of using them as swords, she threw them like throwing daggers.
While a few pinged off Sarah's armor, she was forced to leap back as Olivia aimed for her exposed head. With a huff, a helmet grew over her head, completely sealing her in armor. With only glowing red eyes peeking from the slit of the armor, she looked like an avenging demon.
"Thanks!" Genesis grinned as two huge battle axes materialized in each hand. "She caught me off guard for a moment there."
"Save the thanks for after you survive." Wings made up of the same feathers in her hands burst out of Olivia's back.
The floor cracked as Sarah rocketed towards the two of them, swinging her sword with the force of a freight train.
Genesis and Olivia ducked under the swing, rolling behind her. Sarah used the force of the swing to turn around, turning it into a downward cleave.
Instead of fighting head on, Olivia and Genesis deflected her strikes, with new weapons appearing whenever one was damaged.
Ezra was shocked at first when he realized that he could follow the fight with his eyes until he remembered that he was now a vampire too. The sight in front of him was like a disagreement between goddesses. It was a miracle that the building was still intact.
As Olivia deflected another strike, Sarah crouched and bashed her with her shoulders, sending Olivia flying. Leaving another crack on the floor, she rocketed towards Genesis.
Crash!
A wall of feathers appeared out of nowhere, slowing Sarah down for a second. Long enough for Genesis to escape from her vicinity.
Ezra blinked in shock, his jaw dropping. Where did the wall of feathers come from?
Back at the battle, Sarah shredded the feathery wall, followed Genesis, undeterred and slashed with her flaming sword.
Olivia appeared, catching the swing with a single white wing. The sword cut through the wing before getting stuck in the middle. With her second wing, Olivia slashed, cutting a long gash through Sarah's armor.
Sarah fell back, leaving her sword stuck in Olivia's wing. "Not bad for a former guard." She examined the gash as her armor began to repair itself. "But it'll take more than that to bring me down."
"Give up Sarah. You can't win this." Genesis taunted.
"Says the battle crazy idiot who still hasn't landed a solid hit on me." Sarah laughed. "Over my dead body."
Whoomph!
Another flaming sword appeared in Sarah's hand. This blade glowed even brighter than the one Olivia had removed from her wing and was now holding.
With a battle cry, Sarah attacked. She whirled around the room with Olivia frantically fending off her attacks. The sound of steel on steel echoed as the ladies fought. Sarah jumped, spinning in the air as the tip of her sword began glowing ominously.
With a thrust, a thin line of fire burst out of the sword, cutting its way through Olivia's chest.
Using the stolen sword in her hand to block the fire, Olivia stopped it from cutting into her heart.
Taking advantage of Olivia's momentary injury, Sarah dashed towards Genesis. Her strikes appeared, lightning fast and Genesis struggled to keep up as her axes kept shattering. "Accept your death. I know you're running out of vitality." She sneered.
"Worry… about... yourself… first." Genesis gritted her teeth.
With a sudden twist, Sarah deflected Genesis' axe, wrenching it from her grip. With a single stroke, Genesis' arm was separated from her shoulder.
"Arrrgggghh!" Genesis screamed in pain as her flesh was instantly cauterized.
Sarah lifted her sword to the sky for the killing blow. As the blade descended, a terrifying pressure enveloped the room. The flaming sword radiated an Aura of inevitably. It was like nothing could stop the sword from severing anything in its path.
Thwip!
Black threads burst out of Genesis' back, stuck to the wall and pulled her out of the way.
Boom!
The sword blasted a hole a foot deep into the floor and the room shook.
Olivia suddenly appeared behind Sarah and stabbed. Turning swiftly, Sarah jumped out of the way like she had eyes at the back of her head.
Olivia threw the flaming sword at her like a spear and as she crouched to dodge, a black fog erupted out of Olivia's hand, encasing Sarah as the fog solidified into a box of shadows exactly like the one around them. Olivia had trapped Sarah in a black zone of her own!
"Let's go!" Olivia yelled, the wound on her chest already healed. Ezra and Genesis, whose arm was regrowing slowly, quickly followed her.
With a grunt, Olivia tore a hole in Sarah's black zone using her wings. Using the opened space, the three of them rapidly left the apartment as the breach gradually repaired itself behind them.
With their safe house compromised, they had to take their chances out in the world.
The same world where everyone in the know was hunting for a certain page.
What a day to be a vampire.