Page 33 of Heart of the Cursed
“I’m doing it, whether you like it or not.”
Selene knew there would be people coming after her eventually, so she had prepared for them. Well, as best as she could, anyway. After all, she was up against creatures that weren’t only stronger and faster than her, but most of them had abilities that far surpassed anything she could do with her magic.
She could take up Arun’s offer and let him take care of the intruders, but if she sat on the side-lines now, she would have wasted all the training she’d put herself through. Plus, she wasn’t going to let him have all the fun.
“Fine,”he relented.“Just don’t die.”
“I don’t plan on it,”she grinned.
Arun didn’t look happy about it, but she didn’t care. It wasn’t his life on the line. If he wanted to, he could easily walk away and nobody would go after him. She couldn’t. Wherever she went, they would follow.
The only way to stop them from hunting her was to complete her mission.
Arun kept his hand low to the ground so only she could see it and began a count down from three. A second before he reached one, two vampires’ ran out from the shadows.
Arun was the first to move. In a blur, he was on his feet and facing the first vampire to reach them. Selene watched in awe as he took out the vampire in a matter of seconds.
The second vampire hesitated for a heartbeat before closing the distance, but it was enough for her to notice. Selene wasn’t the only one to notice his hesitation, either. Arun picked up on it as well and used it to his advantage.
He blasted the second one with magic, knocking him on his arse. Before the vampire had a chance to get back up on his feet, Arun was standing over him with a long sword in his hand. With one swift move, he swung the sword, slicing straight through the vampire’s neck.
He was so fast; Selene barely saw him move before the vampire’s head was rolling away from his body. It was a gruesome sight, but impressive at the same time.
Three more vampires raced out of the darkness. Two of them had Arun in their sights, while the third headed straight for her.
Selene quickly rolled out of the way as the vampire lunged for her. She picked up a rock as she jumped to her feet and threw it at him. She knew it wouldn’t do any harm, but it distracted him enough for her to prepare her magic.
She whispered a spell as she held her hands out towards the vampire. His body shook violently before dropping to the floor. He wasn’t dead yet.
While he was immobilized, she grabbed the knife Arun had used for dinner, and stabbed the vampire in the heart with it. As she pulled the knife from the now dead vampire, she felt something brush past behind her.
Selene looked over her shoulder in time to see Arun take out a vampire that was trying to sneak up behind her. His fist went straight through the vampire’s chest and out the back. The look of shock on the vampire’s face would have been comical if he didn’t have Arun’s arm in his chest where his heart should be.
“There was six, not two,” he said as he removed his hand from the vampire’s chest. Letting the body slump to the floor, he turned to Selene with a worried look on his face. “We’re not safe out in the open like this.”
“What do you suggest we do?” she asked. “If you hadn’t noticed, it’s dark and I can’t see as well as you.”
“I’ll guide you,” he told her.
“No.”
“Yes,” he countered. Then, in a softer tone, he added, “I won’t let anything happen to you. Trust me to be your eyes.”
There was no arguing with him. She could see it in his face, he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“Fine,” she relented. “But can we at least eat first? Dinner smells so good.”
At the grim look on his face, Selene looked to where the food had been cooking. Her shoulders slumped when she noticed the cooking pot on its side with the contents spilled all over the floor around the fire.
“Fucking fantastic! I was looking forward to that.” She kicked the dead vampire at her feet several times in anger.
“It’ll do no good,” Arun said. “The guy is already dead.”
“Ha, ha, ha,” she said sarcastically. “I know he’s dead, I’m the one that fucking killed him.”
Arun raised an eyebrow. “And I killed the other five.”
Selene rolled her eyes. “Bragging much?”
