William shook his head, “We met him a few days ago, when we kidnapped Chelsea.”
His eyes widened. “The vampire?! How?!”
“We were betrayed, Nicolas. This place is no longer safe for our kind.” She looked around for a way out. “Right now, we have to get out of here.”
William wasted no time and shifted. He gently pushed Ansuya aside, gripped the door handles, and yanked back. The door handles fell off in his hands.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” Nicolas shouted at the ceiling.
William backed up a few steps and roared as he shoulder charged both doors. The doors splintered along their hinges but held. William backed up a few more feet from the doors and charged. This time the doors exploded outward. The left door flew out onto the sidewalk, and the right door hung skewed, stubbornly holding onto one hinge as it swayed, gently creaking. Ansuya placed a cool hand on William’s left side and William shifted immediately back into his human form.
The explosion of wood and metal had drawn some attention and there were some people cautiously creeping over to investigate what had caused all the noise. A stray orange alley cat was sniffing cautiously at the door, but bolted as soon as someone opened a door to a nearby building, casting more light onto the dark street.
Ansuya and company moved down the stairs and hurried into the street but were stopped cold by a parade of blue and red lights in the distance. The accompanying sirens of the police squad cars were loud even at that distance.
Ansuya turned immediately and ran the other way. William grabbed Nicolas and followed.
“Fucking po pos,” he screamed as he followed William over a fence. “These guys are always after the wrong people!”
Ansuya shifted and began leaping between buildings to get to the rooftops. William and Nicolas followed suit. Now he knew why he had been training so hard in the urban environments. Efraim knew that this might happen and had prepared his pack well.
William leaped over the roof ledge and barrel rolled, leaping into a sprint, losing not the smallest fraction of speed. Nicolas was a little slower but was soon on his feet trailing after him and the Elder.
They leaped over the gap between the buildings and were two buildings away from where they started. They were putting distance between themselves and the approaching squad cars. They cleared another gap and landed on another building where they could go no farther.
The three came to a halt in front of the seven figures facing them. Two women, five men and they were all dressed in black with various red and blue highlights, one of the girls sported a black and purple outfit. Their boots were functional with no heels and looked thick. They stood in the Shape shifter’s path not speaking; William could read the minute tension in their muscles and flesh. They were trying to affect an air of nonchalance.
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“Kenneth.” Ansuya said evenly.
The vampire at the head of the formation stepped forward; the man stared straight ahead at the taller werewolf. The two were still as the light summer breeze moved between them. The sirens seemed louder but held their distance as the squad cars pulled to a stop around the building they had just escaped from moments ago.
“You know how this is going to end, Ansuya. You three can’t overpower all seven of us.” Ansuya’s ears twitched as the shouts of police were heard. They were entering the building. She tilted her head and addressed William and Nicolas, as if the Vampires were not even there. “William, you and Nicolas get back to the city. Huan Li will know what to do.”
Ansuya suddenly shifted back to human form. She looked back at the two werewolves and nodded, “Go.”
William took a step back unable to disobey the tone in her voice.
Ansuya turned back toward Kenneth. Her motion was fluid and deadly. Suddenly there was a weapon in her hand and she fired off three shots. The bullets were on target, but the vampires were not standing where they had been. Before a fourth shot registered the gun clattered to the ground and Ansuya was wrenching a Vampire’s arm up and yanked it down.
Ansuya ducked and swung her leg out, dropping him, only to have him back on his feet in the same heart beat. William was caught between watching a dazzling display of martial prowess and looking on helplessly as a woman fought for her life. Nicolas was tugging at William’s arms to go and he allowed himself to be dragged backward. The seven Vampires seemed to have completely forgotten about them and focused all their attention on Ansuya. Every time a Vampire went down, they were back on their feet instantly. Ansuya’s arms and legs flew out in multiple directions but she was never able to break free of the circle of black clad figures. The flashes of red fabric and brown skin were appearing less and less, doing less and less damage, the Vampires falls happening less frequently.
William knew that soon she would be completely over powered and then the vampires would turn on them. They had to escape. William turned and slapped Nicolas on the back. They ran. They leapt over the gaps between the buildings. The sailed through the air, silhouetted by the quarter moon, landing on the building they had escaped from.
They ran.
William had a vague idea of where the Whyte Plain might be but he wasn’t positive. Nicolas was following him. At that moment a vague idea was better than nothing.
He couldn’t hear the sounds of Ansuya fighting. He couldn’t hear the sound of boots thumping along concrete to follow them either. But he didn’t dare turn to look. Efraim had taught them that vampires were not as fast as werewolves were in their shifted form; however they were quick and deadly quiet. In a one-on-one fight a werewolf could take a vampire easily, but when they were in a group, the vampires were their most deadly adversary, even more so then the Shadows on the Whyte Plain. So, William ran.
He tried not to think about losing Ansuya to that thing that called himself his hunter. It seemed that Kenneth was more resourceful and more deadly than even he had given him credit for. Who was he? Now he had to get back home. This vampire would have to be dealt with, and soon.
William ran along the roof tops with Nicolas trailing behind him. He made a sharp turn following the turn of an intersection. He was beginning to panic when a patch of green opened up in the concrete expanse of the city. He motioned to Nicolas and dove down between the buildings. He stopped. He listened and inhaled the air around them. He could hear no sounds of pursuit; there was not the rancid smell of blood on the wind. They were alone. William shifted back to human form and Nicolas followed.