He looked around as he was lifted up in the air and carried. It was Helios. That much he knew, but everything else was happening so fast he couldn’t grasp it all.

He was set down on the street. His hearing slowly returned and he heard voices yelling.

“Aiman, get him and your pack out of here! We’ll cover you!” It was Helios’ voice.

“We’re not going to leave you here to defend our retreat! It would be suicide!” Aceso’s voice screamed above the explosions and gunfire.

“Listen to me, all of you,” Helios said sternly. “You are going to get out of here with Acharya. He is in no condition to fight and even if you healed him, he would be out for an hour or two, and that’s an hour or two we don’t have. Now go!”

“I’m not leaving,” Aiman said darkly.

“Yes, you will,” Alexiares said as he ran up to the group. “Helios get your people up to the front line on the left side they could use your help.” He looked over the injured Acharya and the rest of his pack. “The rest of you will go. Get to the rendezvous point. We’ll all meet up there later. That’s an order, pup!” Alexiares stood over them as they looked at him.

There was defiance in their eyes but none of them would dare to question him. When they saw that he wasn’t moving they all moved instead. Aiman threw Acharya over his shoulders and Mary led the way north out of the city.

Acharya could only see behind them. Alexiares stood there with Helios and Ansuya as they watched them escape to the north. Then, he turned around and disappeared back into the smoke toward the gunfire.

Aceso and Ansuya laid down more covering fire and spat more bullets down the street as William covered them from an elevated position. Ansuya looked and saw William steady as a bulwark, laying down controlled fire sweeping his rifle from one target to the next. He was focused and determined. If he, and others like Acharya and Aiman made it out of this alive, maybe the Mountain isn’t as lost as she first thought.

* * * * *

Eustace took a round in the shoulder and then two in the head. Ares reacted. He fired a spray of bullets at the rooftops around him. He wasn’t sure if he got any vampires but the gunfire paused for a short while.

When he turned around the aging human female had already shifted back into her natural human form. He looked around. No one had any time to mourn the dead Elder. He would mourn her when the hunt was over. Right now, there was so much left to do.

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He caught a glimpse of movement from his right side. He launched himself up to the top of the nearby buildings and sprayed gunfire.

He had to drop his magazine and reload. He was running low. He had knocked down a few but the rest melted back to the south as they dove for cover toward the street level.

A bullet grazed his arm as gunfire opened behind him. He was able to dive for cover. The gunfire was whizzing over his head uncomfortably close. He knew that he couldn’t hope for any help, not up here. It had been stupid for him to risk himself like that. But better he stopped a flanking movement then be surrounded.

There was a pause in gunfire. He took advantage of the lull and threw himself down to street level. He landed on one leg but his knee from his other leg slammed down onto the obsidian street. He bit down against the pain. He grabbed at the building next to him and managed to stand up. He hobbled down the alleyway, trying to work feeling and motion back into his hurt leg.

He poked his head out from the alley, only to quickly duck back away from gunfire that pitted the wall inches from where his head was. He lowered himself and leaned out quickly returning fire. He ducked back into the alley.

This was a bad place to be. He looked up at the separation between the two buildings above him. He wouldn’t be able to jump that height, not being hurt like he was.

He leaned out and fired a few blind shots and ducked back. He could see down the street. He was facing where the rest of the Shape Shifters had set up their defenses. It was too far away to chance, even if he wasn’t hurt.

Suddenly four Shape Shifters ran forward of their lines, spraying the tops of the surrounding buildings with cover fire. Three took defensive positions around the alley shooting at anything that moved. The fourth came forward and helped Ares to his feet, it was Jacob. The Enforcer leaned on the Healer as he also recognized William and Aceso as the five of them drew back behind the defensive positions of the Shape shifters.

“Thank you, Elder Jacob,” Ares said gratefully.

“I’m pretty sure you would’ve done the same for me. Here let me look at you.” Jacob inhaled deeply. He bit down hard on his thigh.

Ares immediately felt better.

Jacob stood up and helped the Enforcer to his feet. “Ares, I need you to get Keva and the rest of her pack to the Rendezvous point.”

“No,” Ares replied flatly. “I know what you are trying to do, Elder. Have you forgotten that I am the Defender of the Mountain? My place is here.”

Jacob stepped closer to the Enforcer. “Ares, the city is dead. You can’t protect it anymore.”

“Then I have failed.”

“Goddamn it, Ares!” Jacob grabbed the Enforcer by his shoulders. “This city can be rebuilt, it can be repaired. But you can’t be so easily replaced. I need you to…” he cut off as he threw himself around the Enforcer and opened fire with his rifle. He held the trigger down as bullets poured out of the muzzle.

His body jerked as his head snapped around. His legs seemed to not have any bones in it anymore. Jacob teetered for a moment, frozen in a perfect pirouette. Then he fell in a heap as more gunfire rained down on him from above.

Ares couldn’t do anything but dive back away from the bullets that relentlessly fell on the Elder. He was no coward. But this was a fight that he could not win. He knew that. He knew that even when Jacob was telling him to leave. He hadn’t failed. He would only have truly failed if he quit, if he threw his life away needlessly. There would be a reckoning for what those vampires had done. He would repay them for the lives they had taken. He melted back and away from the gunfire.