Free Web NovelChapter 88: Sea of the Dead
Damon took a sharp turn to the left and entered a forested area, weaving through the trees. He expertly dodged tree roots, plants, and even forest animals that were scared into running due to our insane pace.
There was a loud growl and the sound of flesh ripping apart before the sharp scent of blood ripped through the air like a whizzing arrow. Damon growled, his speed further increasing as he charged in the direction of the smell, racing with such intense speeds that I had to tighten my grip on him in fear of getting thrown off.
It didn’t take long before we eventually reached the source of the smell and sound.
What welcomed us was a litter of dead bodies on the floor, some humanoid and others wolves, and I quickly hopped off Damon and handed him his clothes. There was the sound of bones cracking and reforming themselves before Damon quickly came to stand behind me. freewebnøvel.com
The corpse was strange. Sunlight streamed in through the cracks of the canopy, scarce but existent. Wherever the golden sunlight touched, the dead humanoid bodies would fizzle and burn. Flakes of black ash would fly from their bodies as though they were being set on fire, their skin withering away into smoke and dust.
Some were barely just disintegrating, others only had their bones remaining, some even just a limb or two. Creatures of the night weren’t fans of the sun― under its powerful light, many of them would burn. I silently thanked the stars that werewolves didn’t even though we worshiped the moon.
Damon bent down as I did, turning the head of a deceased man back and forth. Then, he used his fingers to hold their lips open, raising an eyebrow at their teeth.
I gasped, nearly falling back in shock. The dead man had pointed and large canines, so sharp that they could no doubt pierce through flesh like a hot knife in butter.
"Vampires," Damon said, confirming my thoughts. His voice was filled with so much venom that I didn’t dare to say anything back.
His eyes then fell to the huge hole in the man’s chest, going right through his body and showing the other side, which was the forest floor. His heart was missing.
"At least Blaise managed to kill them right," he then grumbled before dusting his hands and standing back up.
"How do you kill them?" I asked shakily, quietly, afraid that he would direct his newfound anger toward me. I needed Damon’s protection here, at least until I found Blaise. If he decided to feed me to the vampires and get rid of me once and for all, I would perish for sure.
"Decapitate them," Damon said. "Tear their heart out, stab a stake right in their heart, or poison them with holy water." He listed them one by one, looking left and right at the fallen wolves that had died in battle. "The list goes on and on, but it might not work on all vampires."
"Why?"
"Garlic, for example, does little to nothing to higher-ranked vampires," Damon said. "Purebloods can also freely walk around in the sun, or ancients that have lived for hundreds of years could also freely roam about with nothing more than an itch after a few hours."
I gulped, following Damon as he navigated through the sea of the dead.
"How do you tell whether they are one?" I asked.
"You can’t," Damon replied. "That’s why the most effective way to kill them is to relieve them of their hearts or their heads. That’s a surefire way to kill those monstrous bastards." ƒreewebɳovel.com
There was a sound of clashing steel, followed by growls and yelps of pain. When we neared a clearing, I came to realize that it wasn’t at all steel that was heard― the sound came from a wolf’s claws against a vampire’s sword, gleaming strangely like silver.
The wolf was huge, highly similar to Damon’s wolf. It also had a coat of noir black, long and silky despite the shower of blood that coated every strand. Ducking and striking expertly, every move was calculated and every strike was with the intention to kill. However, it couldn’t seem to find an opening against the vampire with such a dangerous weapon.
Silver was not a simple metal against the werewolves, unfortunately. One wrong move could mean the wolf’s death.
A shiver ran down my spine and it felt like I was doused with a bucketful of iced water. My breath was caught in my throat and I soon found it difficult to breathe. I recognized that wolf.
Damon growled before charging forward. While darting forward, he shifted mid-step, his body contorting and reshaping itself in the blink of an eye to reveal a majestic wolf that matched his younger brother’s. He pounced immediately on the vampire, running his claws across his chest.
Unfortunately, their opponent was also quick on their feet. He managed to dodge Damon’s strike, getting off with just a superficial wound.
"Tsk," the vampire said, scowling at Damon just as the latter landed and snarled, "Two against one, hardly seems fair, does it?"
His eyes then darted over to where I was, and for a split second, I saw a ghost of a smile dance across his lips before it disappeared.
"It seems like the party is getting a little too crowded," the vampire mumbled, more to himself than to us. "Time to say our goodbyes, then."
Blaise growled then lunged forward. Yet, the vampire had already hopped several feet away, easily scaling the trees with just one jump before he transformed into a bat right before our very eyes, flitting away into the sky.
There was a loud snap and a few groans, and when I turned away from the sky to look at the two brothers, they had already shifted back to their human bodies, stark naked. Yet, I wasn’t about to let that get in the way.
Tears brimmed in my eyes as my gaze landed on Blaise. As if he felt me staring, he looked over as well, just in time to see me jumping straight into his arms.
