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eyes. He had saved her. Why?
But he wasn t looking back down at her. He was still watching the door, fear in his eyes.
With good reason. Within a second of his having barred it, a body had hurled against it. The door
was over six feet thick, pure steel, and the bars were even thicker. But it was no match. The
bodies crashed into it from the other side, and the door was already almost completely caved in.
It would only be seconds until they crashed through.
 Move! he shouted, and before she could react, he grabbed her arm and led her away. He
tugged at her, making her run faster than she ever had, faster than she knew she could, and
within seconds they were down one hall, then another, then another, twisting and turning every
which way. The only thing they had to see by were occasional torches. She never could have
made it out of there on her own.
 What s going on? Caitlin tried to ask as they ran, out of breath.  Where are we  
 This way! he yelled, yanking her suddenly in another direction.
Behind them, Caitlin heard a crashing, followed by the sound of a mob, bearing down on
them.
They reached a circular staircase, made of stone, winding its way up along a wall. He ran full
speed toward the steps, yanking her with him, and before she knew it they were racing up the
steps, twisting in circles, taking them three at a time. They were ascending quickly.
As they reached the top, it seemed to end in a complete wall. A stone ceiling was above
them, and she could see no other way out. It was a dead-end. Where had he led them?
He was confused, too. And angry. But he seemed determined. He took a few steps back, and
with a running start, charged at the ceiling. It was incredible. With this superhuman strength, he
smashed a hole right through. Stone crumbled, and light poured through. Real, electric light.
Where were they?
 Come on! he yelled.
He reached down and grabbed her arm, yanking her up and out, through the ceiling, and into
the well-lit room.
She looked about. It looked like they were in a courthouse. Or a museum. It was a grand,
beautiful structure. The floors were marble, the room was all stone, columns. It was round. It
looked like a government building.
 Where are we? she asked.
He grabbed her hand and took off at a sprint, tugging her through the room at lightning
speed. He charged a set of two huge, steel doors. He let go of her wrist and ran right into them,
leaning his shoulder hard. They flew open with a crash.
She followed close behind, this time not waiting. She heard the sound of stone moving
behind her, and knew that the mob was close.
They were outside, finally, and the cold, night air struck her in the face. She was so grateful
to be out from underground.
She tried to get her bearings. They were definitely in New York. But where? Her
surroundings seemed vaguely familiar. She saw a city street, a passing taxi. She turned to look
back, and saw the structure they had just left. City Hall. The coven had been beneath City Hall.
They ran down the steps and across the courtyard, heading for the street. They hadn t gotten
far when there came the noise of doors opening behind him, and a mob of vampires.
They headed right for a large, iron gate. As they got close, two security officers. They turned
around, and saw them running right for the gate. Their eyes opened wide in shock, and they
reached for their guns.
 Don t move! they yelled.
Before they could react, he grabbed her tight, took three long bounds, and leapt for all he was
worth. She felt them flying through the air, 10 feet, 20, clearing the metal gate and landing on the
other side with grace.
They hit the ground running. She looked at her protector in shock, wondering what the extent
of his power was. Wondering why he cared about her. And wondering, why she felt so good
beside him.
Before she could think much longer, there was the crash of metal behind them, followed by
gunshots. The other vampires had broken through, taking the police officers down with them.
They were already close behind.
They ran and ran but it was not working. The mob was fast closing in.
He suddenly grabbed her hand and turned the corner, taking them down a side street. It ended
in a wall.
 It s a dead-end! she yelled. But he kept running, dragging her with him.
He reached the end of the alley, dropped to a knee, and with a single finger reached in and
yanked up a huge, iron manhole.
She turned, and saw the huge group of vampires heading right towards them, not more than
20 feet away
 Go! he yelled, and before she could react, he grabbed her and shoved her into the hole.
She grabbed hold of the ladder, and as she looked up, she saw him get on his hands and
knees, bracing himself. He raised the manhole cover as a shield.
He was descended upon by the mob. He swung wildly, and she heard the impact as he
knocked vampire after vampire away with the heavy iron. He was trying to join her, to get into
the hole, too, but he couldn t make it. He was surrounded.
She was about to climb up and help him, when suddenly, one of the vampires parted from the
mob and slipped into the hole. He spotted Caitlin, hissed, and came right for her.
She scrambled down the ladder, taking them two rings of the time, but it wasn t fast enough.
He landed on top of her, and they both started falling.
As she fell through the air, she braced herself for the impact. Luckily, they landed in water.
As she rose, she saw she was in up to her waist in filthy, sewage water.
She had barely time to think when the vampire landed beside her with a splash. With one
motion, he wound back and backhanded her across the face, sending her flying several feet.
She landed on her back in the water, and looked up to see him pouncing again, right for her
throat. She rolled out of the way just in time, springing back on her feet. He was fast, but so was
she.
He fell flat on his face. He got up and spun around and squared off in a rage. He clawed his
right hand right for her face. She dodged it, and his hand barely missed her, the wind of it
passing right by her cheek. His hand hit the wall with such force that it lodged into the stone.
Caitlin was mad now. She felt the red-hot rage pulse in her veins. She walked over to the
stuck vampire and wound back her leg and planted a strong kick right in his gut. He keeled over.
She then grabbed him from behind and threw him right into the wall, face first. His head hit
the stone hard. She was proud of herself, figuring she had finished him off.
But she was shocked by a sudden pain in her face, and found herself backhanded once again.
This vampire had recovered quickly much more quickly than she had thought possible. Before
she knew it, he was on top of her. He landed on her with a crash and brought her down. She had
underestimated him.
His hand was on her throat, and on it for real. She was strong, but he was stronger. He had an
ancient strength that ran through his body. His hand was cold and clammy. She tried to resist, but
it was just too much. She dropped to one knee, and he kept squeezing. Before she knew it, he
was pushing her head towards the water. At the last second, she managed a scream:  Help!
A second later, her head was submerged.
*
Caitlin felt the disruption in the water, the waves rushing, and knew that someone else had
landed in the water. She was losing oxygen fast, unable to fight back. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]