Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Ren's heart lodged in his throat. He stumbled through the front door, racing against time as his head swirled with all the worst things that could happen at that exact moment. He knew it was too late. The Hunters were here and all the protecting he thought he'd been doing was nothing but an evasion from the real problem.

The Hunters swarmed the area like ants. As Ren ran to the bottom of the stairs, almost falling flat on his face as he skipped the last step and jumped on the ground, he saw Cipher at the forefront of the group. Behind him were the Hunters that had almost killed Ren and Ashton—Malcolm, Kenny, and Remy. And behind them were so many faces that he didn't recognize, but he knew they hated him as much as the rest of them.

They weren't going to be nice this time. They were here to kill him. To kill them all.

"Can I help you with something?" Margret stood firm with her hands on her hips.

Cipher came to a slow stop. He raised his left hand, palm open, and the Hunters behind him stopped as well.

Mr. and Mrs. Mantel stood just a few feet in front of Ren. They were watching the scene. Mrs. Mantel had a look of disgust on her face which Ren was glad wasn't directed at him. Mr. Mantel just stared. Ren couldn't tell at all what he was thinking about.

Ren's feet were glued to where he was. He looked helplessly at the back of Margret's head. He was afraid that any sudden movement would break Cipher's calmness.

Cipher looked Margret up and down. "Margret Cornelli?"

She didn't answer at first. She stared back at him and while Ren couldn't see her face, he just knew that she was giving him some sort of attitude. It was just how she was. Even faced with danger, she couldn't be intimidated.

"So you know who I am. That still doesn't tell me what you want."

He gave a soft snort of disbelief. "I have business with your son and his friend, Ashton Mantel."

We aren't friends.

He would have rolled his eyes if he wasn't so worried. Who in their right mind saw the two of them and thought they were friends? They might have been on the same side right now, but they weren't even that close to being allies.

He didn't know if there was a word for what they were.

Mr. Mantel took a couple quick strides toward Cipher.

"You don't have any kind of business with my son."

Margret stopped him with an outstretched arm. He pushed the arm out of his way, but he didn't step any further.

Ren held a baited breath.

A glint in Cipher's eyes told him that the man wasn't at all worried about his life. He was confident that he had them all where he wanted them. The small smirk that curled over his mouth was sickening.

"Renin Mantel. It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard many things about the Mantel family." He gave a brief shake of his head. "Though I'm sad to know that the great lineage has dwindled to a shack in the middle of nowhere."

Mantel glowered.

Cipher's gaze broke from them.

They landed on Ren.

"Ah. Just the filthy vampire we were looking for."

Ren's blood couldn't have gone any colder.

"Fucks sake, Ren!"

His mom's words were all he heard as the front yard descended into chaos.

He was grabbed from behind and he didn't struggle as the firm hands yanked him through the front door. Gunshots shot through the air. A bullet whizzing by his ear. Another one shattered the glass window. Yells drowned him out. The pulsing under his skin was no longer due to his ability to sense emotions, but instead, the craving for blood in the air.

The seconds flashed by. Time was constricted, shrunken down until it was merely a speck at the bottom of the ocean.

He and whoever had their arms around him slammed down onto the floor. He was left gasping, his eyes staring wide-eyed at the ceiling.

Ashton groaned in his ear. "You're fucking heavy."

Ren ignored the jab. He rolled onto his side and struggled to get up. His vision was surprisingly clear. His heart was racing, pounding against his eardrums, but he was so laser focused that he was able to block it out.

He was running toward the door. He didn't care if he was running straight into a war zone. He had to get to her. He had to stop this. It didn't matter if he was going to be killed in the in—even as selfish as it was because he would be taking Ashton with him as well, but he had to.

Just as he was about to overstep the threshold, he was yanked back. Ashton wrapped his arms once more around Ren's shoulders. He hauled him off the ground with incredible strength that Ren didn't know he had. Well, he did, but it was still shocking when it was being used on him.

His chest constricted and he wheezed as Ashton squeezed a little too hard as he pulled him back. He struggled this time. He had to get out there.

"Let me go!" He wiggled his left arm free. He reached out toward the open door as if that would make a difference.

It didn't.

Ashton's lips pressed against the shell of his ear. "And get us killed?"

Tears welled up in his eyes. "I have to do something."

Ashton's back slammed into the railing of the stairs. Both of them were heaving. Ren felt like he'd ran across the country.

Ashton's hands were burning into his chest. They pressed firmly against him, the fingertips digging into his flesh. He pushed the thought aside.

He wasn't going to just sit by. He was done doing nothing when everyone needed him to take action. What the hell was he good for if he couldn't keep his mom safe? What good were his powers or his strength if he couldn't use them? To put them to good use?

He shoved Ashton back as hard as he could. Ashton was knocked to the side, but he grabbed the railing at the last second. Ren glanced back at him. Ashton's eyes were flowing bright red. He was trying to use his power on Ren, but of course, it wasn't working.

"I've got to," Ren weakly said.

This was going to happen sometime. The entire time they'd been running around, playing detectives, they were just putting off the inevitable. It might not have happened for another couple of years, but the Hunter Society would have come for them sometime. Their entire purpose was to get rid of every single vampire and they were never going to stop until they got what they wanted.

Ashton's eyes darkened. He was about to say something, but he was cut off as another round of bullets flew through the house.

Ren ducked down. He rushed to the door and fled through it. He didn't have to do anything. His body was moving for him. It was like he had a sixth sense which he probably did. He just knew when a bullet was coming his way. It rippled through the air almost like water and it was that movement that he picked up on.

The scent in the air hit him like a brick wall. For a second, he froze. His body locked down at the smell of blood, but he was soon back into motion. While he would have been locked onto that smell before, he was able to ignore it. He was no longer hungry for it like a starved dog. He was full. His craven satisfied for the time being.

He ran across he yard. The Mantels fought Hunters off left and right. They were graceful, twirling through the air like they'd done this before. Their agile bodies drifted through the sea of Hunters like a current. They pulled down victims down into it, swallowing them up and then spitting them back out with slit throats and gouged eyes. It was happening so fast that if he blinked he would miss it.

He searched the mayhem. He found his mom in the middle of the storm. Her dark curly hair stuck out from the rest as did her dark skin.

Ren halted as his eyes fell on her.

She wasn't as graceful as the Mantels, but her movements were just as powerful. If the Mantels were the current of the ocean, she was the whirlpool. There was so much aggression behind her strikes that each time she struck a Hunter, they went flying back. She balled up her fists and jutted it forward. She didn't have to hit them for them to going sailing through the air. Her eyes were bright purple. The purple hue was everywhere. It was around her form and flying through the air in every direction that she slammed her fists.

She turned around and her eyes locked on Ren's.

They widened with shock.

"Get back inside!"

She screamed on the top of her lungs, but it still sounded like she was underwater. Ren couldn't tell if it was because the noise of the fighting drowned out her scream or if it was his ears. He felt like he was being pulled under.

It was sensory overload.

Margret ran toward him, but before she could reach him, she was knocked to the side.

Ren gaped in horror as she slid across the lawn. Blood streaked across the bright green grass, leaving a trail behind her.

Time had stopped. His heart was thumping loud in his ears. It was in his throat, in his gut, everywhere and he couldn't focus on anything but the blood. He didn't know how he got over there, but before he realized it, he was kneeling over her. His hands roughly turned her over without meaning to. He wanted to be gentle—he wanted to make sure that he wasn't going to hurt her move than she already was, but his hands were fumbling.

A laugh broke through all the other noise.

"I haven't seen a witch in years. They're fiesty. I almost forgot how exciting it is to fight them."

Ren clamored over his still mother's body. He intentionally showed off his fangs.

Cipher grinned. He panted, sweat dripping down the sides of his face. His shirt was slightly torn at the side which revealed a long slash that stopped at his hip. In his hands was the fucking gun that had been pointed in Ren's face the last time.

Ren swallowed the lump in his throat. He wished he could have looked in Cipher's eyes and not been afraid, but he couldn't. When he looked at Cipher, when he met the man's eyes, he could only plea with all of his soul.

Cipher full belly laughed this time. He lifted his gun, barrel point to the sky, and sauntered toward them. His shiny shoes crunched the leaves as he drew nearer.

Ren could fully hear the mayhem that was taking place around them. The Hunters had stopped their assault and neither had the Mantels. The sound of bodies hitting the floor, guns firing, and the sickening squelch of blood was all background noise to what was happening in front of Ren.

He wrung his hands. He was preparing for the worse. He was fast enough to maybe rip out Cipher's neck. It wasn't the first time that he'd done it. He'd killed almost a dozen Hunters just back at the Society's base.

"That makes you a witch too, right?" There was an evil glint in Cipher's eyes. It was haunting.

Ren stood on his shaky legs. Cipher was right there, right in front of him, but he wasn't doing anything.

He looked Ren over. Those dark eyes saw something in Ren, something that Ren didn't even know was there.

Do it right now. Kill him.

Ren started, but doubt clamped down on him.

Kill him!

The image of Cipher's dead eyes gazing up at him flashed in a millisecond. He wanted it so badly yet he couldn't get his body to move. He couldn't bring himself to be the monster again.

Cipher's smile dropped. "I can't wait to hear you scream. I'll make your whore of a mother watch."

Cipher moved faster than Ren thought he was able to. He came at Ren with the hilt of his gun, smacking him across the face. Ren jolted into action. He bolted over Margret, shielding her as Cipher pressed after him.

Cipher shot after Ren. He missed. Ren covered Margret with his body, stretching his arms out wide. It wouldn't be enough. Cipher shot again and it went through Ren's shoulder blade. He cried out as the sharp pain knocked through him.

He didn't have the time to think about death before he heard Cipher being tackled to the ground. He lifted his head and caught Ashton wrestling Cipher into a choke hold.

Ashton's red eyes locked on Ren.

"Move!"

Ren didn't need to be told twice. He gathered Margret into his arms. To his surprise, she was already rousing awake.

She looked at him with blearing eyes. "Ren?"

"Sh." He dragged her to the side.

There was nowhere safe to go. They were in the midst of the fighting, the house now blocked by Hunters that had surrounded the entire place.

"I'm fine—I'm fine!" Margret pushed Ren off of her. She stumbled. Blood trailed down her face from her nose and her hairline. She wiped it away with the back of her head, smearing it across her cheek.

Her eyes were vibrant purple. They shined brighter than Ashton's ever did and it was hard for Ren to not gape at them. But he broke his stare and took in her limping for.

He shook his head. "You are not okay."

She frowned at him. "This is not the time to be a rebellious teen!"

She grabbed him and yanked him down. An unknown Hunter swung her fist over them. Margret shoved Ren to the ground as she engaged with the Hunter. She punched the Hunter in the face. The Hunter took it in stride and came after Margret for another round.

Margret laughed. "I'm going to so fuck you up."

She grabbed the Hunter's blond pony tail and smashed her knee into the woman's face. The woman groaned in pain, her hands grabbing onto Margret's thigh for stability. Margret kicked the woman down onto the ground.

"Oh my god." Ren couldn't hide his shock. He gaped at the now motionless woman lying facedown on the ground.

Margret gave him an irritated look. "We'll talk about this later."

Their conversation was interrupted by three more Hunters. They came at the two of them faster than Ren could have anticipated. The first two came after Margret and the last and third one—a short man—came after Ren.

"Mom!" Ren tried to run past the short man to get to Margret, but the man proved to be faster than he seemed.

The man pulled out two double edged knives. He flipped them around in his hands, showing off his skill. Ren was a little impressed if not slightly intimated by how well the man handled the knives. Ren thought for a moment about engaging with the Hunter, but decided that he didn't want to tempt the thing inside of him to come back out.

He evaded the first swipes of the sharp blades. He ran to the side, zig-zagging effectively to get out of the man's path. Margret was fending off the two other male Hunters. The blood dripping down from her head streaked across her face, looking almost like warpaint. Her eyes still glowed that predominate purple. No matter how many times Ren saw her glowing eyes, he was still stunned.

She glided to the side, her hair flowing gracefully behind her. The long and poignant coils flipped back out of her face. She raised her arms just as the burly Hunter narrowed toward her. She slammed her palm into his face. The purple shock of magic—or whatever it was—slammed the man back. He sprawled to the ground. He let out a groan as he tried to get up, but he fell back again, too weak to do anything but lay there in misery.

Ren would have gaped once more at the sheer show of just how capable his mom was if the second Hunter didn't shove his knife into Ren's side down to the hilt.

The pain hit him faster than a bullet. He felt it seconds before he realized that he'd been stabbed.

Margret turned. Her face was set into a hard gaze that would have terrified him if it had been directed toward him. But her eyes widened the moment they fell upon him. The tough look shattered across her face.

Her mouth opened. She was screaming. But he couldn't hear anything.

His head tilted down. The Hunter's blade inside of him...the Hunter's hand on the hilt of his knife—the other blade shining in the sunlight. He saw it all until he didn't.

The Hunter twisted the knife.

Then Ren heard the screams. But they weren't Margret's.

They were his own.

No!

His screams in the real world melded with the chowing screams inside his head. He could feel the monster, the thing inside that made him do horrible things, was back again. He felt its anger, its hostility. He felt how it wanted to rip all of these people from limb from limb. But he couldn't let it loose. It didn't know the difference between Hunters and his own mother. It was blind. It didn't discriminate. All it wanted was to kill everything and drown itself in blood. It didn't matter what type either but it had a taste for humans.

He thought it was all over when he felt his control slipping. He was already imagining the dozens of Hunters dead corpses strewn across the lawn. As he walked over their torn remains, he saw the Mantels, Ashton with his eyes gazing chillingly back, and then his mom.

Margret dead. Dead as the girl in the forest.

Ren grabbed the Hunter's wrist. He snapped it back. The bone broke through the skin. The Hunter cried. Ren shoved him to the side and grabbed the knife. His hand grasped onto the other blade so hard that it broke skin. His blood clung to the end of the blade as he pulled the knife out. He snarled as the pain stung him.

And as the first drop of his blood hit the ground, something in the air shifted.

It was quiet. Still.

Ren paused and so did the thing.

He felt movement behind him. He turned, anticipating another assault from a Hunter. The thing was on high alert, but it seemed less crazy than it usually was. It wasn't going out of its mind trying to destroy everything. That disturbed Ren more. What could calm the thing like this?

A blurry figure of darkness arose from the distance. They seemed to appear out of thin air, moving fast across the distance between the forest and Ren until they were suddenly right in front of him. But they kept their distance. Their blurry outline came into focus giving way to flamboyant and out of place clothing that seemed to come out of a renaissance festival. Ren couldn't tell if they were woman or male.

Their hair was long, curly, and shined with red highlights. Their face was was ethereal if not down right devilish.

And when they smiled, the glint of their abnormally shaped fangs sent a chill down Ren's spine.

They stopped, poised, and looked at him like they were seeing an old friend. Then, they pouted.

"It's a shame you don't look more like your father."