Eternal War Rising to the South: The Beynok Vampire Series Read Free Page B

fight. The werewolf slowly came to its feet, not because of the incisions I caused, but out of anger it barely could control. I opened myself up to it, which can be dangerous during a fight, but I had to know what it was feeling. This one looked like all the other mutts we’d killed. It was about eight feet tall, with a large snout and a huge mouth full of jagged teeth. It had bristled, untamed hair, black eyes like daggers, and gruesome claws on all four paws that could slice through flesh easily. I had never felt a werewolf so full of confidence as this one. Its demeanor was totally different from the others. Its eyes shot through me, giving me a message of death, and then it opened its month and said, “Your kind is coming to an end.” Saliva dripped from its teeth, and bloodstained, matted hair covered its mouth. “We have destroyed one of your clans, and many more of your kind will soon see the same destiny.” It paused with self-satisfaction written all over it and added, “An uprising is upon you.” I could sense my teammates standing behind me.
    The werewolf lunged at me with all its power. I fell back, placing his neck in the V of my two swords as he flew over me. I pulled my two protectors apart, slicing its neck from both directions. The werewolf landed on its stomach, but was still alive. I hadn’t take the head completely off.
    I walked over to the beast and said, “The end has found you first beast.” My sword came down and finished it off.
    Nickolai asked, “Since when do werewolves talk? That’s a first for me.” Yuri waved his hands and said, “Really, Nickolai, are you surprised about anything we see out here? One day these bastards might wear suits and use a damn toilet. Come on, I’m going to the truck to get the gas to burn this place down.” Ambrose followed behind Yuri.
    Great, I was left with Nickolai and Nadia. They always have a moment right after a fight. It looks as if they leave this world and fall deep into each other’s eyes. Nickolai wrapped his arms around Nadia, only leaving enough room for them to look at one another. They never kissed in front of any of us, I guess out of respect. I’m not sure. It must have been hard for them, having to enter battles all the time, not knowing if the other was going to come out alive. Part of me yearned for a connection like that. The other part told me it would do nothing but weaken me.
    During Nickolai and Nadia’s second rise, they lived in Russia together. Nickolai was killed in a battle by an Ahriman witch, a witch sent by Satan. It’s hard to think anything could kill Nickolai. I just can’t picture it. Anyway, a few days after Nickolai passed, Nadia passed. Vladimir once explained to me that the bond we have with our partners is a spiritual and emotional one. We need our partner during our first three risings for strength because our spirits are not whole. Each time we rise to a different direction, we gain a bit more of our spirit, giving us more strength. Our partner rises in the opposite direction for balance.
    Therefore, whichever of the two, Nickolai or Nadia, falls first, the other is shortly to follow. Then they will have their fourth rise. We rise in our adult bodies and never age. Once we are full-spirited, we start to show our age only in our maturity level, and it’s almost impossible to kill us, but it can happen.
    Vladimir has had his full spirit now for almost two hundred years. If full-spirited Beynoks lose their partner, the partner’s spirit is placed inside of them and will never rise again. I had to ask Nickolai about Vladimir’s partner. He told me Vladimir had lost her about hundred and twenty years ago. None of us knows exactly how. Vladimir never shows his emotions to the others, just to me, sometimes. I wonder if we are able to love another if we no longer have a partner on earth or if our hearts feel whole because the partners’ spirits are placed inside of us. All this is just too deep for me. I’m