Standing Before Monsters (Vorans and Vampires) Read Free

still running, but appeared to be trying to lose his pursuers by dodging them within the large building. There were still cars around to hide behind, if he believed that such minor obstacles could aid him.
    Nick cursed as he realized that he needed to move up a floor as they ran above him. They were close, but the voran couldn’t see them through concrete and steel. Moving to the outer wall, the voran leaped up using his speed and hands to help pull him up to the next level in a difficult maneuver. The attempt paid off as the man spotted movement in the distance. Though dimly lit as the garage conserved energy at the cost of lighting, his eyes could make out the movement of the vampire and his pursuers.
    Charging towards the fight, the voran knew that he would be too late before taking more than a few steps. A flash of metal let him know that at least one of them had a sword, but then a moment later a flare of flame signaled the death of the vampire.
    He cursed under his breath and felt the three strange pursuers pause, perhaps sensing him or simply to catch their breath after the chase and fight. There was a surge of energy in each of them before they ran. Nick hurried but as he found the burned out body of a vampire the three simply vanished from his mind. Stopping in stunned silence, the voran wondered at what could escape him so easily.
    Maintaining his vigil, Nick looked at the dead vampire. Removed of the source of his energy, the creature should turn to dust. Some vampires exploded in flame, some simply cracked and turned to ash. Examining this body, he wondered what had actually happened.
    Scorch marks appeared around him centering on three burnt pieces of concrete. The dead vampire also appeared more solidly collected than usual. In the several minutes of searching the area, where he found signs of the fight, the corpse was unusually slow in disappearing into dust. Cars and even a nearby support pillar also revealed cuts. Single slashes cut cleanly through metal and concrete. The speed and strength to cut stone without breaking the blade had to be supernatural, but there was no sword left with the body.
    The cuts that surprised him were those that were ragged and grouped in three to four tears. A swipe at the concrete pillar had scratched the stone without penetrating, but left four of the marks.
    “What happened?” Nicola asked as she walked up and leaned against a damaged car to replace her boots.
    “I’m not sure,” he confided looking genuinely confused. He sniffed the air trying to find any source that he could relate to those who had attacked the vampire. While he didn’t have a problem with someone willing to kill vampires that deserved it, the man did worry what could have done so and whether they would attack Marek’s coven; if they believed them typical of the blood suckers he normally had to kill.
    Nicola tested the air and sneezed. The blond shook her head in surprise. Trying a second time, the girl sneezed again and complained, “Can a vampire have allergies?”
    Laughing at the thought, but wondering what was in the air that could make a vampire sneeze; Nick noticed a strange hair on the ground. The smell as he picked it up, reminded him of that of a cat. Holding it out to Nicola, the vampire breathed it in and suddenly had a sneezing fit as she had to back away.
    “Well, if this is normal cat hair that might account for a normal person sneezing. Are you allergic to cats?” he questioned realizing that though unexpected the question made him realize that there were things he still didn’t know about this woman whom he had known for so long.
    Rubbing her nose trying to get the tingling out of her sinuses, Nicola shook her head. “I’ve had cats before and never noticed anything. Marek doesn’t love the things, but we’ve had several over the decades.” She smiled evilly before adding, “Audrey loves cats.”
    Audrey had replaced Nicola as Marek’s love interest, so such things amused