I kick the vampire in the back and it tips its head, letting out a sharp cry. It snarls at Aiden, not wanting me. I grab its hair, its gooey flesh oozing between my fingers as I drag back its hostile body. Aiden scoots away, a trail of dust, and the vampire tries to run after him. I chase it, raising my knife as I ram my body into its back. We tumble to the ground and I plunge my knife deep into the middle of its back, making sure it pierces its heart, taking away its source of existence.

It crumbles to the ground and I watch as it jerks and twitches, finally deadening into nothing but a useless pile of bones.

We both breathe in relief, Aiden still on the ground, stunned to stillness.

After I collect myself, I find my voice again. “What were you thinking?” I scrape my knife on the heel of my boot, cleaning the blood away. “Going after it like that? Are you insane?”

“It was instinct.” He stands to his feet, trying to seem calm, but his heart is going wild. “The first thing that ran through my mind was to save you.”

“Okay, well as sweet as that is, next time, just run. It’ll make it easier.”

He nods, on board with this wonderful plan. “Sure. I can do that.” He stares at the dead vampire bones and then his gaze moves to the outside. “We should get going. We can still cover some ground before dark.”

I nod and we head out of the cave, leaving the dead vampire behind.

Chapter 27

“So what do we do when it gets dark?” I ask.

We’ve been walking for a while, and the night grows richer with each step. And after what happened in the cave, I grow more uneasy. Aiden seems to lack fighting skills. And speed.

“We keep going.” He points up at the tops of long line of rocks. “We’re going to climb up there and walk when it gets dark.”

I stare at the rocks warily. “But there are huge gaps between them.”

“You can jump, can’t you?” His eyebrow teases upward.

“Of course I can, but are you sure you don’t just want to hide out for the night?” I ask. “I mean, after what happened in the cave… ”