As soon as I opened the iron door, a sharp alarm rang and we knew trouble was coming.
“There’s no turning back now!” Jane shouted as she directed her teams. Then, she transformed into her wolf Carrie. The other female warriors also transformed into their wolves but I remained in my human form.
I knew that once I transformed into Charlotte, I would definitely attract the attention of all the vampires because her appearance was so different from the others. One would be able to easily tell that she was not an ordinary wolf.
I hid behind them and watched as Jane rushed forwards. The appearance of wolves from her team attracted the attention of more than a dozen vampires. The others also started running in the direction that Jane assigned them.
They were indeed highly trained warriors as I watched them bare their fangs and swing their weapons, ripping some vampires to shreds. Most of the vampires were reduced to ashes, with only a few corpses left.
Once I was sure that all the vampires in sight were focused on them, I held my breath and crept along the wall of a corridor in front of me. I didn’t know where to go but I knew I should just follow my instincts.
I tried to smell Emily in the air, but I couldn’t.
…..
‘Charlotte, can you smell Emily?’
‘I can’t, I think it’s because Nicholas flashed her away, so there’s no floating scent in the air unless she’s near us.’
I kept walking along the wall, and just as I turned a corner, I ran into a vampire. It was the first time I had ever been so close to a vampire in the real world that I couldn’t help but scream.
The second before he pounced on me, I pounced even faster and pulled his head off in the style I usually practiced.
“F*ck.” I endured the nauseous feeling that came right after the moment I watched his head separate from his body. Then, he turned into ashes. Alonso had told me that ordinary vampires would turn into ashes immediately after they died. Only those with pure bloodlines would have corpses left behind.
I did not use my ability to kill him, although I had almost done so. I knew that if I used my ability to attack, Nicholas would notice me immediately so I needed to be more careful.
As I continued down the passage, I found that it wasn’t as grand and bright as Sunset Pack’s castle. Instead, this place was filled with dark paths like a maze, which made it more difficult for me to navigate. Fortunately, the vampires moved by flashing, rather than walking or running, so the maze now looked almost empty.
I had been walking for a while and it was so quiet that I could hear a pin drop. The path seemed to get darker and darker, graduating into the kind of darkness that seeped into my bones. I had to use my ability to create a small fireball that I held right in front of me.
Now that the space ahead of me was more illuminated, I noticed that I was at the edge of a large hall with large winding staircases leading up to the upper level. I used my keen sense of hearing, smell, and mind-reading to make sure there was no one around. Then, I walked up the stairs closest to me which led me to a long hallway. At the end of the corridor was a tall door.
I didn’t know why I chose this path, but I pushed the door open and walked in anyway. I hung the fireball a little higher so that I could see the whole room.
I had entered a large room that looked more like a showroom or an exhibition hall. With the light of the fire, I could see the portraits covering the walls. Most of them were landscape or portrait paintings, and many focused on the same person: Nicholas.
These paintings were dated and sorted accordingly. I looked at each and one of them caught my attention.