Agent Phoenix yelled as he rushed forward, Gordon hot on his heels as he cursed the crucivire’s recklessness.  Phoenix’s left arm flopped to the side, still useless.  All three fighters knew it would heal quickly, if not as quickly as a vampire, but for the moment, Phoenix fought one handed.

            The elder vampire Axel grinned as he raised his broadsword and survival knife.  Soon all three fighters traded sword strikes in a blur.  The blades collided so hard that the sparks illuminated the forest in brief flashes, their shadows appearing on the trees for split seconds at a time.

            Axel, a gleeful look on his face as he enjoyed the fight, pressed his sword against Gordon’s, got close, and aimed a knife strike.  The knife barely connected as Gordon jumped back, grunting.  It was a minor wound at his side, but Gordon would be out of the way for just a moment, but that was all the elder vampire needed.

            Axel blocked an attack from Phoenix and began counterattacking relentlessly.  After a moment, Gordon rushed back but not before Axel could overwhelm Phoenix, holding the crucivire’s sword back with the knife as he took a swipe at Phoenix’s thigh.

            “Stop!” cried Gordon.

            Phoenix, his face contorted in a mixture of pain and rage, fell to one knee as Gordon intercepted Axel.  The elder vampire and the dhampir fought relentlessly, their attacks a blur to a human eye.  In his mind, Phoenix could hear Gordon talking.

            “Phoenix!” said Gordon.  “Get out of here!”

            “I’m not leaving you alone with this monster!” Phoenix mentally shouted back.

            “Don’t be a fool!  They’re after you, and they want you alive.  We can’t afford to lose you.”

            Phoenix glared.  Gordon knew he was right.  The vampire wasn’t going for Phoenix’s heart or neck.  They wanted to wound him, not kill him.  Even so, Gordon could sense Phoenix’s stubbornness shining through.

            As Gordon traded blows with Axel, he took stock of Phoenix’s condition.  The thigh would heal soon, and Phoenix’s left arm was back in the fight.  If anything, that would make the crucivire confident he could still win this, and Gordon lamented that Phoenix wasn’t going to do as he said.

###

Back at the van, Vampires brought welding torches to get to the humans in the front seat.  Meanwhile, Cora still fought desperately as the vampires had her cornered.  Without Jaiden’s help, she was getting overwhelmed, even as she brought out a knife, which was easier to maneuver in a cramped space.  She swung and stabbed desperately, vampires falling at her feet as she stepped over the bones of Eric Hale.

            Despite her efforts, she was pushed away until her back hit the front of the van.  Without room to move, more swords than she could block came at her at once, and she closed her eyes, bracing herself for the worst.

            Suddenly a shrill, high pitched noise broke out, forcing Cora and the Vampires to cover their ears from the pain.  As they all fell to their knees, covering their ears in a vain effort to keep that sound out, Cora recognized it.  Backup was here, and they’d turned on their sonic devices.

            Outside, giant black fire trucks pulled up.  Each truck had a sonic device on it, resembling a giant stereo.  Night Hunters manned the top of the trucks, either shooting their guns at vampires in the distance or unleashing holy water with fire hoses on any vampire the van got close to.  Vampires either died to silver cross etched bullets through the heart or were melted by holy water, though many escaped into the forest.

            Cora, bracing herself as she sat on the van floor, pulled out a pair of earplugs and stuffed them into her ears.  It didn’t block out the sound completely, and she still felt like her ears would burst, but it was enough that she could get up and start stabbing the vampires writing on the floor.  A few managed to recover, but she cut them down as best she could.

            After a few moments of dispatching them, leaving corpses in various states of decay, Cora shut the back of the van.   This, in conjunction with the earplugs, blocked out just enough of the sound so that Cora could rest.  She returned to the van’s wall and slumped down, feeling exhausted.  It didn’t take long to think of Jaiden, but the sonic device and gunfire would make things difficult, so she decided to stay out of the other hunter’s way.

            She’d have to trust that Gordon and Phoenix could do something.

###

Phoenix, his thigh almost healed, stood up shakily as he prepared to rejoin the fight.  Gordon and Axel still crossed blades furiously, and Gordon kept himself between Axel and Phoenix, trying to push the elder vampire back.  By the look on Phoenix’s face, that just irritated the young crucivire.

            As he was ready to rush in, however, all three heard gunfire in the distance.  Backup had arrived, making Axel grimace.  The elder vampire jumped back, some of his apparent ‘clothing’ unfurling to reveal his vampire wings.

            “Man, I hate party crashers,” said Axel.  “Let’s take this somewhere else.”

            He jumped up and then flapped his wings, soaring away.  Judging by the direction he was headed in, he was making a beeline for a group of vampires.  That was likely where Jaiden was.  Phoenix ran to pursue him and Gordon, sighing, ran after him.

###

For the first few minutes, Jaiden thrashed and struggled as the vampires held his limbs.  Once they were far away from the van, the vampires stopped, pulling out chains.  Jaiden struggled the whole time, but there were too many, and soon Jaiden’s limbs were bound, a padlock holding the chains together.

            Now a single vampire carried Jaiden over his should as the vampires ran through the forest.  Trees went by in a blur as the vampires fled.  Jaiden tried to struggle, but he was bound tight, and the vampire’s arm was strong.  After a few minutes, the vampires carrying him eventually threw him to the ground, making Jaiden grunt.  As he lay there, wrapped in chains, he looked up defiantly at the vampires around him.  They grinned down at him with their skeletal faces, their fangs gleaming.  Jaiden looked up at them, wary of whatever they were planning.

            Soon, however, the vampires parted, allowing someone to go through.  In walked the Elder Vampire, Cassandra.  While the other vampires let their glamours drop, she maintained hers, appearing as a stunningly beautiful woman in gothic attire.  She sauntered up to Jaiden and knelt beside him, smiling as she licked her lips.

            “So you’re the new dhampir, huh?” she asked.

            “What about it?” asked Jaiden, sounding weaker than he intended.

            He tried to look confident, but on the inside, he was shaking.  This wasn’t your average vampire.  This was a vampire elder, and despite the youthful appearance granted by her glamour, she was old.  Very old.  He could see the depth of insight and cunning in her eyes, tempered by over a century of experience.  Jaiden had this overwhelming sense that no matter how he acted, she could see right through it and would know just how afraid he was.

            “Oh,” she replied.  “Just making an observation.  I’m sure you’ve guessed that you’re not who we’re really interested in.”

            That had crossed Jaiden’s mind.

            “What makes you think Phoenix will try and rescue me?” asked Jaiden.

            “Oh, you’re trying to bluff me,” said Cassandra condescendingly.  “That’s cute.”

            She moved to touch his cheek with the back of her hand, making Jaiden flinch.

            “You’re cute,” she said.  “I already know he’s on his way, silly boy.”

            Jaiden didn’t know what to say, so he just glared, even though he was trembling on the inside.  Cassandra just looked amused for a moment before standing and nodding to the other vampires.  The majority of them left, running back in the direction they’d come.  Only five vampires remained, including Cassandra.

            “What are you doing?” asked Jaiden.

            “Sending them to intercept the humans,” said Cassandra.  “Can’t have them interrupting our fun.  We can handle your friends ourselves.  Now, for the final touch.”

            She snapped her finger, and a sixth vampire approached, carrying a woman in his arms.  From the scent, Jaiden realized it was a human thrall.  This ordinary woman looked pale, with bags under her eyes.  Despite her overall wan appearance, she smiled dreamily.

            “What’s going on?” asked Jaiden.

            “Simple,” said Cassandra.  “The crucivire is skilled, but he’s overly driven by his emotions.  That makes him reckless.  Therefore, we intend to enrage him.”

            The incoming vampire let the woman down, and she slowly walked towards a very confused Jaiden.

            “Still, it seems a waste,” said Cassandra.  “You haven’t earned our gift.”

            “Gift?” asked Jaiden.  “What…”

            Then the pale woman pulled out a needle and pricked her wrist.  A drop of blood formed there, and Jaiden’s nose was suddenly filled with that scent.  His mouth began to water, and suddenly Jaiden understood what their ‘gift’ was.  His eyes went wide with fear, and he shook his head.

            “No,” he said, terrified.

            “No?” said Cassandra mockingly.  “No?  Poor blind fool.  I hope you can one day see what we’re giving you, though you don’t yet deserve it.”

            As the pale woman knelt beside Jaiden, the young dhampir shut his mouth as tight as he could.  As she brought his wrist next to his mouth, the scent became overwhelming.  Jaiden suddenly felt an empty feeling in his stomach, a powerful thirst he always tried to avoid.

            “Come on, little Jaiden,” said Cassandra teasingly.  “You can smell it, can’t you?  That delicious aroma.  Go ahead and drink.  You know you want to.”

            Jaiden struggled, but he kept his mouth shut as tightly as he could.

            Cassandra sighed and said, “We don’t have time to do this properly.” She pointed at a couple of vampires. “You two force his jaw open.”

###

Gordon and Phoenix halted in the forest, hearing a large group of vampires running towards the human Night Hunters behind them.  Jaiden, they could sense, was still ahead of them and was in severe distress.  When the pair determined that the other vampires wouldn’t turn to attack them, they ran towards Jaiden.  The human hunters would have to fend for themselves.

            The vampire Axel flew above them, still leading them to this place.  He seemed to slow down, letting them catch up, which made sense.  This whole thing was a trap, but Phoenix was determined to get himself caught in that trap.  Gordon wasn’t about to leave him there, and in truth, part of him wanted to save Jaiden as well.

            Soon Gordon and Phoenix saw a small group ahead, and Axel landed with that group.  As they got closer, they saw a figure laying on the ground with a pale woman kneeling next to him.   As the other vampires waited, Axel and Cassandra sporting smug smiles, Gordon and Phoenix eventually saw who was on the ground.

            It was Jaiden, wrapped in chains, tears in his eyes as two vampires held his jaw open.  A human woman knelt beside him, squeezing her wrist and letting blood flow down Jaiden’s throat.  Gordon and Phoenix stopped, shock on their faces.  The woman pulled her wrist from Jaiden, who lay there, shocked and terrified, drops of blood staining his mouth.

            Suddenly, the young man convulsed, his body transforming.  More tears ran down his face as his skin turned dark grey and stretched across his skull.  His eyes turned red, and his hair turned wild and tangled.

            When the transformation finished, the pale woman unlocked the padlock holding Jaidne’s chains.   Stepping back, Jaiden, now a full vampire, sat up groggily, then saw his hands.  His red eyes went wide in horror.

            “No,” he said.

            He ran his skeletal hands over his vampiric face.

            “No!”

            He began saying ‘no’ over and over again.  Meanwhile, the surrounding vampires, including the two elders, laughed at him.  The human thrall fell back and sat against a tree, a dreamy smile on her face as she looked at Jaiden.

            Gordon looked on, grimacing.  He’d seen dhampir’s turn like this before, and it never got easier to see.  However, as much as it hurt him, Phoenix’s response was much more intense.  Through the link, Gordon could sense the young crucivire seething with anger.  Phoenix gritted his teeth, breathing heavily as he gripped his sword tightly.  Gordon almost shouted at him not to rush in recklessly, but he knew it would fall on deaf ears.

            Besides, for once, Gordon felt the same.  So as Phoenix ran forward, screaming at the top of his lungs, Gordon wasn’t far behind.

###

The Night Hunters moved slowly through the forest, scanning the dark trees with flashlights on the end of their guns.  Far from the safety of their vehicles, each hunter stayed on high alert, their bodies tense.  While the sonic devices on their trucks were too big to carry, leaving their midnight stroll in relative silence, the sound of their guns would suffice.  The hunter’s uniforms also had small devices at their collars that emitted the scent of garlic oil.  The younger vampires would have trouble dealing with the sound and the smell.  The more experienced monsters, however, would only be taken off guard for a minute or two and would deal with the pain as they attacked.

            Sure enough, the warrior class vampires struck quickly and suddenly.  Though they could not use modern weapons, they made up for it with speed and ferocity.  A few hunters were cut down with swords and spears before they even realized they were under attack.

            The hunters counter-attacked quickly, though.  Precise gunshots rang out, catching the vampires and killing them whenever a bullet struck the heart.  A few hunters, carrying mobile mist machines with water tanks strapped to their backs, sprayed holy water into the air to keep the vampires away from the main group, but they couldn’t keep the mist going forever, so the vampires used hit and run tactics.  They would run in and stab as many hunters as possible before disappearing back into the trees, though many were shot in the back.  Some dropped down from the trees to cut someone before leaping away.  No matter how many vampires they shot down, more seemed to take their place.  This squad of Night Hunters seemed to be getting smaller and smaller. 

            As the night hunters spraying holy water seemed to be running out, the commander of this squad sent a command on a communicator.  Nearby, staying away from the main group, seven werewolf trainers kept their werewolves in reserve.  They had to be careful about using werewolves as the beasts could kill indiscriminately unless kept on a short leash.  Upon receiving the command, however, the trainers, using subsonic whistles to issue commands, sent the werewolves to the area in front of the night hunters squad.

            With sharp night vision, the werewolves found the vampires hiding behind the trees and tore through them, biting and throwing them away.  This forced the vampires to scatter, giving the human hunters easy targets.  Even those who fled to the trees weren’t safe, as the werewolves could jump surprisingly high for their size.  They’d jump up and come down with a dead vampire in their teeth.  So far, the humans seemed to have the advantage.

            And yet, despite being taken off guard, these vampires were serving their purpose.  The hunters wouldn’t reach the dhampirs and the crucivire any time soon.

###

Axel and Cassandra leaped into the air as five vampires attacked Gordon and Phoenix.  These five seemed more elite than the vampires they’d faced thus far.  The night hunters swung their swords furiously but had trouble finding an opening.

            When Phoenix finally did see an opening, he was forced to cancel his strike and jump back, narrowly avoiding a claw.  Axel had flown over and nearly sliced the crucivire’s ear with the claws on his feet.  Moments later, Gordon had to dodge Cassandra as she prevented him from striking a vampire with a killing blow.

            As the warrior class vampires attacked on the ground and the elder class vampires attacked from above, Jaiden still lay on the ground, staring at his vampiric hands in horror.  He kept thinking that this couldn’t be happening.  He grasped his head and told himself to wake up over and over again.

            It got worse when the voices started.  Jaiden looked around as he began to hear whispers but saw nothing aside from the fighting nearby.  He’d been warned of this.  He hadn’t been brainwashed like other vampires, so now that he was connected to them, other vampires would sometimes talk to him and try to drive him mad.  Despite that warning, Jaiden still wasn’t prepared for the reality.  The voices whispered things like, “The blood tasted good, didn’t it?” or “I bet you loved every drop!”

            “This is better.”

            “I hope you appreciate this.”

            “You’ll learn to like it.”

            “Want some more?”

            “Shut up…” Jaiden muttered, instinctively covering his ears, though that didn’t stop the voices.  “Shut up!  Shut up!  Shut up!”

            The human thrall who’d forced her blood down Jaiden’s throat watched Jaiden struggle as she leaned back against a tree, that dreamy still adorning her face.

            Meanwhile, the fight continued.  Gordon barely managed to slice one of the vampires through the heart, but Cassandra flew down, grabbed his shoulders with her claws, and lifted him into the air.

            “Gordon!” cried Phoenix.

            Gordon tried to swipe up with his sword, but Cassandra leaned down and deflected it with her own.  Grimacing, Gordon pulled out a knife with his left hand and threw it up, hitting her wing and making her shriek.  The pair of them fell, crashing into the branches of a tree.

            As Gordon lay in those branches, his head swimming, he could barely make out five vampires, including Axel, converging on Phoenix.  Before Gordon could jump down, Cassandra planted herself on the branches before him, pulling the knife from her wing.  Gordon, still feeling unsteady, watched helplessly as the five vampires attacked Phoenix at once.

            Before they could strike, Phoenix, his eyes fierce and determined, brought his hand to his sword and cut his own skin, letting blood drip down.  Within moments, the vampires caught the scent.  Their eyes grew wide, and you’d think their mouths were watering from the looks they gave.  They all jumped back, their hands shaking.  All except for Axel.  Though he had a subtle hungry look in his eye, his face was otherwise a mask of self control.

            The elder vampire sent a mental command to the other vampires to keep the pair of them surrounded.  Gordon, keeping an eye on the elder vampire woman before him, quickly figured out what Axel was doing.  The scent of a crucivire’s blood would drive a vampire insane with thirst but would be poisonous to them.  That could be dangerous to rely on, as too much blood loss would leave Phoenix weak until he regeneration.

            However, in this case, Axel had clearly decided that the other vampires couldn’t control themselves and so would handle this himself.  The others would just keep Phoenix from escaping.  Not that it was necessary.  Gordon still didn’t think Phoenix was ready for an Elder, but the crucivire was stubborn.  He’d never run, and that was a problem.

            “Where do you think you’re looking, old man!” cried Cassandra as she rushed Gordon, keeping her wings close to fit between the branches.  Sparks flew as her knives collided with his sword, her strikes fast and relentless.  Gordon jumped to another branch, swinging wildly as they fought, his sword cutting off branches that fell to the ground below.

            Phoenix, meanwhile, fought Axel and was quickly put on the defensive.  The elder vampire was fast, attacking with his sword and knife.  Phoenix’s face slowly shifted from concentration to frustration as he struggled to find an opening.  Finally, Phoenix attacked, but Axel sidestepped him, blocking with the knife and cutting Phoenix’s side with his sword.

            Phoenix grunted as he held his bleeding side, and Axel grinned.  The nearby vampires struggled to stay back and not rush in to drink the crucivire’s blood.

            Meanwhile, Gordon kept pace with Cassandra.  While she was fast, Gordon kept his sword close, shifting his entire body to keep the knives at bay.  However, when he found an opening, she flapped her wings and launched herself over his strike.  As she came down, slipping through the branches, she grabbed Gordon’s sword with the claws on her foot, getting it out of the way as she brought her knives down.

            Gordon leaned back and raised his foot, kicking Cassandra away before the knives could come down.  She flew back, and Gordon kept hold of his sword as she landed on a branch.  Cassandra looked up, grinning as she jumped over to attack again.

            Phoenix, his face contorted with rage, began attacking recklessly.  Axel sidestepped, not even using his wings to his advantage as he dodged Phoenix’s strikes effortlessly.  The four vampires surrounding them kept their distance as Phoenix hacked and slashed.  Then Axel sidestepped and slashed Phoenix’s leg, making him stand unsteadily.

            Phoenix attacked again and got slashed again on his arm.  He started to stagger, dizzy from the lack of blood.  Despite his dire situation, his eyes shouted defiance.  The four vampires around them looked like they would attack uncontrollably at any moment.  The smell of that blood was overpowering, and only Axel’s command to stay back held them at bay.

            Sensing Phoenix’s condition, Gordon was getting desperate and swung his sword as precisely as he could.  Cassandra, however, leaned back, grabbed Gordon’s sword with the claws on her foot, then flipped over, scratching Gordon’s face with her other foot.  Gordon fell back, steadying himself on a nearby branch as the sword was ripped from his hand.  He looked up, one of his eyes closed as blood flowed from it, and saw his sword falling to the ground.  Cassandra laughed mockingly as Gordon pulled out a pair of knives from his trench coat, wondering how he would get out of this.

            Finally, Axel used a twisting motion to knock Phoenix’s sword out of his hand and into the air.  Axel quickly sheathed his knife and caught the other sword.  While touching a cross shaped, silver infused weapon made him grimace in pain, he quickly threw it away.  The weapon spun through the air, striking a tree and getting stuck there, far out of reach.  Phoenix quickly pulled out a pair of knives and prepared to fight.  While he still gave an air of defiance, one could detect a hint of fear in his eyes.

            As Gordon and Cassandra traded knife blows, still jumping from branch to branch in that tree, Gordon got overwhelmed.  He wasn’t accustomed to knife fighting and needed a plan.  Phoenix fought as best as he could but was also used to using a sword.   Despite this, Phoenix was stubbornly refusing to run.  Gordon struggled to come up with something, and then he noticed a branch that he’d inadvertently cut with his sword before.  That particular branch was cut at a particularly sharp angle.  Finally, Gordon got an idea.

            And he’d have to move quickly.  Axel got close to Phoenix and stabbed his knife through one of Phoenix’s hands, forcing the crucivire to grunt in pain and drop one of his knives.  Phoenix desperately attacked with the other, and Axel just stabbed that hand as well.  Phoenix jumped back with more fear than Gordon had ever seen.  He dodged the sword as best he could, but without his hands, Phoenix kept getting small cuts designed to weaken him so he could be captured.  Still dodging Cassandra’s knives, Gordon knew it was now or never.

            Gordon jumped to a branch under Cassandra, and she dove down after him.  Expecting this, Gordon threw his knives up, hitting Cassandra’s wings and making her shriek with pain and fury.  The weakened wings fell behind her back, and without them to control her fall, she fell face forward.  Gordon jumped up and out of the way as she landed upside down with her front against the tree.

            Landing on a higher branch, Gordon planted his feet and grabbed the elder vampire’s ankle.  Heaving with all his strength, he yanked a very surprised Cassandra upwards.  She tried to extend her wings, but they still had knives sticking through them.  Screaming as he swung, Gordon aimed her right at that sharp branch, slamming her against it as the point went into her back, straight through her heart, and out the front of her chest, spilling blood down her shirt as she shrieked in pain.

            Axel, who’d just been about to deal a crippling blow to a weak and unsteady agent Phoenix, heard the shriek.

            He turned back, shouting, “Cassandra!”

            Phoenix didn’t hesitate.  With one swift movement, he jumped on Axel’s back, stuffed his wrist into the vampire's mouth, and used his other wrist to push the vampire's chin upwards.  This forced Axel to bite into Phoenix’s flesh, drawing blood as his head was tilted upward, making that blood drip down his throat.  The elder vampire’s eyes grew wide with shock as he threw his sword away and grabbed Phoenix's arms.  The elder vampire twisted and threw Phoenix to the ground.  As Phoenix got up, he looked at the Elder Vampire with a satisfied grin.  Axel stood there, blood dripping off his mouth in pure shock.

            Cassandra and Axel began dying at the same time, the hundreds of years they’d lived catching up with them as their glamours fell away.   Cassandra, hanging from that tree, and Axel standing there, began to decay.  Their grey, wrinkled skin wrinkled further as patches of them fell off, turning to dust that scattered across the ground.  The more patches fell, the more their muscles, bones, and organs began to show.  More pieces fell away until Axel fell forward, his entire body turning to dust and scattering once he hit the ground.  Cassandra finally slipped off the branch, falling to a pile of dust at the base of the tree.

            Gordon ignored them as he jumped down, grabbed his sword, and ran to Phoenix.

            The four remaining vampires stared, torn by their ravenous hunger and crippling fear.  Jaiden lay on the ground, writhing with his head in his hands as the voices whispered to him relentlessly.  The human thrall who’d forced Jaiden to drink her blood had watched the entire fight with a dreamy look, but now that her master and mistress were dead, she looked on in horror and screamed.

            Two vampires fled into the night, one of them grabbing the human thrall and running away with her.  The other two vampires were overcome by hunger.  Phoenix elbowed one of them, making him stagger, before grabbing the vampire and smashing him to the ground.  Gordon intercepted the other and ran him through with his sword, killing him. 

            As that vampire died, Phoenix, his hands starting to heal, took out a spool of wire from his trench coat and took a moment to bind the other vampire’s hands and legs.  Gordon, watching him work, felt uncomfortable.  He knew what Phoenix likely intended.  With that done, Phoenix looked up at Gordon irritably.  They were both still bleeding in a few places, but they’d heal soon.  Gordon crossed his arms.

            “I killed an elder,” said Phoenix defiantly.

            “Only because he was distracted,” said Gordon.

            Phoenix glared back, then looked away.  “Fine.  So I wasn’t ready for an Elder by myself yet.  You gonna say, ‘I told you so?’”

            “Do I need to?” asked Gordon.

            Phoenix didn’t answer.

            A moment later, the pair looked towards Jaiden, writhing on the ground.  Gordon clenched his fists.  How could this have happened?  Phoenix, his face grim, pulled out a silver, cross shaped knife and moved towards Jaiden.  Gordon placed a hand on his shoulder, and Phoenix rounded on him.

            “Wait,” said Gordon.

            “You just want to leave him like this?” asked Phoenix, incredulous.  “As one of them?  Other vampires trying to drive him insane?  I’m just putting him out of his misery.”

            “We’ll decide what to do later,” said Gordon.  “We don’t want to do anything rash like…like you did tonight.  If you hadn’t rushed into the forest recklessly, we could have been there to keep Jaiden from getting captured.”

            Phoenix glared.

            “You’re always acting without thinking,” Gordon accused.  “And I have no qualms pointing out that I’ve told you so many times.  When are you going to start listening?”

            Phoenix glared for a moment, then turned back to the vampire he’d tied up.  The crucivire, his eyes filled with hatred, knelt and lifted his knife.  The vampire recoiled as much as he could with his bindings.

            “I’ve warned you, monsters,” said Phoenix.  “Not to use hostages.  Turning one of us into one of you is far worse, so you get the same punishment.”

            Phoenix leaned in and spoke slowly, the vampire’s eyes wide with fear.

            “I speak not to you but to those who can see through your eyes.  Never…do that…again…”

            The vampire struggled in his bonds to no avail as Phoenix reached down.  He started with one of the vampire's fingers, cutting it off the tip and making the vampire shriek with pain.  He then cut off a little more of the finger, then a little more, and kept cutting pieces until the finger was gone.  Once that finger was gone, he repeated the process with the next finger.

            Gordon looked away, knowing where this would go.  Phoenix would cut the vampire up piece by piece, the silver knife preventing regeneration.  The vampire’s body would slowly get smaller and smaller until nothing but the heart was left, which Phoenix would stab.  It was a slow and excruciatingly painful way for a vampire to die.  Phoenix did this to any vampire who hid behind a hostage.

            Gordon found it distasteful, but when Phoenix first did this, vampires stopped taking hostages, so the Night Hunter council allowed it.  That didn’t make it any easier to watch.  Finally, Gordon heard the human Night Hunters approaching, which meant they won against the vampire hoard sent after them.  That was good, but he imagined many newer hunters might be disturbed once they saw what Phoenix was doing.

            And poor Jaiden, tormented by the voices in his head, saw Phoenix doing this, and his eyes grew wide with fear.  The voices acknowledged what was going on but still taunted Jaiden relentlessly.

            “You see that?”

            “He hates us.”

            “That means he hates you.”

            “He’s gonna do that to you.”

            “He’s gonna do that to you.”

            “He’s gonna do that to you.”