Penny's Choice (11 page)

“What was that?” One of the guards asked.

“The Brotherhood must be causing problems already,” Thomas said in an excited tone. “Take out those scouts. My thrall and I will watch here.” Penny didn't exactly like being called a thrall, but it was fun to see Thomas expertly manipulate the vampires.

When the guards were outside, Thomas permanently disabled the gate and its associated charms. Anyone would be able to enter now, so even the vampires that didn't pursue the family would be left vulnerable to attack.

Thomas grasped Penny securely in his arms and ran with every ounce of his vampire energy. Even though Penny knew the danger of the moment, she still relished being buried in Thomas's Chest. They fled the sanctuary knowing that a horde a vampires would only minutes behind them. Hopefully they would have enough always, luck, and talent to be able to take out both sides: the Brotherhood and the Wolf family's coven.

Crouching down at the edge of the clearing, Penny kept her back tight against Thomas.  She kept her weapon ready in her sweaty hands, waiting.

Her earpiece suddenly hissed to life in her ear.  “The coven approaches,” Charles whispered.

And right after that transmission,
Charli
, on the other side of them, let everyone know, “So does the Brotherhood.  And they don’t look happy.”

“Do they ever?” Thomas joked.  Penny laughed and wondered how he could keep a sense of humor at a time like this.

Behind them, the
Djinn
leaned in between them.  “I don’t suppose we could just let them beat on each other?  Work this out with their own fists and teeth?”

Penny still wasn’t sure what to make of the
Djinn
.  The fact that he had filled her shoes with strawberry
jello
didn’t really help her opinion of him.

“No, it wouldn’t work,” Thomas explained.  “They won’t stop until they get to us.”

Mr. Wolf waved to them from across the clearing, behind two birch trees.  The groups were getting close.

“You remember what to do?” Thomas said.  Penny could hear the concern for her behind his words.

She leaned into Thomas more, putting her hand on his.  “Yes, Thomas.  I remember.  Don’t worry about me.”

His hand gripped hers.  “I do worry about you.  Just, remember that.”

A crashing through the trees on their right
signaled
the approach of the Brotherhood.  Penny couldn’t hear the vampires approaching.  But she knew they were there, slipping through the woods.

She was right.  With growling faces and bared fangs, dozens of vampires poured through the trees.  They were blurry impressions of movement, spreading out across the field.

“Now?” the
Djinn
asked.

“Not yet,” Thomas said.

From their right, roaring at the top of their lungs, came the Brotherhood, all in black and armed with short swords or other weapons.  Their leader caught sight of the vampires immediately, and even if their targets were Penny and Thomas and the others, they weren’t going to pass up the chance to exterminate the entire Brotherhood.  The two groups soared toward each other, blood in their eyes.

“Now!”
Thomas yelled over the sound of colliding enemies.

“Yes!” the
Djinn
roared,
a look of incredible happiness on his face. 
“NOW!”

The
Djinn
raised both arms upward and soared into the sky, his greyish skin glowing.  Using his magic he now unleashed the traps he had set up before.  Piles of earth exploded into the air underneath the charging feet of the Brotherhood.  Bodies lifted into the air from the force of the exploding magical charges, to come crashing back to the ground again, on top of their brothers if they were lucky, smacking hard against dirt and stone when they weren’t.  Either way, they didn’t get up again.

The same thing happened under the feet of the vampires, exploding them up and out and over each other.

The difference was, the vampires landed back on their feet and kept coming.

Thomas and Penny looked at the
Djinn
.  The expression of triumph slid slowly from his face.  “Oops,” he said.

“Oops?” Thomas echoed. 
“Seriously?”

“It’s not my fault!” the grey-skinned magic-wielder blurted out.

With a growl, Thomas’ eyes turned blood red and his fangs bared and he raced into the fray.

“Thomas, no,
wait
!” Penny called to him, but it was too late.  She set her lips in a thin line and raised her gun.  She tried to clear the approaching vampires out of Thomas’ way.  Every vampire that fell in her sights got a fire bullet through the middle of their forehead or their hearts.  The explosions of the modified bullets tore them open from the inside out.  She only missed twice.  Once her shot tore through a vampire’s knee to explode on the ground behind and sent her target falling to the ground just before Thomas got to it, grabbed it by the throat as it fell and ripped its head clear of its shoulders, turning it to dust.

The second time her bullet grazed a vampire’s neck without impacting.  It turned and glared at her with blood pouring from the wound and then it raced across the moon-lit field straight at her.

Penny turned to the
Djinn
for help.  It was gone.

She pulled the trigger. The gun made a sickeningly soft click sound. She was out. She had time for a single thought. She was going to die.

Black forms poured over and past her, leaping, jumping,
howling
. 
The werewolves.

The vampire who had set itself upon her faltered and slipped and fell to the ground only to be grabbed in the huge jaws of a large black werewolf that crushed its neck in a single bloody bite.

Penny let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.  “Thomas,” she whispered, remembering that he was out there, among the attacking vampires and the Brotherhood alone.  She touched her earpiece.  “Charles,
Charli
, where are you?”

“Oh, now you care?” Charles asked.

“Shush, Charles,” Penny heard
Charli
say.  “Just do your part.”

“Yeah, yeah.
  Go soak your teeth.”

Penny smiled at the playful banter between the two siblings.  But then she looked back out on the horrifying scene in front of her.  Death was everywhere.  Brotherhood agents turned raging vampires to dust as vampires and werewolves tore and rent everyone with tooth and claw.  And she stood there, watching, helpless.

The
Djinn
appeared here and there around the battlefield, working mischief and mayhem.  Here it appeared and a vampire found
itself
sinking into ground suddenly soft as quicksand.  Here it popped into view long enough to blow dust into the face of one of the Brotherhood, blinding him painfully.  Each attack of the
Djinn
was followed up by either the slashing claws of a werewolf or the furious attack of
Charli
or Thomas.

Thomas.  He was a sight to behold. 
Beautiful and mesmerizing.
  She couldn’t take her eyes from him.

This was why she missed the vampire coming up behind her until it grabbed her arms and shoved her to the ground painfully, the air rushing from her lungs.

“Now,” she heard it rasp into her ear, “I will take your life, little human girl.  I will take your blood and soak my flesh in it.  I will—”

Its words cut off as a shower of dust fell around her and the vampire was no longer holding her.

“Stupid vampires.
  Always talk too much.”

Penny turned over to find Charles standing over her, a knife still in his hand, which he must have used to kill the vampire before it could take her.

“Thank you,” she said.  Everything that had been between them now hung heavy in the air.  The love he had professed for her, the way she had felt for him, her choice to be with Thomas.  It was there in his eyes as he looked at her.  And then he blinked, and waved a hand, as if to say it all didn’t matter anymore.

And then he raised the detonator in his other hand and spoke a simple command through his earpiece.  “Fall back.”

The command went out from those who had the earpiece communicators to all of their allies on the field.  The
Djinn
whisked here and there to give the signal.  And almost as one, the clearing emptied of everyone who was not Coven or Brotherhood.

And Charles pressed the red button.

Penny felt the smooth satin sheets caressing her bare skin and bolted upright. She was disoriented from all the battles and
traveling
. She looked next to hear and saw Thomas napping. Then everything came rushing back to her and she slid back under the covers.

“
Ya
alright,” he asked without even opening his eyes.

“I'm not getting out of bed,” she said, grumbling and turning over. Thomas put an arm around her waist and softly kissed her ear.

“I suppose you don't have to get out of bed...ever,” he said, kissing down her neck. With each new kiss, a tingle crept down her back. “But, I think Paris will miss your fabulous presence.”

Penny shot out of bed again. Paris. She forgot they were in Paris. Penny had always dreamed of going to Paris. Actually she would have been happy anywhere in Europe. She had been thrilled when she learned that Thomas had purchased them tickets to Paris. They wouldn't be able to stay long – they would never be able to stay anywhere for long – but even one night in Paris was a dream come true.

“Okay, I'm ready!” She said, hopping out of bed. She felt a grumble in her stomach and suddenly had a craving for an authentic croissant.

“While I may enjoy the view,” Thomas said, sitting up in bed, “I think that it would be best if you at least put some underwear on before you went out. We're trying to lay low remember?”

“
Right,
and I probably need a shower too,” she said as she headed toward the bathroom and took in their surroundings. They were in a suite with lush carpets and beautifully upholstered furniture. Long silky drapes whispered in the open windows. It was as opulent as the Brotherhood sanctuary, but it was much more tasteful and confusing. She was glad that she could look out onto the streets instead of walls.

The bathroom tickled every fantasy that Penny had ever had. She contemplated talking a long bath in the Jacuzzi, but she decided that she would much rather save that for later with Thomas. Right now, she wanted to hit the streets.

While Penny was in the shower, she heard a knock on the door. She heard Charles in the room and decided that she should probably hurry up. She brushed her teeth, comb out her hair, and slapped some clothes on. Penny was a low maintenance girl.

“Chuck!” she said walking out of the bathroom. “We did it!”

“We certainly did,” he said with a slight smile on his face. “You ready to go?”

“Yep.
Thomas
aren't
you ready yet?” She asked when she noticed the Thomas was still mostly undressed.

“It's the day time Penny,” he said. “I can't go out. Besides you are going to get food and well, I don't eat real food.”

“So, it just me and Charles for the day?” Penny was a little nervous of spending the day with her now ex-boyfriend.

“Just for a little while,” Thomas said, pulling a shirt over his mop of curly hair. “The rest of us will join in a couple hours when it is dark.”

“I'm starving, Penny,” Charles said holding his stomach. “I need a pastry!”

Thomas laughed at his brother. “
Mmmm
and I need a Frenchman or two,” Thomas said, showing off his teeth. Penny realized another reason that Thomas wasn't going to come with them. He needed to eat too. And she didn't really want to be there.

Charles wrinkled his nose in disgust and walked out the door. Thomas kissed Penny on the cheek before she followed Charles out the door.

“I guess we have to get used to living with vampires,” Charles said after Penny closed the door.

“Yeah, at least he's trying to be polite about...in a Thomas kind of way,” she replied, trying to keep pace with Charles's long legs.

“
Charli
was not quite so 'polite' as Thomas,” Charles said. “But then again, she is my twin... And I must say
,
I would rather have her here and...
never
mind... I haven't slept that good since I was separated from her.” Even though they were not part of the Brotherhood
anymore,
or never even really agreed with the policies, it was still hard to accept some the realities of life with vampires. Penny wondered if Charles would ever actually be able to say that his sister fed on people's blood.