The Lost Elixir

Chapter Eight

"Rayne! Rayne, come on!" Someone was saying frantically in the valley of Rayne's subconscious. She furrowed her eyebrows at the rough pushing of her body, but her eyelids were as heavy as a thousand bricks. "Rayne! Wake up."

Rayne, having recognized the voice and being able to register how frantic they sounded, finally opened her eyes. She gasped and almost recoiled away from the proximity of Jarrah, who was now sighing out in relief, but the alarm in his eyes prevented her from doing such a thing. Her heart leapt with fear as an icy chill slithered down her spine. Now that she had woken up, she could smell the faint scent of burning wood and register the piercing screams that caused her to bound out of the hotel bed with alarm.

"What's going on?" she demanded, looking towards their hotel door where smoke was slithering through the bottom crack. She went to move forward, but Jarrah was right there, gripping her wrist to prevent her from moving any closer. His skin against hers pushed a striking hint of warmth into her body, but she knew it wasn't the time.

"We have to go," he said urgently when she looked back at him. Her eyes stung from the amount of smoke coming in, and it wasn't until Jarrah's eyes glowed with that familiar mist and a wave of his fingers did the urge to cough go away. A mask of translucent glitter shielded their faces from the harm of the smoke, but something about the look on his face made her realize it wouldn't last for very long. "The vampires set the lodge on fire when we were all asleep. It won't be long until the roof collapses."

"Wait, but Jarrah w-we can't leave until everyone's out," she stuttered, fear licking at her tone like the wisps of a flame. "We-we have to—"

"There's nothing we can do," he said, shoving her backpack over his broad shoulders. "We need to get out of here now, they're already storming the rooms—"

Before Jarrah could finish that sentence, a powerful force on the other side of their door knocked it down with a loud boom! A surprised gasp ripped from Rayne's lips as she fought to peer through the smoke by the door that now showed off the glow of orange death beyond. Before she could comprehend what was going on, her mind still weary from sleep, Jarrah clutched her arm and drew her behind his body just in time for him to land a solid punch on the being who barreled inside. Rayne didn't have time to see who it was, as another vampire came pushing into the room. His lips shot up into a wicked grin after his crimson eyes met hers and she narrowed her eyes, challenging the large being.

Jarrah was so preoccupied with the vampire he was battling that he couldn't stop the second one from stalking towards Rayne, who patiently waited for him to come close enough to her. She wiped her face clear of any emotion and thought about her endless hours of intense training. She never put them into practice with an actual vampire before, but she was determined to try.

"Rayne!" Jarrah tried to call out, but his lithe vamp was quick to strike at his stomach when he wasn't paying attention.

Rayne caught onto the blur barreling towards her and at the last second, she shifted her body to the side, clasped her hands together, and harshly pushed at his back with as much strength as she could, resulting in a crack. The vampire hissed when he spun back around with his hand shooting out at a speed she almost couldn't match and reached for her neck she guessed, but she moved her upper body to the side, just missing his hand.

"Ah," he murmured, the mask Jarrah had shoved over her face slowly fading. The smoke swirled back into her eyes again and the urge to cough stung at her nose.

The vampire's word and the shot of smoke caught Rayne off guard long enough for him to wrap his fingers into her curls at the back of her head and bring him towards her. She breathed in sharply at the pull, her stomach curdling with how close he drew her face to his. The stench of wolf blood wafted into her nostrils as his red lips curved up. "A pretty little wolf at that."