Trapped between the hunters, Ranloo's eyes widened. Only one escape left. He instinctively leapt as high as he could. The unexpected jump threw the hunters' aim off and the lights hit nothing but air. He landed on Hatman's right and tried to hit him with an offside slash. The sword connected with the shield as the hunter turned, a feral expression on his face, his pale eyes filled with such hatred it made Ranloo flinch.

  Keeping his momentum up, Ranloo sped past the hunter, running for cover. He wished he'd brought a shield but he'd never been much for using them, and he didn't have one anyway. The lights faded as he skidded to a halt behind another pillar. A faint crash resounded from the building on the other side of the courtyard. With no time to investigate, he ignored it, focusing on the hunters. He hefted the sword for another attack as their footsteps drew near.

  He briefly wished he could wield magic, like his uncle. A faint memory flashed in his mind. Bright fire sparkling over his uncle's dark hand in the cold dark desert, illuminating their small camp to his delighted laughter.

  The memory faded as the hunters rounded the pillar. Ranloo snarled and dove to the left, slashing at the tall hunter on his right. The low cut would have bit into the man's legs if not for the magical shield. The sword bounced off and scraped against the ground. Hatman twisted around after him. The hunters weren't as fast as him, but they were used to dealing with vampire's speed. Another shaft of light hit Ranloo in the back, burning hotly. He screamed, threw himself to the side and dove into a roll.

  Panting, he glanced towards the street. Maybe he should flee after all? Maybe it was pointless to fight them? He didn't want to die. Angrily he shook his head, his dark, wet hair sticking to his face. He wiped it away in annoyance and looked towards the lit window. She stood there still, watching, eyes wide in shock, hand over her mouth. He couldn't just leave her, couldn't let them hurt her. He frowned. They'd claimed she'd come of her own will. But why would she if they intended to punish her for his crimes if he got away? Why would she come? It didn't make any sense. Where were their children? Cold dread gripped him and he staggered to a stop. What had they done? He turned into mist again and hurried across the open courtyard, away from the hunters, giving him space to maneuver. Then he called out to them.

  ′Where are my children?` He had to know.

  The hunter with the hat chuckled. ′So, you still care?` he said softly.

  Ranloo near exploded from fury. ′Of course I do!` he yelled and kicked at a rock on the ground, his misty form passing right through. ′Where are they?`

  ′In the elven kingdom of course,` the hunter laughed.

  Ranloo didn't trust him. ′She would never leave them alone,` he growled. ′You kidnapped her, didn't you?`

  The hunter laughed aloud, mocking him. ′Why don't you ask her?` he said coolly. ′Come out, and we'll let you have a word before we kill you.`

  ′Burn in the abyss!` Ranloo retorted.

  Hatman had the crossbow ready again, his pale eyes narrowed, gaze shifting back and forth. Ranloo moved slowly so he wouldn't detect his misty form. But the hunter suddenly twisted his head to look straight at him. Ranloo froze, stricken with fear. Then he bolted for cover even though he knew the hunter couldn't hurt him in this form. But he had to conserve his strength for the rest of the fight. It was far from over, and staying in the fog shape took a lot of energy.

  Ranloo became solid behind another pillar. Quickly sheathing the sword, he pulled out another small glass flask. He'd only brought five, and already used one. Taking a deep breath to steady himself he cast a swift glance around the pillar to see where they were. Then he ducked back in case the hunter fired his crossbow at him. He waited a few precious seconds, lifted the small glass vial, stepped out on the other side of the pillar and threw the bottle at the man.

  Hatman spotted him, whipped the crossbow around, and fired in one smooth action. The quarrel hit Ranloo in the chest right before the bottle exploded against the hunter's shield. Hatman crossed his hands in front of his face to protect himself from the blinding flash as Ranloo staggered back, hissing in pain.

  The bolt lodged itself under his right collarbone. With every breath, pain lanced out from the wound. Distracted, Ranloo almost forgot the other one. How such a big man could move so quietly and fast he'd never understand, but Beard was suddenly right behind him, charging with his axe.

  Ranloo ducked, heart jumping into his throat as the axe smashed into the pillar above him. With a terrified yelp, Ranloo bolted forward and barreled shoulder first into the shield. The impact pushed him sideways and he staggered forward, out of balance. Then he drew his sword, took a sharp turn, and charged Hatman again. He had to break his shield before they broke him.

  Prepared or not, the hunters weren't fast enough to react to Ranloo's sudden change of course. With a feral snarl and glowing eyes, he charged the hunter. Hatman dropped the crossbow and unsheathed his sword as swiftly as he could. Ranloo was already on him, battering the shield with heavy blows. Faint blue cracks appeared in the air between them and the hunter's pale eyes widened. Ranloo yelled and struck the shield again, hope driving him on.

  ′Odefin!` the hunter yelled and slashed at Ranloo with his sword.

  Ranloo parried the blow. He wasn't in full control of his actions, being too angry and hurt, but instincts and many years of hard training made it almost automatic.

  The hunter charged, sword leading the way, and Ranloo was forced back, blocking the blows.

  Groaning as he was forced to put weight on his wounded left leg, he fought on. The bolt in his chest burned with every move and jarring block, and with the skin on his back and right hand blackened and burned, his energy dwindled and his guts twisted. The sun-medallion on the hunter's chest gleamed brightly, forcing Ranloo to avoid looking at him directly and filling him with fear and weakness. He was going to lose, he realized. He'd never survive. Snarling, he raised the sword and yelled. He bashed the shield again and blue cracks spread from the impact.

  Hatman smiled coldly, his eyes narrowed. ′Die abomination!` he called out and slashed at Ranloo's neck.

  He dodged sideways and raised the sword to block. Something slapped into the back of his left leg. Eyes widening in surprise as his leg refused to move, he collapsed to the cobbles. Grunting with the impact, he rolled, narrowly avoiding getting impaled by Hatman's sword. Flaring hot pain made Ranloo glance down. A deep gash in his thigh above the knee in the back yawned open. Blood gushed from the wound and stained the cobbles a dark red. The hunters towered above him, like shadows of doom, weapons raised for killing blows.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  With a horrified shriek, Ranloo closed his eyes and vanished into fog. The hunters' weapons hit the cobbles with the loud ringing of metal against stone, followed by loud curses.

  Ranloo staggered to his feet and half hobbled, half ran to cover behind the fountain. Turning into mist took a lot of energy and as he became solid again he strained to breathe, leaning against the fountain's edge, hunger tearing at his insides. He grimaced at the multiple injuries and aches. He was going to die.

  His eyes lifted to the window and Minira. Pale and beautiful, she leaned against the windowsill. He couldn't get to her. The pain was like a knife slowly being twisted in his heart. He ached to speak to her, wanted to know the truth. But that wasn't very likely to happen now, was it?

  He turned his attention back to the hunters. They exchanged a few quick words, then Beard, Odefin he recalled, ran towards him. Hatman, to Ranloo's surprise, rushed towards the house, away from them. What was he up to, he wondered suspiciously. He wouldn't let him get away. Angrily, he forced his left leg to move and got to the side of the fountain where he could see Hatman better. Ranloo raised another bottle and threw it towards the fleeing hunter. It exploded on the back of the shield.

  Blue cracks encompassed the hunter and shattered into the air with a faint sharp tink. Hatman was thrown off his feet and sprawled on the ground, face down from the force. A quick smile flew across Ranloo's face when he was interrupted by the big hunter. If Ranloo hadn't been a vampire, he'd been cut down in seconds. His speed and strength kept him on his feet and out of harm's way despite his injured leg. He deflected the incoming blows and even hit Odefin's shield a few times.

  Odefin stepped back after a short but intense clash, panting hard. Ranloo eyed him warily, then turned and dashed towards the other hunter.

  He has no shield, I can kill him, he thought grimly.

  Ranloo closed the distance to the fallen hunter in seconds.

  ′Tealas!` The warning cry alerted Hatman to the danger, however, and he scrambled up just in time. Ranloo swung his sword at the hunter's head but smashed against the hard steel of a blade. It was all the hunter could do to divert the powerful blow while throwing himself sideways.

  Ranloo raised the sword for another blow when the hunter, with an almost lazy motion, tossed something towards him with his left hand.

  Flinching, Ranloo redirected the sword-slash to a downward cut and hit the small glass bottle, shattering it. He realized too late what it was, and no matter how he tried to stop his momentum, he couldn't avoid the contents to spill over his right arm and spatter against his chest and right leg. Unhindered by his clothes, the water seeped through the already wet fabric and touched his skin. For a few seconds, Ranloo thought he'd been mistaken, but then it started to burn. Holy water, sizzling like acid on his skin.

  Shrieking in pain, he backed away from the hunter. Blood stained his tunic and breeches where the holy water connected and dug into his skin. It even burned on his chest, though only a few drops had hit him there. He bolted towards the street. Pain, fear, and exhaustion made up his mind. He couldn't win, he had to flee.

  Ranloo's surprise was complete as he came to an abrupt halt. He fell unceremoniously backwards from the impact and landed hard on the cobbles. His sword clattered onto the ground and the quarrel in his back bent sideways, eliciting a whimper. Stunned, he stared in front of him. There was nothing. He pushed himself up with a groan, glanced towards the hunters to make sure they weren't too close, and retrieved his sword. Then he reached out in front of him and felt the glassy smooth surface of another shield.

  ′No,` he mumbled. ′No, no, no...` A shield between the pillars, hindering him from leaving. Breathing in shallow gasps, his pupils dilated and glowing red, he now understood what the hunter had said earlier. ”You can't escape, vampire. You only have until morning.” He'd meant it literally.

  ′No!` he yelled furiously and hit the shield with the sword. It vibrated in his hand as it slid off the magical barrier. Panic reigned, and for a moment, all he could do was run along the barrier, testing it for breaks or gaps. It spanned between the building from wall to wall. He couldn't get out. One of the hunters laughed, and he twisted about, snarling.

  ′You can't get out,` Tealas said calmly, brushing himself off from the fall. Odefin stood beside him protectively, his shield still intact.

  Ranloo bared his fangs at them. ′Curse you!` he yelled. ′Die and burn in the abyss!`

  Tealas smiled grimly, raised his sun-medallion and aimed. Ranloo bolted. He couldn't run as fast as normal on his injured leg, but he was still fast enough to get behind a pillar in time. Cursing loudly as the light flared around him, he damned all vampire hunters and their unjust treatment, cursed the gods for punishing him and leaving him to die, cursed all vampires for doing this to him, and all the living for their resentment. Suddenly, he hated it all, hated everyone and everything. The hunter laughed again, fueling his anger.

  With an infuriated roar, he flung another of the glass bottles towards the hunters as soon as the light vanished. Odefin stepped in the way of the bottle, shielding his friend. Tealas ducked and ran away from the blast, his hat flying off from the force of the explosion.

  Ranloo ran while they were distracted, changing his position to confuse them. He had no choice now but to kill them or die. He wanted them dead, wanted to see their heads roll. If they wanted a monster, he'd become one. He transformed into fog as he ran without noticing, too angry to pay attention.

  The blond hunter ran towards a door near the entrance that Ranloo hadn't noticed before. Snarling, Ranloo sped towards him. The pillars rushed past on his left and the housewall on his right. He solidified in front of the hunter and thrust his sword towards the man.

  Fast and agile, Tealas reacted immediately and deflected the strike with his sword. But Ranloo could tell it took a toll on him as the hunter grimaced at the heavy strike. He also heard his drumming heartbeats and hard breathing. The golden symbol gleamed unpleasantly and Ranloo wanted to flee from it, but his anger and hate made him move forward to strike at the hated hunter again. Again, Tealas parried, just barely, and stepped back. He yelled for his friend to help and the big armoured man come up on his left.

  Odefin roared and swung his axe towards Ranloo's head, but he quickly sidestepped. His left leg buckled and he stumbled. Swiftly regaining his balance, he ran away from them again. He had to keep them separate somehow, he thought. He only had one explosive potion left, and one other. He grasped the bottle, aimed and hurled the last one at Tealas.

  Odefin threw himself between the bottle and his friend, taking the full force of the explosion with the shield. Tealas turned with an angry yell and another shaft of light speared towards Ranloo. Ranloo desperately tried to avoid it but was too tired, too slow, and too hurt to get away. The light seared his entire right side, burning and blinding. Ranloo screamed and took cover, his hands raised to protect his head.

  Panting and shaking in shock he crouched behind a pillar. He glanced up at the dark sky, tears blurring his vision. How much time had he left? The rain still pattered, the mists flowed along the ground, and the hunters were still mostly unscathed. The light in the window above still glowed, his beloved still stood there like a statue, rigid and stiff, staring out into the dark with her wide, blue eyes, her hand covering her mouth. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong but had no time to ponder it, no time left. He'd never find out, he thought in anguish. If he somehow survived the night and got away, which he doubted, he'd never see her again. He was certain.

  A shout startled him. He stood on shaking legs, thinking the hunters were coming at him again. The clash of steel against steel rang between the walls. Confused, he dared to peek around the pillar. He wasn't sure what he saw, unprepared for the sight. Odefin, the big bearded hunter, fought a huge blurry figure. Ranloo couldn't make it out in the gloom and rain and with one eye ruined.

  Who was it? Where had he come from? Ranloo stared, battling his anger and confusion. How, he wondered in a daze. What was going on? Was he hallucinating from fatigue? He supported himself against the pillar on his left, trying to slow his racing heart and comprehend what was happening. The door to the house stood open he noticed then, and the other hunter hid behind a pillar just outside the door, watching something inside the house. What was going on?