Free 04 Silence by Kailin Gow Page B

glued to the action taking place in front of her as counter riposte fol lowed riposte, and the two combatants’ feet slid back and forth, looking to gain some advantage in distance or timing that might fina lly allow them to finish off their opponent.
    Briony was so involved, in fact, that she didn’t notice the moment when more vampires arrived. They came as the one fighting Vigor had come, scuttling along the ceiling and dropping down to attack. Aunt Sophie kicked one back, and then barely parried an attack from another.
    “Fight, Briony!”
    That was enough to break Briony’s immobility.
    She lunged for a vampire, but it twisted away easily.
    Another moved around to her side, dancing back as Briony spun to attack it. On they went, switching back and forth as Briony tried to strike at them, but never quite enough to gain a hit. They were toying with her.
    While Vigor and Aunt Sophie fought hard around Briony, the vampires were actua lly toying with her.
    Each one moved so fast that Briony knew it had to be true- these vampires were all at least as old as Pietre. Which meant…
    Which meant Briony, Vigor, and Aunt Sophie had a slim chance of winning. Not like this. Not in a fair fight. Maybe Vigor and Aunt Sophie could have beaten one or two of them, but not as many as this, and not with Briony there. Vigor was right. She was a liability.
    Almost as soon as she thought it, Briony found her makeshift stake knocked out of her hand like it wasn’t there. At the same time though, the two vampires attacking her took a step back. Briony turned, expecting some fresh threat. Except all there was standing before her was a sweet faced girl with jet black hair and green eyes, only a little older than her brother Jake.
     
    Chapter 10
     
    Briony took a longer look at the girl. She looked healthy, even beautiful, and was dressed after the fashion of the rest of the court. She had to be some Hugtandalfer aristocrat’s daughter, so what was she doing here?
    There wasn’t any time to ask. “You shouldn’t be here,” Briony said instead. “It’s not safe. Hurry and go before they attack again.”
    Yet even as she said it, a new vampire stepped forward. Even by the standards of vampires genera lly , he was good-looking, appearing to be in his early twenties, with sandy hair and eyes of a deep hazel. He was dressed in black, from the fingers of his gloved hands down to the tips of his highly-polished boots. And he was heading for the girl in front of Briony.
    “Get behind me!” Briony ordered. She ran in front of the girl, placing herself between her and the new threat. Even unarmed as she was, Briony was determined not to let the vampires get to the young girl.
    The approaching man stopped just in front of her, as casua lly as if Vigor and Aunt Sophie weren’t still fighting his fe llow vampires just a little ways away.
    “Princess Briony, I presume,” he said, giving her a courtly bow that had to be designed to mock her. “We have been awaiting your arrival for a very long time.” He smiled, and just for a second, Briony was reminded of Fallon . The same near beauty in his face. The same delicacy to his features. Then the new vampire’s fangs appeared, and he snarled.
    “Where is the scepter?”
    “Scepter?” Briony asked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    The newcomer shook his head and stepped still closer. “There’s no point in trying to deceive me. You’re Waltham’s heir. Of course you would know about the scepter.”
    “Believe me, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Briony looked around, trying to locate a weapon. Aunt Sophie was on the other side of the room, fighting off two vampires with desperate speed, while Vigor on the other side, still trading sword moves with the dark haired vampire who had been the first to attack them. Neither was near enough to throw over a weapon, and in any case, both looked as though distracting them might prove fatal. It seemed Briony was on her