Free Katrina, The Beginning by Elizabeth Loraine Page A

proof he’s involved.
All we know is he was out there in the forest when we were
attacked, nothing more.”
    “Why are you defending him
now? You’re the one who called him a traitor in the first place.
He’s being guarded; we have no time to deal with him or his sister
now. Either make yourself useful or go back to your
room.”
    Why was I defending him? Was I really that gullible? If
Luena was knee-deep in this, why wouldn’t he be? They were so
close…or were they? I had to admit I was confused by him, the way
he was the other night. Father was right, of course; there was no
time to worry about him now. This might be all over before
breakfast, if we could still surprise them.
    As parties arrived at the
Council room, they were told of the recent developments and given
their assignments, then sent to be armory to draw weapons, as
needed and were told to gather at the gate. Everyone was organized
and on task as the gravity of the situation sunk in. We were split
up into two different assignments. Most were going to the
encampment in the forest, with a smaller group, including Thomas,
Quinn, and myself, going through the shed entrance, our orders were
to clear out the rooms and corridors as we went. Vampires first in
of course, we’d check with all our senses, divide up as needed, and
with luck meet Father’s party at the river.
    Father’s forces raced out
the west gate. Ours ran together to the back wall and to the
weapons shed. Quinn unlocked the door and we charged in. The spears
had held, the sliding pallet closing off the entrance to the
underground tunnels was still in place. Quinn and Thomas dislodged
them and pushed the pallet aside with a thud. I fully expected
fledglings to pour out; we neither saw nor sensed a
thing.
    “This is a bad sign,” I
said under my breath.
    Philepe and Gerhardt headed
down the stairs, and I went next.
    “The girls were in a room
off the corridor on the right, but the fledglings came from the
center archway,” I pointed straight ahead.
    With our swords at the
ready, we started forward. Quinn and Thomas were behind me with
torches.
    “Ricardo, you and Momar go
into the last corridor,” directed Philepe.
    We moved cautiously but
quickly forward, checking the many side rooms. Suddenly the
corridor opened up into a huge circular room with arched doorways
all the way around it. We heard the sounds of boots coming from a
corridor on our left and braced for a fight. We were relieved when
Ricardo came through the opening.
    “Anything?” he
asked.
    “Not yet,” replied
Philepe
    “Now what?” Gerhardt
asked.
    Before we could answer, I
cried out, “They’re coming!” They poured out of each of the
corridors across from us, yelling and hissing, weapons drawn.
Ricardo and Momar took positions left, we stayed right.
    “Don’t let them get behind
us!” yelled Philepe.
    We started mowing them down
right and left. The fledglings were not well trained, but they were
strong, and there were so many of them, there appeared to be no end
to their numbers. They were as fast as we were, but our superior
training would hopefully allow us to make quick work of them. We
heard someone yelling orders to them from out of the darkness, but
even with my vampire vision, I couldn’t quite make him out. The
Watchers had come into the room with torches. Once skirmish had
begun, the torches were abandoned, tossed about on the floor. Now
they were making the room glow and casting shadows of the fight on
the walls of the room. We met the fledglings head on and after a
few minutes of intense fighting, their numbers dwindled and they
finally stopped coming through the archways. Two of the crazed
attackers charged me from the front, and one came at me from my
left. I leapt, executing a high, double footed kick, hitting the
larger one square in the chest. Then as he fell to the ground, I
used him as a springboard, turned in midair, and with a twist
reached out, and sliced the second across the throat. I had