Free The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, Book 1) by Clay & Susan Griffith;Clay Griffith;Susan Griffith by Clay, Susan Griffith;Clay Griffith;Susan Griffith

the pillow. Something large and dark flew
past the window. Flinging herself to the shutters, she fumbled with the
latch as her fingers grasped the knife tightly.

    They had come for her! They were in the house!
    She let out a shrill scream to wake everyone, lest they be caught in
their sleep. It would give her position away, but that couldn't be helped.
She screamed Greyfriar's name as loud as she could. Abruptly there were
screams all around her as the house woke and found themselves facing
horrors at their bedroom doors.
    Then a sound reached Adele's ears that plunged her hope to the cold
ground: terrible hissing right outside her door. She pulled herself back
into a corner of the room, silent now. The handle lifted up and down.
Then something shoved hard against the door.
    Should she wait here, or should she flee? She chose the latter and ran
for the window, throwing back the shutters and yanking it open. She
looked about for a ledge. There was a balcony just below her, small but
manageable. She had one leg over the sill when the wood of the door
splintered apart as a vampire clawed its way inside.
    Adele slid out the window, dropping a few feet to the balcony below.
Her room was only two stories up, so she could reach the ground with
one more drop. She climbed the wrought iron rail of the balcony and
hung as low as her arms could take her before dropping. It would be
only seconds before they were after her.
    The princess hit the ground and collapsed, going as limp as possible
to absorb the impact of the fall. Her teeth snapped shut; luckily her
tongue had not been caught in them. She tumbled twice, scrambled to
her feet, and ran. She didn't dare turn to look behind her. It was best to
assume the vampires were right on her heels. What she needed was a
defensible position until Greyfriar came. She believed he would come.
She just had to stay alive long enough for him to reach her.
    Adele heard hissing close behind. One of the creatures had found her
and was signaling to its brethren, but the hissing also gave its location to
her without having to look. She suddenly stopped and spun. Her glowing
blade flashed straight across the vampire's throat, and the hissing
stopped. The thing clutched the gaping slash with both hands, his eyes wide with surprise. Adele had no desire to stand and gawk. There were
sounds of chaos all around her. Screams and shrieks assailed her ears. The
village was under attack. She knew she couldn't hide. If there was anything to be done, she had to try. Adele ran along the street to find it
awash in blood. Bodies were everywhere. Adele kept to the dark places to
hide from watchful eyes above. Every few seconds shadows would slink
over the ground as a vampire drifted overhead looking for prey.

    A young woman darted in front of Adele, looking behind her in sheer
terror. She screamed as a dark form fell on her, bearing her to the ground.
Adele plunged her dagger into the creature up to the hilt, again and again,
blood and smoke splattering around her. The thing hissed and arched
back, more out of aggravation than pain. Adele grabbed him by the
shoulder to better anchor herself, and suddenly the vampire began
screeching. The vampire writhed and threw himself away from the
princess. He rolled and scrambled to his feet, slipping away into the darkness with amazing quickness. Adele helped the poor woman to her feet.
    "It's you!" the woman screeched. "You're the stranger! You came
with the Greyfriar! They're here for you! You're the reason they've
come! "
    The accusation bit deep into Adele because the woman was right.
She had saved one, but ten more died beyond her reach.
    Adele shook the woman to get her attention. "Hide yourself and stay
quiet."
    She had to find Greyfriar. No doubt he was somewhere protecting
those he could. Or he was coming for her. Maybe she should stay where
she was so he could find her. Fate took that decision from Adele.
    Three people fled