Free Rival by Lacy Yager

heels, which explains
how she was able to do that roundhouse kick.
    Two more monsters come at us. I jerk my
chin over her shoulder and we rotate to face them,
shoulder-to-shoulder.
    "Did that thing just get up? A wound
like that would've killed a…" I roundhouse the approaching dude,
and he goes sideways. "…a human."
    "Head or heart," she says, grunting as
she punches into the guy's gut. "They heal quickly, sometimes
within seconds. You've got to give them a wound they can't heal
from."
    I kick mine backward, but I
know it's coming back. "What are they?"
    There's a short hesitation, then,
"Vampires.” She sticks her knife right into the guy's face. He goes
down.
    Seriously?
    There's no time for disbelief. Someone
shouts from the other side of the yard.
    The things are swarming the men. It's
not looking good.
    "Did you see my mom?" she
asks.
    "Sent her around the side of the house
before it really started. They didn't seem to be interested in her
or the other women."
    I finally get a clear shot and thrust
my makeshift stake into the vampire's chest. He freezes and falls
to the ground.
    I try to pull Emily back away from the
chaotic struggle in front of us. They don't seem to see us here
between the food tables and the side of the house.
    I really don't want her hurt, and those
things are evil.
    "Let’s call the cops," I
say.
    She shakes her head, turns, and bolts
toward the house, where the open back door and windows gape, dark
and malicious.

 
     
    18 - Emily
    "Emily!"
    Brett protests but follows me into the
house.
    It's weirdly quiet away from the noise
of the fight.
    Those are my uncles and cousins out
there, fighting for their lives. I saw plenty of knives, but I'm
guessing most of my family are only lightly armed. They came
expecting a party, not a fight.
    And if I don't help them, they could
lose their lives.
    I head straight for my dad's training
room, not bothering to flick on any lights. Brett
follows.
    "Anybody behind us?" I can't hear
anything over my pounding heartbeat.
    "I don't think so."
    My bare feet slap against the wood
floors in the hallway. I got rid of the shoes first thing, afraid I
was going to break an ankle trying to fight in those
heels.
    We reach the training room, and this
time I do flip on a light. I go right for the rack of swords.
They'll do the most damage and give my uncles and cousins the
longest reach. I know my dad had a whole arsenal of guns, but I
don't have time to hunt down the key to the gun safe. I can only
hope the vamps aren't armed.
    "Nice hairdo," Brett says as he joins
me.
    Even amidst all the chaos, my face
flames. "It's not my usual style," I mutter. Then, as I hold up two
deadly blades, I see that he's in a suit. What is he doing here
anyway? There isn't time to find out.
    "You want to carry or clear the way?" I
ask.
    "You'd better let me carry," he says
with a half sigh. "You'll slice your arms open with that sleeveless
dress."
    I shove an armful of swords at him,
seven or eight in all.
    I'm ready to grab one for myself when I
think better of it and rush to the nearby rack of long knives. I
take two, quickly strapping one to my thigh with a short belt made
for just that.
    I bring the other to Brett and lift the
tail of his jacket.
    "Careful," he warns as I slide it into
the back of his waistband.
    I pat his butt and go back to the
swords, taking one for each hand. "Let's do this."
    I lead the way back into the hall. The
shadowy darkness takes a moment to get used to after the light of
the training room. I thought I was being smart leaving the lights
off, but I should've thought that it would be hard for us to see
once our eyes had been in the light.
    I'm out of practice.
    "So..." Brett whispers as we walk
carefully back down the hall. "Your family fights
vampires?"
    "Yeah. Has for generations."
    He is silent for a second. "Bet your
mom loves that."
    I hum a half-laugh, getting a little
frantic as we pause in the kitchen to get the lay of
things.
    The vamps have the upper